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Alcohol-inducing flushing and esophageal cancer

There is growing evidence, say researchers in this week's PLoS Medicine, that people who experience facial flushing after drinking alcohol are at much higher risk of esophageal cancer from alcohol consumption than those who do not.

23 Mar 2009

Scientists find molecular mechanisms linking sugar production and longevity

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a new energy-making biochemical twist in determining the lifespan of yeast cells, one so valuable to longevity that it is likely to also functions in humans.

23 Mar 2009

On demand doctor's appointments do not improve diabetes care

Same-day medical scheduling, also known as on demand scheduling, does not improve care of chronically ill individuals, according to a study of 4,060 adult patients with diabetes.

23 Mar 2009

Alcohol flush signals increased cancer risk among east Asians

Many people of East Asian descent possess an enzyme deficiency that causes their skin to redden, or flush, when they drink alcohol.

23 Mar 2009

Exercise therapy benefits ICU patients

An exercise program developed at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center aimed at helping patients in the medical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) maintain physical conditioning is a featured 'Innovation Profile' on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Web site.

23 Mar 2009

New nanotechnology treatment for drug addiction

A precise, new nanotechnology treatment for drug addiction may be on the horizon as the result of research conducted at the University at Buffalo.

23 Mar 2009

Astrocytes help separate man from mouse

A type of brain cell that was long overlooked by researchers embodies one of very few ways in which the human brain differs fundamentally from that of a mouse or rat, according to researchers who published their findings as the cover story in the March 11 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

23 Mar 2009

Eight patterns of humour

Evolutionary theorist Alastair Clarke has published details of eight patterns he claims to be the basis of all the humour that has ever been imagined or expressed, regardless of civilization, culture or personal taste.

22 Mar 2009

Injected luminol glows blue revealing immune cells' misdeeds

Detectives on television shows often spray crime scenes with a compound called luminol to make blood glow.

22 Mar 2009

Discovery of ten genes linked to sudden cardiac death

You're sitting at your desk and suddenly your heart is beating in overdrive or worse, lurching along like a car on fumes.

22 Mar 2009

Gold nanoparticles "cook" cancer cells

Researchers are describing a long-awaited advance toward applying the marvels of nanotechnology in the battle against cancer.

22 Mar 2009

Trial update on watchful waiting versus radical prostatectomy

In 2005, the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group Study 4 (SPCG-4) reported that radical prostatectomy improved prostate cancer survival compared with watchful waiting after a median of 8.2 years of follow-up.

22 Mar 2009

3 genes determine right warfarin dose

Researchers at Uppsala University, together with colleagues at the Karolinska Institute and the Sanger Institute, have now found all the genes the determine the dosage of the blood-thinning drug warfarin.

22 Mar 2009

Garden peas may help fight high blood pressure, kidney disease

Researchers in Canada are reporting that proteins found in a common garden pea show promise as a natural food additive or new dietary supplement for fighting high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

22 Mar 2009

Paradox of cancer drugs gives clue to why some treatments fail

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have found that some types of cancer drugs called angiogenesis inhibitors can encourage tumour growth rather than stunt it - according to research published in Nature Medicine.

22 Mar 2009

New RNA-Seq technique used to profile anthrax genome

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have used a new approach, known as RNA-Seq, to profile the gene expression of the bacterium that causes anthrax, Bacillus anthracis.

22 Mar 2009

Discovery of genetic link to blood cancers

The study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, has shown that susceptibility to a series of blood cancers, known as myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs), is linked to a particular area of the patient's DNA, which is prone to developing mutations.

22 Mar 2009