Body

The commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotics moxifloxacin and levofloxacin are associated with an increased risk of severe liver injury in older people, according to a new study published in CMAJ .

We are not all the same when it comes to illness. In fact, the risk of developing a disease such as diabetes or heart disease varies from one individual to another. A study led by Emmanouil Dermitzakis, Louis-Jeantet Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva (UNIGE) reveals that the genetic predisposition to develop certain diseases may differ from one individual to another depending on their sex. Together with his collaborators, the professor has shown that genetic variants have a different impact on the level of gene expression between men and women.

Associate Professor Jeff Kerr said that when these egg-producing cells were missing the PUMA protein, they did not die after being exposed to radiation therapy. "This might ordinarily be cause for concern because you want damaged egg cells to die so as not to produce abnormal offspring," he said. "To our great surprise we found that not only did the cells survive being irradiated, they were able to repair the DNA damage they had sustained and could be ovulated and fertilized, producing healthy offspring.

New research offers hope to women whose fertility has been compromised by the side-effects of cancer therapy or by premature menopause.

In a study published today in Molecular Cell, researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), Monash University and Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research found that two proteins, PUMA and NOXA, cause the death of egg cells in the ovaries. Blocking the activity of the proteins may lead to new strategies to protect women's fertility.

SEATTLE – A simple three-question paper-and-pencil survey, given to women in the doctor's office in less than two minutes, can effectively identify those who are experiencing symptoms that may indicate ovarian cancer, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Boston, Mass., September 21, 2012 –A new study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that adolescents who eliminated sugar-sweetened beverages for one year gained less weight than those who didn't, shedding light on an effective intervention to help combat adolescent obesity.

This release is also available in Chinese on EurekAlert! Chinese.

Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health have found that greater consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is linked with a greater genetic susceptibility to high body mass index (BMI) and increased risk of obesity. The study reinforces the view that environmental and genetic factors may act together to shape obesity risk.

For people who already have high blood pressure, insomnia can have serious consequences, according to a new study presented at the American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research 2012 Scientific Sessions.

Researchers studied the sleeping patterns of 234 people with high blood pressure. Most participants slept six or fewer hours, and those who also reported poor sleep quality were twice as likely to have resistant hypertension as those who slept well.

DNA sequencing is the driving force behind key discoveries in medicine and biology. For instance, the complete sequence of an individual's genome provides important markers and guidelines for medical diagnostics and healthcare. Up to now, the major roadblock has been the cost and speed of obtaining highly accurate DNA sequences. While numerous advances have been made in the last 10 years, most current high-throughput sequencing instruments depend on optical techniques for the detection of the four building blocks of DNA: A, C, G and T.

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Shengyuan Yang, Florida Institute of Technology assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, with graduate student Sang Joo Lee, has published a paper on the first-ever imaging of cells growing on spherical surfaces. The paper is published in the online journal, Review of Scientific Instruments, and will appear later in September in the print version.

Why do many heavy smokers evade lung cancer while others who have never lit up die of the disease? The question has vexed scientists for decades.

Now, new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests a key immune cell may play a role in lung cancer susceptibility. Working in mice, they found evidence that the genetic diversity in natural killer cells, which typically seek out and destroy tumor cells, contributes to whether or not the animals develop lung cancer.

The research is published in September in Cancer Research.

Obesity in black children more severely impacts blood pressure than in white children who are equally overweight, according to a new study presented at the American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research 2012 Scientific Sessions.

Researchers examined the effect of age and body weight on blood pressure in children at an obesity clinic. While age and body weight were similar among black and white patients, black children had significantly higher blood pressure compared to their white counterparts.

The seeds of greenhouse-grown corn could hold the key to treating a rare, life-threatening childhood genetic disease, according to researchers from Simon Fraser University.

SFU biologist Allison Kermode and her team have been carrying out multidisciplinary research toward developing enzyme therapeutics for lysosomal storage diseases - rare, but devastating childhood genetic diseases – for more than a decade.

In the most severe forms of these inherited diseases, untreated patients die in early childhood because of progressive damage to all organs of the body.

Adding a missing protein to infertile human sperm can 'kick-start' its ability to fertilise an egg and dramatically increase the chances of a successful pregnancy, a team of Cardiff University scientists have uncovered.

The team from Cardiff University's School of Medicine first found that sperm transfers a vital protein, known as PLC-zeta (PLCz), to the egg upon fertilisation. This sperm protein initiates a process called 'egg activation' which sets off all the biological processes necessary for development of an embryo.

PHILADELPHIA – We often hear that "knowledge is power." But, that isn't always the case, especially when the knowledge pertains to the health of an unborn child, with murky implications, at best. A new study, led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, begins to document this exception to the general rule.