Nearly three out of every four adults over age 50 use some kind of alternative medicine, such as acupuncture and herbal medicine, according to a new study.

While previous research has been limited, this appears to be a higher rate than occurs within the general population, said Gong-Soog Hong, co-author of the study and professor of consumer sciences at Ohio State University.

This study found that 71 percent of older adults used some form of alternative medicine in 2000. A

Measuring protein level provides accurate assessment for patients with shortness of breath

A new blood test that measures a particular marker of cardiac distress can markedly improve the ability to diagnose or exclude congestive heart failure in patients with shortness of breath who come to hospital emergency departments. The report from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) finds that measuring levels of a protein called NT-proBNP was significantly better at identify

A future in which laboratory-grown organs and stimulated growth of muscle, bones and nerves could play a major role in treating medical conditions was revealed at a recent Tissue Engineering Symposium at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

The symposium, sponsored by Wake Forest Baptist and the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine, was part of the society’s annual conference. Tissue engineering experts from Wake Forest Bapt

Yale University School of Medicine researchers have found a way to exercise a little mind control over fruit flies, making the flies jump, beat their wings, and fly on command by triggering genetic “remote controls” that the scientists designed and installed in the insects’ central nervous systems, according to a new report in the 8 April issue of the journal Cell.

Susana Lima and Gero Miesenböck hope that the remote control system will provide a valuable way to study how nerve-cell

Newly recognized process solves 50-year-old mystery

Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that a recently discovered biological process known as sumoylation — until now thought to be active only in the nucleus — also occurs near the cell’s surface where it regulates at least one and possibly many kinds of proteins, providing a novel target for the development of new drugs.

The discovery, published in the 8 April 2005 issue of the journal Cell, answers a que

The kidney is important for regulating fluid and electrolyte balance, and it also secretes proteins that have important biological roles. In a study appearing online on April 7 in advance of the print publication of the May 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Jianchao Xu and colleagues from Yale University searched for novel proteins secreted by the kidney.

The researchers have identified a new protein, called renalase. Renalase is secreted by the kidney into the blood and re

Scientists are making strides in understanding how the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum disguises itself to avoid detection by the immune system. The findings could lead to the development of new drugs for a disease that causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and at least one million deaths each year, most of them in developing countries.

Individuals infected with malaria cannot develop an effective immune response because the parasite that causes the disease is a mast

The scientists have been able to lure tropical fish – similar to clownfish like film star Nemo – on to artificial reefs by playing recordings of fish and shrimp noises through underwater speakers. A paper in Science journal suggests the technique could be used to restock depleted fishing grounds near reefs, or to populate newly established conservation areas. The study, which focuses on damselfish and cardinalfish in the Pacific Ocean, also warns that ’unnatural’ noises created by shipping and d

Researchers using an extremely fast and accurate imaging technique have shed light on the tiny movements of molecular motors that shuttle material within living cells. The motors cooperate in a delicate choreography of steps, rather than engaging in the brute-force tug of war many scientists had imagined.

“We discovered that two molecular motors — dynein and kinesin — do not compete for control, even though they want to move the same cargo in opposite directions,” said Paul Sel

Part of the answer lies in the secretory aptitude of these tissues, say Scripps research scientists

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute are reporting the results of a recent study that addresses why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to “amyloid” diseases, which include Alzheimer’s disease and a cluster of ailments called the familial amyloidoses.

The familial amyloidoses, on which the researchers focused their study, are caused

New research shows that a virus designed to kill cancer cells can significantly increase the survival of mice with an incurable human brain tumor, even in some animals with advanced disease.

The study used a genetically altered herpes simplex virus that infects and reproduces only in malignant glioma cells and kills them. The altered virus leaves normal tissues unharmed. Viruses that kill cancer cells are known as oncolytic viruses.

The findings are published in the April

A gene that is changed in many forms of cancer has also been found to show similar changes in some forms of autism, according to preliminary research.

The gene, known as PTEN, was found to be changed, or mutated, in three of 18 people with larger than normal heads and autism spectrum disorder. Autism spectrum disorder includes classical autism, Rett syndrome and other conditions. The study was led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. J

Bacteria acquired up to 90 percent of their genetic material from distantly related bacteria species, according to new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson.

The finding has important biomedical implications because such gene-swapping, or lateral gene transfer, is the way many pathogenic bacteria pick up antibiotic resistance or become more virulent. “To maintain effective treatments and develop new antibiotics, it’s important to monitor the rates and patterns of la

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have set a new standard in the design and engineering of nuclear hormone receptor-based genetic on-off switches, without causing new problems or aggravating existing ones.

The new technique, published online ahead of regular publication by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, combines the advantages of directed evolution and computationally driven rational design, said Huimin Zhao, a professor in the depa

Modified Mediterranean diet and survival: EPIC-elderly prospective cohort study BMJ Online First

The Mediterranean diet is associated with longer life expectancy among elderly Europeans, finds a study published online by the BMJ today. The Mediterranean diet is characterised by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and cereals; a moderate to high intake of fish; a low intake of saturated fats, but high intake of unsaturated fats, particularly olive oil; a low intake of dairy

Adolescents who get daily vigorous physical activity tend to be leaner and fitter than their less active peers, researchers have shown.

“The leanest and fittest kids are the ones who have the most vigorous activity for longer periods of time,” says Dr. Bernard Gutin, exercise physiologist at the Medical College of Georgia and lead author on the study published in the April American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “We could not show that the amount of minutes spent in moderate activi