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Use of certain measures for lung preservation after brain death in potential organ donors resulted in a nearly doubling of lungs eligible for donation, compared to a conventional strategy that is used, according to preliminary research published in the December 15 issue of JAMA.

Analysis has identified variations of a gene that are associated with a type of tumor that forms within the adrenal gland, according a study in the December 15 issue of JAMA. The age group in which these variations were found are frequently excluded from genetic screening models for this type of tumor.

Bone health experts attending the 1st Asia-Pacific Osteoporosis Meeting in Singapore this week have flagged vitamin D deficiency as a major concern in the region, particularly in South Asia where the problem is especially severe and widespread across the entire population.

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have described for the first time a key inhibitory role for the IL-1 signaling pathway in the human innate immune system, providing novel insights into human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and potential new treatments.

The research, led by Jose M. Gonzalez-Navajas, PhD, and Eyal Raz, MD, a professor of medicine at UC San Diego, is published as a Brief Definitive Report in the December issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Madison, WI December 14, 2010 -- Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have proven that measuring fluorescence could improve source water monitoring during a study of the McKenzie River in Oregon. The study was designed to assess the amount, type and source of dissolved organic carbon that exists in all sources of drinking water.

Genetically modified cells can be made to communicate with each other as if they were electronic circuits.

(Photo Credit: University of Gothenburg )

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New York, NY, December 14, 2010 – Inhaled corticosteroids are widely used in the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, these drugs may be associated with diabetes development and progression. In a study published in the most recent issue of The American Journal of Medicine, researchers found that inhaled corticosteroids were associated with a 34% increase in the rate of diabetes onset and in the rate of diabetes progression. At the highest inhaled doses the risk increased by 64% in diabetes onset and 54% in diabetes progression.

If you're unsure about what foods to eat to maintain a healthy diet, you're not alone. Increasing evidence continues to point people back to basics – and reach for the milk. A study to be published in the January edition of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals that drinking three glasses of milk per day may lead to an 18% decreased risk of cardiovascular disease.

PITTSBURGH—A man in St. Louis and a woman in New Hampshire have received the first kidney transplants made possible through a new national program of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) that uses a Carnegie Mellon University computer algorithm to match transplant candidates with living donors.

Researchers at the Andalusian Institute for Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine (CABIMER) and the University of Granada found that cFLIP –an inhibitor of death ligand-induced apoptosis– is not only essential in breast tumor cells resistance to TRAIL treatments (a death ligand with a potent therapeutic potential against cancer), but this protein is also key to the survival of such cancer cells.

From southern Africa's pineapple lily to Western Australia's swamp bottlebrush, flowering plants are everywhere. Also called angiosperms, they make up 90 percent of all land-based, plant life.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have identified the primary site where the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) begins infection in cattle. This discovery could lead to development of new vaccines to control and potentially eradicate FMD, a highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals that is considered the most economically devastating livestock disease in the world.

Scientists investigating the allergic reactions that asthmatics suffer towards a common mould have discovered that many people with asthma actually had the mould growing in their own lungs.

The research led by University of Leicester scientists at Glenfield Hospital has been published in the December 2010 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.