ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Learn that tune while fast asleep: Stimulation during sleep can enhance skill learning
• Boosting blood system protein complex protects against radiation toxicity
• Brain structure helps guide behavior by anticipating changing demands
• Neurons that control overeating also drive appetite for cocaine
• Biodegradable artery graft will enhance bypass surgeries
• Genome-wide analysis shows previously undetected abnormalities in parents of affected children
• Gene mutations cause massive brain asymmetry
• Blood-brain barrier building blocks forged from human stem cells
• Cancers with disorganized 'traffic systems' more difficult to treat
• Environmental estrogens affect early developmental activity in zebrafish
• Sleep improves functioning in Parkinson’s patients, but reasons remain elusive
• Device implanted in brain has therapeutic potential for Huntington's disease
• New studies hint at possible approaches to protect those at risk for Huntington’s disease
• Cause of an inherited form of epilepsy discovered
• New tools for targeting genes linked to autism
• Selenium suppresses staph on implant material
• Poor mothers favor daughters, study suggests
• Blood test for pregnant women could predict risk of having dangerously small babies
• A better way to help high-risk pregnant smokers
• Multiple sclerosis patients have lower risk of cancer
• Brain controlled robotic arm:Scientists read out arm movements from brain's surface

Learn that tune while fast asleep: Stimulation during sleep can enhance skill learning Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:50 AM PDT Want to nail that tune that you've practiced and practiced? Maybe you should take a nap with the same melody playing during your sleep, new provocative research suggests. The research grows out of exciting existing evidence that suggests that memories can be reactivated during sleep and storage of them can be strengthened in the process.

Boosting blood system protein complex protects against radiation toxicity Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:49 AM PDT Boosting a protein pathway in the body's blood making system protects mice from otherwise fatal radiation poisoning. Scientists say their findings open the potential for new treatments against radiation toxicity during cancer treatment or environmental exposures -- such as in a nuclear explosion or accident.

Brain structure helps guide behavior by anticipating changing demands Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:49 AM PDT A structure deep within the brain, believed to play an important role in regulating conscious control of goal-directed behavior, helps to optimize behavioral responses by predicting how difficult upcoming tasks will be.

Neurons that control overeating also drive appetite for cocaine Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:49 AM PDT Researchers have zeroed in on a set of neurons in the part of the brain that controls hunger, and found that these neurons are not only associated with overeating, but also linked to non-food associated behaviors, like novelty-seeking and drug addiction.

Biodegradable artery graft will enhance bypass surgeries Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:49 AM PDT With the development of a cell-free, biodegradable artery graft comes a potentially transformative change in coronary artery bypass surgeries: Within 90 days after surgery, the patient will have a regenerated artery with no trace of synthetic graft materials left in the body.

Genome-wide analysis shows previously undetected abnormalities in parents of affected children Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:48 AM PDT The use of genome-wide array analysis in parents whose children are suspected of having a genetic disease shows that the parents frequently also have previously undetected genetic abnormalities, a researcher said.  Being aware of this is important to parents because it means that their risk of having another affected child is significantly increased.

Gene mutations cause massive brain asymmetry Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:48 AM PDT Scientists say de novo somatic mutations in a trio of genes that help regulate cell size and proliferation are likely culprits for causing hemimegalencephaly, though perhaps not the only ones.

Blood-brain barrier building blocks forged from human stem cells Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:48 AM PDT The blood-brain barrier may be poised to give up some of its secrets as researchers have created in the laboratory dish the cells that make up the brain's protective barrier. The researchers describe transforming stem cells into endothelial cells with blood-brain barrier qualities.

Cancers with disorganized 'traffic systems' more difficult to treat Posted: 21 Jun 2012 04:59 PM PDT Medical researchers reviewed test results from thousands of patients with various types of cancer and discovered that "disorganized" cancers were more difficult to treat and consistently resulted in lower survival rates.

Environmental estrogens affect early developmental activity in zebrafish Posted: 21 Jun 2012 04:56 PM PDT New research reveals that environmental estrogens may influence human and animal development at the very beginning stages of embryonic development, which is earlier than previously realized.

Sleep improves functioning in Parkinson’s patients, but reasons remain elusive Posted: 21 Jun 2012 09:59 AM PDT Some Parkinson's patients report that their motor function is better upon awakening in the morning, which is contrary to what would be expected after a night without medication. This phenomenon, known as sleep benefit, has been studied but no consistent variables have been found and in the last decade there has been little new research. A new study assesses a large sample of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and confirms that some patients experience sleep benefit, both overnight and following afternoon naps, but finds no significant variables between those who do benefit and those who do not.

Device implanted in brain has therapeutic potential for Huntington's disease Posted: 21 Jun 2012 09:55 AM PDT Studies suggest that neurotrophic factors, which play a role in the development and survival of neurons, have significant therapeutic and restorative potential for neurologic diseases such as Huntington's disease. However, clinical applications are limited because these proteins cannot easily cross the blood brain barrier, have a short half-life, and cause serious side effects. Now, a group of scientists has successfully treated neurological symptoms in laboratory rats by implanting a device to deliver a genetically engineered neurotrophic factor directly to the brain.

New studies hint at possible approaches to protect those at risk for Huntington’s disease Posted: 21 Jun 2012 09:55 AM PDT Two new studies hint at possible approaches to protect those at risk for Huntington's disease.

Cause of an inherited form of epilepsy discovered Posted: 21 Jun 2012 09:49 AM PDT Double-cortex syndrome primarily affects females and arises from mutations on a gene located on the X chromosome. Medical researchers have used a highly advanced microscope to discover how these mutations cause a malformation of the human brain.

New tools for targeting genes linked to autism Posted: 21 Jun 2012 09:49 AM PDT Researchers have combined two tools – gene expression and the use of peripheral blood -- to expand scientists' arsenal of methods for pinpointing genes that play a role in autism. The findings could help scientists zero in on genes that offer future therapeutic targets for the disorder.

Selenium suppresses staph on implant material Posted: 21 Jun 2012 08:33 AM PDT A coating of selenium nanoparticles significantly reduces the growth of Staphylococcus aureus on polycarbonate, a material common in implanted devices such as catheters and endotracheal tubes, engineers report.

Poor mothers favor daughters, study suggests Posted: 21 Jun 2012 08:33 AM PDT Poor mothers will invest more resources in daughters, who stand a greater chance of increasing their status through marriage than do sons, suggests a new study.

Blood test for pregnant women could predict risk of having dangerously small babies Posted: 21 Jun 2012 08:33 AM PDT Researchers have found a protein in the blood of pregnant women that can predict if they are likely to have a fetus that doesn't grow properly, and thus has a high risk of stillbirth and long-term health complications. The research could lead to a widely available blood test and new treatments.

A better way to help high-risk pregnant smokers Posted: 21 Jun 2012 08:33 AM PDT Cigarette smoking among drug dependent pregnant women is alarmingly high, estimated at 77 to 99 percent. Programs that treat pregnant patients for substance use disorders often fail to address cigarette smoking despite the clear risks to both mother and child, including ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, preterm delivery, low birth weight, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. However, programs to help people quit smoking do not seem to interfere with drug abuse treatment, and may actually improve drug abstinence rates.

Multiple sclerosis patients have lower risk of cancer Posted: 21 Jun 2012 08:33 AM PDT Multiple sclerosis patients appear to have a lower cancer risk, according to a new study.

Brain controlled robotic arm:Scientists read out arm movements from brain's surface Posted: 21 Jun 2012 08:25 AM PDT Interfaces between the brain and a computer could be the key to a more independent life for patients with severe paralysis: Devices that transform the mere thought of a movement into a command for a robotic arm or a cursor on a screen. Scientists have now utilized the brain activity associated with an arm movement recorded from the surface of the brain to steer a cursor in real-time.

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