Oxford geneticists have closed in on the genetic basis for risk factors of metabolic diseases such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes.
Studying 1,300 patients and healthy volunteers from over 400 families across Oxfordshire, the research team located several variations in the DNA sequence of the lipid phosphate SHIP2 gene which are associated with an increased risk for a cluster of common and increasingly frequent disorders, referred to as the ’metabolic syndrome’ or ’Syn
Dogs’ ability to discriminate brightness is about half as good as that of humans, according to a study appearing in Volume 4, Issue 3 in the Journal of Vision. In research conducted by scientists from the Veterinary University of Vienna and the University of Memphis, dogs showed a surprising lack of ability to discriminate between grey cards that varied in brightness, says researcher Ulrike Griebel of the University of Memphis.
While a great deal is known about dogs’ visual acuity
Choosing a diet soft drink over a regular, sugar-packed beverage may not be the best way to fight obesity, according to new research from Purdue University. But the researchers said this doesn’t mean you should grab a regularly sweetened soft drink instead.
Professor Terry Davidson and associate professor Susan Swithers, both in the Department of Psychological Sciences, found that artificial sweeteners may disrupt the body’s natural ability to “count” calories based on foods
Teenage girls who have never smoked, never even puffed on a cigarette, are far more likely to start smoking if their favorite movie star smokes in movies, according to a 3-year study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the most-cited public health journal.
The study’s authors conclude that on-screen smoking by popular actors is undermining public health efforts to keep children from smoking.
“We’ve heard for years that big-screen movies influence k
When a fly drops in to sample your picnic lunch, it’s basically tasting the same thing you taste, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, scientists.
In the first detailed genetic study of fly taste receptors, UC Berkeley neuroscientist Kristin Scott and her colleagues showed that fruit flies have receptors devoted to sweet and bitter tastes just like humans. While human taste receptors are limited to the tongue, the receptors in flies are mounted on bristles sc
51 countries with R&D Programs and Fundings in Nanotechnologies in 2004.The race is on.
Total R&D spending are up to 12 billion US$ worldwide. High increase in defence and security projects. Public awareness under 15 percent. Markets up 180 billion US$.
hkc22.com is monitoring the world markets for nanotechnologies since more than 3 years and reporting every 6 month. The latest results show a strong increase in investments with more than 25 percent to 12 billion US $ for R&
Current legislation on preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in Germany is out of step with the attitudes of Germans and should be changed, researchers told a news briefing at the 20th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology on Monday 28 June).
At present PGD is forbidden in Germany, but in one of the first large study of attitudes to PGD amongst the general population and infertile couples in Germany, the researchers found that the majority of Ge
Results of a UK study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET highlight how the treatment of cytomegalovirus infection remains a priority in order to improve the prognosis for people with HIV-1 infection, including people already receiving antiretroviral therapy.
The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) at the end of the 20th century dramatically improved treatment for people with HIV-1 infection. Before HAART, cytomegalovirus (CMV) was a major cause of opportunistic infection in HIV
Researchers at the Universitat Jaume I in Castellón, Spain, and McGill University in Montreal have found a relationship between the increased heartbeat some people experience after drinking a certain amount of alcohol and the risk of developing a personality that is sensitive to rewards and, hence, to addictions.
The study, which was published in the March edition of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, concludes that people who experience an increase in their heart rate a
Middle-aged and older Americans with heart disease who cut back on their prescribed medications because of cost were 50% more likely to suffer heart attacks, strokes, or angina than those who did not report cost-related medication underuse, according to a new study funded in part by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health. Michele Heisler, M.D., M.P.A., at the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, and colleagues* conducted the study, which
New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill indicates that treatment with anabolic steroids may improve surgical repair of massive or recurrent tears of the shoulder’s rotator cuff tendons. Such injuries extend well beyond the world of high-performance athletes, professional and collegiate – often occurring among older weekend athletes, including tennis and golf players. The study, which appears in the June issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine, was led by Dr. Spero
Suggestions that genetic tests are taken more into account than a doctor’s clinical judgement are dismissed in new research sponsored by the ESRC and published as part of Social Science week.
And clinicians do not adopt a ‘blunderbuss’ or ‘grape-shot’ approach. Appropriate tests are ordered in the light of clinical decisions and differing diagnoses, according to the study led by Dr Joanna Latimer, of the School of Social Science, Cardiff University.
The findings are the result o
People with bad teeth can no longer blame childhood habits. A new study has found that, contrary to common perceptions, an unhealthy adult lifestyle is responsible for poor oral health in later years.
Researchers from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, studied data collected from over 300 people. They discovered that the relationship between family background and problems with the teeth and gums diminished with increasing age and eventually became almost insignificant.
A
Women who have been treated for anorexia nervosa remain at significant risk for relapse up to two years after their weight has been restored and they have been discharged from hospital, says a study from the University of Toronto and Toronto General Hospital.
Dr. Jacqueline Carter, a psychiatry professor at U of T and a staff psychologist in the hospital’s eating disorders program, led the follow-up study of 51 patients, published in the May issue of Psychological Medicine.
It foun
One billion people, a sixth of the world’s population, currently live in the path of potential major flood disasters, according to a recent report from the UN University in Tokyo. In Britain, dramatic flooding of rivers has become a regular feature of evening news programmes. And each time major flooding occurs in the UK, the public demands an immediate response from the authorities.
ESRC-funded research at the University of Middlesex has examined the process by which floods policy has ch
In this study of 45 families by the Division of Pediatric Neurology, Alberta Children’s Hospital, about 40 percent reported seizure-specific reaction from their dogs, and about 15 percent of the dogs overall showed the ability to anticipate a seizure among the children they lived with. Children in the study ranged in age from 6.8 years to 17.5 years. The most common response behavior was licking, often of the face, followed by decreased motor activity, “protective” behavior without aggression, and wh
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