Health News

Discovery Of Mechanism That Controls Obesity, Atherosclerosis And Potentially Cancer

Date: Jul-06-2012
A*STAR scientists from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) and the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) have discovered a new signalling pathway that controls both obesity and atherosclerosis. The team demonstrated, for the first time, that mice deficient in the Wip1 gene were resistant to weight gain and atherosclerosis via regulation of the Ataxia telangiectasia mutated gene (ATM) and its downstream signalling molecule mTor...

Identification Of Critical 'Quality Control' For Cell Growth Has Implications For The Development Of New Anti-Cancer Drugs

Date: Jul-06-2012
Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a series of intricate biochemical steps that lead to the successful production of proteins, the basic working units of any cell. The study, which appears in the journal Cell, sheds light on the assembly of a structure called the ribosome, a large and complex protein-producing machine inside all living cells. Ribosomes are the targets of many commercially used antibiotics and represent a promising area of research because of the importance of ribosome assembly and function for cell growth...

Halting The Spread Of Cancer By Following The Genomic Pathways

Date: Jul-06-2012
As the Genetics Society of America's Model Organism to Human Biology (MOHB): Cancer Genetics Meeting in Washington, D.C. drew to a close, it was clear that the mantra for drug discovery to treat cancers in the post-genomic era is pathways. Pathways are ordered series of actions that occur as cells move from one state, through a series of intermediate states, to a final action. Because model organisms - fruit flies, roundworms, yeast, zebrafish and others - are related to humans, they share many of the same pathways, but in systems that are much easier to study...

Zoonoses Hotspots And Emerging Disease Outbreaks Mapped

Date: Jul-06-2012
A new global study mapping human-animal diseases like tuberculosis (TB) and Rift Valley fever finds that an "unlucky" 13 zoonoses are responsible for 2.4 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths per year. The vast majority occur in low- and middle-income countries. The report, which was conducted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Institute of Zoology (UK) and the Hanoi School of Public Health in Vietnam, maps poverty, livestock-keeping and the diseases humans get from animals, and presents a "top 20" list of geographical hotspots...

Neighboring Non-Cancer Cells May Contribute To Drug Resistance In Skin Cancer

Date: Jul-06-2012
One of cancer's most frightening characteristics is its ability to return after treatment. In the case of many forms of cancer, including the skin cancer known as melanoma, tailored drugs can eradicate cancer cells in the lab, but often produce only partial, temporary responses in patients...

Unresponsive Aplastic Anemia Patients May Benefit From Eltrombopag

Date: Jul-06-2012
Eltrombopag, a drug that was designed to stimulate production of platelets from the bone marrow and thereby improve blood clotting, can raise blood cell levels in some people with severe aplastic anemia who have failed all standard therapies. About one-third of aplastic anemia cases do not respond to standard therapy, a combination of immune-suppressing drugs. Although bone marrow stem cell transplantation is an option for some, patients without a matched donor have few treatment options...

Public Health Researcher Examines Social Networks And How They Can Be Used To Influence Health Behavior

Date: Jul-06-2012
Most people call it the "art" of persuasion, but public health researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) are trying to pinpoint the "science" behind social influence. They hope a better understanding of human interactions - both face-to-face and online - can help prevent disease and promote general health. Whether the goal is to curb smoking at a local school or to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases within a community, it is important to understand the social structure of the group and the dynamics of influence at play, says Thomas W. Valente, Ph.D...

Exome Sequencing Of Fetus Via Maternal Blood Sample

Date: Jul-06-2012
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have for the first time sequenced the genome of an unborn baby using only a blood sample from the mother. The findings from the new approach, to be published in Nature, are related to research that was reported a month ago from the University of Washington. That research used a technique previously developed at Stanford to sequence a fetal genome using a blood sample from the mother, plus DNA samples from both the mother and father...

Developing Countries Have A Less Than 5% Chance Of Meeting UN Hunger Targets By 2015

Date: Jul-06-2012
New research published Online First in The Lancet suggests that developing countries have a less than 5% chance of meeting the UN's Millennium Development Goal target for the reduction of child malnutrition by 2015. The Article analyses trends in the weight and height of more than 7.7 million children worldwide between 1985 and 2011, and is the first large-scale study to provide a detailed examination of trends in children's weight and growth in all developing countries...

Human-Animal Diseases - Top Hotspots Around The World

Date: Jul-06-2012
A new international study has published a "top 20" list of geographical hotspots for human-animal diseases (zoonoses) , such as tuberculosis (TB) and Rift Valley fever. According to the study, conducted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Institute of Zoology (UK) and the Hanoi School of Public Health in Vietnam, 13 zoonoses are responsible for 2.4 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths every year. A zoonose, or zoonosis is any kind of infectious disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans and vice-versa...