Health News

Study finds no evidence that vitamin D supplements reduce depression

Date: Mar-20-2014
Vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in numerous health conditions in recent years, including depressed mood and major depressive disorder. Recent observational studies provide some support for an association of vitamin D levels with depression, but the data do not indicate whether vitamin D deficiency causes depression or vice versa. These studies also do not examine whether vitamin D supplementation improves depression.

Major breakthrough in developing new cancer drugs: Capturing leukemic stem cells

Date: Mar-20-2014
The Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) at the Université de Montréal (UdeM), in collaboration with the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital's Quebec Leukemia Cell Bank, recently achieved a significant breakthrough thanks to the laboratory growth of leukemic stem cells, which will speed up the development of new cancer drugs.In a recent study published in Nature Methods, the scientists involved describe how they succeeded in identifying two new chemical compounds that allow to maintain leukemic stem cells in culture when these are grown outside the body.

Inflammatory feedback loop promotes colorectal cancer metastasis

Date: Mar-20-2014
Induction of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer cells is associated with an increased capacity to invade into surrounding tissue and migrate to distant sites. The tumor-specific factors that drive EMT aren't completely understood; however, evidence implicates inflammation in this process.

Insulin resistance in bone disrupts whole-body glucose homeostasis

Date: Mar-20-2014
Insulin signaling in osteoblasts mediates the activation of osteocalcin, which promotes insulin secretion in the pancreas and insulin sensitivity in other tissues. It is unknown if insulin resistance develops in bone in response to a high fat diet (HFD) and contributes to the disruption of glucose metabolism associated with the development of type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes, high blood pressure in middle age linked to brain damage

Date: Mar-20-2014
Past studies have linked diabetes to increased risk of cognitive decline. Now, new research suggests that people who develop diabetes and high blood pressure in middle age may be at higher risk of brain cell loss and memory and thinking problems, compared with those who do not have either condition or develop them later in life.The research team, including Rosebud O. Roberts of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, recently published their findings in the journal Neurology.

Sea anemone is genetically half animal, half plant

Date: Mar-20-2014
The team led by evolutionary and developmental biologist Ulrich Technau at the University of Vienna discovered that sea anemones display a genomic landscape with a complexity of regulatory elements similar to that of fruit flies or other animal model systems. This suggests, that this principle of gene regulation is already 600 million years old and dates back to the common ancestor of human, fly and sea anemone. On the other hand, sea anemones are more similar to plants rather to vertebrates or insects in their regulation of gene expression by short regulatory RNAs called microRNAs.

First data on antibiotic use in non-EU countries of WHO European region should stimulate development of national action plans

Date: Mar-20-2014
A new study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, provides the first ever reliable data on antibiotic use in non-European Union (EU) southern and eastern European countries and newly independent states. The research, which was led by Dr Herman Goossens, of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO) at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, is a critical first step in identifying targets for improvements in the way antibiotics are used in these countries.

Can adding spices and herbs to food reduce salt intake?

Date: Mar-20-2014
Research presented at an American Heart Association meeting shows that a behavioral intervention in adults encouraging use of herbs and spices - instead of salt - on food results in a decrease in sodium consumption, compared with adults who tried reducing sodium on their own.Reducing salt intake is particularly important for individuals with high blood pressure; a high-sodium diet is linked with this condition, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

Sauder research shows why innovation takes a nosedive

Date: Mar-20-2014
A new UBC study reveals that corporate leaders are victims of herd mentality when adopting new innovations, sometimes with deadly consequencesThe paper, by Sauder School of Business Associate Professor Marc-David L. Seidel and INSEAD Professor Henrich R. Greve, shows leaders tend to pursue innovations, even as complex as airplanes, based on early adoption by competitors not close scrutiny of the technical merits."Business leaders tend to panic when new innovations are about to hit the market. They scramble to buy an apparent early leader," says Seidel.

Nanopores control the inner ear's ability to select sounds

Date: Mar-20-2014
Even in a crowded room full of background noise, the human ear is remarkably adept at tuning in to a single voice - a feat that has proved remarkably difficult for computers to match. A new analysis of the underlying mechanisms, conducted by researchers at MIT, has provided insights that could ultimately lead to better machine hearing, and perhaps to better hearing aids as well.Our ears' selectivity, it turns out, arises from evolution's precise tuning of a tiny membrane, inside the inner ear, called the tectorial membrane.