Body

Currently, opioids are the standard treatment for chronic pain. Patients on opioids for long periods of time become desensitized to these drugs or become paradoxically hypersensitive to pain (hyperalgesia); however, the adaptive mechanisms are not well understood. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Yuan-Xiang Tao and colleagues from the New Jersey Medical School at Rutgers University report that the protein mTOR, which is a global regulator of translation, plays a major role in morphine tolerance.

Doxorubicin is a widely used as a component of chemotherapy regimes; however, the use of doxorubicin is associated with severe cardiotoxicity. It is unclear exactly how doxorubicin promotes cardiotoxicity, but it has been proposed that doxorubicin-associated cardiomyopathy develops as the result of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and iron accumulation.

JUPITER, FL, January 2, 2013 – Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have revealed an atomic-level view of a genetic defect that causes a form of muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy type 2, and have used this information to design drug candidates with potential to counter those defects—and reverse the disease.

If there's one thing you can bet on in horseracing, it's this: so-called successful bettors will always think that their little black books hold superior 'inside' knowledge that makes them experts. However, in the long run, the majority of horseracing punters will lose money at the track – and there will always be more losers than winners.

As people's waistlines increase, so does the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Now scientists have a better understanding of exactly what happens in the body that leads up to type 2 diabetes, and what likely causes some of the complications related to the disease. Specifically, scientists from Denmark have found that in mice, macrophages, a specific type of immune cell, invade the diabetic pancreatic tissue during the early stages of the disease.

Restricting calorie consumption is one of the few proven ways to combat aging. Though the underlying mechanism is unknown, calorie restriction has been shown to prolong lifespan in yeast, worms, flies, monkeys, and, in some studies, humans.

Open collaboration – which has brought the world Bitcoin, TEDx and Wikipedia – is likely to expand into new domains and displace traditional organizations, according to a paper in a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®).

DARIEN, IL – A new study conducted across Europe found an extraordinary association between narcolepsy and a specific gene variant related to the immune system.

New Rochelle, NY, January 2, 2014—Minority women tend to be less aware of the increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) they face by being overweight or obese. The results of a study that compared Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women based on their knowledge of heart disease risk factors and their perceptions of their own weight is published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Thousands of pieces of plastic have been discovered, submerged along the river bed of the upper Thames Estuary by scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London and the Natural History Museum.

The sheer amount of plastic recovered shows there is an unseen stream of rubbish flowing through London which could be a serious threat to aquatic wildlife. The findings, published online in Marine Pollution Bulletin, highlight the cause for concern, not only for ecosystems around the river but for the North Sea, in to which the Thames flows.

As most people resolve themselves to lose weight this New Year, here's why it seems to get easier and easier to pack on unwanted pounds: New research published in the January 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal, shows that as we age, the thermogenic activity of brown fat is reduced. Brown fat is a "good" fat located in the backs of our necks that helps burn "bad" white fat around our bellies. Additionally, the researchers also discovered a possible metabolic on/off switch that could reactivate brown fat.

There's a map of an ancient Syrian trade route that shows how one city's political sway extended farther than once thought.

This map isn't a time-worn and mysterious etching on a stone tablet. Turns out it's easily found on a different type of tablet – the kind with apps.

As if cancer, heart disease and other diseases were not enough motivation to make quitting smoking your New Year's resolution, here's another wake-up call: New research published in the January 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal suggests that smoking disrupts the circadian clock function in both the lungs and the brain. Translation: Smoking ruins productive sleep, leading to cognitive dysfunction, mood disorders, depression and anxiety.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Jan. 2, 2014 – Doctors may need to treat high blood pressure in women earlier and more aggressively than they do in men, according to scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

In a new study, published in the December edition of Therapeutic Advances in Cardiovascular Disease, the researchers for the first time found significant differences in the mechanisms that cause high blood pressure in women as compared to men.

New research by scientists at the University of Exeter has shown that cells demonstrate remarkable flexibility and versatility when it comes to how they divide - a finding with potential links to the underlying causes of many cancers.

The study, published today in Developmental Cell, describes a number of routes to the formation of a microtubule spindle – the tracks along which DNA moves when a cell divides in order to make two genetically identical cells.