ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• How B cells may generate antibodies after vaccination
• Endorphin plays traffic cop to organs
• Cancer from fetal exposure to carcinogens depends on dose, timing
• New study shows promise for preventing preterm births
• Scientists discover second-oldest gene mutation
• Blood test might predict how well a depressed patient responds to antidepressants
• 'Fantastic voyage' through the body, with precision control
• Lead levels in drinking water spike when copper and lead pipes joined: Levels linked to galvanic corrosion, disinfectants, pH
• Oral bacteria enables breaking bond on blood vessels to allow invaders in
• Key genetic error found in family of blood cancers
• A simple clip could increase quality of life for thousands of patients with a common heart problem
• Pregnant women advised to stay cool for baby's sake
• Low iron levels in blood raises blood clot risk, new research suggests
• Hide and seek signals for white blood cells
• Ultraviolet rays believed to prevent chickenpox spreading
• Less blood clot damage with extra treatment, research suggests
• New genetic program converts static cells into mobile invasive cells
• What determines the capacity of short-term memory?
• Immunity against the cold
• Malaria during pregnancy: New study assesses risks during first trimester
• Peptide 'cocktail' elicits immune response to multiple myeloma
• Therapy improves stem cell engraftment in umbilical cord blood transplant recipients, study suggests
• Model to foster new drug development to treat pain and epilepsy developed
• Cornea gene discovery reveals why humans see clearly
• Teaching children with autism to imitate others may improve social skills

How B cells may generate antibodies after vaccination Posted: 15 Dec 2011 11:16 AM PST Scientists have shown how immune cells, called B lymphocytes, are able to produce daughter cells that are not equal, a finding that might explain how lifelong antibodies are made after vaccination.

Endorphin plays traffic cop to organs Posted: 15 Dec 2011 11:10 AM PST Spleen to the left, appendix to the right: In order for the body to sort itself out properly, two substances have to trigger a complex chain reaction, according to new research findings.

Cancer from fetal exposure to carcinogens depends on dose, timing Posted: 15 Dec 2011 10:59 AM PST The cancer-causing potential of fetal exposure to carcinogens can vary substantially, causing different types of problems much later in life depending on the stage of pregnancy when the fetus is exposed. The research sheds further light on the way in which toxic damage early in life can later manifest itself as cancer, due to "epigenetic" changes in cells.

New study shows promise for preventing preterm births Posted: 15 Dec 2011 10:59 AM PST A new study has found that applying vaginal progesterone to women who are at a high risk of preterm birth significantly decreased the odds of a premature delivery.

Scientists discover second-oldest gene mutation Posted: 15 Dec 2011 10:58 AM PST A new study has identified a gene mutation that researchers estimate dates back to 11,600 B.C., making it the second oldest human disease mutation known. The mutation was described in people of Arabic, Turkish and Jewish ancestry. It causes a rare, inherited vitamin B12 deficiency. The mutation originated in a single, prehistoric individual and was passed down to that individual's descendants. The discovery should permit reliable genetic diagnosis of suspected cases of Imerslund-Gräsbeck Syndrome.

Blood test might predict how well a depressed patient responds to antidepressants Posted: 15 Dec 2011 10:58 AM PST Researchers are reporting what could become the first reliable method to predict whether an antidepressant will work on a depressed patient.

'Fantastic voyage' through the body, with precision control Posted: 15 Dec 2011 10:58 AM PST Scientists have devised a method to guide endoscopic "capsules" on a more precise course through the small intestine to detect difficult-to-diagnose tumors or wounds, or allow for biopsies or drug delivery. The ability to manipulate the capsule, he says, will not only lead to better diagnosis capabilities, but a less invasive and quicker procedure as well.

Lead levels in drinking water spike when copper and lead pipes joined: Levels linked to galvanic corrosion, disinfectants, pH Posted: 15 Dec 2011 08:35 AM PST Lead pipes once used routinely in municipal water distribution systems are a well-recognized source of dangerous lead contamination, but new research suggests that the partial replacement of these pipes can make the problem worse. The research shows that joining old lead pipes with new copper lines using brass fittings spurs galvanic corrosion that can dramatically increase the amount of lead released into drinking water supplies.

Oral bacteria enables breaking bond on blood vessels to allow invaders in Posted: 15 Dec 2011 08:35 AM PST A common oral bacteria, Fusobacterium nucleatum, acts like a key to open a door in human blood vessels and leads the way for it and other bacteria like Escherichia coli to invade the body through the blood and make people sick, according to dental researchers.

Key genetic error found in family of blood cancers Posted: 15 Dec 2011 08:35 AM PST Scientists have uncovered a critical genetic mutation in some patients with myelodysplastic syndromes -- a group of blood cancers that can progress to a fatal form of leukemia.

A simple clip could increase quality of life for thousands of patients with a common heart problem Posted: 15 Dec 2011 08:35 AM PST The interventional cardiology team recently conducted the first clinical procedure in Canada using the MitraClip system, which is designed to treat patients suffering from mitral valve failure, a very common heart defect that affects an estimated one out five people to various extents starting at the age of 55.

Pregnant women advised to stay cool for baby's sake Posted: 15 Dec 2011 06:56 AM PST Medical researchers have found a link between increases in temperature and the incidence of stillbirth and shorter pregnancies.

Low iron levels in blood raises blood clot risk, new research suggests Posted: 15 Dec 2011 06:54 AM PST People with low levels of iron in the blood have a higher risk of dangerous blood clots, according to new research.

Hide and seek signals for white blood cells Posted: 15 Dec 2011 06:54 AM PST Scientists reveal how certain white blood cells find hidden chemical signals that allow them to exit the bloodstream.

Ultraviolet rays believed to prevent chickenpox spreading Posted: 15 Dec 2011 06:49 AM PST Ultraviolet rays help prevent the spread of chickenpox, meaning people in milder climates are more at risk of catching the disease, according to new research. The discovery could lead to new ways of preventing chickenpox and its more severe relative, shingles.

Less blood clot damage with extra treatment, research suggests Posted: 15 Dec 2011 06:49 AM PST Pain, swelling, itching, eczema and venous ulcers are characteristic signs of post-thrombotic syndrome, a condition developed by roughly half the patients who have experienced serious deep vein thrombosis, or blood clots in the leg. It has been demonstrated for the first time that a treatment to dissolve blood clots prevented such complications in a substantial number of patients. The treatment is called catheter-directed thrombolytic therapy.

New genetic program converts static cells into mobile invasive cells Posted: 15 Dec 2011 06:48 AM PST Researchers have identified the gene GATA 6 as responsible for epithelial cells -which group together and are static- losing adhesion and moving towards a new site. This process, which is common to developing organisms, is very similar to one that occurs in metastasis, when tumor cells escape from the original tumor and invade new tissue.

What determines the capacity of short-term memory? Posted: 15 Dec 2011 06:48 AM PST Short-term memory plays a crucial role in how our consciousness operates. Several years ago a hypothesis has been formulated, according to which capacity of short-term memory depends in a special way on two cycles of brain electric activity. Scientists have now demonstrated this experimentally for the first time.

Immunity against the cold Posted: 13 Dec 2011 06:21 AM PST Throughout the interior spaces of humans and other warm-blooded creatures is a special type of tissue known as brown fat, which may hold the secret to diets and weight-loss programs of the future.

Malaria during pregnancy: New study assesses risks during first trimester Posted: 12 Dec 2011 07:09 PM PST The largest ever study to assess the effects of malaria and its treatment in the first trimester of pregnancy has shown that the disease significantly increases the risk of miscarriage, but that treating with antimalarial drugs is relatively safe and reduces this risk.

Peptide 'cocktail' elicits immune response to multiple myeloma Posted: 12 Dec 2011 07:09 PM PST Scientists have created a "cocktail" of immune-stimulating peptides they believe could provoke the body's defenses to attack multiple myeloma in its early "smoldering" phase and slow or prevent the blood cancer.

Therapy improves stem cell engraftment in umbilical cord blood transplant recipients, study suggests Posted: 12 Dec 2011 07:09 PM PST A therapy involving a natural compound may improve the ability of stem cells from umbilical cord blood to engraft in patients receiving a stem cell transplant for cancer or other diseases, a phase I clinical trial indicates.

Model to foster new drug development to treat pain and epilepsy developed Posted: 12 Dec 2011 12:31 PM PST Drawing on X-ray crystallography and experimental data, as well as a software suite for predicting and designing protein structures, a researcher has developed an algorithm that predicts what has been impossible to generate in the laboratory: the conformational changes in voltage-gated sodium channels when they are at rest or actively transmitting a signal in muscle and nerve cells.

Cornea gene discovery reveals why humans see clearly Posted: 12 Dec 2011 12:31 PM PST A new study has identified a gene that plays a major role in maintaining clarity of the cornea in humans and mice -- and could possibly be used as gene therapy to treat diseases that cause blindness.

Teaching children with autism to imitate others may improve social skills Posted: 12 Dec 2011 09:45 AM PST Teaching young children with autism to imitate others may improve a broader range of social skills, according to a new study.

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