About 1 in 10 Europeans has to contend with some form of depression during his or her life. But how people become depressed is still largely a mystery. With their recent research, scientists from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) connected to the University of Antwerp in collaboration with scientists of the University of Umeå in Sweden, are lifting a corner of the veil. Their studies indicate that the TPH2 protein is involved in the development of depression and mani

Leading edge research being pioneered by Northumbria and Newcastle Universities could lead to a safer and more effective way of screening for breast cancer.

Dr David Smith from Northumbria’s School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences, is developing a microwave-based technique that can generate holographic high-quality images of hidden objects such as tumours.

Now an award from the Medical Research Council means he and a research associate can spend time

Investigators who extended the Harvard Six Cities fine particulate air pollution study by eight years found that reduced levels of tiny particle pollution during this period lowered mortality risk for participants.

The results appear in the second issue for March 2006 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.

The findings of the original Harvard Six Cities study (1979 to 1990) revealed an associatio

Identification may lead to drug development targeted to dementia

A research team that included members from The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Minnesota Medical School has for the first time identified a substance in the brain that is proven to cause memory loss. This identification gives drug developers a target for creating drugs to treat memory loss in patients with dementia.

Karen H. Ashe of the University of Minnesota Medical School led the research te

UK Biobank, a visionary medical project aimed at improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and many other serious conditions is launched this week after several years of meticulous planning.

Up to three thousand people living in the south Manchester area are being given the opportunity to trailblaze the project before it goes nationwide later this year.

They are being sent invitations to take part in the start-up phase of UK Biobank

Discovery in yeast opens door to new source of information on DNA damage, repair, and cancer

The discovery in yeast cells of a genetic network that guards against lethal DNA damage is a first step in the creation of a database of disease-causing combinations of mutated human genes, according to researchers at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine led by Jef. D. Boeke, Ph.D. In a report in the March 10 issue of Cell, the Hopkins team described a genetic network that is nec

A new brain chemical test that predicts which patients with heart attack symptoms are at higher risk of dying is paradoxically not being used in younger, healthier patients who could benefit the most from the prognostic information provided by this test, according to a new analysis by cardiologists at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).

While previous studies have shown that elevated levels of “brain natriuretic peptide” (BNP) in the blood are associated with higher risks of dea

Studying the gene-expression profiles of patients with colorectal cancer might help predict their response to chemotherapy. In a study published today in the open access journal Genome Biology, researchers identified in the tumours of colorectal cancer patients almost 700 genes whose expression was different between patients who subsequently responded well to combined chemotherapy and patients who were resistant to the therapy. These findings could be used in clinical practice to complement cli

When Boeing and Airbus developed their latest aircraft, the companies’ engineers designed and tested them on a computer long before the planes were built. Biologists are catching on. They’ve just completed the first computer simulation of an entire life form — a virus.

In their quest to study life, biologists apply engineering knowledge somewhat differently: They “reverse engineer” life forms, test fly them in the computer, and see if they work in silico the way they do in

Human papillomavirus (HPV) may be a risk factor in developing squamous cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer, according to research led by Dartmouth Medical School. The study, published in the March 15 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, used new technology to detect antibodies from a strain of HPV on skin cancer samples.

“We found a virus that may be a risk factor for skin cancer,” said lead investigator Dr. Margaret Karagas, of Dartmouth Medical School’

Rats that have a strong craving for cocaine have a different biochemical response to the drug than their less-addicted counterparts, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

The difference lies in the pleasure-seeking area of the brain, according to a study available online and appearing in a future issue of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

“This work shows that there are profound alterations in the brain mechanisms that regulate motivated behavi

Almost three metres of tightly-coiled DNA strands fit into a cell’s nucleus. As DNA replicates, the strands unwind and unfold and then re-package into chromosomes, the genetic blueprints of life – but what happens if this process becomes entangled?

Untangling the heaps of DNA strings during cell division is the job of special enzymes called topoisomerases. How they achieve this feat may be simpler than previously thought, says U of T research. In a study published in the current onli

Devising a nifty variation on a tested method to bind compounds useful in biological and medical research, a group of chemists at the University of Illinois at Chicago has discovered a new way to make permanent these bindings called ligation reactions.

The group, led by David Crich, distinguished professor of chemistry at UIC, reports their findings in the March 1 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Crich, graduate student Venkataramanan Krishnamurthy and post

A salt substitute specially formulated to be flavourful and effective has significantly reduced blood pressure among high-risk residents of northern, rural China, where home-pickled foods are a dietary mainstay and hypertension is rampant.

This simple approach announced today at the American College of Cardiology’s 55th Annual Scientific Session in Atlanta by The George Institute for International Health, offers a new low cost strategy for the prevention of stroke and other cardiova

Medical researchers at UNSW have shed light on a little-known mechanism involved in the thickening of arteries, a process associated with heart disease.

“Essentially we’ve uncovered a complex network of how one bad guy regulates another bad guy,” said Professor Levon Khachigian, of the Centre for Vascular Research (CVR) at UNSW. “We’ve also found a key to stopping this Mafioso network.”

Arteries thicken when tiny molecules are increased in blood vessels. Thes

Fusion molecules could be the key to producing vaccines from plants

Scientists have developed a new kind of molecule which they believe could ultimately lead to the development of a vaccine against HIV using genetically modified tobacco. Writing in Plant Biotechnology Journal, Dr Patricia Obregon and colleagues from St George’s, University of London along with researchers at the University of Warwick say they have overcome a major barrier that has so far frustrated attempt