ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• First successful vaccination against 'mad cow'-like wasting disease in deer
• Researchers move closer to new range of biosensors
• Televised medical talk shows: Health education or entertainment?
• Polymorphism, bacteria inside us help dictate inflammation, antitumor activity
• Vaccine therapy for prostate cancer patients with rising PSA examined
• The dementia that is not Alzheimer's disease
• Steroid-based treatment may answer needs of pediatric EoE patients
• Epithelial tube contraction: A new feedback mechanism for regulating contractility
• Parkinson's disease reverted at experimental stage
• Creation of 'rocker' protein opens way for new smart molecules in medicine, other fields
• Fast-changing genes help malaria hide in human body
• 'Hairclip' protein mechanism explained
• Neuro-oncologists discover cancer cells can burn acetate for fuel
• Core hospital care team members may surprise you
• Of bugs and brains: Striking similarities in brain structures across invertebrates
• Microexons: Small fragments of genes, essential for neuron maturation
• Tackling neurotransmission precision

First successful vaccination against 'mad cow'-like wasting disease in deer Posted: 21 Dec 2014 03:37 PM PST Researchers say that a vaccination they have developed to fight a brain-based, wasting syndrome among deer and other animals may hold promise on two additional fronts: protecting US livestock from contracting the disease, and preventing similar brain infections in humans.

Researchers move closer to new range of biosensors Posted: 20 Dec 2014 08:43 PM PST Researchers have found a way of binding peptides to the surface of gallium nitride in a way that keeps the peptides stable even when exposed to water and radiation. The discovery moves researchers one step closer to developing a new range of biosensors for use in medical and biological research applications.

Televised medical talk shows: Health education or entertainment? Posted: 20 Dec 2014 08:35 PM PST Millions of viewers around the world watch the televised medical talk programs 'The Dr. Oz Show' and 'The Doctors' for medical advice, but how valuable are the recommendations they receive? In a first of its kind study, researchers have examined the recommendations given on those two shows to see if there is believable evidence to back up the claims presented. The results were revealing.

Polymorphism, bacteria inside us help dictate inflammation, antitumor activity Posted: 20 Dec 2014 08:35 PM PST A common polymorphism can lead to a chain of events that dictates how a tumor will progress in certain types of cancer, including a form of breast cancer as well as ovarian cancer, according to new research. The research reveals a more explicit role about the symbiotic relationship humans have with the various bacteria that inhabit our body and their role during tumor progression.

Vaccine therapy for prostate cancer patients with rising PSA examined Posted: 19 Dec 2014 01:05 PM PST Aiming to increase treatment options for prostate cancer patients who have an early relapse, investigators from a multi-institutional cooperative group have demonstrated that a vaccine therapy that stimulates the body's own immune defenses can be given safely and earlier in the course of prostate cancer progression.

The dementia that is not Alzheimer's disease Posted: 19 Dec 2014 01:04 PM PST The term Alzheimer's is frequently used to describe all dementias even though there are many different causes for dementia. Lewy body dementia affects 1.4 million American and is frequently misdiagnosed, experts report.

Steroid-based treatment may answer needs of pediatric EoE patients Posted: 19 Dec 2014 07:40 AM PST A new formulation of oral budesonide suspension, a steroid-based treatment, is safe and effective in treating pediatric patients with eosinophilic esophagitis, according to a new study. Eosinophilic esophagitis is a chronic immune system disease caused by a buildup of white blood cells in the lining of the esophagus. This build up, which is a reaction to food, allergens or acid reflux, can inflame or injure esophageal tissue.

Epithelial tube contraction: A new feedback mechanism for regulating contractility Posted: 19 Dec 2014 07:39 AM PST Researchers have identified a novel mechanosensitive regulation of epithelial tube contraction. Many of the fundamental processes of life rely on biological structures known as epithelial tubes. These tubes serve to transport various gases, liquids and cells around the body. With each breath, for example, epithelial tubes transport oxygen to the lungs.

Parkinson's disease reverted at experimental stage Posted: 18 Dec 2014 05:58 PM PST Scientists demonstrated experimentally, with adult rats, that mobility can be restored in patients with Parkinson's disease, the major degenerative disease of the motor system worldwide. The experiments have not yet been transferred to humans, but are a scientific, measurable and repeatable basis to fight against this disease.

Creation of 'rocker' protein opens way for new smart molecules in medicine, other fields Posted: 18 Dec 2014 11:10 AM PST Human cells are protected by a largely impenetrable molecular membrane, but researchers have built the first artificial transporter protein that carries individual atoms across membranes, opening the possibility of engineering a new class of smart molecules with applications in fields as wide ranging as nanotechnology and medicine.

Fast-changing genes help malaria hide in human body Posted: 18 Dec 2014 11:10 AM PST A new study, which shows how malaria parasites behave when they live in human red blood cells, could explain why the deadly infection has proved so hard to beat. Scientists have found that Plasmodium falciparum parasites can rapidly change the proteins on the surface of their host cells in order to hide from the immune system. Around a million new and unrecognizable surface proteins can be created in every infected human every two days.

'Hairclip' protein mechanism explained Posted: 18 Dec 2014 11:09 AM PST A new study describes, for the first time, a fundamental mechanism regulating a protein's shape. The 'Hairclip' mechanism involves mutations acting on one side of a protein to open or close the configuration of amino acids on the other. The findings have implications for the manipulation of proteins, with potential applications in biotechnology and drug development.

Neuro-oncologists discover cancer cells can burn acetate for fuel Posted: 18 Dec 2014 11:08 AM PST Brain tumors are capable of burning acetate for fuel, providing a new potential target for halting tumor growth, researchers report. Researchers have been struggling with what fuels cancer cell growth. For more than 75 years, they have known that cancer cells use glucose as the major fuel, but efforts to halt cancer growth by controlling glucose levels in the brain haven't worked.

Core hospital care team members may surprise you Posted: 18 Dec 2014 11:08 AM PST Doctors and nurses are traditionally thought to be the primary caretakers of patients in a typical hospital setting. But according to a study at a burn center intensive care unit, three physicians, a social worker and a dietitian were documented as the most central communicators of the patient clinical team.

Of bugs and brains: Striking similarities in brain structures across invertebrates Posted: 18 Dec 2014 10:19 AM PST The fundamental structures underlying learning and memory in the brains of invertebrates as different as a fruit fly and an earthworm are remarkably similar, according to neuroscientists. It turns out that the structure and function of brain centers responsible for learning and memory in a wide range of invertebrate species may possibly share the same fundamental characteristics.

Microexons: Small fragments of genes, essential for neuron maturation Posted: 18 Dec 2014 10:15 AM PST Scientists have described a group of small DNA fragments that are key in neuron regulation and maturity. The discovery reveals the importance of these small fragments and their relationship with autism.

Tackling neurotransmission precision Posted: 18 Dec 2014 10:14 AM PST A new way to measure the distance from voltage-gated channels to vesicles has been developed by one expert, who, in a new article, explains how this distance affects neural signaling precision and efficacy.

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