ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Scientists develop tools to make more complex biological machines from yeast
• Novel therapy discovered for Crohn's disease
• Identifying specific cancers using molecular analysis
• Discovery provides blueprint for new drugs that can inhibit hepatitis C virus
• Circadian rhythms have profound influence on metabolic output
• New antibiotic could make food safer and cows healthier
• Clinical trial examines antioxidant effects for Alzheimer's disease on cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers
• Diagnosis of ADHD on the rise
• Genetic variation in human gut viruses could be raw material for inner evolution
• How bacteria resist a 'Trojan horse' antibiotic
• Smoking may restore tapped-out self-control resources
• Targeted X-ray treatment of mice prevents glaucoma
• Scientists break through pancreas cancer treatment barrier
• Genetic research develops tools for studying diseases, improving regenerative treatment
• Researchers building melanoma vaccine to combat skin cancer
• Styling practices can lead to serious hair and scalp diseases for African Americans
• Tracking proteins behaving badly provides insights for treatments of brain diseases
• Solving the mystery of blood clotting
• Japanese traditional therapy, honokiol, blocks key protein in inflammatory brain damage, study suggests
• Nerve cells grow on nanocellulose
• Antibiotic treatment increases the severity of asthma in young mice
• Lifestyle study highlights key differences in relapsing and progressive onset multiple sclerosis
• Type 1 diabetes: Artificial pancreas approved for US outpatient testing
• Smell is a symphony: New model for how the brain is organized to process odor information
• Researchers boost potency, reduce side effects of IL-2 protein used to treat cancer
• How a single gene mutation leads to uncontrolled obesity
• Treating psoriasis to prevent heart attacks and strokes
• Hormonal factors key to understanding acne in women
• Musicians at risk for common skin condition

Scientists develop tools to make more complex biological machines from yeast Posted: 19 Mar 2012 04:43 PM PDT Scientists are one step closer to making more complex microscopic biological machines, following improvements in the way that they can "re-wire" DNA in yeast, according to new research.

Novel therapy discovered for Crohn's disease Posted: 19 Mar 2012 04:42 PM PDT Medical researchers have discovered important new information on the efficacy of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in treating Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). CLA is a naturally occurring acid found in meat and dairy products known for its anti-cancer and immune modulatory properties.

Identifying specific cancers using molecular analysis Posted: 19 Mar 2012 04:40 PM PDT Researchers have discovered a method to identify cancer-causing rearrangements of genetic material called chromosomal translocations quickly, accurately, and inexpensively.

Discovery provides blueprint for new drugs that can inhibit hepatitis C virus Posted: 19 Mar 2012 01:38 PM PDT Chemists have produced the first high resolution structure of a molecule that when attached to the genetic material of the hepatitis C virus prevents it from reproducing.

Circadian rhythms have profound influence on metabolic output Posted: 19 Mar 2012 01:38 PM PDT By analyzing the hundreds of metabolic products present in the liver, researchers have discovered that circadian rhythms -- our own body clock -- greatly control the production of such key building blocks as amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids.

New antibiotic could make food safer and cows healthier Posted: 19 Mar 2012 01:38 PM PDT Food-borne diseases might soon have another warrior to contend with, thanks to a new molecule discovered by chemists. The new antibiotic, an analog of the widely used food preservative nisin, also has potential to be a boon to the dairy industry as a treatment for bovine mastitis.

Clinical trial examines antioxidant effects for Alzheimer's disease on cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers Posted: 19 Mar 2012 01:37 PM PDT An antioxidant combination of vitamin E, vitamin C and alpha-lipoic acid was not associated with changes in some cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers related to Alzheimer's disease in a randomized controlled trial, according to a new study.

Diagnosis of ADHD on the rise Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:42 AM PDT The number of American children leaving doctors' offices with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis has risen 66 percent in 10 years, according to a new study.

Genetic variation in human gut viruses could be raw material for inner evolution Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:42 AM PDT A growing body of evidence underscores the importance of human gut bacteria in modulating human health, metabolism, and disease. Yet bacteria are only part of the story. Viruses that infect those bacteria also shape who we are. A new study sequenced the DNA of viruses -- the virome -- present in the gut of healthy people.

How bacteria resist a 'Trojan horse' antibiotic Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:42 AM PDT A new study describes how bacteria use a previously unknown means to defeat an antibiotic. The researchers found that the bacteria have modified a common "housekeeping" enzyme in a way that enables the enzyme to recognize and disarm the antibiotic.

Smoking may restore tapped-out self-control resources Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:42 AM PDT When researchers deplete a smoker's self control, smoking a cigarette may restore self-control, new research suggests.

Targeted X-ray treatment of mice prevents glaucoma Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:41 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated that a single, targeted x-ray treatment of an individual eye in young, glaucoma-prone mice provided that eye with apparently life-long and typically complete protection from glaucoma. They used sophisticated genomics methods to uncover some of the very first pathways to change during glaucoma in these mice. The first pathway they detected to change suggests a critical mechanism that could be responsible for the earliest damage that glaucoma inflicts on the optic nerve.

Scientists break through pancreas cancer treatment barrier Posted: 19 Mar 2012 10:39 AM PDT Pancreas cancer tumors spread quickly and are notoriously resistant to treatment, making them among the deadliest of malignancies. Their resistance to chemotherapy stems in part from a unique biological barrier the tumor builds around itself. Now scientists have found a way to break through that defense, and their research represents a potential breakthrough in the treatment of pancreas cancer.

Genetic research develops tools for studying diseases, improving regenerative treatment Posted: 19 Mar 2012 08:18 AM PDT Researchers may make it easier to recover after spinal cord injury or to study neurological disorders. His research can greatly improve animal and human health by developing technology to advance cellular therapy and regenerative medicine.

Researchers building melanoma vaccine to combat skin cancer Posted: 19 Mar 2012 08:15 AM PDT Researchers have trained mouse immune systems to eradicate skin cancer from within, using a genetic combination of human DNA from melanoma cells and a cousin of the rabies virus.

Styling practices can lead to serious hair and scalp diseases for African Americans Posted: 19 Mar 2012 08:15 AM PDT Styling practices can lead to serious hair and scalp diseases for some African Americans, say researchers.

Tracking proteins behaving badly provides insights for treatments of brain diseases Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:50 AM PDT Scientists have developed a novel technique that tracks diseased proteins behaving badly by forming clusters in brain diseases such as Huntington's and Alzheimer's.

Solving the mystery of blood clotting Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:50 AM PDT New research helps to better understand the blood clotting process. Researchers were able to determine the molecular 3-D structure of a protein in blood platelets and a receptor that sticks through the membrane of the cell to the outside.

Japanese traditional therapy, honokiol, blocks key protein in inflammatory brain damage, study suggests Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:48 AM PDT Microglia are the first line defense of the brain and are constantly looking for infections to fight off. Overactive microglia can cause uncontrolled inflammation within the brain, which can in turn lead to neuronal damage. New research shows that, honokiol (HNK) is able to down-regulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory enzymes in activated microglia via Klf4, a protein known to regulate DNA.

Nerve cells grow on nanocellulose Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:47 AM PDT Researchers have shown that nanocellulose stimulates the formation of neural networks. This is the first step toward creating a three-dimensional model of the brain. Such a model could elevate brain research to totally new levels, with regard to Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, for example.

Antibiotic treatment increases the severity of asthma in young mice Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:45 AM PDT Treatment with the antibiotic vancomycin increases the severity of allergic asthma in young mice, researchers in Canada have revealed. The results are consistent with the "hygiene hypothesis" that links the loss of beneficial bacteria in the community of microorganisms in the gut, collectively known as the microbiota, to the onset of asthma.

Lifestyle study highlights key differences in relapsing and progressive onset multiple sclerosis Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:45 AM PDT Patients with relapsing onset Multiple Sclerosis (MS) who consumed alcohol, wine, coffee and fish on a regular basis took four to seven years longer to reach the point where they needed a walking aid than people who never consumed them. However the study did not observe the same patterns in patients with progressive onset MS.

Type 1 diabetes: Artificial pancreas approved for US outpatient testing Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:44 AM PDT A newly-developed artificial pancreas that could potentially automate care for millions of Type 1 diabetes patients has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a key testing phase. The FDA recently approved the first U.S. outpatient clinical trials for the device.

Smell is a symphony: New model for how the brain is organized to process odor information Posted: 19 Mar 2012 06:43 AM PDT Just like a road atlas faithfully maps real-word locations, our brain maps many aspects of our physical world: Sensory inputs from our fingers are mapped next to each other in the somatosensory cortex; the auditory system is organized by sound frequency. The olfactory system was believed to map similarly, where groups of chemically related odorants - amines, ketones, or esters, for example - register with clusters of cells that are laid out next to each other.

Researchers boost potency, reduce side effects of IL-2 protein used to treat cancer Posted: 18 Mar 2012 11:40 AM PDT The utility of a naturally occurring protein given, sometimes to great effect, as a drug to treat advanced cancers is limited by the severe side effects it sometimes causes. But scientists have now generated a mutant version of the protein whose modified shape renders it substantially more potent than the natural protein while reducing its toxicity.

How a single gene mutation leads to uncontrolled obesity Posted: 18 Mar 2012 11:39 AM PDT Researchers have revealed how a mutation in a single gene is responsible for the inability of neurons to effectively pass along appetite suppressing signals from the body to the right place in the brain. What results is obesity caused by a voracious appetite.

Treating psoriasis to prevent heart attacks and strokes Posted: 16 Mar 2012 07:16 AM PDT A clinical study shows that a new treatment for psoriasis could be associated with a significant decrease in vascular inflammation, a major risk factor of cardiovascular disease.

Hormonal factors key to understanding acne in women Posted: 16 Mar 2012 07:12 AM PDT While teenagers are the age group most commonly thought to struggle with acne, dermatologists are finding that late-onset or adult-onset acne is becoming increasingly common in women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and even 50s.

Musicians at risk for common skin condition Posted: 16 Mar 2012 07:11 AM PDT Whether you play a musical instrument in your school band, as a weekend hobby, or as a professional, you may be at risk for a common skin condition. Contact dermatitis is characterized by a rash that can occur anywhere on the body (typically the hands and face in musicians) and is caused by something that comes into contact with the skin, which makes the skin become red, scaly and inflamed.

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