ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• First pre-clinical gene therapy study to reverse Rett symptoms
• How sleep helps brain learn motor task
• Infection during newborn's first week of life associated with bacterial infection in the mother
• How untying knots promotes cancer
• New explanation for key step in anthrax infection proposed
• Multiple genes manage how people taste sweeteners
• New findings on how the ear hears could lead to better hearing aids
• Conditions most likely to kill encephalitis patients identified
• Gestational diabetes tied to seven-fold increase in sleep apnea risk
• Appetite hormone misfires in obese people
• Ingredient in turmeric spice when combined with anti-nausea drug kills cancer cells
• A new role for sodium in the brain
• Traffic pollution and wood smoke increases asthma in adults
• An organized approach to 3-D tissue engineering: Getting closer to viable organ implants
• NEETs are prime suspects in breast cancer proliferation
• How brain microcircuits integrate information from different senses
• Building better brain implants: The challenge of longevity
• Biomarkers for possible blood test to predict suicide risk identified
• Bacterial toxins cause deadly heart disease: Superantigens produced by staph bacteria are required for deadly effects of infective endocarditis and sepsis

First pre-clinical gene therapy study to reverse Rett symptoms Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:58 PM PDT The concept behind gene therapy is simple: Deliver a healthy gene to compensate for one that is mutated. New research suggests this approach may eventually be a feasible option to treat Rett Syndrome, the most disabling of the autism spectrum disorders.

How sleep helps brain learn motor task Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:56 PM PDT Sleep helps the brain consolidate what we've learned, but scientists have struggled to determine what goes on in the brain to make that happen for different kinds of learned tasks. In a new study, researchers pinpoint the brainwave frequencies and brain region associated with sleep-enhanced learning of a sequential finger tapping task akin to typing, or playing piano.

Infection during newborn's first week of life associated with bacterial infection in the mother Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:56 PM PDT Early-onset neonatal infection, defined as infection in the first 7 days of life, is associated with maternal infection and colonization, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis.

How untying knots promotes cancer Posted: 20 Aug 2013 01:13 PM PDT Protein elF4E can promote cancer by activating another protein, 4A, to untangle knots in mRNA allowing gene translation to proceed. The discovery resolves a 35-year old mystery.

New explanation for key step in anthrax infection proposed Posted: 20 Aug 2013 01:12 PM PDT A new hypothesis concerning a crucial step in the anthrax infection process has been advanced.

Multiple genes manage how people taste sweeteners Posted: 20 Aug 2013 10:50 AM PDT Genetics may play a role in how people's taste receptors send signals, leading to a wide spectrum of taste preferences, according to food scientists. These varied, genetically influenced responses may mean that food and drink companies will need a range of artificial sweeteners to accommodate different consumer tastes.

New findings on how the ear hears could lead to better hearing aids Posted: 20 Aug 2013 10:50 AM PDT A healthy ear is much better at detecting and transmitting sound than even the most advanced hearing aid. But now researchers have uncovered new insights into how the ear -- in particular, the cochlea -- processes and amplifies sound. The findings could be used for the development of better devices to improve hearing.

Conditions most likely to kill encephalitis patients identified Posted: 20 Aug 2013 10:47 AM PDT People with severe encephalitis — inflammation of the brain — are much more likely to die if they develop severe swelling in the brain, intractable seizures or low blood platelet counts, regardless of the cause of their illness, according to new research.

Gestational diabetes tied to seven-fold increase in sleep apnea risk Posted: 20 Aug 2013 10:47 AM PDT Women diagnosed with gestational diabetes are nearly seven times more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea than other pregnant women, according to a recent study.

Appetite hormone misfires in obese people Posted: 20 Aug 2013 10:47 AM PDT Glucagon, a hormone involved in regulating appetite, loses its ability to help obese people feel full after a meal, but it continues to suppress hunger pangs in people with type 1 diabetes, according to a recent study.

Ingredient in turmeric spice when combined with anti-nausea drug kills cancer cells Posted: 20 Aug 2013 08:41 AM PDT In a laboratory, preclinical study researchers combined structural features from anti-nausea drug thalidomide with common kitchen spice turmeric to create hybrid molecules that effectively kill multiple myeloma cells.

A new role for sodium in the brain Posted: 20 Aug 2013 08:39 AM PDT Researchers have found that sodium – the main chemical component in table salt – is a unique "on/off" switch for a major neurotransmitter receptor in the brain. This receptor, known as the kainate receptor, is fundamental for normal brain function and is implicated in numerous diseases, such as epilepsy and neuropathic pain.

Traffic pollution and wood smoke increases asthma in adults Posted: 20 Aug 2013 07:25 AM PDT Asthma sufferers frequently exposed to heavy traffic pollution or smoke from wood fire heaters, experienced a significant worsening of symptoms, a new study has found.

An organized approach to 3-D tissue engineering: Getting closer to viable organ implants Posted: 20 Aug 2013 06:46 AM PDT Researchers have developed a simple method of organizing cells and their microenvironments in hydrogel fibers. Their unique technology provides a feasible template for assembling complex structures, such as liver and fat tissues.

NEETs are prime suspects in breast cancer proliferation Posted: 20 Aug 2013 06:46 AM PDT Two proteins have been identified as prime suspects in the proliferation of breast cancer in a new study. The research may offer a path to therapies that could slow or stop breast cancer tumors from developing.

How brain microcircuits integrate information from different senses Posted: 20 Aug 2013 06:44 AM PDT Research sheds new light onto the unknown processes on how the brain integrates the inputs from the different senses in the complex circuits formed by molecularly distinct types of nerve cells.

Building better brain implants: The challenge of longevity Posted: 20 Aug 2013 06:44 AM PDT A new technique accommodates two challenges inherent in brain-implantation technology: gauging the property changes that occur during implantation and measuring them on a micro-scale.

Biomarkers for possible blood test to predict suicide risk identified Posted: 20 Aug 2013 05:37 AM PDT Researchers have found a series of RNA biomarkers in blood that may help identify who is at risk for committing suicide.

Bacterial toxins cause deadly heart disease: Superantigens produced by staph bacteria are required for deadly effects of infective endocarditis and sepsis Posted: 20 Aug 2013 05:37 AM PDT Researchers have discovered what causes the lethal effects of staphylococcal infective endocarditis -- a serious bacterial infection of heart valves that kills approximately 20,000 Americans each year.

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