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Four new colorectal cancer genes found

Canadian researchers collaborating in a large, international study played a key role in identifying four new genes for colorectal cancer.

17 Nov 2008

Forgotten but not gone - how the brain takes care of things

Thanks to our ability to learn and to remember, we can perform tasks that other living things can not even dream of.

17 Nov 2008

Performance-enhancing drug use by high school athletes

Stories about doping - using performance-enhancing drugs - among professional and Olympic athletes have been regular fodder for the news media in recent years, but what about the trend in use by younger, more vulnerable high school-aged athletes?

17 Nov 2008

Tobacco companies trying to market new smokeless, spitless tobacco products to young adults

New research at West Virginia University is examining whether a smokeless, spitless tobacco product aimed at young adults is catching on.

17 Nov 2008

Expert calls on government to increase recommended daily vitamin D intake

Today, the Indoor Tanning Association (ITA) asked Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, why he is suing a local tanning salon owner for claiming that tanning provides vitamin D, when Vitamin D experts at the University of California Riverside are saying the same thing?

17 Nov 2008

Expectations drive patient preferences for treatment of spine problems

For patients with low back pain caused by a herniated disk, expectations of good results without surgery are the main factor affecting the preference for nonsurgical treatment, reports a study in the November 15 issue of Spine.

17 Nov 2008

Exercise can lower a woman's overall risk of cancer

Exercise is good for more than just your waistline. A recent study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research suggests that regular physical activity can lower a woman's overall risk of cancer - but only if she gets a good night's sleep. Otherwise, lack of sleep can undermine exercise's cancer prevention benefits.

17 Nov 2008

'Enlightened' atoms stage nano-riot againsts uniformity

When atoms in a crystal are struck by laser light, their electrons, excited by the light, typically begin moving back and forth together in a regular pattern, resembling nanoscale soldiers marching in a lockstep formation.

17 Nov 2008

Glucocorticoids may cause damage in the brain

A class of drugs that are used in premature infants to treat chronic lung damage can cause damage in the brain.

17 Nov 2008

Drops in blood oxygen levels may be key to sudden death in some epilepsy patients

A new study by researchers at UC Davis Medical Center suggests that the sudden unexplained deaths of some epilepsy patients may be a result of their brains not telling their bodies to breathe during seizures.

17 Nov 2008

Study looks at investigational compound MK-677 in Alzheimer's disease

A new study shows that a drug that increases the release of growth hormone failed to slow the rate of progression of Alzheimer's disease in humans.

17 Nov 2008

Expert concerned genetic research could awaken racist attitudes

People are different, both physically and mentally, but genetically everyone is very similar.

17 Nov 2008

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease sending more people to hospital

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has a higher hospitalization rate and a higher hospital readmission rate than heart failure, angina, and other serious chronic diseases.

17 Nov 2008

Cooling brain prevents cell death in young mice exposed to anesthesia

New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests cooling the brain may prevent the death of nerve cells that has been observed in infant mice exposed to anesthesia.

17 Nov 2008

COLD-FX remedy undergoes NCI-sponsored trial in leukemia patients

Cancer patients - with their weakened immune systems - are particularly vulnerable when the cold and flu season hits.

17 Nov 2008

CAPHOSOL shown to benefit cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy

New data show that CAPHOSOL, an advanced electrolyte solution, results in low rates of oral mucositis and pain in patients with head and neck (HN) cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

17 Nov 2008

A cost-effectiveness analysis of Canada's supervised injection site

A cost-effectiveness analysis of Insite, Canada's only supervised safe injection site in Vancouver, concludes that it results in $14 million in savings and health gains of 920 life-years over 10 years.

17 Nov 2008

First-ever glimpse of the cell-wall structure in three dimensions

The bacterial cell wall that is the target of potent antibiotics such as penicillin is actually made up of a thin single layer of carbohydrate chains, linked together by peptides, which wrap around the bacterium like a belt around a person, according to research conducted by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

17 Nov 2008

Governments urged to take broader perspective when considering whether to fund vaccines

Including quality-of-life impacts in assessments of national vaccination programs would lead to many benefits, including improved productivity and less sick leave for parents, according to an editorial co-authored by a University of New South Wales (UNSW) researcher, that has appeared in the Lancet Infectious Diseases.

17 Nov 2008

Breast cancer common among women with family history but without BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation

New data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting outlines new data, which assesses breast cancer risk among women with a strong family history of breast cancer, but without a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.

17 Nov 2008