ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Structure of human protein critical for silencing genes solved
• Math predicts size of clot-forming cells
• Cancer may require simpler genetic mutations than previously thought
• Like curry? New biological role identified for compound used in ancient medicine
• 70% of women use contraceptives during their first sexual encounter, Spanish study suggests
• Tiny robots for less invasive surgery
• Irritable bowel syndrome clearly linked to gut bacteria
• New type of male contraceptive? Key gene essential for sperm development discovered
• Knowing genetic makeup may not significantly improve disease risk prediction
• Marked for destruction: Newly developed compound triggers cancer cell death
• Gene therapy can correct forms of severe combined immunodeficiency, study suggests
• Nervous system: Cellular boundary key to neuronal function
• Nnew genetic method developed to pinpoint individuals' geographic origin
• Who pays for personalized medicine?
• Cystic fibrosis breakthrough reveals why females fare worse than males
• From stem cell to brain cell: New technique mimics the brain
• New process would make anti-malarial drug less costly
• Vicious cycle of over-eating and feeling depressed explained

Structure of human protein critical for silencing genes solved Posted: 25 May 2012 01:52 PM PDT Scientists have described the three-dimensional atomic structure of a human protein bound to a piece of RNA that "guides" the protein's ability to silence genes. The protein, Argonaute-2, is a key player in RNA interference, a powerful cellular phenomenon that has important roles in diverse biological processes, including an organism's development.

Math predicts size of clot-forming cells Posted: 25 May 2012 01:52 PM PDT Mathematicians have helped biologists figure out why platelets, the cells that form blood clots, are the size and shape that they are. Because platelets are important both for healing wounds and in strokes and other conditions, a better understanding of how they form and behave could have wide implications.

Cancer may require simpler genetic mutations than previously thought Posted: 25 May 2012 11:01 AM PDT Scientists have long known that cancer cells can proliferate by deleting both copies of the tumor suppressor genes that would otherwise kill them. Now research shows they can also grow by deleting single copies of the genes, especially when clusters of those genes appear randomly on a chromosome. The discovery sheds new light on tumorigenesis and explains why large genomic deletions show up so often in cancer cells.

Like curry? New biological role identified for compound used in ancient medicine Posted: 25 May 2012 07:39 AM PDT Scientists have just identified a new reason why some curry dishes, made with spices humans have used for thousands of years, might be good for you. They have discovered that curcumin, a compound found in the cooking spice turmeric, can cause a modest but measurable increase in levels of a protein that's known to be important in the "innate" immune system, helping to prevent infection in humans and other animals.

70% of women use contraceptives during their first sexual encounter, Spanish study suggests Posted: 25 May 2012 07:37 AM PDT Contraceptive use in Spain during the first sexual encounter is similar to other European countries. Contraceptive use shows positive correlation in women with a university education and negative correlation amongst women from poor backgrounds.

Tiny robots for less invasive surgery Posted: 25 May 2012 07:36 AM PDT Millions of Europeans undergo abdominal surgery each year to treat a range of different disorders, from cancer and heart disease to obesity. Researchers are now developing innovative micro-robotics and micro-system technologies to make such surgeries less complicated, invasive and costly.

Irritable bowel syndrome clearly linked to gut bacteria Posted: 25 May 2012 07:33 AM PDT An overgrowth of bacteria in the gut has been definitively linked to Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the results of a new study which used cultures from the small intestine. This is the first study to use this "gold standard" method of connecting bacteria to the cause of the disease that affects an estimated 30 million people in the United States.

New type of male contraceptive? Key gene essential for sperm development discovered Posted: 24 May 2012 06:52 PM PDT A new type of male contraceptive could be created thanks to the discovery of a key gene essential for sperm development. The finding could lead to alternatives to the conventional male contraceptives that rely on disrupting the production of hormones, such as testosterone. These treatments can cause side effects such as irritability, mood swings and acne.

Knowing genetic makeup may not significantly improve disease risk prediction Posted: 24 May 2012 09:32 AM PDT Researchers have found that detailed knowledge about your genetic makeup -- the interplay between genetic variants and other genetic variants, or between genetic variants and environmental risk factors -- may only change your estimated disease prediction risk for three common diseases by a few percentage points, which is typically not enough to make a difference in prevention or treatment plans.

Marked for destruction: Newly developed compound triggers cancer cell death Posted: 24 May 2012 09:32 AM PDT Scientists have developed a compound that enhance cell death in cancer cells.

Gene therapy can correct forms of severe combined immunodeficiency, study suggests Posted: 24 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT Scientists found that loss of the ADA gene directly contributes to B cell tolerance problems and that these defects are mostly corrected after gene therapy.

Nervous system: Cellular boundary key to neuronal function Posted: 24 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT A molecule responsible for the proper formation of a key portion of the nervous system finds its way to the proper place not because it is actively recruited, but instead because it can't go anywhere else. Researchers have identified a distal axonal cytoskeleton as the boundary that makes sure AnkyrinG clusters where it needs to so it can perform properly.

Nnew genetic method developed to pinpoint individuals' geographic origin Posted: 24 May 2012 08:25 AM PDT Scientists have developed an innovative approach for the modeling of genetic variation in two- or three-dimensional space called spatial ancestry analysis (SPA). With SPA, researchers model the spatial distribution of each genetic variant by assigning a genetic variant's frequency as a continuous function in geographic space.

Who pays for personalized medicine? Posted: 24 May 2012 06:29 AM PDT Researchers have delved into a series of high profile court cases testing the limits of patent protection.

Cystic fibrosis breakthrough reveals why females fare worse than males Posted: 24 May 2012 06:27 AM PDT Researchers have discovered why females with cystic fibrosis do worse than males. The study is the first to show that the female hormone estrogen promotes the presence of a particular form of bacteria which results in more severe symptoms for female cystic fibrosis patients. In addition, females who were taking the oral contraceptive pill, which decreases the amount of naturally occurring estrogen in their bodies, were found to have lower levels of the problematic bacteria.

From stem cell to brain cell: New technique mimics the brain Posted: 24 May 2012 06:22 AM PDT A new technique that converts stem cells into brain cells has just been developed. The method is simpler, quicker and safer than previous research has shown and opens the doors to a shorter route to clinical cell transplants.

New process would make anti-malarial drug less costly Posted: 23 May 2012 08:50 AM PDT Scientists are reporting development of a new, higher-yield, two-step, less costly process that may ease supply problems and zigzagging prices for the raw material essential for making the mainstay drug for malaria. That disease sickens 300-500 million people annually and kills more than one million. The report on the process uses readily available substances and could be easily implemented by drug companies.

Vicious cycle of over-eating and feeling depressed explained Posted: 23 May 2012 07:19 AM PDT Some people feel depressed because they have been eating too much, then they eat too much because they are feeling depressed. As is the case with drug addicts, a vicious cycle sets in where "food-highs" are used as a way to combat depression, experts say.

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