Health & Medicine : Science World Report

Feb 14, 2012 02:57 PM EST

Chromosome Analyses of Prickly Pear Cacti Reveal Southern Glacial Refugia

Analysis of chromosome number variation among species of a North American group of prickly pear cacti (nopales) showed that the most widespread species encountered are of hybrid origin. Those widespread species likely originated from hybridization among closely related parental species from western ...

Feb 14, 2012 02:57 PM EST

Turmeric-Based Drug Effective on Alzheimer Flies

Curcumin, a substance extracted from turmeric, prolongs life and enhances activity of fruit flies with a nervous disorder similar to Alzheimers. The study conducted at LinkÃ¶ping University, indicates that it is the initial stages of fibril formation and fragments of the amyloid fibrils that are m...

Feb 14, 2012 02:53 PM EST

New Guidelines Developed For Improved DVT Diagnosis

A researcher at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City is part of a select panel of international experts to help develop new evidence-based clinical guidelines used by physicians worldwide for the diagnosis and treatment of blood-clotting disorders, one of the most common cardiovascular dis...

Feb 14, 2012 02:36 PM EST

GW Researchers Reveal Digital Transcriptome of Breast Cancer

GW Cancer Research Team in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, published a study that is the first of its kind to use mRNA sequencing to look at the expression of genome, at a unprecedented resolution at the current time, in three type...

Feb 14, 2012 02:28 PM EST

Weight Loss Can be Contagious, Study Suggests

Is weight loss "contagious"? According to a new study published online in the journal Obesity, teammates in a team-based weight loss competition significantly influenced each other's weight loss, suggesting that shedding pounds can have a ripple effect.

Feb 14, 2012 02:23 PM EST

Freeze-Dried Heart Valve Scaffolds Hold Promise For Heart Valve Replacement

The biological scaffold that gives structure to a heart valve after its cellular material has been removed can be freeze-dried and stored for later use as a tissue-engineered replacement valve to treat a failing heart, as described in an article in Tissue Engineering, Part C: Methods, a peer-reviewe...

Feb 13, 2012 04:45 PM EST

Study: Prolonged Fructose Intake Not Linked to Rise in Blood Pressure

Eating fructose over an extended period of time does not lead to an increase in blood pressure, according to researchers at St. Michael's Hospital.

Feb 13, 2012 10:03 AM EST

New Research Reveals How Protein Protects Cells From HIV Infection

A novel discovery by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and colleagues reveals a mechanism by which the immune system tries to halt the spread of HIV. Harnessing this mechanism may open up new paths for therapeutic research aimed at slowing the virus' progression to AIDS. The study appears on...

Feb 13, 2012 09:57 AM EST

Cancer Rate 4 Times Higher in Children With Juvenile Arthritis

New research reports that incident malignancy among children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is four times higher than in those without the disease. Findings now available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (AC...

Feb 11, 2012 10:34 AM EST

Study Finds Elevated Levels of Cell-free DNA in First Trimester do Not Predict Preeclampsia

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting TM, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that elevated levels of cell-free DNA in the first trimester do not predict the subsequent development of preeclamp...

Feb 11, 2012 10:19 AM EST

Elbow Position Not a Predictor of Injury

Elbow position alone appeared to not affect injury rates and performance in college-level, male pitchers say researchers presenting at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day in San Francisco, CA.

Feb 11, 2012 10:03 AM EST

Steroid Injections Prove Effective in Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniations

The use of epidural steroid injections may be a more efficient treatment option for lumbar disc herniations, according to research presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day in San Francisco.