ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Embryonic development protein active in cancer growth
• Predicting the spread of ticks across Canada
• Tonsils make T-cells, too
• New universal platform for cancer immunotherapy
• Vitamin D intake may be associated with lower stress fracture risk in girls
• New Alzheimer's marker strongly predicts mental decline
• Stem cells can repair a damaged cornea
• Perception and preference may have genetic link to obesity
• Discovery of a molecule that initiates maturation of mammalian eggs can lead to more IVF pregnancies
• Scientists gain new insight into prefrontal cortex activity
• Smart, self-healing hydrogels open far-reaching possibilities in medicine, engineering
• Miniature pressure sensors for medical touch
• Genetic link between visual pathways of hydras and humans discovered
• Unraveling biological networks: Biological network motif discovery algorithms
• Will a genetic mutation cause trouble? Ask Spliceman
• Scientists search for source of creativity
• Next-generation DNA sequencing to improve diagnosis for muscular dystrophy
• Spanking and genetics may increase childhood aggression
• Stress making your blood pressure rise? Blame your immune system
• Making memories: How one protein does it
• Keep smiling: Collagen matrix promotes gum healing around exposed roots
• X-rays reveal how soil bacteria carry out surprising chemistry
• Babies born just two or three weeks early at higher risk of poor health

Embryonic development protein active in cancer growth Posted: 05 Mar 2012 07:37 PM PST Scientists have identified a novel protein expressed by breast cancer cells – but not normal adult tissues – that could provide a new target for future anti-cancer drugs and treatments.

Predicting the spread of ticks across Canada Posted: 05 Mar 2012 07:36 PM PST Researchers are watching as ticks that carry Lyme disease colonize Canada, but their research aims to predict the communities most likely to be hit by this sickness.

Tonsils make T-cells, too Posted: 05 Mar 2012 02:36 PM PST A new study provides evidence that immune cells called T lymphocytes, or T cells, can develop in human tonsils. The cells have been thought to develop only in the thymus, an organ of the immune system that sits on the heart. The findings could be important for improving stem-cell transplantation and for understanding the development of T-cell cancers and autoimmune diseases.

New universal platform for cancer immunotherapy Posted: 05 Mar 2012 02:35 PM PST Researchers report a universal approach to personalized cancer therapy based on T cells. It is the first time a system for making an adaptable, engineered T-cell to attack specific tumor types has been proposed, depending on which abnormal proteins, called antigens, are expressed by individual patients' tumor cells.

Vitamin D intake may be associated with lower stress fracture risk in girls Posted: 05 Mar 2012 02:34 PM PST Vitamin D may be associated with a lower risk of developing stress fractures in preadolescent and adolescent girls, especially among those very active in high-impact activities, according to a new report.

New Alzheimer's marker strongly predicts mental decline Posted: 05 Mar 2012 02:33 PM PST A new marker of Alzheimer's disease can predict how rapidly a patient's memory and other mental abilities will decline after the disorder is diagnosed, researchers have found.

Stem cells can repair a damaged cornea Posted: 05 Mar 2012 01:08 PM PST A new cornea may be the only way to prevent a patient going blind -- but there is a shortage of donated corneas and the queue for transplantation is long. Scientists have for the first time successfully cultivated stem cells on human corneas, which may in the long term remove the need for donators.

Perception and preference may have genetic link to obesity Posted: 05 Mar 2012 01:08 PM PST New discoveries suggest that fats are perceived on the tongue as a "taste" sensation by binding to specialized receptors on taste buds. More specifically, fats are broken down in the mouth to fatty acids, and it's the fatty acids that bind to these receptors.

Discovery of a molecule that initiates maturation of mammalian eggs can lead to more IVF pregnancies Posted: 05 Mar 2012 01:06 PM PST Women who have eggs that cannot mature will not become pregnant, and they cannot be helped by in vitro fertilization (IVF). Now researchers have identified a molecule called Cdk1 that has an important function for mammalian egg maturation. In the future this could lead to an increased rate of successful IVF.

Scientists gain new insight into prefrontal cortex activity Posted: 05 Mar 2012 01:06 PM PST The brain has a remarkable ability to learn new cognitive tasks while maintaining previously acquired knowledge about various functions necessary for everyday life. But exactly how new information is incorporated into brain systems that control cognitive functions has remained a mystery.

Smart, self-healing hydrogels open far-reaching possibilities in medicine, engineering Posted: 05 Mar 2012 01:06 PM PST Bioengineers have developed a self-healing hydrogel that binds in seconds, as easily as Velcro, and forms a bond strong enough to withstand repeated stretching. The material has numerous potential applications, including medical sutures, targeted drug delivery, industrial sealants and self-healing plastics.

Miniature pressure sensors for medical touch Posted: 05 Mar 2012 12:07 PM PST A new kind of flexible, transparent pressure sensor, developed for use in medical applications, relies on a drop of liquid.

Genetic link between visual pathways of hydras and humans discovered Posted: 05 Mar 2012 12:06 PM PST What good is half an eye? Evolutionary biologists studying the origins of vision get that question a lot, and new research points to a possible answer. New findings indicate that, even in the absence of eyes altogether, some creatures display a light-sensitivity that uses the same visual pathway that allows humans to see.

Unraveling biological networks: Biological network motif discovery algorithms Posted: 05 Mar 2012 10:25 AM PST A new approach to disentangling the complexities of biological networks, such as the way in which proteins interact in our body's cells has been developed. The new algorithm could allow biologists and biomedical researchers to unravel new clues about how cells work and what goes awry with such networks in various diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

Will a genetic mutation cause trouble? Ask Spliceman Posted: 05 Mar 2012 10:24 AM PST New, free Web-based software analyzes DNA sequences to determine if mutations are likely to cause errors in splicing of messenger RNA. When gene splicing goes awry, a wide variety of diseases can result.

Scientists search for source of creativity Posted: 05 Mar 2012 10:24 AM PST Researchers are working to pin down the exact source of creativity in the brain -- and have found that the left hemisphere of your brain, thought to be the logic and math portion, actually plays a critical role in creative thinking.

Next-generation DNA sequencing to improve diagnosis for muscular dystrophy Posted: 05 Mar 2012 10:23 AM PST Scientists have used a revolutionary new DNA-reading technology for a research project that could lead to correct genetic diagnosis for muscle-wasting diseases. The technique could be used to offer people with muscular dystrophy, or a related neuromuscular condition, a more accurate prognosis, which would enable them to make more informed choices on life decisions, including family planning.

Spanking and genetics may increase childhood aggression Posted: 05 Mar 2012 10:22 AM PST The risk of problem behavior during childhood — particularly for boys — is greatly increased if children have genetic predispositions for these behaviors and if they are spanked by their parents.

Stress making your blood pressure rise? Blame your immune system Posted: 05 Mar 2012 07:32 AM PST If stress is giving you high blood pressure, blame the immune system. T cells, helpful for fighting infections, are also necessary for mice to show an increase in blood pressure after a period of psychological stress, scientists have found. The findings suggest the effects of chronic stress on cardiovascular health may be a side effect of having an immune system that can defend us from infection. There also are potential implications for treating both high blood pressure and anxiety disorders.

Making memories: How one protein does it Posted: 05 Mar 2012 07:24 AM PST Studying tiny bits of genetic material that control protein formation in the brain, scientists say they have new clues to how memories are made and how drugs might someday be used to stop disruptions in the process that lead to mental illness and brain wasting diseases.

Keep smiling: Collagen matrix promotes gum healing around exposed roots Posted: 05 Mar 2012 05:14 AM PST Receding gums often result in tooth sensitivity and can lead to decay of the root and persistent inflammation of the gum. New research demonstrates that a novel method using bovine collagen is able to enhance gum healing. This resulted in thicker margins around the tooth and, in over half the cases, complete coverage of exposed roots.

X-rays reveal how soil bacteria carry out surprising chemistry Posted: 05 Mar 2012 05:12 AM PST Researchers have discovered how soil bacteria carry out surprising chemistry, defying a longstanding set of chemical rules and thus paving the way for new synthesis of polyether drugs.

Babies born just two or three weeks early at higher risk of poor health Posted: 02 Mar 2012 05:32 AM PST New research demonstrates that babies born even just a few weeks early have worse health outcomes than full-term babies.

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