Why diabetics suffer from increased pain and temperature sensitivity is a step closer to being understood and effectively treated.
Research published in the journal Nature Medicine reveals that a multi-national collaboration between scientists from Warwick Medical School in the UK, and universities in Germany, New York, Australia and Eastern Europe, has discovered key information around one of the most distressing side effects of diabetes.
Researchers at Warwick Medical School have discovered a way of identifying which women are most at risk of postnatal depression (PND) by checking for specific genetic variants. The findings could lead to the development of a simple, accurate blood test which checks for the likelihood of developing the condition.
Genes play a greater role in forming character traits - such as self-control, decision making or sociability - than was previously thought, new research suggests.
A study of more than 800 sets of twins found that genetics were more influential in shaping key traits than a person's home environment and surroundings.
Psychologists at the University of Edinburgh who carried out the study, say that genetically influenced characteristics could well be the key to how successful a person is in life.
Plants are dependent on the sun. Sunlight does not only supply them with energy, but also controls their development steps. So-called photoreceptors activate the processes of germination, leaf development, bud formation, and blossoming in the cells. The light-absorbing component of a photoreceptor may be replaced by a chemically similar synthetic substance. For the first time, the effects on complete plants are now described in the The Plant Cell journal.
Jerusalem, May 16, 2012 – A method developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for training blind persons to "see" through the use of a sensory substitution device (SSD) has enabled those using the system to actually "read" an eye chart with letter sizes smaller than those used in determining the international standard for blindness.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Apigenin, a natural substance found in grocery store produce aisles, shows promise as a non-toxic treatment for an aggressive form of human breast cancer, following a new study at the University of Missouri. MU researchers found apigenin shrank a type of breast cancer tumor that is stimulated by progestin, a synthetic hormone given to women to ease symptoms related to menopause.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Multiple myeloma patients are better equipped to halt progression of this blood cancer if treated with lenalidomide, or Revlimid®, following a stem cell transplant, according to a study co-authored by a physician with the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found a 63 percent reduction in the risk of progressive myeloma or death for the stem cell transplant patients that were treated with lenalidomide maintenance therapy.
HOUSTON – Breast cancer stem cells wear a cell surface protein that is part nametag and part bull's eye, identifying them as potent tumor-generating cells and flagging their vulnerability to a drug, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report online in Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Even though hundreds of thousands more people finished grueling 26.2 mile marathons in the United States in 2009 compared to a decade earlier, a runner's risk of dying during or soon after the race has remained very low — about .75 per 100,000, new Johns Hopkins research suggests. Men, however, were twice as likely to die as women.
Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare genetic disorder which affects one person in 350,000. People affected by this disease have defects in DNA repair, and are hypersensitive to oxidative damage, resulting in bone marrow failure and an increased predisposition to cancer. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases shows that a combination of the fatty acid α-lipoic acid (α-LA) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) can stabilize the DNA of blood cells from FA patients, and drastically reduce its instability.
Making simple repairs could save the UK could save millions of pounds by replacing fuses or plugs rather than throwing away perfectly reusable microwaves with brand new ones.
On bmj.com today, two experts debate whether childhood vaccination should be mandatory in the UK.
Paul Offit, Chief of Infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia believes that mandatory vaccination is needed to protect vulnerable people from infection.
New research shows how bacteria evolve to increase ecosystem functioning by recycling each other's waste. The study provides some of the first evidence for how interactions between species shape evolution when there is a diverse community.
Pre-birth exposure to the anti-HIV drug tenofovir does not adversely affect pregnancy outcomes and does not increase birth defects, growth abnormalities, or kidney problems in infants born to African women who are HIV positive, supporting the use of this drug during pregnancy, according to a study by a team of international researchers published in this week's PLoS Medicine.
An international treaty is a promising tool for improving the coherence, fairness, efficiency, and sustainability of the global health research and development system according to international experts writing in this week's PLoS Medicine.