ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Presdisposition to common heart disease 'passed on from father to son'
• Memory strengthened by stimulating key site in brain
• DNA sequencing helps identify cancer cells for immune system attack
• Transformational fruit fly genome catalog completed
• Fasting weakens cancer in mice
• Gene therapy for inherited blindness succeeds in patients' other eye
• Sound rather than sight can activate 'seeing' for the blind, say researchers
• Study to determine whether fish oil can help prevent psychiatric disorders
• Why bad immunity genes survive
• After-school program can reduce alcohol use among middle school students, study finds
• Heart disease may be a risk factor for prostate cancer
• Arsenic criticality poses concern for modern technology
• Physical activity yields feelings of excitement, enthusiasm
• Bubble-powered microrockets zoom have potential to zoom through the human stomach, other acidic environments
• Growing up on a farm directly affects regulation of the immune system, study finds
• Preventing bacteria from falling in with the wrong crowd could help stop gum disease
• Odds of living a very long life lower than formerly predicted
• Erectile dysfunction: A possible warning sign of serious disease

Presdisposition to common heart disease 'passed on from father to son' Posted: 08 Feb 2012 07:02 PM PST A common heart disease which kills thousands each year may be passed genetically from father to son, according to a new study.

Memory strengthened by stimulating key site in brain Posted: 08 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST Ever gone to the movies and forgotten where you parked the car? New research may one day help you improve your memory. Neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in human patients by stimulating a critical junction in the brain.

DNA sequencing helps identify cancer cells for immune system attack Posted: 08 Feb 2012 12:23 PM PST DNA sequences from tumor cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to scientists. The immune system relies on an intricate network of alarm bells, targets and safety brakes to determine when and what to attack. The new results suggest that scientists may now be able to combine DNA sequencing data with their knowledge of the triggers and targets that set off immune alarms to more precisely develop vaccines and other immunotherapies for cancer.

Transformational fruit fly genome catalog completed Posted: 08 Feb 2012 12:23 PM PST Scientists searching for the genomics version of the holy grail – more insight into predicting how an animal's genes affect physical or behavioral traits – now have a reference manual that should speed gene discoveries in everything from pest control to personalized medicine.

Fasting weakens cancer in mice Posted: 08 Feb 2012 12:22 PM PST New study finds that short fasting cycles can work as well as chemotherapy, and the two combined greatly improve survival.

Gene therapy for inherited blindness succeeds in patients' other eye Posted: 08 Feb 2012 12:22 PM PST Gene therapy for congenital blindness took another step forward, as researchers further improved vision in three adult patients previously treated in one eye. The patients were better able to see in dim light, with no adverse effects.

Sound rather than sight can activate 'seeing' for the blind, say researchers Posted: 08 Feb 2012 11:59 AM PST Scientists have tapped onto the visual cortex of the congenitally blind by using sensory substitution devices (SSDs), enabling the blind in effect to "see" and even describe objects. SSDs are non-invasive sensory aids that provide visual information to the blind via their existing senses. For example, using a visual-to-auditory SSD in a clinical or everyday setting, users wear a miniature video camera connected to a small computer (or smart phone) and stereo headphones. The images are converted into "soundscapes," using a predictable algorithm, allowing the user to listen to and then interpret the visual information coming from the camera.

Study to determine whether fish oil can help prevent psychiatric disorders Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:30 AM PST A new study was designed to test whether Omega-3 fatty acids improve clinical symptoms, and help adolescents and young adults (ages 12 to 25) who are at elevated risk for severe psychiatric disorders function better in school, work and other social environments.

Why bad immunity genes survive Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:30 AM PST Biologists have found new evidence of why mice, people and other vertebrate animals carry thousands of varieties of genes to make immune-system proteins named MHCs -- even though some of those genes make vertebrate animals susceptible to infections and to autoimmune diseases.

After-school program can reduce alcohol use among middle school students, study finds Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:28 AM PST A voluntary substance prevention program held after school and presented by trained facilitators can help reduce alcohol use among young adolescents, according to a new study.

Heart disease may be a risk factor for prostate cancer Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:27 AM PST In a large analysis of men participating in a prostate drug trial, researchers found a significant correlation between coronary artery disease and prostate cancer, suggesting the two conditions may have shared causes.

Arsenic criticality poses concern for modern technology Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:27 AM PST Risks related to the critical nature of arsenic -- used to make high-speed computer chips that contain gallium arsenide -- outstrip those of other substances in a group of critical materials needed to sustain modern technology, a new study has found. Scientists evaluated the relative criticality of arsenic and five related metals.

Physical activity yields feelings of excitement, enthusiasm Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:27 AM PST People who are more physically active report greater levels of excitement and enthusiasm than people who are less physically active, according to researchers. People also are more likely to report feelings of excitement and enthusiasm on days when they are more physically active than usual.

Bubble-powered microrockets zoom have potential to zoom through the human stomach, other acidic environments Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:26 AM PST Scientists have developed a new kind of tiny motor -- which they term a "microrocket" -- that can propel itself through acidic environments, such as the human stomach, without any external energy source, opening the way to a variety of medical and industrial applications. Their report describes the microrockets traveling at virtual warp speed for such devices. A human moving at the same speed would have to run at a clip of 400 miles per hour.

Growing up on a farm directly affects regulation of the immune system, study finds Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:25 AM PST A new study has shown, for the first time, that growing up on a farm directly affects the regulation of the immune system and causes a reduction in the immunological responses to food proteins.

Preventing bacteria from falling in with the wrong crowd could help stop gum disease Posted: 07 Feb 2012 05:26 PM PST Stripping some mouth bacteria of their access key to gangs of other pathogenic oral bacteria could help prevent gum disease and tooth loss. The study suggests that this bacterial access key could be a drug target for people who are at high risk of developing gum disease.

Odds of living a very long life lower than formerly predicted Posted: 06 Feb 2012 11:38 AM PST The chances to reach extreme old age are much lower than previously thought, new research shows. THis new research contradicts a long-held belief that the mortality rate of Americans flattens out above age 80.

Erectile dysfunction: A possible warning sign of serious disease Posted: 06 Feb 2012 09:23 AM PST Erectile dysfunction is a precursor to more serious health problems such as heart disease. Getting problems like diabetes under control are more important than your performance in the bedroom.

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