ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• NASA signs agreement to develop nasal spray for motion sickness
• Spotting a trend in the genes: Three genes that cause cancer and disease in humans also 'paint' spots on butts of fruit flies
• NASA's Ironman-like exoskeleton could give astronauts, paraplegics improved mobility and strength
• Blood cells may offer telltale clues in cancer diagnosis
• miRNA tackles insulin-blocking protein
• Molecular basis of infection of tick-transmitted disease uncovered
• Neural-like stem cells from muscle tissue may hold key to cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases
• Kidney grafts function longer in Europe than in the United States
• Body's own recycling system: Researchers discover 'molecular emergency brake' in charge of regulating self-digestion
• Cells control energy metabolism via hedgehog signalling pathway
• Prostate cancer: Curcumin curbs metastases, study shows
• New gene test flags risk of serious complications in sarcoidosis
• Tying our fate to molecular markings
• Transplantation of embryonic neurons raises hope for treating brain diseases
• Shape matters in DNA nanoparticle therapy
• Shape matters in DNA nanoparticle therapy: Particles could become a safer, more effective delivery vehicle for gene therapy
• Seaweed: An alternative protein source
• What do cyclists need to see to avoid single-bicycle crashes?
• Reason discovered for the toxicity of indoor mould
• Simple quiz, already used in elderly, could determine death risk for kidney dialysis patients of all ages
• Exposure to traffic air pollution in infancy impairs lung function in children

NASA signs agreement to develop nasal spray for motion sickness Posted: 12 Oct 2012 12:25 PM PDT NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and Epiomed Therapeutics Inc. of Irvine, Calif., have signed an agreement to develop and commercialize a NASA-crafted, fast-acting nasal spray to fight motion sickness. Under the Space Act Agreement, Epiomed will formulate the drug, called intranasal scopolamine, or INSCOP. Astronauts often experience motion sickness in space. As a result, NASA has conducted extensive research into the causes and treatments for the condition.

Spotting a trend in the genes: Three genes that cause cancer and disease in humans also 'paint' spots on butts of fruit flies Posted: 12 Oct 2012 11:37 AM PDT Spots on the butts of fruit flies are really, really small. But what a researcher and his graduate student are discovering about them could be gigantic. Researchers have discovered that three genes that cause cancer and disease in humans also "paint" the spots on the fly's body. This discovery could enable researchers to study how those genes work in fruit flies and apply that knowledge to treating cancer in people.

NASA's Ironman-like exoskeleton could give astronauts, paraplegics improved mobility and strength Posted: 12 Oct 2012 11:19 AM PDT Marvel Comic's fictional superhero, Ironman, uses a powered armor suit that allows him superhuman strength. While NASA's X1 robotic exoskeleton can't do what you see in the movies, the latest robotic, space technology, spinoff derived from NASA's Robonaut 2 project may someday help astronauts stay healthier in space with the added benefit of assisting paraplegics in walking here on Earth.

Blood cells may offer telltale clues in cancer diagnosis Posted: 12 Oct 2012 11:18 AM PDT Researchers are probing the potential use of blood cell variation as a diagnostic, predictive, and research tool in cancer biology.

miRNA tackles insulin-blocking protein Posted: 12 Oct 2012 11:16 AM PDT Research is yielding new insights into how a tiny snippet of genetic material can promote healthy insulin production in mice.

Molecular basis of infection of tick-transmitted disease uncovered Posted: 12 Oct 2012 11:15 AM PDT Researchers have identified the "keys" and "doors" of a bacterium responsible for a series of tick-transmitted diseases. These findings may point researchers toward the development of a single vaccine that protects against members of an entire family of bacteria that cause disease in humans, domestic animals and livestock.

Neural-like stem cells from muscle tissue may hold key to cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases Posted: 12 Oct 2012 09:21 AM PDT Scientists have taken the first steps to create neural-like stem cells from muscle tissue in animals.

Kidney grafts function longer in Europe than in the United States Posted: 12 Oct 2012 08:24 AM PDT Kidney transplants performed in Europe are considerably more successful in the long run than those performed in the United States. Researchers have described the large discrepancy for the first time, after systematically comparing data from the world's most comprehensive study on transplant results.

Body's own recycling system: Researchers discover 'molecular emergency brake' in charge of regulating self-digestion Posted: 12 Oct 2012 08:24 AM PDT Times of distress literally eat away at the core of starving cells: They start to digest their own parts and recycle them for metabolic purposes. Researchers have discovered that a "molecular brake" is in charge of regulating autophagy to keep it from getting out of control.

Cells control energy metabolism via hedgehog signalling pathway Posted: 12 Oct 2012 08:21 AM PDT Cancer, diabetes, and excess body weight have one thing in common: they alter cellular metabolism. Scientists have resolved a new molecular circuit controlling cellular metabolism. The previously unknown signalling pathway, acting downstream of the hedgehog protein enables muscle cells and brown fat cells to absorb sugars without relying on insulin. Substances that selectively activate the signalling pathway could thus be utilized in the treatment of diabetes and obesity. With their results, the researchers are also able to explain why various new anti-cancer agents have induced mysterious pronounced side effects in the clinics.

Prostate cancer: Curcumin curbs metastases, study shows Posted: 12 Oct 2012 08:21 AM PDT Powdered turmeric has been used for centuries to treat osteoarthritis and other illnesses. Its active ingredient, curcumin, inhibits inflammatory reactions. A new study now shows that it can also inhibit formation of metastases.

New gene test flags risk of serious complications in sarcoidosis Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:26 AM PDT Researchers have identified a genetic signature that distinguishes patients with complicated sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that can be fatal, from patients with a more benign form of the disease.

Tying our fate to molecular markings Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:26 AM PDT A physicist has helped discover that understanding how a chemical mark on our DNA affects gene expression could be as useful to scientists as fingerprints are to police at a crime scene. In a new study, researchers show that variable methylation is predictive of age, gender, stress, cancer and early-life socioeconomic status within a population.

Transplantation of embryonic neurons raises hope for treating brain diseases Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:21 AM PDT The unexpected survival of embryonic neurons transplanted into the brains of newborn mice in a series of experiments raises hope for the possibility of using neuronal transplantation to treat diseases like Alzheimer's, epilepsy, Huntington's, Parkinson's and schizophrenia.

Shape matters in DNA nanoparticle therapy Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:21 AM PDT Researchers have discovered how to control the shape of nanoparticles that move DNA through the body and have shown that the shapes of these carriers may make a big difference in how well they work in treating cancer and other diseases.

Shape matters in DNA nanoparticle therapy: Particles could become a safer, more effective delivery vehicle for gene therapy Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:48 AM PDT Researchers have discovered how to control the shape of nanoparticles that move DNA through the body and have shown that the shapes of these carriers may make a big difference in how well they work in treating cancer and other diseases. This study is also noteworthy because this gene therapy technique does not use a virus to carry DNA into cells.

Seaweed: An alternative protein source Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:46 AM PDT Researchers are looking to seaweed for proteins with health benefits for use as functional foods. Historically, edible seaweeds were consumed by coastal communities across the world and today seaweed is a habitual diet in many countries, particularly in Asia. Indeed, whole seaweeds have been successfully added to foods in recent times, ranging from sausages and cheese to pizza bases and frozen-meat products.

What do cyclists need to see to avoid single-bicycle crashes? Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:46 AM PDT Crashes are an unfortunate fact of life for many traveling on roads and bicycle paths, but how and why they happen is not always well understood. New research shows that in crashes where a single cyclist collided with a bollard, narrowed road or other obstacle, or rode off the road altogether, poor visibility and especially poor visual contrast played a significant part.

Reason discovered for the toxicity of indoor mould Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:46 AM PDT A team of researchers from Finland has discovered how indoor mold makes people sick. The only remedy is to heal the living environment, they say.

Simple quiz, already used in elderly, could determine death risk for kidney dialysis patients of all ages Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:43 AM PDT A simple six-question quiz, typically used to assess disabilities in the elderly, could help doctors determine which kidney dialysis patients of any age are at the greatest risk of death, new research suggests.

Exposure to traffic air pollution in infancy impairs lung function in children Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:43 AM PDT Exposure to ambient air pollution from traffic during infancy is associated with lung function deficits in children up to eight years of age, particularly among children sensitized to common allergens, according to a new study.

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