UCI psychologist shows memory manipulation may lessen appeal of certain unhealthy treats

Most dieters know that the mind is a powerful force in the battle of the bulge; but a new study led by psychologist Elizabeth Loftus shows that the malleable nature of human memory might be used to help people avoid certain fattening foods.

In the first study to show false memories have potential to curb appetites for fattening treats, Loftus’ research team found that people can b

University of Queensland researchers are using traditional Chinese exercises to combat the growing problem of diabetes.

In a study that is believed to be the first in the world to evaluate the effectiveness of Qigong and Tai Chi to combat the disease, PhD student Liu Xin has developed a series of exercises to reduce the risk of progression to Type 2 diabetes.

The exercises target risk factors, including high blood pressure and high blood glucose levels, by focusing part

RoboLase technology may one day not only bridge laboratories but also allow physicians to perform medical procedures from distant locations

In an effort to combine sophisticated laser and Internet technologies, scientists in Australia have successfully performed laser surgery and “optical trapping” in a Southern California laboratory via the Internet.

The scientists used a new Internet-based laser scissor-and-tweezers technology called RoboLase, demonstrating the poten

Some 25% of genes code for membrane proteins. Yet membrane organization remains a mystery. Membranes envelop all the cells in our bodies, forming a natural barrier, the membrane proteins within these can also recognize certain cells and direct a drug to them.

Using atomic force microscopy, Simon Scheuring (Inserm), in a CNRS unit at the Institut Curie, and James N. Sturgis, professor at the Université de la Méditerranée (CNRS unit), have studied the organization of a bacteria

The natural ability of viruses to infect and destroy cells is being used by scientists to kill cancerous tumours, according to an article in the August 2005 issue of Microbiology Today, the quarterly magazine of the Society for General Microbiology.

Professor Moira Brown of Southern General Hospital in Glasgow explains how viruses that cause common diseases, such as cold sores and ‘flu, have been modified so that they are no longer harmful, but can target and kill only cancerous cells

From birth until death, our cells migrate: nerve cells make their vital connections, embryonic cells move to the proper places to form organs, immune cells zero in to destroy pathogenic organisms, and cancer cells metastasize, spreading deadly disease through the body. Scientists studying these migrations didn’t know how cells determined where to go. Until now.

A Burnham Institute study has identified a fragment of a protein that senses chemicals that induce a cell to move in

A defect in the mechanics of motors that build tiny cellular hairs is the basis of a serious genetic disorder, according to researchers at UC Davis and Simon Fraser University, Canada. Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), affecting about one in 100,000 births, includes progressive blindness, extra or fused fingers and toes, kidney disease and learning difficulties, among other problems.

Products of genes linked to the syndrome coordinate mobile, cargo-carrying motor proteins within the cilia, ti

Brown University biologists have solved the structure of a critical piece of synapse-associated protein 97 (SAP97) found in abundance in the heart and head, where it is believed to play a role in everything from cardiac contractions to memory creation. Results are published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Dale Mierke, associate professor of medical science at Brown, said that knowing how a piece of SAP97 is built is an important step. Now that part of the protein’s structure is

While the human body has plenty of specialized molecular motors and machines powering the mechanical work necessary for cells to function properly, scientists themselves face many hurdles as they try to create their own molecular machines in the laboratory.

The downsides of conventional molecular machines are that they are driven as an ensemble, by external light or chemistry, for example, and they are big — made up of many molecules. These factors make these machines diffi

Independent papers in the August 1 issue of G&D investigate the asymmetric localization of beta-catenin (WRM-1) during polarized cell divisions during C. elegans development.

Dr. Craig Mello and colleagues used conditional mutants that disrupt Wnt signaling to analyze the moleculaes involved in Wnt-dependent differential nuclear localization of beta-catenin during endoderm development.

Drs. Hitoshi Sawa & Hisako Takeshita observed that in C. elegans larval development, beta

A new technique aimed at directly controlling the expression of genes by turning them on or off at the DNA level could lead to drugs for the treatment or cure of many diseases, say researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

“Virtually every disease starts at the level of malfunctioning gene expression, or viral or bacterial gene expression,” said Dr. David Corey, professor of pharmacology and biochemistry. “This is an approach that could theoretically produce a drug for the

For about a decade, scientists have recognized that many cases of hereditary breast cancer result from a mutation of a specific gene called BRCA1, which, in its normal state, helps keep tumor formation in check. About five to 10 percent of breast cancer cases are linked to genetic miscues, about half of which are linked to BRCA1.

But now scientists have discovered that a protein called cyclin D1, grossly overproduced in about half of all cases of breast cancer, can also disrupt

The results of an international clinical trial led by Duke University Medical Center researchers has shown that a new drug is not a suitable replacement for protamine, a drug that has been used for more than 40 years after coronary artery bypass surgery to return thinned blood to its normal state.

While protamine is effective in reversing the blood-thinning properties of heparin, recent studies have shown that its use can cause changes in blood pressure which have been link

Scientists have identified some of the very earliest genetic changes involved in the development of lung cancer and have incorporated them into a new strain of mouse that develops the disease in much the same way that humans do.

The discoveries, reported in the August 1 issue of Cancer Research, open the door to the possibility of new, targeted treatments that could be offered at the very first signs of lung cancer, when the possibility of a cure is most likely.

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New research into muscle contraction will give scientists a better understanding of bladder problems and pain during childbirth.

Professor Susan Wray, who heads the UK’s top rated Department of Physiology, and Dr Ted Burdyga, are studying muscles in the wall of the ureter, which connects the kidney to the bladder, to understand how muscles respond to signals in the body telling them to contract or relax. Their research, supported by the Medical Research Council, is published in

A medication used to ease symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, also is helpful in treating people with treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), according to a pilot study at Yale School of Medicine.

Although the study included only 13 patients, the preliminary results are promising for persons who have found no relief using other medications and cognitive behavioral therapy, said the first author, Vladimir Coric, M.D., assistan