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New insights into growth factor's role in brain development

New research sheds light on a neural growth factor called proBDNF, finding that it is present and potentially active during the perinatal period when the brain's circuitry and memory-encoding regions are being refined.

2 Feb 2009

Rare skin tumor responds better to treatment thanmelanoma

University of Michigan Health System researchers have published new data to help answer two dreaded questions: "Is it cancer?" and "What type of treatment should I have?"

2 Feb 2009

Swimming can cut men's risk of dying in half

A new study shows that swimming cuts men's risk of dying by about 50% compared to runners, walkers and sedentary peers.

2 Feb 2009

Inflammation in colon may get doused before fueling cancer development

A tiny molecule found in most plant-based foods douses the flames before damaging lesions can form in the colon, according to a study by Texas AgriLife Research scientist Dr. Nancy Turner.

2 Feb 2009

Chronic lung disease progress report from Axentis Pharma

Axentis Pharma AG is to present its recent successes in developing and financing a new therapeutic formulation for treating chronic lung disease at the 2nd Annual European Life Science CEO Forum in Zurich, Switzerland.

2 Feb 2009

The origin of species may be almost as random as a throw of the dice

Iosif Pinelis, a professor of mathematical sciences at Michigan Technological University, has worked out a mathematical solution to a biological puzzle: Why is the typical evolutionary tree so lopsided?

2 Feb 2009

Weight loss in overweight and obese women reduces urinary incontinence

Reducing urinary incontinence can now be added to the extensive list of health benefits of weight loss, according to a clinical trial funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), both part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

2 Feb 2009

Researchers study Iraq veterans' traumatic brain injuries

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been identified as the "signature injury" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

2 Feb 2009

Century old drug clofazimine shows potential for multiple sclerosis

A century-old drug that failed in its original intent to treat tuberculosis but has worked well as an antileprosy medicine now holds new promise as a potential therapy for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases.

2 Feb 2009

Brain cells called astrocytes, not neurons, lull the brain to sleep

Brain cells called astrocytes help to cause the urge to sleep that comes with prolonged wakefulness, according to a study in mice, funded by the National Institutes of Health.

2 Feb 2009

Inflammation may be the link between extreme sleep durations and poor health

A study in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP shows that sleep duration is associated with changes in the levels of specific cytokines that are important in regulating inflammation.

2 Feb 2009

Study finds genetic link between sleep disorders and depression in young children

A study in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP was the first to use twin data to examine the longitudinal link between sleep problems and depression.

2 Feb 2009

Study confirms persistence of diversity problems in academic medicine

A survey study believed to be one of the first efforts to put hard numbers around long-held beliefs about diversity in medical school faculties has affirmed that awareness and sensitivity to racial and ethnic diversity are believed by most faculty to be poor and even poorer among faculty who are members of underrepresented minorities.

2 Feb 2009

Stress may speed growth of melanoma tumors

For patients with a particularly aggressive form of skin cancer - malignant melanoma - stress, including that which comes from simply hearing that diagnosis, might amplify the progression of their disease.

2 Feb 2009

Scientists discover protein critical for the growth of pancreatic cancer

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a protein critical for the growth of pancreatic cancer.

2 Feb 2009

Single gene lets bacteria jump from host to host

All life - plants, animals, people - depends on peaceful coexistence with a swarm of microbial life that performs vital services from helping to convert food to energy to protection from disease.

2 Feb 2009

Shift workers' body clocks studied to prevent certain cancers

Does shift work predispose you to cancer by altering the body's response to hormones?

2 Feb 2009

New imaging technique distinguishes breast cancer cells from normal cells

A team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Moores UCSD Cancer Center have developed a rapid, automated image screening process to distinguish breast cancer cells from normal cells.

2 Feb 2009

Discovery of new class of non-protein coding genes in mammals with key functions

A research team at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has uncovered a vast new class of previously unrecognized mammalian genes that do not encode proteins, but instead function as long RNA molecules.

2 Feb 2009

Results of the third school nutrition dietary assessment study published

A special Supplement to the February 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association presents findings from the recently released Third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study (SNDA-III), conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., as well as research from other studies using SNDA-III data.

2 Feb 2009