Health

January 7, 2009  Last updated: 38 minutes ago


Genetics

Researchers Discover Common Variations in Gene Segments that Increase the Risk for Prostate Cancer


Researchers report that a set of genetic variations in at least four regions of DNA strongly predicts prostate cancer risk and that these variations may be responsible for a large number of prostate cancer cases in white men in the United States.

International Consortium Announces the 1000 Genomes Project


An international research consortium today announced the 1000 Genomes Project, an ambitious effort that will involve sequencing the genomes of at least 1,000 people from around the world to create the most detailed and medically useful picture to date of human genetic variation.

IQ Boost From Breast Milk Linked to Gene-Environment Interaction


A new study shows that the intellectual boost associated with breast milk is only attained if a child has inherited one of two versions of a specific gene.


Health

Quantity and Frequency of Drinking Influence Mortality Risk


How much and how often people drink — not just the average amount of alcohol they consume over time — independently influence the risk of death from several causes, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.



Health

NIAID Scientists Identify New Cellular Receptor for HIV


A cellular protein that helps guide immune cells to the gut has been newly identified as a target of HIV when the virus begins its assault on the body's immune system, according to researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Antiaging pill works for yeast, worms, flies and mice, and may work for humans too


... but will likely take a long time to prove it. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a clinical trial on 85 volunteers for a proprietary formulation of resveratrol developed by Sirtris Pharmaceuticals.

New Test for Alzheimer's Disease


Researchers from Stanford University and other institutions claim that they developed a non-invasive test that...

Hope for a New Treatment of Parkinson's Disease


"For the first time, we've identified the chemical that triggers the events in the brain that cause this disorder. We believe these findings can be used to develop therapies that can actually stop or slow this process." (William J. Burke, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine)

Scientists Retrace Evolution of an Important Human Protein


Study improves our understanding of evolution by identifying steps in the evolution of a protein over the last 450 million years.

New, More Direct Pathways from Outside of Cells to Cell Nuclei Discovered


Material outside of a cell can move into cell nucleus more easily than previously believed.

Shining Light on Pancreatic Cancer


Experimental techniques show promise in screening for one of the nation’s deadliest diseases

New Imaging Technique Could Promote Early Detection of Multiple Sclerosis


New imaging techniques could promote early detection of conditions such as multiple sclerosis.

Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Type 2 Diabetes Similar at Molecular Level


Protein analysis may offer new therapeutic route

"Nurse Cells" Make Life and Death Decisions for Infection-Fighting Cells


"Nurse cells" play an important role in deciding which developing infection-fighting cells, called T cells, live and which die.