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SUMO protein guides chromatin remodeler to suppress genes

In an in vitro study, led by Grace Gill, PhD, Tufts University School of Medicine, researchers discovered how a protein called SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-related Modifier) guides an enzyme complex that alters the structure of chromatin to regulate expression of genes.

27 Apr 2009

New system to check medication errors

Every day, pharmacists sidestep potential mix-ups while they're filling prescriptions-perhaps the doctor's scrawl is hard to decipher or sometimes the drug bottle is mistaken for another that looks awfully similar.

27 Apr 2009

Safely transporting a preterm or low birth weight infant

New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics should eliminate one of the many stresses of bringing a preterm or low birth weight infant home from the hospital.

27 Apr 2009

$Prostate cancer therapy increases risk of fractures and cardiovascular-related death$

Prostate cancer therapy increases risk of fractures and cardiovascular-related death

Prostate cancer patients who undergo therapy to decrease testosterone levels increase their risk of developing bone- and heart-related side effects compared to patients who do not take these medications, according to a new analysis.

27 Apr 2009

Research sheds new light on causes of sepsis

New research from Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine is helping physicians unravel the cause of a deadly and mysterious bowel disease that strikes medically fragile newborn babies.

27 Apr 2009

New study overturns orthodoxy on how macrophages kill bacteria

For decades, microbiologists assumed that macrophages, immune cells that can engulf and poison bacteria and other pathogens, killed microbes by damaging their DNA.

27 Apr 2009

Discovery of novel protein which, when over-expressed, leads to a dramatic increase in the generation of A-beta

A defining hallmark of Alzheimer's disease is the accumulation of the amyloid beta protein (A-beta), otherwise known as "senile plaques," in the brain's cortex and hippocampus, where memory consolidation occurs.

27 Apr 2009

New statistical model that simulates human mobility patterns can aid in studying epidemic outbreaks

Researchers have developed a new statistical model that simulates human mobility patterns, mimicking the way people move over the course of a day, a month or longer.

27 Apr 2009

Racial and ethnic discrimination and their effect on mental health in children

A new multicenter study involving UCLA and the RAND Corp. has found that perceived racial or ethnic discrimination is not an uncommon experience among fifth-grade students and that it may have a negative effect on their mental health.

27 Apr 2009

Clinical and scientific cooperation to fight lung cancer

Prevention, personalized therapies and closer collaborations between surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists will result in better outcomes for lung cancer patients and those at risk, a leading European expert says.

27 Apr 2009

Meditation may temporarily boost visuospatial abilities

Meditation has been practiced for centuries, as a way to calm the soul and bring about inner peace.

27 Apr 2009

Ferring Pharmaceuticals launches new trial of Degarelix for intermittent androgen deprivation therapy

Ferring Pharmaceuticals has announced the launch of a Phase IIIB clinical trial of degarelix for injection, a new injectable gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor antagonist approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of hormone sensitive advanced prostate cancer.

27 Apr 2009

Women with epilepsy should avoid taking the drug valproate during pregnancy

New guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society show it's relatively safe for women with epilepsy to become pregnant, but caution must be taken, including avoiding one particular epilepsy drug that can cause birth defects.

27 Apr 2009

Researchers show how morphine can be given more effectively

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have found a way to maintain the pain-killing qualities of morphine over an extended period of time, thus providing a solution for the problem of having to administer increasing dosages of the drug in order to retain its effectiveness.

27 Apr 2009

New hope for potential heart attack victims

Twenty percent of American deaths each year are caused by heart attack or angina, sometimes without any warning.

27 Apr 2009

Good sleep patterns among children important in preventing behavioral symptoms

A recent Finnish study suggests that children's short sleep duration even without sleeping difficulties increases the risk for behavioral symptoms of ADHD.

27 Apr 2009

Early brain activity sheds new light on the neural basis of reading

Most people are expert readers, but it is something of an enigma that our brain can achieve expertise in such a recent cultural invention, which lies at the interface between vision and language.

27 Apr 2009

Major step forward in understanding progressive hearing loss

The respective microRNA seed region influences the production of sensory hair cells in the inner ear, both in the mouse and in humans.

27 Apr 2009

Better understanding of the brain basis of reading

Most people are expert readers, but it is something of an enigma that our brain can achieve expertise in such a recent cultural invention, which lies at the interface between vision and language.

27 Apr 2009

Building the lymphatic drainage system

Our bodies' tissues need continuous irrigation and drainage. Blood vessels feeding the tissues bring in the fluids, and drainage occurs via the lymphatic system. While much is known about how blood vessels are built, the same was not true for lymph vessels.

27 Apr 2009