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Class of cells that arises in mammary glands during maternity has stem cell-like properties

These parity-induced mammary epithelial cells (PI-MEC) have the ability to self-renew over many generations and to differentiate into numerous cellular subtypes.

7 Dec 2004

Study looks at muscle repair and resilience

Healthy military personnel and muscular dystrophy patients are at opposite ends of the spectrum when is comes to muscle strength and resilience. However, a new University of Iowa study may provide insights that improve muscle health for both these groups.

7 Dec 2004

FDA protects U.S. human and animal food supply

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued final regulations on the establishment and maintenance of records to protect the U.S. human food and animal feed supply in the event of credible threats of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

7 Dec 2004

Gauging the risk from prolonged low-level radiation

Everyone knows that high doses of radiation are dangerous, but the effects of long-term exposure to low-level radiation is poorly understood. RISC-RAD, a new European Union backed research project, seeks to identify our tolerance threshold so as to optimise protective measures.

7 Dec 2004

Measuring bone marrow fat can better predict weakening of bones

BMD measurement with DEXA is presently the most commonly used parameter for determining bone weakening. Researchers have long questioned whether there may be other measurable bone components that influence mechanical stability of bone.

7 Dec 2004

Ground breaking research in understanding the characteristics of human skin at very high frequencies

Ground breaking research in understanding the characteristics of human skin at millimetric waveband (MMW) frequencies is being conducted at Cranfield University – academic partner to the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire.

7 Dec 2004

Magnetism does not cause paranormal experiences

Previous research has shown that paranormal experiences can be achieved via electromagnetic stimulation of the temple lobe. Now scientists from Uppsala and Lund universities in Sweden are calling into question how the experiments were set up and therefore questioning the results.

7 Dec 2004

Advanced wound care products to power expansion of European wound care market

The USD 1,111.1 million European wound care market is projected to gradually transition from traditional to advanced wound dressings. While traditional dressings currently dominate the total market, rising awareness of the clinical benefits provided by advanced wound dressings are set to widen their uptake.

7 Dec 2004

Escalating costs and lengthy clinical trials are major concerns for researchers in the field of drug discovery

Escalating costs and lengthy clinical trials are major concerns for researchers attempting to boost productivity and efficiency in the field of drug discovery. Biomarkers are emerging as the solution to these problems with their ability to reduce drug development costs and time.

7 Dec 2004

Research suggests that lack of sleep may be contributing to the obesity pandemic

The recent rise in obesity may be partly due to the reduced amount of time we spend asleep, according to new research from the University of Bristol, UK.

6 Dec 2004

New surgical procedure enables men born with a very small penis to acquire an average-sized one

A surgical procedure being pioneered by University College London (UCL) urologists is enabling men born with a very small penis to acquire an average-sized, functioning penis which not only allows them to urinate normally, but for many, to enjoy a full sex life for the first time.

6 Dec 2004

Human parathyroid gland most likely evolved from the gills of fish

The human parathyroid gland, which regulates the level of calcium in the blood, probably evolved from the gills of fish, according to researchers from King's College London.

6 Dec 2004

Babies who do not sleep on their stomachs fail to learn behaviors that may lessen their risk SIDS

Babies who never sleep on their stomachs don't learn behaviors that may lessen their risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. Even so, the researchers caution that infants should always be placed on their backs to sleep.

6 Dec 2004

65 percent of children have had an imaginary companion

Imagination is alive and thriving in the minds of America's school-age children. It is so prevalent that 65 percent of children report that, by the age of 7, they have had an imaginary companion at some point in their lives, according to a new study by University of Washington and University of Oregon psychologists.

6 Dec 2004

New clues in understanding why group A streptococci (GAS) has a range of bacterial afflictions in humans

Researchers have unlocked new clues in understanding why group A streptococci (GAS) has a range of bacterial afflictions in humans. One of the keys to this species of bacteria is its production of streptokinase (SK), an enzyme that activates plasminogen, the blood clot-dissolving protein in humans.

6 Dec 2004

New insight into anticoagulation therapies

Anticoagulation therapies, or treatments that reduce the amount of clotting factors in the blood, are quite common and used for a variety of reasons.

6 Dec 2004

Novel mutagenesis screen used to identify genetic suppressors of thrombosis

Researchers using a novel sensitized ENU (N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea, a carcinogen-induced animal tumor model established to grow malignant and benign tumors) mutagenesis (induction of mutation) screen in laboratory mice have developed a promising approach to genetic screening that can increase the likelihood of identifying dominant suppressors of thrombosis.

6 Dec 2004

Thalidomide shows promise in fighting myeloma

Thalidomide, a drug often used to treat symptoms of leprosy and in testing to fight HIV, is now demonstrating activity in fighting a common cancer that occurs in bone marrow, myeloma.

6 Dec 2004

New advances in sickle cell disease

Excruciating pain episodes, recurrent pneumonias, strokes, severe infections, chronic hemolytic anemia, and secondary pulmonary hypertension are common complications of sickle cell disease, a life-threatening inherited defect in blood that causes normally disc-shaped red blood cells to take on a sickle shape.

6 Dec 2004

Study on methylisothiazolinone in shampoo lacks a credible scientific basis

Consumers can rest assured that their cosmetic products, including shampoos, are safe. The abstract on Methylisothiazolinone (MI), presented at the Cell Biology 2004 meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology, lacks a credible scientific basis in suggesting that MI could be a safety issue for consumers using personal care products.

6 Dec 2004