Medical News

RSS

MicroRNAs play an important role in regulating oogenesis

Researchers at Northwestern University and Carnegie Mellon University have found that a recently described class of molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in regulating oogenesis, the process by which females make eggs.

9 Aug 2005

Researchers develop new diagnostic methods to better detect future monkeypox or smallpox outbreaks

The research also sheds new light on the 2003 monkeypox outbreak in the Midwest - monkeypox is closely related to smallpox. This new information suggests that the 2003 outbreak was larger than the 72 cases reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

9 Aug 2005

DDT resistance in flies carries no cost

For those concerned with the troublesome effects of genetic resistance to drugs and pesticides, the conventional wisdom of evolution offers a reassuring word: In the absence of the original chemical threat, most resistance mutations would cause a disadvantage to their hosts and might be expected to quickly leave the genetic landscape once the use of a drug or insecticide is suspended or withdrawn.

9 Aug 2005

Mothers looking for employment face disadvantages

...including being less likely to be hired, being offered lower salaries and facing a perception that they would be less committed to a job than fathers or women without children, according to an experiment conducted by researchers at Cornell University.

9 Aug 2005

Study results reaffirm cyclin D1 as a candidate target for molecular therapeutic control of breast tumor development

For about a decade, scientists have recognized that many cases of hereditary breast cancer result from a mutation of a specific gene called BRCA1, which, in its normal state, helps keep tumor formation in check. About five to 10 percent of breast cancer cases arise from these genetic miscues, about half of which are linked to the abnormal functioning of BRCA1.

9 Aug 2005

Two minor changes in technique could make a major difference in the radiation dose used in survey CT scans

...a new study shows. Survey scans are those that are performed before a regular CT scan, usually to plan for the examination.

9 Aug 2005

Mosquitoes are most attracted to children infected with malarial parasite

Malaria remains a devastating problem in Africa and understanding the factors affecting its transmission remains a crucial part of the effort to combat the disease.

9 Aug 2005

Scientists identify protein that may inhibit cellular movement

Scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a protein that may inhibit cellular movement, or migration.

8 Aug 2005

Feeling depressed and fatigued does not increase a person's risk for cancer

...according to a new study. Severely exhausted people, however, do engage in behavior that is associated with a higher cancer risk.

8 Aug 2005

Failure to account for shift in tumor size can lead to overestimation of the impact of treatment advances

A new study finds that the size of newly diagnosed breast cancers has shifted towards smaller tumors, even within conventional cancer stage categories, and that this shift accounts for a proportion of the improvement seen in breast cancer survival over the last 30 years.

8 Aug 2005

Officials in China sacked over pig disease cover-up

According to Xinhua the government news agency in China, four officials have been sacked for trying to cover up the trail of dead pigs, early in an outbreak of a swine-borne disease that has killed 39 people in southwest China.

8 Aug 2005

Breast screening doubled in Australia after Kylie's cancer scare

It seems Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue's brush with breast cancer has had an effect than might not have been initially considered.

8 Aug 2005

Dolly the sheep, and now Snuppy the puppy - what's next?

Since the first animal, Dolly the sheep, was cloned in 1996, scientists been able to clone pigs, cattle, mice, rabbits, horses and cats.

8 Aug 2005

China battles with Anthrax as well as Swine flu

The state media in China has reported that in the northeast of the country anthrax has killed one person and infected 12 more.

8 Aug 2005

Supplements of multivitamins and minerals don't prevent infections in the elderly

Researchers at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, say giving daily supplements of multivitamins and minerals do not prevent respiratory, stomach, skin and other types of infections in the elderly.

8 Aug 2005

Bill Clinton leads childhood obesity fight

Former President Bill Clinton, famous for among other things, his love of fast food, says he has firsthand experience of how unhealthy eating habits can do to a young body.

8 Aug 2005

Walk to work and cut the risk of a stroke

Strokes are the third leading cause of death in the United States, and now a new study from Finland is the first to find that an increase in physical activity during leisure time or commuting lowers the risk of any kind of stroke.

8 Aug 2005

Factors inhibiting the brain's natural self-healing process identified

Factors that inhibit the brain's natural self-healing process and that may offer new insights into how to prevent brain damage in premature babies have been identified by a team of researchers supported in part by the March of Dimes.

7 Aug 2005

High intakes of dairy foods and lactose may increase the risk of ovarian cancer

An analysis of 21 studies that have investigated the link between ovarian cancer and the consumption of milk products and lactose has found some support for the hypothesis that high intake is associated with increased cancer risk.

7 Aug 2005

Protein p53 is the "guardian" of our genome

When DNA damage is present, p53 stops cell division and gives the cell enough time to repair it. If the damage is irreparable, the protein sets off programmed cell death and protects the cells from degeneration.

7 Aug 2005