ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• An embryo that is neither male nor female: Impact of three unexpected sex determination factors analyzed
• Top four reasons why diets fail
• New molecule to target in pancreatic cancer treatment
• Gene variant linked to active personality traits also linked to human longevity
• Plvap/PV1 critical to formation of the diaphragms in endothelial cells
• Editing genome with high precision: New method to insert multiple genes in specific locations, delete defective genes
• Online science news with user comments fraught with unintended consequences, study suggests
• Rethinking bacterial persistence: Optofluidics allow for new understanding of resistance to antibiotics
• Synthetic chemistry: Steroids that only nature could make on a large scale, until now
• How deadly skin cancer spreads into other parts of the body
• New strategies needed to encourage male cancer survivors to consider future fertility
• Researchers use stem cells to pinpoint cause of common type of sudden cardiac death
• Stem cell technology could help harness patients' own immune cells to fight disease
• Cancer-specific killer T cells created from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)
• New understanding of nerve damage caused by spinal cord injury could improve treatment design
• Binge drinking: Stricter controls needed, experts say
• Sorting stem cells: Scientists propose a new way to isolate early stage embryonic stem cells
• In epigenomics, location is everything: Researchers exploit gene position to test 'histone code'
• Secretive food concocting: New characteristic of binge eating identified
• Smile: Gingivitis bacteria manipulate your immune system so they can thrive in your gums
• Cholesterol medicine affects energy production in muscles
• Quick detection of periodontitis pathogens
• Study suggests gene variation may shape bladder cancer treatment
• New information on autism and genetics
• No need for routine repeated CT scans after mild head trauma, study suggests
• Cognitive difficulties associated with menopause described
• Use of disinfection cap is associated with fewer bloodstream infections, study finds
• Spinal ultrasounds seeking why astronauts grow taller in space
• Key mechanism in calcium regulation discovered: May help lead to new drugs for neurodegenerative diseases
• Repeated miscarriage: Scientists pinpoint molecular signals that make some women prone to miscarriage
• Updated tool now available to predict prostate cancer spread

An embryo that is neither male nor female: Impact of three unexpected sex determination factors analyzed Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:24 PM PST Is it a girl or a boy? This is the first question parents ask at the birth of an infant. Though the answer is obvious, the mechanism of sex determination is much less so. Researchers attempt to shed light on this complex process by identifying the crucial role played by insulin and IGF1 and IGF2 growth factors, a family of hormones known for its role in metabolism and growth.

Top four reasons why diets fail Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:23 PM PST Only twenty percent of people will lose weight and keep it off this year, despite research that two-thirds of Americans admit to being on a diet. Here are the top four reasons where dieters go wrong, according to experts.

New molecule to target in pancreatic cancer treatment Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:23 PM PST Researchers have identified a new target to improve treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cancer, which accounts for more than 95 percent of pancreatic cancer cases.

Gene variant linked to active personality traits also linked to human longevity Posted: 03 Jan 2013 12:15 PM PST A variant of a gene associated with active personality traits in humans seems to also be involved with living a longer life, researchers have found. People who carry this variant gene seem to be more motivated to pursue social, intellectual and physical activities. The variant is also linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and addictive and risky behaviors, researchers say.

Plvap/PV1 critical to formation of the diaphragms in endothelial cells Posted: 03 Jan 2013 12:15 PM PST Scientists have demonstrated the importance of the gene Plvap and the structures it forms in mammalian physiology.

Editing genome with high precision: New method to insert multiple genes in specific locations, delete defective genes Posted: 03 Jan 2013 11:32 AM PST Researchers have developed a new technique for precisely altering the genomes of living cells by adding or deleting genes.

Online science news with user comments fraught with unintended consequences, study suggests Posted: 03 Jan 2013 11:32 AM PST A science-inclined audience and wide array of communications tools make the Internet an excellent opportunity for scientists hoping to share their research with the world. But that opportunity is fraught with unintended consequences. New research shows the tone of comments posted by other readers can make a significant difference in the way new readers feel about the article's subject. The less civil the accompanying comments, the more risk readers attributed to the research described in the news story.

Rethinking bacterial persistence: Optofluidics allow for new understanding of resistance to antibiotics Posted: 03 Jan 2013 11:31 AM PST Scientists have used microfluidics to observe the behavior of individual tuberculosis-like bacteria in the presence of antibiotics. Their observations call into question the prevailing theory of bacterial resistance, and they have proposed a new explanation for why some bacteria become resistant.

Synthetic chemistry: Steroids that only nature could make on a large scale, until now Posted: 03 Jan 2013 11:31 AM PST Scientists have achieved a feat in synthetic chemistry by inventing a scalable method to make complex natural compounds known as "polyhydroxylated steroids." These compounds, used in heart-failure medications and other drugs, have been notoriously problematic to synthesize in the laboratory.

How deadly skin cancer spreads into other parts of the body Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:12 AM PST After recently announcing success in eliminating melanoma metastasis in laboratory experiments, scientists have made another important discovery in understanding the process by which the gene mda-9/syntenin contributes to metastasis in melanoma (the spread of skin cancer) and possibly a variety of other cancers.

New strategies needed to encourage male cancer survivors to consider future fertility Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:11 AM PST New strategies are needed to encourage men who have banked sperm prior to cancer treatment to engage with ongoing fertility monitoring programs, researchers in the UK have found.

Researchers use stem cells to pinpoint cause of common type of sudden cardiac death Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:11 AM PST When a young athlete dies unexpectedly on the basketball court or the football field, it's both shocking and tragic. Now researchers have, for the first time, identified the molecular basis for a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that is the most common cause for this type of sudden cardiac death.

Stem cell technology could help harness patients' own immune cells to fight disease Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:11 AM PST Researchers reporting in two separate recent articles used stem cell technology to successfully regenerate patients' immune cells, creating large numbers that were long-lived and could recognize their specified targets: HIV-infected cells in one case and cancer cells in the other. The findings could help in the development of strategies to rejuvenate patients' exhausted immune responses.

Cancer-specific killer T cells created from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:09 AM PST Researchers in Japan report today that they have succeeded for the first time in creating cancer-specific immune system cells called killer T lymphocytes from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). To create these killer cells, the team first had to reprogram T lymphocytes specialized in killing a certain type of cancer, into iPS cells. The iPS cells then generated fully active, cancer-specific T lymphocytes. These lymphocytes regenerated from iPS cells could potentially serve as cancer therapy in the future.

New understanding of nerve damage caused by spinal cord injury could improve treatment design Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:09 AM PST More than half of traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCI) in humans are cervical lesions, resulting in chronic loss of limb function. A better understanding of the link between the neurologic damage caused by SCI, spontaneous motor function recovery, and long-term motor deficits would lead to better therapeutic approaches, new research suggests.

Binge drinking: Stricter controls needed, experts say Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:09 AM PST A new study suggests that the UK's alcohol problem will continue to worsen until the availability and cultural presence of alcohol is subject to stricter controls.

Sorting stem cells: Scientists propose a new way to isolate early stage embryonic stem cells Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:07 AM PST When an embryonic stem cell is in the first stage of its development it has the potential to grow into any type of cell in the body, a state scientists call undifferentiated. Using an electric field to pull stem cells through a fluid, a team of researchers from Scotland has now demonstrated a way to easily distinguish undifferentiated embryonic stem cells from later-stage stem cells whose fate is sealed.

In epigenomics, location is everything: Researchers exploit gene position to test 'histone code' Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:07 AM PST In a novel use of gene knockout technology, researchers tested the same gene inserted into 90 different locations in a yeast chromosome -- and discovered that while the inserted gene never altered its surrounding chromatin landscape, differences in that immediate landscape measurably affected gene activity.

Secretive food concocting: New characteristic of binge eating identified Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:07 AM PST A new study suggests food concocting -- the making of strange food mixtures like mashed potatoes and Oreo cookies, frozen vegetables mixed with mayonnaise, and chips with lemon, pork rinds, Italian dressing and salt -- is common among binge eaters. The findings reveal that 1 in 4 survey participants secretly create concoctions.

Smile: Gingivitis bacteria manipulate your immune system so they can thrive in your gums Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:42 AM PST A new research report shows how the bacteria known for causing gum disease -- Porphyromonas gingivalis -- manipulates the body's immune system to disable normal processes that would otherwise destroy it.

Cholesterol medicine affects energy production in muscles Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:42 AM PST Up to 75 percent of patients who take statins to treat elevated cholesterol levels may suffer from muscle pain. Scientists have now identified a possible mechanism underlying this unfortunate side effect.

Quick detection of periodontitis pathogens Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:41 AM PST Millions upon millions of people suffer from periodontitis, an inflammation that can lead to the loss of teeth if left untreated. A new diagnostic platform enables the pathogens to be detected quickly, enabling dentists to act swiftly to initiate the right treatment.

Study suggests gene variation may shape bladder cancer treatment Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:38 AM PST Patients who have inherited a specific common genetic variant develop bladder cancer tumors that strongly express a protein known as prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA), which is also expressed in many pancreatic and prostate tumors, according to new research.

New information on autism and genetics Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:38 AM PST Research has revealed another piece of the puzzle in a genetic developmental disorder that causes behavioral diseases such as autism.

No need for routine repeated CT scans after mild head trauma, study suggests Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:38 AM PST When initial computed tomography (CT) scans show bleeding within the brain after mild head injury, decisions about repeated CT scans should be based on the patient's neurological condition, according to a new report.

Cognitive difficulties associated with menopause described Posted: 03 Jan 2013 06:20 AM PST The memory problems that many women experience in their 40s and 50s as they approach and go through menopause are both real and appear to be most acute during the early period of post menopause.

Use of disinfection cap is associated with fewer bloodstream infections, study finds Posted: 03 Jan 2013 06:20 AM PST Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) dropped by 52 percent when an alcohol-impregnated disinfection cap was used instead of standard scrubbing protocol, according to a new study.

Spinal ultrasounds seeking why astronauts grow taller in space Posted: 03 Jan 2013 06:06 AM PST Did you ever wish you could be just a teensy bit taller? Well, if you spend a few months in space, you could get your wish -- temporarily. It is a commonly known fact that astronauts living aboard the International Space Station grow up to 3 percent taller while living in microgravity. They return to their normal height when back on Earth. Studying the impact of this change on the spine and advancing medical imaging technologies are the goals of the Spinal Ultrasound investigation.

Key mechanism in calcium regulation discovered: May help lead to new drugs for neurodegenerative diseases Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:32 AM PST All living cells keep their cellular calcium concentration at a very low level. Since a small increase in calcium can affect many critical cellular functions (an elevated calcium concentration over an extended period can induce cell death), powerful cellular mechanisms ensure that calcium concentration quickly returns to its low level.

Repeated miscarriage: Scientists pinpoint molecular signals that make some women prone to miscarriage Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:32 AM PST Scientists have identified molecular signals that control whether embryos are accepted by the womb, and that appear to function abnormally in women who have suffered repeated miscarriages.

Updated tool now available to predict prostate cancer spread Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:30 AM PST Prostate cancer experts have developed an updated version of the Partin Tables, a tool to help men diagnosed with prostate cancer and their doctors to better assess their chance of a surgical cure.

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