Health News

Discarded Data May Hold The Key To A Sharper View Of Molecules

Date: May-27-2012
There's nothing like a new pair of eyeglasses to bring fine details into sharp relief. For scientists who study the large molecules of life from proteins to DNA, the equivalent of new lenses have come in the form of an advanced method for analyzing data from X-ray crystallography experiments. The findings, just published in the journal Science, could lead to new understanding of the molecules that drive processes in biology, medical diagnostics, nanotechnology and other fields. Like dentists who use X-rays to find tooth decay, scientists use X-rays to reveal the shape and structure of DNA,...

Knowing Genetic Makeup May Not Significantly Improve Disease Risk Prediction

Date: May-27-2012
Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers have found that detailed knowledge about your genetic makeup - the interplay between genetic variants and other genetic variants, or between genetic variants and environmental risk factors - may only change your estimated disease prediction risk for three common diseases by a few percentage points, which is typically not enough to make a difference in prevention or treatment plans. It is the first study to revisit claims in previous research that including such information in risk models would eventually help doctors either prevent or treat...

Key Gene Found Responsible For Chronic Inflammation, Accelerated Aging And Cancer

Date: May-27-2012
Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have, for the first time, identified a single gene that simultaneously controls inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer. "This was certainly an unexpected finding," said principal investigator Robert J. Schneider, PhD, the Albert Sabin Professor of Molecular Pathogenesis, associate director for translational research and co-director of the Breast Cancer Program at NYU Langone Medical Center. "It is rather uncommon for one gene to have two very different and very significant functions that tie together control of aging and inflammation. The two, if not...

Pivotal Role For Proteins - From Helping Turn Carbs Into Energy To Causing Devastating Disease

Date: May-27-2012
Research into how carbohydrates are converted into energy has led to a surprising discovery with implications for the treatment of a perplexing and potentially fatal neuromuscular disorder and possibly even cancer and heart disease. Until this study, the cause of this neuromuscular disorder was unknown. But after obtaining DNA from three families with members who have the disorder, a team led by University of Utah scientists Jared Rutter, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry and Carl Thummel, Ph.D., professor of human genetics, sequenced two genes and identified two mutations that cause...

Feeling Strong Emotions Makes Peoples' Brains 'Tick Together'

Date: May-27-2012
Research team at Aalto University and Turku PET Centre has revealed how experiencing strong emotions synchronizes brain activity across individuals. Human emotions are highly contagious. Seeing others' emotional expressions such as smiles triggers often the corresponding emotional response in the observer. Such synchronization of emotional states across individuals may support social interaction: When all group members share a common emotional state, their brains and bodies process the environment in a similar fashion. Researchers at Aalto University and Turku PET Centre have now found that...

Irritable Bowel Linked To Gut Bacteria, Definitively

Date: May-26-2012
A new study of Greek patients shows that overgrowth of bacteria in the gut is definitively linked to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is the first to use the "gold standard" method of examining gut bacterial cultures to connect bacteria to the cause of a disease that affects some 30 million Americans. The researchers say their findings confirm antibiotics are a successful treatment for IBS. Previous studies have suggested a link between gut bacteria and IBS, but they have been based on testing methane (a byproduct of bacterial fermentation) in the breath.  The findings, published in the May...

Findings May Lead To Strategies To Treat Age-Related Diseases And Improve Regenerative Medicine

Date: May-26-2012
Stem cells are essential building blocks for all organisms, from plants to humans. They can divide and renew themselves throughout life, differentiating into the specialized tissues needed during development, as well as cells necessary to repair adult tissue. Therefore, they can be considered immortal, in that they recreate themselves and regenerate tissues throughout a person's lifetime, but that doesn't mean they don't age. They do, gradually losing their ability to effectively maintain tissues and organs. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered a series...

What Is The Best Way To Obtain Vitamin D?

Date: May-26-2012
This summer, individuals in the UK should go outside for a few minutes each day in order to top up their vitamin D levels, according to the fifth Sunlight Campaign from the National Osteoporosis Society.  The National Osteoporosis Society conducted a survey of 600 people in the UK and found that: 62% of respondents knew that vitamin D is vital to keep bone healthy 200 respondents reported that the best way to get vitamin D is by going outside in the sun without sunscreen 200 respondents believed you should go outside with sunscreen Although sunscreen is needed to protect the skin from the suns...

Combo Of Heat Shock Protein Inhibitor And Hormonal Therapy Being Tested In Breast Cancer Clinical Trial

Date: May-26-2012
Pushed to the brink of survival, the hyper-driven cells of a cancerous tumor tap into an ancient system that has helped organisms cope with internal stresses and environmental challenges since life began. As an integral part of this system, heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) has been shown to help malignant cells accommodate the genetic changes and profound disturbances in normal biology that occur in cancers. Researchers have theorized that inhibiting HSP90 just might render breast cancer cells less likely to escape the challenge posed by cutting off their ability to use estrogen. Such is the...

Lung Function Of Patients With Severe Emphysema Improved With Tiny Implanted Coil

Date: May-26-2012
A tiny, resilient metal wire designed to gather and compress diseased lung tissue may offer relief to patients with severe heterogeneous emphysema, a subtype of the disease that involves specific, usually isolated areas of the lungs, according to the results of a multicenter international trial conducted in the Netherlands, Germany and France. The wire, called a lung volume reduction coil (LVRC), can be easily implanted and is designed to take the place of more invasive procedures used to improve the lung function of emphysema patients. The study was presented at the ATS 2012 International...