Health News

Toddlers learn words for nonsolids better when getting messy in a highchair

Date: Dec-03-2013
Attention, parents: The messier your child gets while playing with food in the high chair, the more he or she is learning.Researchers at the University of Iowa studied how 16-month-old children learn words for nonsolid objects, from oatmeal to glue. Previous research has shown that toddlers learn more readily about solid objects because they can easily identify them due to their unchanging size and shape. But oozy, gooey, runny stuff? Not so much.New research shows that changes if you put toddlers in a setting they know well, such as shoving stuff in their mouths.

Scientists describe new proteins linked to cancer

Date: Dec-03-2013
A newly defined family of proteins has been analyzed by researchers, who say its control over another class of proteins involved in cell division - CAAX proteins - could have major implications for cancer research. Results of their findings were recently published in the journal Nature.The new protein family is called glutamate intramembrane proteases, and the research team, from The Institute of Cancer Research in London, says the founding member of this family - a protein called Rce1 - plays an important role in converting healthy cells into cancerous ones.Prof.

Converting stem cells into lung cells

Date: Dec-03-2013
Researchers from the Columbia University Medical Center claim they are one step closer to generating lung tissue for transplant using a patient's own cells. The study, published in Nature Biotechnology, states that scientists have successfully transformed human stem cells into functioning lung and airway cells. They claim this has great potential for modelling lung disease, screening drugs and, ultimately, generating lung tissue for transplantation. Study leader Dr.

The most detailed picture ever of key part of hepatitis C

Date: Dec-03-2013
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have determined the most detailed picture yet of a crucial part of the hepatitis C virus, which the virus uses to infect liver cells. The new data reveal unexpected structural features of this protein and should greatly speed efforts to make an effective hepatitis C vaccine.The findings, which appear in the journal Science, focus on a protein known as E2 envelope glycoprotein."We're excited by this development," said Ian A.

Transforming human ES or IPS cells into functional lung epithelial cells

Date: Dec-03-2013
For the first time, scientists have succeeded in transforming human stem cells into functional lung and airway cells. The advance, reported by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers, has significant potential for modeling lung disease, screening drugs, studying human lung development, and, ultimately, generating lung tissue for transplantation. The study was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

Growth and spread of breast cancer may be fueled by high cholesterol

Date: Dec-03-2013
A byproduct of cholesterol functions like the hormone estrogen to fuel the growth and spread of the most common types of breast cancers, researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute report.The researchers also found that anti-cholesterol drugs such as statins appear to diminish the effect of this estrogen-like molecule.Published in the journal Science, the findings are early, using mouse models and tumor cells.

Healthcare professionals urged to take a deep breath to reduce emergency hospital admissions for asthma

Date: Dec-03-2013
In a bid to reduce the high number of emergency admissions for patients with asthma, healthcare professionals are being urged to improve their inhaler training technique. The latest figures show there were 80,593 emergency admissions for asthma in a year.1Several studies show that many asthma patients do not use their inhalers correctly, with up to half demonstrating incorrect technique.2 Additionally a study of healthcare professionals revealed that up to 70 percent were unable to demonstrate correct MDI (metered dose inhaler) technique to their patients.

Missing component found whilst trying to create primitive, synthetic cells

Date: Dec-03-2013
A team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators working to create "protocells" - primitive synthetic cells consisting of a nucleic acid strand encased within a membrane-bound compartment - have accomplished an important step towards their goal. In the journal Science, the investigators describe a solution to what could have been a critical problem - the potential incompatibility between a chemical requirement of RNA copying and the stability of the protocell membrane.

Chickenpox vaccination not linked to increased shingles incidence

Date: Dec-03-2013
A new study claims to have ruled out a link between childhood vaccination against varicella (chickenpox) and the increased incidence of herpes zoster (shingles) in adults, according to an article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.Chickenpox and shingles are both caused by the same virus - the varicella zoster virus (VZV). The first exposure to the virus can lead to varicella or chickenpox, which is a common and fairly mild illness. Predominantly a childhood illness, adults can also get it.

Targeting colon cancer stem cells show clinical potential

Date: Dec-03-2013
Scientists and surgeons at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre have discovered a promising new approach to treating colorectal cancer by disarming the gene that drives self-renewal in stem cells that are the root cause of disease, resistance to treatment and relapse. Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world."This is the first step toward clinically applying the principles of cancer stem cell biology to control cancer growth and advance the development of durable cures," says principal investigator Dr.