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Friday, March 9, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Promising new drug could help patients battling deadly and difficult to treat form of melanoma

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 04:22 PM PST

Researchers say they may have discovered a new drug for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, one that uses the patient's own tumor cells to customize the therapy.

Deeper view of HIV reveals impact of early mutations

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 02:48 PM PST

Mutations in HIV that develop during the first few weeks of infection may play a critical role in undermining a successful early immune response, a finding that reveals the importance of vaccines targeting regions of the virus that are less likely to mutate.

Drug helps purge hidden HIV

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 02:47 PM PST

Researchers have successfully flushed latent HIV infection from hiding, with a drug used to treat certain types of lymphoma.

Discovery of hair-cell roots suggests the brain modulates sound sensitivity

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 02:46 PM PST

The hair cells of the inner ear have a previously unknown "root" extension that may allow them to communicate with nerve cells and the brain to regulate sensitivity to sound vibrations and head position, researchers have discovered.

Genetic manipulation boosts growth of brain cells linked to learning, enhances effects of antidepressants

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 02:46 PM PST

Investigators have identified a genetic manipulation that increases the development of neurons in the brain during aging and enhances the effect of antidepressant drugs.

Nanoparticles affect nutrient absorption, study suggests

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 02:46 PM PST

Nanoparticles are everywhere. From cosmetics and clothes, to soda and snacks. But as versatile as they are, nanoparticles also have a downside, say researchers. These tiny particles, even in low doses, could have a big impact on our long-term health.

Study pinpoints effects of different doses of an ADHD drug; Finds higher doses may harm learning

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 12:35 PM PST

New research with monkeys sheds light on how the drug methylphenidate may affect learning and memory in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Powerful tool to measure metabolites in living cells

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 11:31 AM PST

By engineering cells to express a modified RNA called "Spinach," researchers have imaged small-molecule metabolites in living cells and observed how their levels change over time. Metabolites are the products of individual cell metabolism. The ability to measure their rate of production could be used to recognize a cell gone metabolically awry, as in cancer, or identify the drug that can restore the cell's metabolites to normal.

Biologists locate brain's processing point for acoustic signals essential to human communication

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 10:28 AM PST

In both animals and humans, vocal signals used for communication contain a wide array of different sounds that are determined by the vibrational frequencies of vocal cords. Knowing how the brain sorts out these different frequencies -- which are called frequency-modulated sweeps—is believed to be essential to understanding many hearing-related behaviors, like speech. Now, a pair of biologists has identified how and where the brain processes this type of sound signal.

Could a NOSH-aspirin-a-day keep cancer away?

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 10:28 AM PST

The humble aspirin may soon have a new role. Scientists have developed a new aspirin compound that has great promise to be, not only an extremely potent cancer-fighter, but even safer than the classic medicine cabinet staple, researchers say.

Researchers crack degeneration process that leads to Alzheimer's

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 10:28 AM PST

Scientists have uncovered a critical process in understanding the degeneration of brain cells sensitive to Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study suggests that this discovery could help develop alternative AD therapies.

New throat cancer gene uncovered

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 10:28 AM PST

A new study has uncovered a mutation in the ATR gene, demonstrating the first evidence of a link between abnormality in this gene and an inherited form of cancer. The researchers say this finding raises new ideas about genetic factors linked to throat cancer and provides a platform for exploring the role of ATR more generally in cancer biology.

Scientists discover 'Achilles' heel' of clot-buster

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 10:27 AM PST

A new study provides remarkable new insight into how plasmin is produced. This work may lead to more effective clot-busting drugs.

Nintendo Wii™ game controllers help diagnose eye disorder

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 10:25 AM PST

Wii remotes are not all about fun and games. Scientists can use them to assess and diagnose children with an abnormal head position caused by eye diseases. Researchers have now developed a low-cost digital head posture measuring device with Nintendo Wiimotes to help diagnose this condition, medically called ocular torticollis.

Vaccination strategy may hold key to ridding HIV infection from immune system

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 10:25 AM PST

Using human immune system cells in the lab, AIDS experts have figured out a way to kill off latent forms of HIV that hide in infected T cells long after antiretroviral therapy has successfully stalled viral replication to undetectable levels in blood tests.

Want to limit aggression? Practice self-control

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 09:00 AM PST

Feeling angry and annoyed with others is a daily part of life, but most people don't act on these impulses. What keeps us from punching line-cutters or murdering conniving coworkers? Self control. A new review article examines the psychological research and finds that it's possible to deplete self-control -- or to strengthen it by practice.

Origami-inspired paper sensor could test for malaria and HIV for less than 10 cents, report chemists

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 09:00 AM PST

Inspired by the paper-folding art of origami, chemists have developed a 3-D paper sensor that may be able to test for diseases such as malaria and HIV for less than 10 cents a pop. The sensors can be printed out on an office printer, and take less than a minute to assemble.

Mom's voice may improve the health of premature babies

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 09:00 AM PST

When babies are born prematurely, they are thrust into a hospital environment that while highly successful at saving their lives, is not exactly the same as the mother's womb where ideal development occurs. Now, new research links exposure to an audio recording of mom's heartbeat and her voice to lower incidence of cardiorespiratory events in preterm infants.

When prejudices become a disadvantage

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 08:57 AM PST

Researchers have been exploring the question of whether prejudices might be rational under certain conditions. Using game theory, they created various scenarios and played them fifteen million times. The researchers have now reached a conclusion: those who are prejudiced are soon at a disadvantage, as they learn nothing new and miss many opportunities.

Maternal obesity may influence brain development of premature infants

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 08:56 AM PST

Maternal obesity may contribute to cognitive impairment in extremely premature babies, according to a new study.

Discovery of brain's natural resistance to drugs may offer clues to treating addiction

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 07:16 AM PST

A single injection of cocaine or methamphetamine in mice caused their brains to put the brakes on neurons that generate sensations of pleasure, and these cellular changes lasted for at least a week, according to new research.

How a bacterial pathogen breaks down barriers to enter and infect cells

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 07:16 AM PST

Scientists have found for the first time that a bacterial pathogen can literally mow down protective molecules, known as mucins, on mucus membranes to enter and infect a part of the body.

Aging, overweight people stay happy says new study

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 07:07 AM PST

Growing older and being overweight are not necessarily associated with a decrease in mental well-being, according to a cross-cultural study looking at quality of life and health status in the US and the UK.

Men respond more aggressively than women to stress and it's all down to a single gene

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 04:10 AM PST

The pulse quickens, the heart pounds and adrenalin courses through the veins, but in stressful situations is our reaction controlled by our genes, and does it differ between the sexes? Scientists believe the SRY gene, which directs male development, may promote aggression and other traditionally male behavioral traits resulting in the fight-or-flight reaction to stress.

Wash your mouth out with silver, to treat hard-to-treat mouth infections?

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 03:25 AM PST

Yeasts which cause hard-to-treat mouth infections are killed using silver nanoparticles in the laboratory, scientists have found. These yeast infections, caused by Candida albicans and Candida glabrata target the young, old and immuno-compromised. Scientists hope to test silver nanoparticles in mouthwash and dentures as a potential preventative measure against these infections.

Cannabinoid 2 receptors regulate impulsive behaviour

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 03:25 AM PST

A new study reveals how manipulating the endocannabinoid system can modulate high levels of impulsivity. This is the main problem in psychiatric illnesses such a schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and substance abuse.

HIV/AIDS vaccine shows long-term protection against multiple exposures in non-human primates

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 03:51 PM PST

Scientists have developed a vaccine that has protected nonhuman primates against multiple exposures to simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) given in three clusters over more than three years. SIV is the nonhuman primate version of HIV.

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