Body

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 6, 2011) -- From grinding heavy metal to soothing ocean waves, the sounds we hear are all perceptible thanks to the vibrations felt by tiny molecular motors in the hair cells of the inner ear. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have now identified the mechanism by which a single amino acid change can disrupt the normal functioning of one of the critical components of that physiology -- a molecular motor protein called myo1c, which resides in the cochlea of the inner ear.

The largest-ever study of its type into coronary heart disease, involving scientists from the University of Leicester, has uncovered 13 new genes that increase risk of heart attacks.

STANFORD, Calif. — Thirteen new gene regions have been convincingly linked to coronary atherosclerosis in a massive, new, international genetics study involving investigators from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Scientists have identified a single mutated gene that causes Hajdu-Cheney syndrome, a disorder of the bones causing progressive bone loss and osteoporosis (fragile bones). The study, published in Nature Genetics today, gives vital insight into possible causes of osteoporosis and highlights the gene as a potential target for treating the condition.

An international research collaboration has identified 13 new gene sites associated with the risk of coronary artery disease and validated 10 sites found in previous studies. Several of the novel sites discovered in the study, which is being published online in Nature Genetics, do not appear to relate to known risk factors, suggesting previously unsuspected mechanisms for cardiovascular disease.

In an improvement over open-heart surgery, cardiologists now use catheters to eliminate damaged heart tissue in certain patients, such as those with arrhythmias. But this, too, can be a long and painful procedure as many catheters, with different functions, need to be inserted sequentially.

LA JOLLA, CA – "Pluripotent" stem cells—which have the potential to mature into almost any cell in the body—are being widely studied for their role in treating a vast array of human diseases and for generating cells and tissues for transplantation. Now, a team of Scripps Research Institute scientists has created a quality control diagnostic test that will make it much easier for researchers to determine whether their cell lines are normal pluripotent cells.

The study was published in an online version of Nature Methods on March 6, 2011.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 6, 2011) -- New findings from researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto may shed light on the mechanisms that regulate the organization of receptors on the cell surface, a critical aspect of cell signaling not well understood at this time.

"Bariatric surgery" refers to several different surgical procedures designed to assist weight loss by limiting the amount of food someone eats or the amount they absorb during digestion. It has been used for several years to treat obesity in adults. A new study published in the journal Clinical Obesity reveals that bariatric surgery can result in significant weight loss in severely obese adolescents.

Your family's involvement in your exercise therapy could significantly improve your function and recovery after stroke, according to a study in the March print issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers found that adding family-assisted exercise therapy to routine physical therapy after stroke improved motor function, balance, distance walked and ability to perform daily living activities. It also lowered the strain on the family member, who said participation lowered stress and was empowering.

A new microscope invented by scientists at Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus will let researchers use an exquisitely thin sheet of light -- similar to that used in supermarket bar-code scanners -- to peer inside single living cells, revealing the three-dimensional shapes of cellular landmarks in unprecedented detail. The microscopy technique images at high speed, so researchers can create dazzling movies that make biological processes, such as cell division, come alive.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Using a bone-creating protein to augment the maxillary sinus could improve dental implant success, according to Georgia Health Sciences University researchers.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or more popularly, Lou Gehrig's disease, is a notorious neurodegenerative condition characterized by the progressive deterioration of brain and spinal cord neurons, resulting in the gradual but catastrophic loss of muscle control and ultimately, death.

Atlanta - DNA provides the instruction manual for all life forms. Occasionally, instructions are not carried out properly, and bad messages are sent leading to the creation of mutant proteins and possible tumor development.

Controlling the Unconscious: Attentional Task Sets Modulate Subliminal Semantic and Visuomotor Processes Differentially Ulla Martens, Ulrich Ansorge, and Markus Kiefer