Brain

3T MRI is better at detecting and characterizing structural brain abnormalities in patients with focal epilepsy than 1.5T MRI, leading to a better diagnosis and safer treatment of patients, according to a recent study conducted at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR. "Patients with focal epilepsy have recurrent seizures that result from a specific area of their brain, usually due to a structural brain abnormality," said Bronwyn E. Hamilton, MD, senior author of the study.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.— Subtle genetic changes that confer an evolutionary advantage upon a species, such as the dexterity characteristic of the human hand, while difficult to detect and even harder to reproduce in a model system, have nevertheless generated keen interest amongst evolutionary biologists. In findings published online in the September 5 edition of the journal Science, researchers from the U.S.

• Binge drinking (5+ alcoholic beverages at one time) is associated with risky sexual behaviors.
• A new study examined this association by gender at a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
• Binge drinking increased the risk of unsafe sexual behaviors and having an STD for women patients.

The complete genetic blueprint for lethal pancreatic cancer and brain cancer was deciphered by a team at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

The studies, led by the same group who completed maps of the breast cancer and colorectal cancer genomes in 2007, are reported in two articles in the Sept. 5, 2008, issue of Science Express.

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network, a collaborative effort funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today reported the first results of its large-scale, comprehensive study of the most common form of brain cancer, glioblastoma (GBM). In a paper published Sept.

The most comprehensive to-date genomic analysis of a cancer – the deadly brain tumor glioblastoma multiforme – shows previously unrecognized changes in genes and provides an overall view of the missteps in the pathways that govern the growth and behavior of cells, said members of The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature.

HHMI investigators have detected a multitude of broken, missing, and overactive genes in pancreatic and brain tumors, in the most detailed genetic survey yet of any human tumor. Some of these genetic changes were previously unknown and could provide new leads for improved diagnosis and therapy for these devastating cancers.

BOSTON--An array of broken, missing, and overactive genes -- some implicated for the first time -- have been identified in a genetic survey of glioblastoma, the most common and deadly form of adult brain cancer, report scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, together with their collaborating investigators at 18 institutions and organizations.

Huntsville, Ala. -- A team including researchers at the HudsonAlpha Institute and Stanford University, together with colleagues from a number of other organizations, today publishes a comprehensive analysis of genomic variation in the brain cancer glioblastoma. These results are the first from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) research network, a collaborative effort funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive of the primary brain tumors: Notably, U.S.

Scientists have created an animal model suitable for testing and validating gene therapies for treatment of a common mitochondrial dysfunction that causes loss of vision. The research, published by Cell Press in the September issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, describes an innovation that represents a significant advance toward development of the first treatment for one of the many devastating disorders caused by mitochondrial disruption.

Researchers have shown that they can create entirely new strains of infectious proteins known as prions in the laboratory by simply mixing infectious prions from one species with the normal prion proteins of another species. The findings are reported in the September 5th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication.

Scientists investigating the mechanisms of Down Syndrome (DS) have revealed the earliest developmental changes in embryonic stem cells caused by an extra copy of human chromosome 21 – the aberrant inheritance of which results in the condition. Their study is published online today (Thursday 4 September) in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

A recent study by University of Illinois professor of psychology Dolores Albarracín and her colleagues at the University of Florida and the Alachua County Health Department in Florida found a method to increase enrollment among high-risk individuals in HIV prevention programs.

The study, which appeared this month in the journal Health Psychology, found that by offering an experimental introduction to a counseling session, public health institutions could increase enrollment by a significant amount.

Just as test pilots push planes to explore their limits, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are probing the newest microscope technology to further improve measurement accuracy at the nanoscale. Better nanoscale measurements are critical for setting standards and improving production in the semiconductor and nanomanufacturing industries.

Tampa, FL – September 4, 2008 – Social psychology is the study of how people and groups interact. A new study in the journal International Studies Review shows how social psychology can help us better understand the puzzle of nuclear restraint and uses the case of Japan to illustrate social psychology on nuclear decision-making.