Body

A University of Colorado at Boulder study of a space-age, low-gravity training machine used by several 2008 Olympic runners showed it reduced impacts on muscles and joints by nearly half when subjects ran at the equivalent of 50 percent of their body weight.

The new study has implications for both competitive runners rehabilitating from injuries and for ordinary people returning from knee and hip surgeries, according to Associate Professor Rodger Kram of CU-Boulder's integrative physiology department.

People with schizophrenia bear an "increased burden" of rare deletions and duplications of genetic material, genome-wide, say researchers supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

It is well known that yeast, the humble ingredient that goes into our breads and beers, prefer to eat some sugars more than others. Glucose, their favorite food, provides more energy than any other sugar, and yeast has evolved a complex genetic network to ensure that they consume as much glucose as possible whenever it is available. UC San Diego bioengineers have recently identified a previously unknown mechanism that allows yeast to shut down the metabolism of another sugar, galactose, when they sense glucose in the environment.

Researchers have discovered new genes linked to schizophrenia, it has been revealed.

In two papers published in Nature today (July 30), scientists identify four mutated gene regions that may hold the key to producing new tailor-made drugs to treat the devastating mental illness.

It is hoped the finds, which are likely to galvanize the field of psychiatric genetics, could also lead to earlier diagnosis of the disorder, which affects around one in every 100 people.

Montreal, July 30, 2008 – Living near city expressways is associated with adverse birth effects on expectant mothers and their newborns, according to a novel study with global implications. In the August edition of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, scientists from the Université de Montréal and the University of South Australia reveal that women living closest to expressways are more vulnerable to highway pollution – especially affluent mothers.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Data from 260 hospitals across the United States has led to the creation of a new method for physicians to more accurately determine the severity of heart failure in patients upon hospital admission, with a goal of reducing in-hospital mortality and more quickly identifying triage methods and treatment decisions. The model is discussed in the July 29 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – While treadmill exercise stress testing is an essential tool in the prevention, detection and treatment of cardiovascular disease, physicians are often challenged to gain clear images of the heart when a patient is at peak stress level.

NEW YORK (July 30, 2008) -- Robotic surgery, largely pioneered for prostate cancer surgery, is rapidly being adapted for use in other areas, including for bladder cancer patients. Urologic surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center now have significant experience -- and have demonstrated considerable success -- with robotics for removal of the bladder, also known as cystectomy. Their findings are published in a recent edition of the peer-reviewed publication, the British Journal of Urology-International.

NEW YORK (July 29, 2008) -- With antibiotic resistance on the rise, tuberculosis is emerging as a bigger global health threat than ever before.

But now, innovative research at Weill Cornell Medical College suggests that Mycobacterium tuberculosis has an as yet unsuspected weakness -- one that could be a prime target for drug development.

This release is available in Spanish.

From nursery rhymes to Shakespearian sonnets, alliterations have always been an important aspect of poetry whether as an interesting aesthetic touch or just as something fun to read. But a recent study suggests that this literary technique is useful not only for poetry but also for memory.

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A University of Central Florida researcher may have found a defense against the Black Plague, a disease that wiped out a third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages and which government agencies perceive as a terrorist threat today.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Nearly half of women treated for breast cancer did not know that their odds of being alive after five years are roughly the same whether they undergo mastectomy or breast conserving surgery. Minority women were even less likely to be aware of this important factor of their treatment decision, according to a study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have identified a virus behind the mysterious infectious disease that has been killing parrots and exotic birds for more than 30 years.

The team, led by UCSF professors Joseph DeRisi, PhD, and Don Ganem, MD, also has developed a diagnostic test for the virus linked to Proventricular Dilation Disease, or PDD, which will enable veterinarians worldwide to control the spread of the virus.