ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Starving orangutans might help to better understand obesity and eating disorders in humans
• American Cancer Society revises cancer screening guideline process
• High levels of tau protein linked to poor recovery after brain injury
• Scientists develop vaccine that successfully attacks breast cancer in mice
• Risk of stillbirth associated with factors known early in pregnancy
• Most common causes, risk factors for stillbirth
• Reprogramming brain cells important first step for new Parkinson's therapy
• Nanoparticles help researcher deliver steroids to retina
• In third-degree burn treatment, hydrogel helps grow new, scar-free skin
• Life after cigarettes: Compared with those who continue to smoke, quitters are both happier and more satisfied with their health
• Alzheimer's/Parkinson's: Unexpected signaling role for foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide in cell response to protein misfolding
• Mothers' weight before and during pregnancy affects baby's weight
• Microneedle sensors may allow real-time monitoring of body chemistry
• Artificially enhanced athletes
• Precise detection by the nose: Researchers decipher interaction of fragrances and olfactory receptors
• Visualization of DNA synthesis in vivo
• Widespread brain atrophy detected in Parkinson's disease with newly developed structural pattern
• Some plant-based food supplements contain high levels of cancer causing agents, study suggests
• Seabirds: Climate differences have less impact on transmission of blood parasites than expected
• Scar findings could lead to new therapies, researchers say
• Rare genetic disorder provides clues to development of the pancreas
• Scientists elevate little-studied cellular mechanism to potential drug target
• Changing the locks: HIV discovery could allow scientists to block virus's entry into cell nucleus

Starving orangutans might help to better understand obesity and eating disorders in humans Posted: 13 Dec 2011 05:33 PM PST New research examining how endangered Indonesian orangutans – considered a close relative to humans -- survive during times of extreme food scarcity might help scientists better understand eating disorders and obesity in humans.

American Cancer Society revises cancer screening guideline process Posted: 13 Dec 2011 04:02 PM PST The American Cancer Society has revised its guideline formation process to achieve greater transparency, consistency, and rigor in creating guidance about cancer screening.

High levels of tau protein linked to poor recovery after brain injury Posted: 13 Dec 2011 04:02 PM PST High levels of tau protein in fluid bathing the brain are linked to poor recovery after head trauma, according to a new study.

Scientists develop vaccine that successfully attacks breast cancer in mice Posted: 13 Dec 2011 04:01 PM PST Researchers have developed a vaccine that dramatically reduces tumors in a mouse model.

Risk of stillbirth associated with factors known early in pregnancy Posted: 13 Dec 2011 04:00 PM PST Stillbirth is associated with a range of health and socio-demographic factors identifiable before or at the start of pregnancy, including prior pregnancy outcomes, ethnicity and modifiable health factors, such as diabetes, obesity and smoking. These findings are the result of the largest population-based stillbirth study.

Most common causes, risk factors for stillbirth Posted: 13 Dec 2011 03:56 PM PST Two studies by the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network have identified the most common causes and risk factors for stillbirth, including causes such as preterm labor and risk factors that include diabetes and excess weight.

Reprogramming brain cells important first step for new Parkinson's therapy Posted: 13 Dec 2011 11:47 AM PST In efforts to find new treatments for Parkinson's Disease (PD), researchers have directly reprogrammed astrocytes, the most plentiful cell type in the central nervous system, into dopamine-producing neurons. PD is marked by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain.

Nanoparticles help researcher deliver steroids to retina Posted: 13 Dec 2011 11:47 AM PST Hitching a ride into the retina on nanoparticles called dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

In third-degree burn treatment, hydrogel helps grow new, scar-free skin Posted: 13 Dec 2011 10:19 AM PST Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a jelly-like material and wound treatment method that, in early experiments on skin damaged by severe burns, appeared to regenerate healthy, scar-free tissue.

Life after cigarettes: Compared with those who continue to smoke, quitters are both happier and more satisfied with their health Posted: 13 Dec 2011 09:08 AM PST Life without cigarettes is not all doom and gloom. In fact, successful quitters are more satisfied with their lives and feel healthier, both one year and three years afterwards, than those who continue to smoke. That's according to new research by Dr. Megan Piper, from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in the US, and her team. Their work looks at whether quitting smoking can improve psychological well-being.

Alzheimer's/Parkinson's: Unexpected signaling role for foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide in cell response to protein misfolding Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:47 AM PST CSHL scientists have discovered hydrogen sulfide -- the flammable, toxic gas associated with the smell of rotten eggs in landfills -- helps regulate a signaling pathway implicated in biological malfunctions linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, among others.

Mothers' weight before and during pregnancy affects baby's weight Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:05 AM PST Both pre-pregnant weight (body mass index) and weight gain in pregnancy are important predictors of babies' birthweight. This is important since high birthweight may also predict adult overweight.

Microneedle sensors may allow real-time monitoring of body chemistry Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:02 AM PST Researchers have developed new technology that uses microneedles to allow doctors to detect real-time chemical changes in the body -- and to continuously do so for an extended period of time.

Artificially enhanced athletes Posted: 13 Dec 2011 06:21 AM PST Superstar swimmers and certain comic book superheroes have something unusual in common -- when they wear special suits, they gain phenomenal abilities. A first-of-its-kind study shows how now-banned technical swimsuits artificially enhanced athlete performance in 2009.

Precise detection by the nose: Researchers decipher interaction of fragrances and olfactory receptors Posted: 13 Dec 2011 06:18 AM PST Banana, mango or apricot -- telling these smells apart is no problem for the human nose. How the olfactory organ distinguishes such similar smells has been uncovered by an interdisciplinary team of researchers. The scientists were the first to shed light on the dynamics of the three-dimensional structure of the binding site of an olfactory receptor. In so doing, they also found a characteristic pattern of hydrogen bonds between odorant and receptor, which accounts for the specificity of the olfactory sensors. Using computer simulations, the team was able to predict whether odorant molecules activate a certain receptor or not.

Visualization of DNA synthesis in vivo Posted: 13 Dec 2011 06:18 AM PST Researchers have discovered a new substance for labeling and visualization of DNA synthesis in whole animals. Applications for this technique include identifying the sites of virus infections and cancer growth, due to the abundance of DNA replication in these tissues. This approach should therefore lead to new strategies in drug development.

Widespread brain atrophy detected in Parkinson's disease with newly developed structural pattern Posted: 12 Dec 2011 07:10 PM PST Atrophy in the hippocampus, the region of the brain known for memory formation and storage, is evident in Parkinson's disease patients with cognitive impairment, including early decline known as mild cognitive impairment, according to a new study.

Some plant-based food supplements contain high levels of cancer causing agents, study suggests Posted: 12 Dec 2011 09:36 AM PST While many consumers equal 'natural' with 'safe', botanicals and botanical preparations such as plant-based food supplements may contain compounds, like the so called alkenylbenzenes, that are of concern for human health. A new study reveals there are plant-based food supplements on the market that contain alkenylbenzenes at levels comparable to those causing tumors in laboratory animals.

Seabirds: Climate differences have less impact on transmission of blood parasites than expected Posted: 12 Dec 2011 06:26 AM PST Seabirds often live in large colonies in very confined spaces. Parasites, such as fleas and ticks, take advantage of this ideal habitat with its rich supply of nutrition. As a result, they can transmit blood parasites like avian malaria to the birds. Scientists have investigated whether this affects all seabirds equally, and whether climate conditions, the habitat or particular living conditions influence infection with avian malaria. They discovered that most seabirds are free of malaria parasites; however, some groups, especially frigatebirds, are particularly common hosts to malaria parasites.

Scar findings could lead to new therapies, researchers say Posted: 11 Dec 2011 10:40 AM PST Researchers report that they have identified the molecular pathway through which physical force contributes to scarring in mice.

Rare genetic disorder provides clues to development of the pancreas Posted: 11 Dec 2011 10:39 AM PST A rare genetic disorder has given researchers a surprising insight into how the pancreas develops. The finding provides a clue to how it may be possible to 'program' stem cells – master cells in the body that can develop into specialized cells – to become pancreatic cells.

Scientists elevate little-studied cellular mechanism to potential drug target Posted: 11 Dec 2011 10:39 AM PST For years, science has generally considered the phosphorylation of proteins -- the insertion of a phosphorus group into a protein that turns it on or off -- as perhaps the factor regulating a range of cellular processes from cell metabolism to programmed cell death.

Changing the locks: HIV discovery could allow scientists to block virus's entry into cell nucleus Posted: 08 Dec 2011 02:36 PM PST Scientists have found the 'key' that HIV uses to enter our cells' nuclei, allowing it to disable the immune system and cause AIDS. The finding provides a potential new target for anti-AIDS drugs that could be more effective against drug-resistant strains of the virus.

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