Health News

How the brain learns new skills while retaining old ones

Date: Dec-11-2013
Neuroscientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have designed a new computational model that they claim explains how the brain can learn very similar tasks without mixing them up, while maintaining the balance between plasticity and stability.The brain is made up of billions of neurons, all of which connect to others. According to the researchers, on average each neuron connects to about 10,000 others. The researchers, who write in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, say this connectivity is key.

Association between oncometabolite accumulation and breast cancer prognosis

Date: Dec-11-2013
The metabolic profile of cancer cells can be used to develop therapies and identify biomarkers associated with cancer outcome. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation Stefan Ambs and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute discovered an association between the oncometabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG) levels, DNA methylation patterns, and breast cancer prognosis. The authors identified a breast cancer subtype with high levels of 2-HG, and a district DNA methylation pattern that was associated with reduced survival.

Taking pictures may impair memories, study shows

Date: Dec-11-2013
If a picture is worth a thousand words, why did study participants who photographed artifacts remember less about them than people who just studied them more closely at the time?Psychological scientist Linda Henkel of Fairfield University, Connecticut, observed that people take photos of just about everything, all the time."People so often whip out their cameras almost mindlessly to capture a moment, to the point that they are missing what is happening right in front of them," she says.

Biomarker linked to aggressive breast cancers, poor outcomes in African-Americans

Date: Dec-11-2013
Among African-American women with breast cancer, increased levels of the protein HSET were associated with worse breast cancer outcomes, according to results presented at the Sixth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved."Our data indicate that HSET represents a potential new biomarker for poor breast cancer outcome among African-American women with the disease," said Ritu Aneja, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Biology at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Risk factor for liver cancer increased by diabetes across ethnic groups

Date: Dec-11-2013
Diabetes was associated with an increased risk for developing a type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma, and this association was highest for Latinos, followed by Hawaiians, African-Americans, and Japanese-Americans, according to results presented at the Sixth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved."People with diabetes have a two- to threefold higher risk for hepatocellular carcinoma compared with those without diabetes," said V. Wendy Setiawan, Ph.D.

Guideline-recommended breast cancer treatment affected by economic factors

Date: Dec-11-2013
Women with interruptions in health insurance coverage or with low income levels had a significantly increased likelihood of failing to receive breast cancer care that is in concordance with recommended treatment guidelines, according to results presented at the Sixth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved.Women with a break in their insurance coverage had a 3.

Gene discovered that plays a part in one per cent of all cancers

Date: Dec-11-2013
Researchers have identified a gene that drives the development of tumours in over one per cent of all cancer patients. This is the first time that the gene CUX1 has been broadly linked to cancer development.The team discovered that, when CUX1 is deactivated, a biological pathway is activated that increases tumour growth. Drugs that inhibit the biological pathway are currently being used in the clinic and are in development thus highlighting a potential new targeted therapy for patients with this type of cancer-causing mutation.

Mechanism identified that is implicated in brain cancer and a drug that decreases brain tumor growth

Date: Dec-11-2013
Researchers at the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) have made a discovery that could lead to better treatment for patients suffering from brain cancer.Despite current treatment strategies, the median survival for patients with the most aggressive brain cancer - called glioblastoma, is 15 months. Less than five per cent of patients survive beyond five years.HBI member V.

We each live in a unique odor world

Date: Dec-11-2013
According to Gertrude Stein, "A rose is a rose is a rose," but new research indicates that might not be the case when it comes to the rose's scent. Researchers from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions have found that as much as 30 percent of the large array of human olfactory receptor differs between any two individuals. This substantial variation is in turn reflected by variability in how each person perceives odors.Humans have about 400 different types of specialized sensors, known as olfactory receptor proteins, that somehow work together to detect a large variety of odors.

Scientists film early concussion damage and describe brain's response to injury

Date: Dec-11-2013
There is more than meets the eye following even a mild traumatic brain injury. While the brain may appear to be intact, new findings reported in Nature suggest that the brain's protective coverings may feel the brunt of the impact.Using a newly developed mouse trauma model, senior author Dorian McGavern, Ph.D., scientist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health, watched specific cells mount an immune response to the injury and try to prevent more widespread damage.