ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Scientists reprogram cancer cells with low doses of epigenetic drugs
• Antioxidant supplements seem to increase mortality, review shows
• Can our genes be making us fat?
• Scientists wrest partial control of a memory
• Blood-pressure drug may slow diabetes progression
• Somatic stem cells obtained from skin cells; pluripotency 'detour' skipped
• Anxiety boosts sense of smell
• People with autism possess greater ability to process information, study suggests
• Runner's high motivated the evolution of exercise, research suggests
• Majority of fourth graders are exposed to smoke, study finds
• Antibiotic resistance genes accumulating in Lake Geneva
• Antidepressant proves effective in alleviating osteoarthritis pain
• Beginnings of COPD identified
• To promote lasting impact, cancer drugs should force dying cells to alert immune response
• Scientists open new window into how cancers override cellular growth controls
• Powerful new cells cloned: Key to immune system disease could lie inside the cheek

Scientists reprogram cancer cells with low doses of epigenetic drugs Posted: 22 Mar 2012 09:14 PM PDT Experimenting with cells in culture, researchers have breathed possible new life into two drugs once considered too toxic for human cancer treatment. The drugs, azacitidine (AZA) and decitabine (DAC), are epigenetic-targeted drugs and work to correct cancer-causing alterations that modify DNA.

Antioxidant supplements seem to increase mortality, review shows Posted: 22 Mar 2012 02:46 PM PDT Previous research on animal and physiological models suggests that antioxidant supplements have beneficial effects that may prolong life. Some observational studies also suggest that antioxidant supplements may prolong life, whereas other observational studies demonstrate neutral or harmful effects. A new review shows that antioxidant supplements seem to increase mortality. The current evidence does not support the use of antioxidant supplements in the general population or in patients with various diseases.

Can our genes be making us fat? Posted: 22 Mar 2012 01:20 PM PDT While high-fat foods are thought to be of universal appeal, there is actually a lot of variation in the extent to which people like and consume fat. A new study reported that two specific genes (TAS2R38–a bitter taste receptor and CD36–a possible fat receptor), may play a role in some people's ability to taste and enjoy dietary fat. By understanding the role of these two genes, food scientists may be able to help people who have trouble controlling how much fat they eat.

Scientists wrest partial control of a memory Posted: 22 Mar 2012 01:12 PM PDT Scientists have successfully harnessed neurons in mouse brains, allowing them to at least partially control a specific memory. Researchers have known for decades that stimulating various regions of the brain can trigger behaviors and even memories. But understanding the way these brain functions develop and occur normally -- effectively how we become who we are -- has been a much more complex goal.

Blood-pressure drug may slow diabetes progression Posted: 22 Mar 2012 12:14 PM PDT Researchers surprised by second effect of established drug. A common high-blood-pressure medication appears to reverse the diabetes-related death of pancreatic beta cells.

Somatic stem cells obtained from skin cells; pluripotency 'detour' skipped Posted: 22 Mar 2012 10:15 AM PDT Breaking new ground, scientists have succeeded in obtaining somatic stem cells from fully differentiated somatic cells. Researchers in Germany took skin cells from mice and, using a unique combination of growth factors while ensuring appropriate culturing conditions, have managed to induce the cells' differentiation into neuronal somatic stem cells.

Anxiety boosts sense of smell Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:03 AM PDT Anxious people have a heightened sense of smell when it comes to sniffing out a threat, according to a new study.

People with autism possess greater ability to process information, study suggests Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:03 AM PDT People with autism have a greater than normal capacity for processing information even from rapid presentations and are better able to detect information defined as "critical," according to a new study. The research may help explain the apparently higher than average prevalence in the IT industry of people with autism spectrum disorders.

Runner's high motivated the evolution of exercise, research suggests Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:03 AM PDT Runners often extol the virtues of the runner's high, but now a team of researchers suggest that the runner's high could have evolved to motivate us to exercise as part of our early long-distance nomadic lifestyle.

Majority of fourth graders are exposed to smoke, study finds Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:02 AM PDT More than 75 percent of fourth-graders in urban and rural settings have measurable levels of a nicotine breakdown product in their saliva that documents their second-hand smoke exposure, researchers report.

Antibiotic resistance genes accumulating in Lake Geneva Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:00 AM PDT Large quantities of antibiotic-resistant bacteria enter the environment via municipal – and especially hospital – wastewater streams. Although wastewater treatment plants reduce the total number of bacteria, the most hazardous – multiresistant – strains appear to withstand or even to be promoted by treatment processes.

Antidepressant proves effective in alleviating osteoarthritis pain Posted: 22 Mar 2012 06:58 AM PDT Antidepressants can play a key role in alleviating painful conditions like osteoarthritis and may result in fewer side effects than traditionally prescribed drug regimes, such as anti-inflammatories and opioids, according to new research.

Beginnings of COPD identified Posted: 21 Mar 2012 02:23 PM PDT The third most deadly disease in the US, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), appears to be partly driven by the action of immune cells circulating in the blood entering into the tissues of the lungs. Scientists have discovered that this key process begins in the blood vessels around the large airways in the center of the lung. The discovery helps clarify how smoking can bring about this severe respiratory condition.

To promote lasting impact, cancer drugs should force dying cells to alert immune response Posted: 21 Mar 2012 02:23 PM PDT A new finding in basic science should trigger a "change in thinking" about how cancer drugs might be developed and tested for maximum effectiveness, say experts.

Scientists open new window into how cancers override cellular growth controls Posted: 21 Mar 2012 12:26 PM PDT Rapidly dividing cancer cells are skilled at patching up damage that would stop normal cells in their tracks, including wear and tear of telomeres, the protective caps at the end of each chromosome.

Powerful new cells cloned: Key to immune system disease could lie inside the cheek Posted: 21 Mar 2012 07:53 AM PDT Scientists have produced powerful new cells which can suppress the body's immune system. The cells are obtained by cloning tissue lining the human cheek, a less invasive process than obtaining adult stem cells from bone marrow. The breakthrough offers long term hope for dealing with immune system disorders.

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