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Pair of cancer genes found to drive both cell migration and division

Johns Hopkins researchers have found that two genes already known to control cell movement are also needed for proper cell division. They report their findings in the April issue of Developmental Cell.

5 Apr 2005

DNA repair kit announced by scientists

A study by scientists at Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. has demonstrated the use of the Company's zinc finger DNA-binding protein (ZFP) technology to achieve highly efficient, permanent correction of a disease-causing gene in primary human cells.

5 Apr 2005

Canada spends more on stem cell research

Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler gave Canadian stem cell research an extra boost with the announcement of $5.3 million in annual funding.

5 Apr 2005

Hospital Compare gives the rundown on US hospital services

Hospital Compare, a new service, will give Americans the ability to compare the quality of care in nearly all of the nation’s hospitals using quality information available from the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA).

5 Apr 2005

International commitment to reduce maternal and child deaths by 2015 will not be met

An international commitment to reduce maternal and child deaths by 2015 will not be met at the current pace unless rapid and coordinated action is taken now, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

5 Apr 2005

Parents fail to set the rules on smoking

A study involving 1,770 parents and guardians in New York and New Jersey has found that despite repeated health warnings about the dangers of second-hand smoke, a large percentage of families have no rules that limit children's exposure to tobacco smoke.

5 Apr 2005

An exceptionally effective lead-detection protein

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University of Chicago have discovered that a member of a well-known protein family is better at detecting lead than any other known substance.

5 Apr 2005

HIV/AIDS impacts on population dynamics and economic growth

Top officials at the United Nations Commission on Population and Development, at its yearly meeting are focussing on the negative effects of HIV/AIDS on population dynamics, including population losses and decreased life expectancy, as well as the pandemic's links to increased extreme poverty, stalled economic growth and poor reproductive health in many parts of the world.

5 Apr 2005

Much more money needed to tackle flu virus

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is recommending that governments throughout the world need to set aside 5 per cent of what they spend on influenza vaccines to help get ready for the next big flu epidemic.

4 Apr 2005

New report shows therapy as effective as drugs for depression

In a surprising report from the University of Pennsylvania, researchers are suggesting that, contrary to current American Psychiatric Association (APA) guidelines, psychological therapy and counselling can be just as effective as drugs in the early stages of treating moderate to severe depression.

4 Apr 2005

Men have a four times greater risk than women of developing abdominal aortic aneurysms

Men have a four times greater risk than women of developing abdominal aortic aneurysms, estimated to be the cause of death in 4 percent of people over the age of 65, but the mechanism for this higher incidence has remained unknown.

4 Apr 2005

Young people believe oral sex less likely to have negative social and emotional consequences

Young people believe that oral sex is less risky to their health and emotions than vaginal sex, more prevalent among teens their age and more acceptable among their peers. They are also more likely to try oral sex, according to a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study published in the April 2005 issue of Pediatrics.

4 Apr 2005

Alteration of steroid receptor genes creates fat burning muscle

The Salk Institute scientist who earlier discovered that enhancing the function of a single protein produced a mouse with an innate resistance to weight gain and the ability to run a mile without stopping has found new evidence that this protein and a related protein play central roles in the body's complex journey to obesity and offer a new and specific metabolic approach to the treatment of obesity related disease such as Syndrome X (insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis).

4 Apr 2005

First evidence that preeclampsia can leave a persistent and potentially fatal imprint in the pulmonary circulation of the fetus

Children born of mothers who had preeclampsia during their pregnancy are more likely to have pulmonary hypertension than similar children born from normal pregnancies, according to a study conducted in Bolivia by Swiss and Bolivian researchers.

4 Apr 2005

Gene mutation protecting against malaria linked to prostate cancer incidence in African-American men

Research from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine suggests that the 60 percent greater incidence of prostate cancer among African-American men is related to a gene mutation developed generations ago in West Africa as nature's way of providing protection from the malaria infection endemic in that part of the world.

4 Apr 2005

Zinc appears to help boys learn

Seventh graders given 20 mg zinc, five days per week, for 10 to 12 weeks showed improvement in mental performance, responding more quickly and accurately on memory tasks and with more sustained attention, than classmates who received no additional zinc.

4 Apr 2005