Health News

Researchers generate kidney tubular cells from stem cells

Date: Dec-30-2013
Researchers have successfully coaxed stem cells to become kidney tubular cells, a significant advance toward one day using regenerative medicine, rather than dialysis and transplantation, to treat kidney failure. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).Chronic kidney disease is a major global public health problem, and when patients progress to kidney failure, their treatment options are limited to dialysis and kidney transplantation.

Scientific data lost at alarming rate

Date: Dec-30-2013
Eighty per cent of scientific data are lost within two decades, according to a new study that tracks the accessibility of data over time.The culprits? Old e-mail addresses and obsolete storage devices."Publicly funded science generates an extraordinary amount of data each year," says Tim Vines, a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia. "Much of these data are unique to a time and place, and is thus irreplaceable, and many other datasets are expensive to regenerate.

Scientists decode serotonin receptor at room temperature

Date: Dec-30-2013
An international research team has decoded the molecular structure of the medically important serotonin receptor at room temperature for the first time. This study reveals the dynamics of the receptor at close to its operating temperature and thus gives a more realistic picture of its physiological function than it was possible before with conventional deep freeze analyses in liquid nitrogen at minus 173 degrees Celsius. The team led by Prof. Vadim Cherezov of The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, reports its work in the scientific journal Science.

'Cocktail' approach could lead to universal malaria vaccine

Date: Dec-30-2013
By mixing a key surface protein from a number of different strains of the malaria parasite, researchers say they have improved the effectiveness of a potential vaccine against the disease spread by mosquitoes.A vaccine that targeted the AMA1 surface protein was effective in previous human testing, the researchers say, against only one strain of the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum - the malaria parasite - whereas their "cocktail" approach, using the protein from different strains, may lead to universal coverage against the microbe.

Low oxygen levels in tumors 'trigger spread of breast cancer'

Date: Dec-29-2013
Researchers have discovered that low oxygen conditions can trigger the production of proteins that contribute to the spread of breast cancer cells. This is according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Biologists from Johns Hopkins University found that low oxygen conditions prompted increased production of proteins called RhoA and ROCK1. High levels of these proteins are known to give cancer cells the ability to move and spread, leading to worse outcomes for breast cancer patients.Dr. Gregg Semenza, the C.

Saving fertility not priority at most cancer centers

Date: Dec-29-2013
Infertility is consistently listed as one of the most distressing long-term side effects of cancer treatment for adolescents and young adults. Yet the leading National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers - which should be leaders in fertility preservation - aren't doing an adequate job of helping patients protect their fertility, reports a new Northwestern Medicine® study.

CCNY chemists use sugar-based gelators to solidify vegetable oils

Date: Dec-29-2013
Researchers at The City College of New York have reported the successful transformation of vegetable oils to a semisolid form using low-calorie sugars as a structuring agent. The findings portend the development of alternatives to structured oil products produced using saturated/trans fatty acids, which have been linked to coronary artery disease, obesity and diabetes.

Nursing scholar sheds light on bullying in academia

Date: Dec-29-2013
Bullying isn't only a problem that occurs in schools or online among young people. It can happen anywhere to anyone, and a Rutgers-Camden nursing scholar is shedding some light on how it is becoming increasingly common in academia."What worries me is the impact that bullying is having on the ability to recruit and retain quality educators," says Janice Beitz, a professor at the Rutgers School of Nursing-Camden. "It has become a disturbing trend.

In addiction, meditation is helpful when coupled with drug and cognitive therapies, study suggests

Date: Dec-29-2013
Using a computational model of addiction, a literature review and an in silico experiment, theoretical computer scientist Yariv Levy and colleagues suggest in a new paper this week that rehabilitation strategies coupling meditation-like practices with drug and behavior therapies are more helpful than drug-plus-talk therapy alone when helping people overcome addiction.Levy reports results of his survey of animal and human studies and a computational experiment in a special section on addictive disorders in the current issue of the open access journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Promoting physical fitness among girls and women in urban communities

Date: Dec-29-2013
Most people know that one of the keys to reducing or preventing health problems is to get more exercise, but determining how to best integrate physical activity into their daily lives - and having access to exercise programs - remains a significant hurdle to clear on the path to a healthier lifestyle.Wanda Thompson, an assistant professor at the Rutgers School of Nursing-Camden, is taking a closer look at how African American women and girls living in urban areas perceive physical activity.