Engineers who have induced heart cells in culture to mimic the properties of the heart have used the tissue to gain new insight into the mechanisms that spawn irregular heart rhythms. Studies of the engineered cardiac tissue revealed that while electric shocks such as those delivered by defibrillators usually stopped aberrant waves, in some cases they cause them to accelerate and multiply.

The Duke University and Johns Hopkins University team, led by Nenad Bursac of Duke’s Prat

Study supports a flexible approach to methadone dosing

Methadone has been used for more than 30 years as a treatment for heroin addicts. Doctors have all along struggled to find the best doses to help patients overcome their heroin cravings without getting them used to higher levels of methadone (itself an dependence-forming substance) than necessary. A new study by Jodie Trafton and colleagues (from the VA Palo Alto Health Care System) provides strong support for the notion th

Treatment with target-seeking antibodies reduces growth in certain tumor cells and does so in a different way than with ordinary radiation therapy. This is shown by David Eriksson in a new dissertation at Umeå University in Sweden.

Tumor diseases can be treated with surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. A new type of treatment that makes use of the antibodies with radioactive substances attached has attracted more and more interest. When the antibodies are injected they have the

Groundbreaking research which looks at obesity and links it with distance to the nearest fast food outlet is to be carried out in Stoke-on-Trent.

Researchers from Staffordshire University have secured around £300,000 to map lifestyle behaviour in the City and link these to health outcomes.

The project is one of 26 successful projects announced under the National Prevention Research Initiative*, which was set up to stimulate high quality research aimed at the prevention of

A new sleeping pill that increases dreaming sleep improves memory capacity, according to the results of new research.

With only 10% of the 20-30% of the population who suffer with insomnia taking medication, pharmaceutical companies have been searching for the perfect sleeping pill. And one company at least has developed a completely new type of drug that not only induces sleep, but also increases the dream phase, consolidating memory and improving one’s sense of wellbeing.

Atherosclerosis, an accumulation of fat and inflammation in arteries, causes myocardial infarction and stroke, two deadly complications. The risk factors for atherosclerosis are well known and include hypercholesterolemia, smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure. Protective factors may also be important in atherosclerosis but are poorly understood. A new study published in this month´s issue of Nature Medicine presents the discovery of such a protective mechanism, which could be of great im

The pesticide brew in many ponds bordering Midwestern cornfields is not only affecting the sexual development of frogs, but is making them more prone to deadly bacterial meningitis, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, scientists.

These physiological effects combine with environmental disruptions to make the life of a frog seem like something out of a horror movie and are likely among the factors causing a decline in amphibian populations worldwide, the

Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science recently discovered a new source of well-preserved ancient DNA in fossil bones. Their findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Fossil DNA is a potential source of information on the evolution, population dynamics, migrations, diets and diseases of animals and humans. But if it is not well preserved or becomes contaminated by modern DNA, the results are uninterpretable.

The scient

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created polymer nanotubes that are unusually long (about 1 centimeter) as well as stable enough to maintain their shape indefinitely. Described in a new paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,* the NIST nanotubes may have biotechnology applications as channels for tiny volumes of chemicals in nanofluidic reactor devices, for example, or as the “world’s smallest hypodermic needles” for injecting molec

Is there a universal neural code for sensation, similar to the genetic code, in which the complexity of sense and experience can be reduced to a few simple rules? According to Prof. Ehud Ahissar of the Weizmann Institute’s Neurobiology Department, the answer might be no. He and his team have been studying how rats use their whiskers to sense their environment, and have found that the seemingly simple act of feeling out a 3-D object requires three different types of code.

Rats’ wh

A single gene apparently thwarts a disease-causing invader that creates a fuzzy gray coating on flowers, fruits and vegetables. But the same gene provides access to a different type of pathogen.

A Purdue University plant molecular biologist and his collaborators in Austria and North Carolina identified the gene that helps plants recognize pathogens and also triggers a defense against disease. The gene and its defense mechanisms are similar to an immunity pathway found in people

A new screening technique for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) cuts by 75% the time taken to identify patients carrying MRSA and could be used to help prevent transmission of the bacteria in hospitals. A study published today in the journal Critical Care shows that a new molecular screening test for MRSA decreases the time between screening and notification of results from four days to one day, compared with standard screening methods. The new method also prevents patients from

“Face to Face”, a DVD Rom demonstrating psychiatric interviewing and electro convulsive treatment, has been launched at the Keele University Undergraduate Medical School. This new teaching resource is intended for medical students and is useful to all mental health students, irrespective of discipline.

The interviews, which are accompanied by annotations and highlight key questions or symptoms, cover a range of conditions, including Schizophrenia, eating disorder, school refusal, somatof

Revolution in progress: U-M study shows a wide range of problems in body’s largest artery can be treated with a minimally invasive procedure

Tens of thousands of Americans live with a ticking time bomb in their chests. Now, a new University of Michigan study demonstrates that many of them may not need surgery in order to defuse it.

Instead, the research shows, a minimally-invasive procedure can repair a wide range of problems in the upper part of the aorta, the g

New system could replace time-intensive, century-old lab techniques

For the millions of people who suffer from urinary tract infections each year and the doctors who treat them, a promising new biosensor technology has been developed that may replace antiquated testing methods and save precious health care dollars.

In a recent clinical study conducted by the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, resear

Women suffering from urinary incontinence can benefit from pelvic floor muscle training, commonly known as Kegel exercises, according to a new review of studies.
A supervised regimen of Kegel exercises for at least three months was found to be especially effective for stress incontinence. Men also can use Kegel exercises, but were not included in the analysis.

The systematic review, led by Jean Hay-Smith, Ph.D., of the Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the