Health News

A review of the computer simulations of nuclear DNA

Date: Jan-07-2014
DNA carries out its activities "diluted" in the cell nucleus. In this state it synthesises proteins and, even though it looks like a messy tangle of thread, in actual fact its structure is governed by precise rules that are important for it to carry out its functions. Biologists have studied DNA by observing it experimentally with a variety of techniques, which have only recently been supplemented by research in silico, that is to say, the study of DNA by means of computer simulations. This is a recent area of study, but it has already given a major contribution to knowledge in this field.

An end to mascara testing on animals could be in sight thanks to tiny organisms nicknamed 'slipper' and 'eyelash'

Date: Jan-07-2014
Mascara is a mild irritant, and rabbits have, historically, been used to test how much discomfort new products can cause. However, a cheaper and more reliable test is now being developed by scientists at the University of Liverpool, involving miniscule protozoa. This will remove animal cruelty from the equation.The scientists from the University's Institute of Integrative Biology were able to examine potential toxicity caused by mascara, based on the growth of the protozoa when placed in experimental chambers containing the cosmetic.

Age-related weight gain put down to brown fat failure

Date: Jan-07-2014
As we resolve this New Year to slim down our waistlines, perhaps we should consider this - it gets harder to lose weight as we age because our "good" brown fat becomes less efficient at burning the calories stored in our "bad" white fat.That was the conclusion of a new Japanese study of mice that was published recently. The study also suggests a possible way to reactivate brown fat that could lead to treatments for metabolic diseases.Brown fat, or brown adipose tissue (BAT), is a "good" fat that we carry at the back of our necks.

iPad app for capturing trauma patient data in a low medical resource environment

Date: Jan-07-2014
Electronic health records (EHRs) have become standard practice throughout hospitals in North America, but in countries with fewer resources many front-line clinicians are still collecting data on paper, if they are collecting it at all. But now, surgeons from Vancouver, British Columbia, have developed a way for their peers at a Level I trauma center in South Africa to accurately collect and analyze trauma care data via an iPad app. The study is published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Research may unlock enzyme's role in disease

Date: Jan-07-2014
A UT Arlington chemist doing National Science Foundation-funded research on enzymes that regulate human biology has uncovered characteristics that could be used to identify predisposition to conditions such as heart disease, diabetic ulcers and some types of cancer.Brad Pierce, an assistant professor of chemistry/biochemistry at The University of Texas at Arlington, recently led a team that examined an oxygen utilizing iron enzyme called cysteine dioxygenase or CDO, which is found in high levels within heart, liver, and brain tissues.

Meditation has 'some benefit against anxiety, depression and pain'

Date: Jan-07-2014
A review of the published scientific evidence has found that relaxation programs involving meditation offer a small benefit to people with a medical condition, including effects against depression similar in size to those achieved with antidepressant drugs.The systematic review, published in the internal medicine version of Journal of the American Medical Association, analyzed the results of 47 randomized clinical trials involving a total of 3,515 participants.

New protein discovery 'could help treat toxoplasmosis and malaria'

Date: Jan-07-2014
Research led by a team of investigators at the Indiana University School of Medicine has detailed the discovery of a new protein and other proteins it connects with, which they say could lead to the development of new drugs that control toxoplasma gondii - the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis.The researchers say their findings, published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, may also lead to new research avenues for the treatment of malaria.

Dysfunction in a single gene linked to diabetes in mice

Date: Jan-07-2014
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found that dysfunction in a single gene in mice causes fasting hyperglycemia, one of the major symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Their findings were reported online in the journal Diabetes.If a gene called MADD is not functioning properly, insulin is not released into the bloodstream to regulate blood sugar levels, says Bellur S. Prabhakar, professor and head of microbiology and immunology at UIC and lead author of the paper.

Single faulty gene causes major type 2 diabetes symptom in mice

Date: Jan-06-2014
New research from the US reported in the journal Diabetes, shows that the loss of just one gene in mice is enough to cause fasting hyperglycemia - a major symptom of type 2 diabetes.In their paper, researchers from the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) explain how malfunctions in insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells is a common feature of type 2 diabetes.Lead author Bellur S.

Overweight and obesity in developing countries 'alarming'

Date: Jan-06-2014
The 'alarming' rise in overweight and obese adults in developing countries is growing into a huge public health burden, says one of the authors of a new report from a UK think tank.The 130-page report, Future Diets, from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), which shows a comprehensive analysis of what the world eats, estimates one in three adults around the world is now either overweight or obese, and criticizes governments for failing to tackle the crisis.