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Friday, June 28, 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Telomere length influences cancer cell differentiation

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 04:06 PM PDT

Researchers have discovered that forced elongation of telomeres (extensions on the end of chromosomes) promotes the differentiation of cancer cells, probably reducing malignancy, which is strongly associated with a loss of cell differentiation.

Protein in blood exerts natural anti-cancer protection

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 04:03 PM PDT

Researchers have discovered that decorin, a naturally occurring protein that circulates in the blood, acts as a potent inhibitor of tumor growth modulating the tumor microenvironment.

Molecule drives aggressive breast cancer

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 04:03 PM PDT

Recent studies have shown a gene known to coordinate initial development of the eye (EYA1) is a powerful breast tumor promoter in mice. The gene EYA1 was also shown to be overexpressed in a genetic breast cancer subtype called luminal B.

Surgeons report melanoma recurs after 10 years in more than 6 percent of patients

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 01:14 PM PDT

Recurrence of melanoma skin cancer 10 or more years after initial treatment is more common than previously thought, occurring in more than one in 20 patients. However, according to a new study, these patients tend to live longer after their cancer returns than patients whose melanoma recurs in the first three years.

Early brain stimulation may help stroke survivors recover language function

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 01:14 PM PDT

Non-invasive brain stimulation may help stroke survivors recover language function. Survivors treated with the technique regained more language function than those who did not get treatment.

Ritalin shows promise in treating addiction

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 12:16 PM PDT

ADHD drug helps improve brain functional connectivity in cocaine addiction, according to a new study.

Could a diet high in fish and flax help prevent broken hips?

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 12:16 PM PDT

Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood may reduce the risk for hip fractures in postmenopausal women, recent research suggests.

Aerial mosquito spraying study finds no immediate public health risks

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

In what researchers say is the first public health study of the aerial mosquito spraying method to prevent West Nile virus, a new study analyzed emergency department records from Sacramento area hospitals during and immediately after aerial sprayings in the summer of 2005.

Protein is involved with colon cancer cell's ability to invade other cells

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

Understanding how the protein km23-1 enables in the spread of colon cancer may lead to new treatments for the disease, according to researchers.

New maps depict impact of HIV in America

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

New interactive online maps that show the latest HIV prevalence data for 20 US cities by ZIP code or census tract. AIDSVu also includes new city snapshots displaying HIV prevalence alongside various social determinants of health -- such as poverty, lack of health insurance and educational attainment.

Low self-control promotes selfless behavior in close relationships

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

When faced with the choice of sacrificing time and energy for a loved one or taking the self-centered route, people's first impulse is to think of others, according to new research.

Biochemists identify protease substrates important for bacterial growth and development

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

Scientists describe using a combination of biochemistry and mass spectrometry to "trap" scores of new candidate substrates of the protease ClpXP to reveal how protein degradation is critical to cell cycle progression and bacterial development. The new understanding could lead to identifying new antibiotic targets.

Helping SAD sufferers sleep soundly

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

Researchers report that individuals with seasonal affective disorder -- a winter depression that leads to loss of motivation and interest in daily activities -- have misconceptions about their sleep habits similar to those of insomniacs.

After Great Dane success, cancer doc eyes brain tumors

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:24 AM PDT

A success story with a 12 year old Great Dane, sets the stage for a trial in human glioblastoma of the vaccine that led to the dog's dramatic and prolonged improvement.

Brain's 'garbage truck' may hold key to treating Alzheimer's and other disorders

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:24 AM PDT

Scientists point to a newly discovered system by which the brain removes waste as a potentially powerful new tool to treat neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease. In fact, scientists believe that some of these conditions may arise when the system is not doing its job properly.

Key step in protein synthesis revealed

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:24 AM PDT

Scientists have trapped the ribosome, a protein-building molecular machine essential to all life, in a key transitional state that has long eluded researchers. Now, for the first time, scientists can see how the ribosome performs the precise mechanical movements needed to translate genetic code into proteins without making mistakes.

A second amyloid may play a role in Alzheimer's disease

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:18 AM PDT

A protein secreted with insulin travels through the bloodstream and accumulates in the brains of individuals with type 2 diabetes and dementia, in the same manner as the amyloid beta (Αβ) plaques that are associated with Alzheimer's disease, a study by researchers with the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center has found.

Prevailing view of how the brain is wired overturned?

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:17 AM PDT

A series of studies topples convention by showing that sensory information travels to two places at once: not only to the brain's mid-layer (where most axons lead), but also directly to its deeper layers.

High-resolution mapping technique uncovers underlying circuit architecture of the brain

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Using an innovative brain-tracing technique, scientists have found a way to untangle neural networks and create a high-resolution map of the brain's underlying molecular circuitry. Their findings offer new insight into how specific brain regions connect to each other, while also revealing clues as to what may happen, neuron by neuron, when these connections are disrupted.

Stress: It should never be ignored, experts say

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Work pressure, tension at home, financial difficulties... the list of causes of stress grows longer every day. There have been several studies in the past showing that stress can have negative effects on health (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure and more). According to a new study people under stress have twice the risk of a heart attack, compared with others.

A look inside children's minds

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Ever wondered what's going on inside young children's brains when they're looking at things? Researchers have used optical neuroimaging for the first time on 3-and 4-year-olds to determine which areas of the brain are activated in "visual working memory."

Inside the minds of murderers: Impulsive murderers much more mentally impaired than those who kill strategically

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

The minds of murderers who kill impulsively, often out of rage, and those who carefully carry out premeditated crimes differ markedly both psychologically and intellectually, according to a new study.

Type 1 diabetes: Can insulin-producing cells be regenerated?

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Scientists have published new results concerning type I diabetes. Researchers have shown that in mice, the pancreas contains cells capable of being converted into insulin-producing cells, something that can be done at any age.

Research raises concerns over smoke detectors' effectiveness in waking children

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Standard domestic smoke detectors may not always wake children in the event of a fire, according to new research.

'Big givers' get punished for being nonconformists

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:56 AM PDT

People punish generous group members by rejecting them socially -- even when the generosity benefits everyone -- because the "big givers" are nonconformists, according to a new study.

Factory insurance would fight blight

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:55 AM PDT

Automakers and other private firms should be required by law to carry insurance policies to pay for tearing down their factories and buildings, recommends a hard-hitting study.

Food contaminants worsen metabolic problems in obese mice

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:55 AM PDT

Certain food contaminants are suspected of triggering metabolic disorders, or of worsening them, particularly when they accompany a high-fat diet.

Turning off cells in habit-associated brain region prevents rats from learning to run maze on autopilot

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:55 AM PDT

Neuroscientists have now shown that they can prevent habits from taking root. Our daily routines can become so ingrained that we perform them automatically, such as taking the same route to work every day. Some behaviors, such as smoking or biting your fingernails, become so habitual that we can't stop even if we want to.

A telescope for your eye: New contact lens design may improve sight of patients with macular degeneration

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:53 AM PDT

Contact lenses correct eyesight but do nothing to improve blurry vision of those suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness among older adults in the western world. Now a team of researchers has created a slim, telescopic contact lens that can switch between normal and magnified vision. With refinements, the system could offer AMD patients a relatively unobtrusive way to enhance their vision.

Pneumonia revealed in a cough: Coughs give vital clues to the presence or absence of pneumonia in children

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:53 AM PDT

A new method, which analyzes the sounds in a child's cough, could soon be used in poor, remote regions to diagnose childhood pneumonia reliably. According to researchers, this simple technique of recording coughs with a microphone on the patient's bedside table, has the potential to revolutionize the management of childhood pneumonia.

Polymer coatings a key step toward oral delivery of protein-based drugs

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:53 AM PDT

In a new study, a "bioadhesive" coating significantly improved the intestinal absorption into the bloodstream of nanoparticles that someday could carry protein drugs such as insulin. Such a step is necessary for drugs taken by mouth, rather than injected directly into the blood.

Gene deletion affects early language and brain white matter

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:51 AM PDT

A chromosomal deletion is associated with changes in the brain's white matter and delayed language acquisition in youngsters from Southeast Asia or with ancestral connections to the region, said an international consortium led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine. However, many such children who can be described as late-talkers may overcome early speech and language difficulties as they grow.

Imagination can change what we hear and see

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:51 AM PDT

Our imagination may affect how we experience the world more than we perhaps think. What we imagine hearing or seeing "in our head" can change our actual perception. The study sheds new light on a classic question in psychology and neuroscience -- about how our brains combine information from the different senses.

Scientists discern signatures of old versus young stem cells

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:51 AM PDT

A chemical code scrawled on histones -- the protein husks that coat DNA in every animal or plant cell -- determines which genes in that cell are turned on and which are turned off. Now, researchers have taken a new step in the deciphering of that histone code.

Research in fruit flies provides new insight into Barrett's esophagus

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:45 AM PDT

Research focused on the regulation of the adult stem cells that line the gastrointestinal tract of Drosophila suggests new models for the study of Barrett's esophagus. Barrett's esophagus is a condition in which the cells of the lower esophagus transform into stomach-like cells. In most cases this transformation has been thought to occur directly from chronic acid indigestion. A new study suggests a change in stem cell function for this transformation.

Babies can read each other’s moods, study finds

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 07:28 AM PDT

Research shows that babies can understand each others emotional signals at five months of age. This study comes on the heels of research on infants' ability to understand the moods of dogs, monkeys and classical music.

Link shown between Crohn's disease and virus

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 07:28 AM PDT

A new study reveals that all children with Crohn's disease that were examined had a commonly occurring virus -- an enterovirus -- in their intestines. This link has previously not been shown for this chronic inflammatory intestinal disorder.

Insulin differs between ethnicities, study finds

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 07:25 AM PDT

People have differing abilities to release and react to insulin depending on ethnicity, according to a new study.

Promising Alzheimer's 'drug' halts memory loss

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 03:40 PM PDT

A new class of experimental drug is showing great promise in preventing early memory loss in Alzheimer's disease. It halted memory loss and fixed damaged communication among brain cells in a mouse model of Alzheimer's. Scientists said the new class of drug, if proven effective in humans, could be used early in the disease to arrest its progress.

Brain cancer: A circuitous route to therapy resistance

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:30 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered a cause of resistance to therapy in cases of brain cancer. Microglia cells migrate into tumors and supply cancer cells with a substance needed for the repair of DNA damage. The cells thus escape programmed cell death (apoptosis). Blocking this resistance mechanism might lead to more effective treatments for malignant brain cancer.

Tired and edgy? Sleep deprivation boosts anticipatory anxiety

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:30 AM PDT

Researchers have found that a lack of sleep, which is common in anxiety disorders, may play a key role in ramping up the brain regions that contribute to excessive worrying. The results suggest that people suffering from such maladies as generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder, may benefit substantially from sleep therapy.

Toward broad-spectrum antiviral drugs for common cold and other infections

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:29 AM PDT

Scientists are reporting progress in the search for the first broad-spectrum drugs to combat human rhinoviruses, which cause humanity's most common infectious diseases.

DNA 'reverse' vaccine reduces levels of immune cells believed responsible for Type 1 diabetes

Posted: 26 Jun 2013 11:29 AM PDT

A clinical trial of a vaccine designed to combat Type 1 diabetes has delivered initially promising results, suggesting that it may selectively counter the errant immune response that causes the disease.

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