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Like curry? New biological role identified for compound used in ancient medicine

Oregon State University scientists just identified a new reason why some curry dishes, made with spices humans have used for thousands of years, might be good for you.

Pivotal role for proteins -- from helping turn carbs into energy to causing devastating disease

Research into how carbohydrates are converted into energy has led to a surprising discovery with implications for the treatment of a perplexing and potentially fatal neuromuscular disorder and possibly even...

Hazelnuts: New source of key fat for infant formula that's more like mother's milk

Scientists are reporting development of a healthy "designer fat" that, when added to infant formula, provides a key nutrient that premature babies need in high quantities, but isn't available in...

IUDs, implants most effective birth control

A study to evaluate birth control methods has found dramatic differences in their effectiveness. Women who used birth control pills, the patch or vaginal ring were 20 times more likely...

Final word: Task force recommends against PSA-based screening for prostate cancer

Following a period for public comment, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released its final recommendation for prostate cancer screening. The Task Force now recommends against PSA-based screening...

New discoveries about severe malaria

Researchers from Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (Seattle BioMed), the University of Copenhagen and the University of Edinburgh have uncovered new knowledge related to host-parasite interaction in severe malaria, concerning how...

Strategy discovered to activate genes that suppress tumors and inhibit cancer

A research team led by two scientists at Penn State University has developed a promising cancer-fighting strategy for "reactivating" genes that cause cancer tumors to shrink and die. This image is a microscopic view of cancer cells. The researchers hope that their discovery will aid in the development of an innovative anti-cancer drug that effectively targets unhealthy, cancerous tissue without damaging healthy, non-cancerous tissue and vital organs.A team of scientists has developed a promising new strategy for "reactivating" genes that cause cancer tumors to shrink and die. The researchers hope that their discovery will aid in...

Folic acid food enrichment potentially protective against childhood cancers

Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Washington University in St. Louis have found folic acid fortification of grain products in the United States may have an impact on lowering...

Phase I clinical trial shows drug shrinks melanoma brain metastases

An experimental drug targeting a common mutation in melanoma successfully shrank tumors that spread to the brain in nine out of 10 patients in part of an international phase I...

Google goes cancer: Researchers use search engine algorithm to find cancer biomarkers

The strategy used by Google to decide which pages are relevant for a search query can also be used to determine which proteins in a patient's cancer are relevant for...

NIH-funded research provides new clues on how ApoE4 affects Alzheimer's risk

Destructive enzymes (shown in green) become more active and weaken the blood-brain barrier in mice that are genetically engineered to produce only human ApoE4 (right), rather than mouse ApoE (left).Common variants of the ApoE gene are strongly associated with the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease, but the gene's role in the disease has been unclear. Now, researchers funded...

Key gene found responsible for chronic inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have, for the first time, identified a single gene that simultaneously controls inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer.

Calcium supplements linked to significantly increased heart attack risk

Calcium supplements might increase the risk of having a heart attack, and should be "taken with caution," concludes research published in the online issue of the journal Heart.

Chronic pain is relieved by cell transplantation in lab study

In this cross section of a mouse spinal cord, cells transplanted from the brain, bright green, are shown one day after injection.Chronic pain, by definition, is difficult to manage, but a new study by UCSF scientists shows how a cell therapy might one day be used not only to quell some...

Scientists turn patients' skin cells into heart muscle cells to repair their damaged hearts

For the first time scientists have succeeded in taking skin cells from heart failure patients and reprogramming them to transform into healthy, new heart muscle cells that are capable of...

New study examines relationship between social status and wound healing in wild baboons

Turns out it's not bad being top dog, or in this case, top baboon.

New TB test promises to be cheap and fast

This microfluidic chip invented at UC Davis uses DNA, coated on the gold spots, to test for gamma interferon -- a test for latent TB infection. The test promises to be cheaper and faster than existing tests.Biomedical engineers at UC Davis have developed a microfluidic chip to test for latent tuberculosis. They hope the test will be cheaper, faster and more reliable than current testing for...

Caesarean section delivery may double risk of childhood obesity

Caesarean section delivery may double the risk of subsequent childhood obesity, finds research published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

A new method detects traces of veterinary drugs in baby food

The amount of veterinary drugs detected in baby food is very low and not worrying, but it shows a need for control.The quantities are very small, but in milk powder and in meat-based baby food, residues of drugs given to livestock were found. Researchers from the University of Almeria (Spain) have...

Babies' susceptibility to colds linked to immune response at birth

Innate differences in immunity can be detected at birth, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. And babies with a better innate response to...

Fighting bacteria's strength in numbers

The opportunistic pathogen <I>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</I> in a special growth media. This bacteria can cause life-threatening infection, particularly in cystic fibrosis sufferers.Scientists at The University of Nottingham have opened the way for more accurate research into new ways to fight dangerous bacterial infections by proving a long-held theory about how bacteria...

Potential new drugs for fox tapeworm infection in humans

Scientists are reporting development and testing of a new series of drugs that could finally stop the fox tapeworm -- which causes a rare but life-threatening disease in humans --...

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