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Beginnings of complex life traced to microRNA

Dartmouth College researchers and colleagues from the University of Bristol in the U.K. have traced the beginnings of complex life, i.e. vertebrates, to microRNA.

12 Feb 2008

Hostility plus depression elevates risk for heart disease

Researchers led by Jesse Stewart, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, report that hostility and depression appear to act together in a complex way to elevate inflammatory proteins in the human body, possibly putting hostility plus depression on the list of risk factors for heart disease along with high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and smoking.

12 Feb 2008

Discovery of possible target for prevention and treatment of pneumonia

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have identified a key protein target that may be a crucial factor in the development of a vaccine to prevent and new therapies to treat pneumonia, the leading killer of children worldwide.

12 Feb 2008

Benefit of removal of the ovaries differs between women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations

The surgical removal of the ovaries has been widely adopted as a cancer-risk-reducing strategy for women with either BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

12 Feb 2008

Avastin (bevacizumab) damages brain vessels

The cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) is used to treat advanced bowel cancer in combination with chemotherapy.

12 Feb 2008

Public smoking ban decreases acute coronary events in Italy

The number of acute coronary events such as heart attack in adults dropped significantly after a smoking ban in public places in Italy, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

12 Feb 2008

$1-year results of bronchial thermoplasty in refractory asthma$

1-year results of bronchial thermoplasty in refractory asthma

Asthmatx, Inc. has announced the publication of data from the Research in Severe Asthma (RISA) Trial of bronchial thermoplasty in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (AJRCCM, 2007; 176:1185-1191).

12 Feb 2008

Cancer cells adapt using Darwin's 'survival of the fittest' principle to resist treatment

Scientists in London have discovered a new genetic mechanism which helps cancer cells survive by changing the way they respond to treatment.

11 Feb 2008

A great mind focuses on dementia

One of the world's leading researchers in dementia, Professor John Hodges, has taken up an appointment with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute (POWMRI).

11 Feb 2008

Baxter's multiple-dose vial Heparin linked to severe allergic reactions

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that Baxter Healthcare Corporation has temporarily stopped manufacturing multiple-dose vials of the injectable blood-thinning drug heparin due to reports of serious allergic reactions and hypotension (low blood pressure) in patients who receive high "bolus" doses of the drug.

11 Feb 2008

New islet transplantation for patients with Type 1 diabetes

A team led by Dr Richard Smith, Consultant Senior Lecturer in Renal Medicine at North Bristol NHS Trust and the University of Bristol, will offer a pioneering new treatment for some patients with Type 1 diabetes, the Department of Health announced today.

11 Feb 2008

Researchers find new U.S. trend in antibiotic resistance

A research team from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, examining bacterial isolates obtained in hospital and non-hospital clinical settings between 2000 and 2006, has identified drug-resistant strains of E. coli and Klebsiella bacteria in more than 50 blood, urine and respiratory samples.

11 Feb 2008

Study confirms that low-calorie sweeteners are helpful in weight control

A recent review of the scientific literature concluded that low-calorie (or no-calorie) sweeteners may be of help in resolving the obesity problem.

11 Feb 2008

Poison prevention and treatment

Each year, approximately 2.4 million people - more than half under age 6 - swallow or have contact with a poisonous substance..

11 Feb 2008

Parents influence their child's likelihood of risky behaviour

New research shows that parents influence their child's likelihood of involvement with drugs, alcohol and risky sexual activity even after their child leaves for college.

11 Feb 2008

Scientists find new cellular receptor for HIV

A cellular protein that helps guide immune cells to the gut has been newly identified as a target of HIV when the virus begins its assault on the body's immune system, according to researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

11 Feb 2008

NHS launches medical news service

NHS Choices, the online 'front door' to the NHS, launches a daily health news service to help people make sense of the stories appearing in the news about medical research.

11 Feb 2008

Study explains preeclampsia develops

In a study of pregnant women, those with pregnancy-induced high blood pressure were found to have higher levels of a peptide that raises blood pressure in the pieces of tissue linking mother and fetus, according to researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

11 Feb 2008

Moss protein plays role in Alzheimer's disease

Preventing Alzheimer's from developing is a goal of Raphael Kopan, Ph.D., professor of molecular biology and pharmacology at the Washington University School of Medicine.

11 Feb 2008

Staging mock cardiac and respiratory arrests expose weaknesses in hospital emergency response for children

Staging mock cardiac and respiratory arrests - "code" situations in hospital parlance - easily expose common failures in rapid response with CPR and other life-saving care for children and also set up powerful incentives to sharpen emergency skills and move fast to use them, suggests a study from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

11 Feb 2008