ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Lack of iron regulating protein contributes to high blood pressure of the lungs
• Poor stress responses may lead to obesity in children
• 'Bionic proteins': Nano-machines recreate protein activities
• Researchers find potential new therapeutic target for treating non-small cell lung cancer
• Bisphenol A exposure in humans may be too low to cause problems by mimicking estrogen
• Modern life may cause sun exposure, skin pigmentation mismatch
• Evolution helped turn hairless skin into a canvas for self-expression
• Promising new approach to preventing progression of breast cancer
• Copper can protect against Alzheimer's disease
• Lung researchers create new air sacs in mouse model of emphysema using a novel growth factor
• Customized device tailored to patient’s individual anatomy now used to repair abdominal aortic aneurysm without surgery
• Study tracks genetic evolution of form of leukemia, may help physicians predict course of disease, tailor therapies
• Discovery in HIV may solve efficiency problems for gene therapy
• Scientists create method to personalize chemotherapy drug selection
• 12th grade dropouts have higher rates of cigarette, alcohol and illicit drug use, U.S. study finds
• Even limited physical activity is linked to lower rates of depression in bariatric surgery patients
• Risk of leukemia after cancer chemotherapy persists
• Cervical cancer: First 3-D image of an HPV oncoprotein
• BRCA mutation carriers have little long-term survival benefit with ovarian cancer, researchers say
• Nanosensors support skin cancer therapy
• The good side of the prion: A molecule that is not only dangerous, but can help the brain grow

Lack of iron regulating protein contributes to high blood pressure of the lungs Posted: 17 Feb 2013 01:54 PM PST A protein known to regulate iron levels in the body has an unexpectedly important role in preventing a form of high blood pressure that affects the lungs, and in stabilizing the concentration of red cells in blood, according to a study in mice.

Poor stress responses may lead to obesity in children Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:53 AM PST Children who overreact to stressors may be at risk of becoming overweight or obese, according to researchers.

'Bionic proteins': Nano-machines recreate protein activities Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:49 AM PST Physicists have developed nano-machines which recreate principal activities of proteins. They present the first versatile and modular example of a fully artificial protein-mimetic model system. These "bionic proteins" could play an important role in innovating pharmaceutical research.

Researchers find potential new therapeutic target for treating non-small cell lung cancer Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:47 AM PST Researchers have found a potential targeted therapy for patients with tobacco-associated non-small cell lung cancer. It is based on the newly identified oncogene IKBKE, which helps regulate immune response.

Bisphenol A exposure in humans may be too low to cause problems by mimicking estrogen Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:45 AM PST A controversial component of plastic bottles and canned food linings that have helped make a safer food supply has recently come under attack: bisphenol A. BPA has the potential to mimic estrogen if blood and tissue levels are high enough. Now, an analysis of almost 150 BPA exposure studies shows that in the general population, people's exposure may be many times too low for BPA to effectively mimic estrogen in the human body.

Modern life may cause sun exposure, skin pigmentation mismatch Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:43 AM PST As people move more often and become more urbanized, skin color -- an adaptation that took hundreds of thousands of years to develop in humans -- may lose some of its evolutionary advantage, according to an anthropologist.

Evolution helped turn hairless skin into a canvas for self-expression Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:42 AM PST Hairless skin first evolved in humans as a way to keep cool -- and then turned into a canvas to help them look cool, according to an anthropologist.

Promising new approach to preventing progression of breast cancer Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:39 AM PST Doctors currently struggle to determine whether a breast tumor is likely to shift into an aggressive, life-threatening mode —- an issue with profound implications for treatment. Now scientists have identified a mechanism through which mitochondria, the powerhouses of a cell, control tumor aggressiveness. Based on their findings, the team developed a simple treatment that inhibits cancer progression and prolongs life when tested in mice.

Copper can protect against Alzheimer's disease Posted: 17 Feb 2013 05:39 AM PST Researchers have provided unequivocal evidence that under conditions which are approximately similar to those found in the brain, copper can only protect against beta amyloid forming beta sheets and as such it is highly unlikely that copper is directly involved in the formation of senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease.

Lung researchers create new air sacs in mouse model of emphysema using a novel growth factor Posted: 14 Feb 2013 04:41 PM PST In a study of mice, researchers have identified a new molecular pathway involved in the growth of tiny air sacs called alveoli that are crucial for breathing. The scientists say their experiments may lead to the first successful treatments to regrow the air sacs in people who suffer from diseases such as emphysema in which the air sacs have been destroyed by years of smoking. The work may also suggest new therapy for premature infants born before their lungs are fully developed.

Customized device tailored to patient’s individual anatomy now used to repair abdominal aortic aneurysm without surgery Posted: 14 Feb 2013 04:38 PM PST An abdominal aortic aneurysm -- a bulge in the large artery that carries blood away from the heart -- can be immediately life-threatening if it grows large enough to rupture. The chance of survival when it ruptures is less than 10 percent. Many who find out they have that risk are able to have a minimally invasive repair. But up to 30 percent instead face a major open operation because of the location of the aneurysm. This new customized graft allows them, too, to have a quick recovery.

Study tracks genetic evolution of form of leukemia, may help physicians predict course of disease, tailor therapies Posted: 14 Feb 2013 10:26 AM PST A new study shows how gene mutations shift and evolve over time in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). This evolution, they report, holds the key to understanding why CLL often recurs after treatment and helps explain why patients often don't derive the same benefit.

Discovery in HIV may solve efficiency problems for gene therapy Posted: 14 Feb 2013 10:26 AM PST A research team has discovered an approach that could make gene therapy dramatically more effective for patients. The scientists discovered that the process of gene therapy is missing essential elements thereby reducing the effectiveness of this treatment. Re-introducing this element into their model system suggests that improvements for gene therapy areon the horizon.

Scientists create method to personalize chemotherapy drug selection Posted: 14 Feb 2013 10:26 AM PST In laboratory studies, scientists have developed a way to personalize chemotherapy drug selection for cancer patients by using cell lines created from their own tumors.

12th grade dropouts have higher rates of cigarette, alcohol and illicit drug use, U.S. study finds Posted: 14 Feb 2013 08:15 AM PST Youth in the 12th grade age range (ages 16 to 18) who have dropped out of school prior to graduating are more likely than their counterparts to be current users of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and other illicit drugs, according to a new U.S. report.

Even limited physical activity is linked to lower rates of depression in bariatric surgery patients Posted: 14 Feb 2013 07:38 AM PST For adults undergoing bariatric surgery, just one hour of moderate-intensity physical activity a week -- or eight minutes a day -- was associated with 92 percent lower odds of treatment for depression or anxiety, according to new research.

Risk of leukemia after cancer chemotherapy persists Posted: 14 Feb 2013 07:38 AM PST While advancements in cancer treatment over the last several decades have improved patient survival rates for certain cancers, some patients remain at risk of developing treatment-related leukemia, according to results of a new study.

Cervical cancer: First 3-D image of an HPV oncoprotein Posted: 14 Feb 2013 07:37 AM PST For the first time, researchers have solved the three-dimensional structure of an important oncoprotein involved in cell proliferation and in the development of the human papilloma virus (HPV). Type 16 (HPV 16), which causes cervical cancer, is the most dangerous of human papilloma viruses. This work, published in Science on 8 February 2013, should make it possible to identify and improve medication to block the protein and prevent it from causing tumors.

BRCA mutation carriers have little long-term survival benefit with ovarian cancer, researchers say Posted: 14 Feb 2013 07:36 AM PST Researchers studied the long-term survival of women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation who were diagnosed with invasive ovarian cancer. They found that the short-term benefit to having either mutation does not lead to a long-term survival benefit.

Nanosensors support skin cancer therapy Posted: 14 Feb 2013 04:54 AM PST Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer. In more than 50 percent of affected patients a particular mutation plays an important role. As the life span of the patients carrying the mutation can be significantly extended by novel drugs, it is very important to identify those reliably. For identification, researchers in Switzerland have developed a novel method.

The good side of the prion: A molecule that is not only dangerous, but can help the brain grow Posted: 14 Feb 2013 04:54 AM PST A few years ago it was found that certain proteins, called prions, when defective are dangerous, as they are involved in neurodegenerative syndromes such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Alzheimer's disease. But now research is showing their good side, too: when performing well, prions may be crucial in the development of the brain during childhood, as observed by a study carried out by a team of neuroscientists in Italy.

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