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Visual impairment appears to be more common in people with diabetes than in those without the disease, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Hospital-based smoking cessation programs, along with referrals to cardiac rehabilitation, appear to be associated with increased rates of quitting smoking following heart attack, according to a report in the Oct. 13, 2008, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Emory University researchers studied 639 patients who smoked at the time of their hospitalization for heart attack. Six months later, 297 of the patients – approximately 47 percent of them - had quit smoking.

In a population survey of West African chimpanzees living in Côte d'Ivoire, researchers estimate that this endangered subspecies has dropped in numbers by a whopping 90 percent since the last survey was conducted 18 years ago. The few remaining chimpanzees are now highly fragmented, with only one viable population living in Taï National Park, according to a report in the October 14th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

A new study demonstrates that the embryonic mouse heart has an astounding capacity to regenerate, a phenomenon previously observed only in non-mammalian species. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 14th issue of the journal Developmental Cell, describes the previously unrecognized potential of the embryonic heart to replace diseased tissue through compensatory proliferation of healthy cells.

PASADENA, Calif.-- The transportation of antibodies from a mother to her newborn child is vital for the development of that child's nascent immune system. Those antibodies, donated by transfer across the placenta before birth or via breast milk after birth, help shape a baby's response to foreign pathogens and may influence the later occurrence of autoimmune diseases.

Scientists have found a new possible explanation for why people who eat more fruit and vegetables may gain protection against the spread of cancers.

They have shown that a fragment released from pectin, found in all fruits and vegetables, binds to and is believed to inhibit galectin 3 (Gal3), a protein that plays a role in all stages of cancer progression.

This release is also available in French.

Researchers at McGill University, King's College London and GlaxoSmithKline Inc. have identified two genetic variants in caucasians that together produce an astounding sevenfold increase the risk of male pattern baldness. Their results will be published Oct. 12 in the journal Nature Genetics.

This week Nature Nanotechnology journal (October 12th) reveals how scientists from the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) at UCL are using a novel nanomechanical approach to investigate the workings of vancomycin, one of the few antibiotics that can be used to combat increasingly resistant infections such as MRSA. The researchers, led by Dr Rachel McKendry and Professor Gabriel Aeppli, developed ultra-sensitive probes capable of providing new insight into how antibiotics work, paving the way for the development of more effective new drugs.

Humans have a built-in weapon against HIV, but until recently no one knew how to unlock its potential.

A study published online by the journal Nature reveals the atomic structure of this weapon – an enzyme known as APOBEC-3G – and suggests new directions for drug development.

APOBEC-3G is present in every human cell. It is capable of stopping HIV at the first step of replication, when the retrovirus transcribes its RNA into viral DNA.

The 1918 flu pandemic killed more than 40 million people worldwide and affected persons of all age groups. While it is difficult to predict when the next influenza pandemic will occur or how severe it will be, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed models to help organizations like the American Red Cross and Georgia Department of Education prepare emergency response plans.

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 12, 2008 – Research results highlighting three new devices used to reduce blockages in peripheral and coronary arteries and to provide cardiac support will be presented at the 20th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF).

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 12, 2008 – Results of five research studies and a clinical registry first-report presentation scheduled for the 20th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), suggest that triple antiplatelet therapy for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents achieves greater platelet inhibition than conventional dual antiplatelet therapy.

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 12, 2008 – Research results indicate that optical coherence tomography (OCT), a newly evolving imaging method, may be the best tool available to detect vulnerable plaque in coronary arteries. The findings will be presented at the 20th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF).

12 October 2008 – An online survey for World Arthritis Day (WAD), completed by over 3,600* respondents revealed that access to psychological support and self-management courses could help people with arthritis/rheumatism cope more effectively with their condition and achieve better quality of life. Healthcare professionals, people with rheumatic disease and their carers, who responded to the survey, highlight the importance of integrating psychological support into the standard treatment regime.

BOSTON, MA, October 11, 2008 – MedImmune announced today it will present four abstracts at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2008 National Conference & Exhibition that add to the company's growing body of research into the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a leading cause of viral respiratory infection among preterm infants.