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Schizotypy, creativity and mating success in humans

The more creative a person is, the more sexual partners they are likely to have, according to a pioneering study which could explain the behaviour of notorious womanisers such as poets Lord Byron and Dylan Thomas.

2 Dec 2005

Inhibition of FLT3 signaling targets DCs to ameliorate autoimmune disease

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have found that a gene pathway linked to a deadly form of leukemia may provide a new way to treat autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis.

2 Dec 2005

Drinking lots of coffee and tea can reduce the risk of chronic liver disease

A study published in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Gastroenterology found that people at high risk for liver injury may be able to reduce their risk for developing chronic liver disease significantly by drinking more than two cups of coffee or tea daily.

2 Dec 2005

Mycophenolate mofetil helps treat lupus patients

Treating lupus patients suffering from kidney inflammation with a medicine known as mycophenolate mofetil may be more effective in inducing remission than treating them with the standard regimen of intravenous cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), a new clinical trial indicates.

2 Dec 2005

Strong relationship between cannabis and car crashes

Driving under the influence of cannabis almost doubles the risk of a fatal road crash, finds a study published online by the British Medical Journal. However its share in fatal crashes is significantly lower than those involving alcohol.

2 Dec 2005

Childcare helps reduce stress levels for mums and children

Low job satisfaction in working mothers increases the stress levels of their children, but spending longer in childcare can help overcome these effects, new research has shown.

2 Dec 2005

Childbirth not linked to urinary incontinence

Postmenopausal women who have given birth vaginally do not appear to suffer from urinary incontinence at higher rates than their sisters who have never given birth, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study published in the December Obstetrics and Gynecology journal.

2 Dec 2005

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been linked to damage in developing brain tissue

The chemical bisphenol A (BPA), widely used in products such as food cans, milk container linings, water pipes and even dental sealants, has now been found to disrupt important effects of estrogen in the developing brain.

2 Dec 2005

Carvedilol, a cardiovascular drug, may improve heart failure and help prevent sudden death

Research shows that Carvedilol, a cardiovascular drug, could be useful in reducing cardiac death in high risk patients with prior myocardial infarction and/or heart failure and also in reducing the incidence and/or preventing the occurrence of atrial fibrillation in a number of clinical situations.

2 Dec 2005

Herceptin - can healthcare afford this expensive drug?

New research into the cost of using the breast cancer drug Herceptin warns that healthcare authorities and the organisations advising them should not rush to prescribe it for early breast cancer without working out extremely carefully the budget implications and cost-effectiveness of the drug.

2 Dec 2005

Breast CT may be better than mammography at detecting breast lesions

Breast CT, an investigational technology for early breast cancer detection, may be better than mammography at detecting breast lesions and is much more comfortable for women, researchers from the University of California, Davis reported at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

2 Dec 2005

Why we put weight back on

You've successfully dropped those extra pounds only to discover that they creep back on again. Columbia University researchers may have now worked out why.

2 Dec 2005

Artificial mammalian origin of replication

A collaboration of researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of Virginia, led by Dr. Anindya Dutta, has created an artificial mammalian origin of replication that will facilitate the future study of mammalian DNA replication.

2 Dec 2005

Cellular and molecular mechanisms that accelerate the development and progression of atherosclerosis

A McMaster University study on atherosclerosis will be featured on the cover of the December issue of the high impact American Heart Association scientific journal, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

2 Dec 2005

New alcohol biomarker test lowers the cost of caring for patients with chronic illnesses

Adding a new alcohol biomarker test to patients' revelations about their drinking habits could lower the cost of caring for patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure, a health economics analysis finds.

2 Dec 2005

Protein target for Parkinson's disease

Researchers at Johns Hopkins' Institute for Cell Engineering (ICE) have discovered a protein that could be the best new target in the fight against Parkinson's disease since the brain-damaging condition was first tied to loss of the brain chemical dopamine.

2 Dec 2005