ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Dark chocolate could prevent heart problems in high-risk people
• Is there a 'healthy' obesity gene?
• New molecular structure offers first picture of a protein family vital to human health
• X-ray laser probes biomolecules to individual atoms
• Vertebrates share ancient neural circuitry for complex social behaviors, biologists find
• Building molecular 'cages' to fight disease
• Alzheimer's protein structure suggests new treatment directions
• Walking and running again after spinal cord injury
• Free-electron lasers reveal detailed architecture of proteins
• Smoking during pregnancy linked to severe asthma in teen years
• Flies with restless legs syndrome point to a genetic cause
• How cells communicate to activate notch signaling
• Mechanism that maintains stem cells readiness identified
• Advanced visualization techniques could change the paradigm for diagnosis and treatment of heart disease
• 'Simple and effective' injection could offer hope for treatment of autoimmune disease
• Runners can improve health and performance with less training, study shows
• Genetic discovery unlocks biosynthesis of medicinal compound in poppy
• Memory training unlikely to help in treating ADHD, boosting IQ

Dark chocolate could prevent heart problems in high-risk people Posted: 31 May 2012 05:08 PM PDT Daily consumption of dark chocolate can reduce cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, in people with metabolic syndrome (a cluster of factors that increases the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes), finds a new study

Is there a 'healthy' obesity gene? Posted: 31 May 2012 11:58 AM PDT Researchers recently investigated whether a specific gene/enzyme could be help explain why some obese people do not get chronic diseases typically associated with obesity.

New molecular structure offers first picture of a protein family vital to human health Posted: 31 May 2012 11:57 AM PDT The 20 proteins in the Wnt family are some of the most important proteins in controlling how an organism develops and grows, but for 30 years scientists have not known what these vital proteins actually look like. Researchers have solved the first structure of a Wnt protein, opening up new avenues of study for this biologically important molecule.

X-ray laser probes biomolecules to individual atoms Posted: 31 May 2012 11:57 AM PDT Scientists have demonstrated how the world's most powerful X-ray laser can assist in cracking the structures of biomolecules, and in the processes helped to pioneer critical new investigative avenues in biology.

Vertebrates share ancient neural circuitry for complex social behaviors, biologists find Posted: 31 May 2012 11:57 AM PDT Humans, fish and frogs share neural circuits responsible for a diversity of social behavior, from flashy mating displays to aggression and monogamy, that have existed for more than 450 million years, biologists have found.

Building molecular 'cages' to fight disease Posted: 31 May 2012 11:57 AM PDT Biochemists have designed specialized proteins that assemble themselves to form tiny molecular cages hundreds of times smaller than a single cell. The creation of these miniature structures may be the first step toward developing new methods of drug delivery or even designing artificial vaccines.

Alzheimer's protein structure suggests new treatment directions Posted: 31 May 2012 11:57 AM PDT The molecular structure of a protein involved in Alzheimer's disease -- and the surprising discovery that it binds cholesterol -- could lead to new therapeutics for the disease, investigators report.

Walking and running again after spinal cord injury Posted: 31 May 2012 11:57 AM PDT Rats with spinal cord injuries and severe paralysis are now walking (and running). New results show that a severed section of the spinal cord can make a comeback when its own innate intelligence and regenerative capacity -- what lead author calls the "spinal brain" -- is awakened.

Free-electron lasers reveal detailed architecture of proteins Posted: 31 May 2012 11:56 AM PDT Ultrashort flashes of X-radiation allow atomic structures of macromolecules to be obtained even from tiny protein crystals.

Smoking during pregnancy linked to severe asthma in teen years Posted: 31 May 2012 11:55 AM PDT African-American and Latino children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are more likely to suffer from acute asthma symptoms in their teens than asthma sufferers whose mothers did not smoke, according to a new study.

Flies with restless legs syndrome point to a genetic cause Posted: 31 May 2012 10:56 AM PDT When flies are made to lose a gene with links to Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), they suffer the same sleep disturbances and restlessness that human patients do. The findings strongly suggest a genetic basis for RLS, a condition in which patients complain of an irresistible urge to move that gets worse as they try to rest.

How cells communicate to activate notch signaling Posted: 31 May 2012 10:54 AM PDT Researchers have shown for the first time that the mechanical force produced by cell-cell interactions is critical for programming by the Notch signaling system.

Mechanism that maintains stem cells readiness identified Posted: 31 May 2012 08:26 AM PDT An immune-system receptor plays an unexpected but crucially important role in keeping stem cells from differentiating and in helping blood cancer cells grow, researchers report.

Advanced visualization techniques could change the paradigm for diagnosis and treatment of heart disease Posted: 31 May 2012 08:23 AM PDT Researchers are pioneering new ultrasound techniques that provide the first characterization of multidirectional blood flow in the heart. By focusing on fluid dynamics – specifically, the efficiency with which blood enters and exits the heart's left ventricle – the researchers believe they can detect heart disease even when traditional measures show no sign of trouble.

'Simple and effective' injection could offer hope for treatment of autoimmune disease Posted: 31 May 2012 07:24 AM PDT Australian researchers have uncovered a potential new way to regulate the body's natural immune response, offering hope of a simple and effective new treatment for autoimmune diseases.

Runners can improve health and performance with less training, study shows Posted: 31 May 2012 07:22 AM PDT The new 10-20-30 training concept can improve both a person's running performance and health, despite a significant reduction in the total amount of training.

Genetic discovery unlocks biosynthesis of medicinal compound in poppy Posted: 31 May 2012 07:21 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a complex gene cluster responsible for the synthesis of the medicinal compound noscapine.

Memory training unlikely to help in treating ADHD, boosting IQ Posted: 31 May 2012 07:17 AM PDT Working memory training is unlikely to be an effective treatment for children suffering from disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity or dyslexia, according to a research analysis. In addition, memory training tasks appear to have limited effect on healthy adults and children looking to do better in school or improve their cognitive skills.

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