Volunteers were shown funny and disturbing movies to test the effect of emotions on blood vessels

Using laughter-provoking movies to gauge the effect of emotions on cardiovascular health, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have shown for the first time that laughter is linked to healthy function of blood vessels. Laughter appears to cause the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood vessels, the endothelium, to dilate or expand in orde

Warning signs of an ischemic stroke may be evident as early as seven days before an attack and require urgent treatment to prevent serious damage to the brain, according to a study of stroke patients published in the March 8, 2005 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Eighty percent of strokes are ischemic, caused by the narrowing of the large or small arteries of the brain, or by clots that block blood flow to the brain. They are oft

Implanted devices intended to optimize the cardiac function of patients with heart failure have provided new insights into which patients might be at higher risk of dying suddenly from their disease, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

Besides maintaining optimal electrical stimulation to the heart, these CRT-D (cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillation) devices are giving cardiologists a new view of subtle changes in a key measurement of hear

Navarre University Hospital has launched a novel system for capturing facial movement that enables such movement to be monitored and quantified in a precise manner.

The device, designed by STT Engineering & Systems of Donostia-San Sebastian and adapted for use by the Plastic Surgery service at the Hospital for facial applications, has received the 2004 Award in the Innovative Projects Competition for Young Entrepreneurs for Transference of Research Results (Ideactiva Gaztempresa

A suitcase-sized machine tested at the Indiana University School of Medicine is making life easier for some patients undergoing rigorous dialysis for kidney failure.

A year ago, researchers at IU and across the country began testing the NxStage System One, a portable unit that allows patients to conduct their own dialysis at home or on the road. And the preliminary results are promising, says Michael A. Kraus, M.D., the study’s principal investigator and medical director of

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that specific substances in the urine of pregnant women could serve as a screening/diagnostic tool for preeclampsia (hypertension and proteinuria during pregnancy). The study is published in March issue of American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

“Preeclampsia is one of the most common causes of maternal mortality in the United States, but establishing a correct diagnosis can be very difficult, especially in women with hype

Through an innovative catheterization procedure, a pediatric cardiologist at Texas Children’s Heart Center in Houston repaired a severe liver condition in a 14-year-old male. The doctor used a catheter and septal occluder device that is generally used to close holes in children’s hearts. Similar procedures have been reported only six times in medical literature. But this is the first time the procedure has been performed with this particular device.

“Sammy was born wit

The link between health problems and children in low income, single-mother families is not surprising; these children are also more apt to be exposed to violence and maltreatment within the community and their families. A study in the March issue of The Journal of Pediatrics examines whether traumatic stress reactions in children due to these adverse childhood experiences also play a role in predicting their health.

Sandra Graham-Bermann, Ph.D. and Julia Seng, Ph.D., CNM, f

Corautus Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:VEGF) announced today the publication of the two year follow-up results of the Corautus’ earlier Phase I study of VEGF-2 in patients with severe angina. In this trial, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-2 (VEGF-2), in the form of “naked” plasmid DNA (a non-viral delivery vector) was delivered in defined doses by direct injection into the heart muscle. Results of the follow-up study, as reported by the investigators in the current issue of the Journal of Intervent

A student from St John’s High School, Dundee, scooped one of the top prizes at the prestigious national BA CREST Science Fair in London. The fair, held at the Royal Society on 28 February, showcases science and technology projects from students aged 11-18 across the UK.

Gurjit Singh Sidhu was awarded the International Science and Engineering Fair Prize 2005 for his project testing equipment to measure the dose of radiation that cancer cells received during radiotherapy. He has

A genome-wide scan in hypertension in the East Finland founder population has re-affirmed the majority of genes previously known to be associated with hypertension. The new genes discovered include also ones, which appear to give humans a strong protection against hypertension. The scan was conducted by a novel approach.

The DNA samples used in the study were collected in the 1980’s from a genetically-homogeneous population that can be accurately traced back to a few hundre

Love the warmth of woollen clothes but dislike having to dry clean them? Europeans will soon get familiar with the advantages of the new biotech process allows wool garments to be washed in water without shrinking or pilling.

The Washwool process can be used with woven fabrics and garments as well as knitted garments. As a bonus, it adds enticing softness to materials. Yet Washwool-treated wool is tough enough to withstand repeated washes without matting or shrinking.

The environme

A surprisingly large number of beetles are missing one of their testes, the male gonads of insects. As far as the researchers who discovered this can tell, the insects are not in any way bothered or impaired by this absence.

The discovery is striking because most animals are bilaterally symmetrical, which means the left and right sides of the body roughly mirror each other. This bilateralism extends to many internal organs, although some systems, such as the human heart and li

Nematodes comprise a worm family so large it literally covers the earth. They range in size from less than a micron in length to as much as 26 feet. Worldwide interest has begun to focus on microscopic nematodes that live with symbiotic bacteria.

“We study these nematodes – which are actually insect killers – not only to understand how diverse they are, but also to use them as biological control alternatives,” says Patricia Stock, a nematomologist in the University of Arizona C

Impaired function of a receptor that regulates release of a mood elevating hormone in the brain may be responsible for causing depression, anxiety and cardiovascular disorders, according to a Yale study in Pharmacogenetics and Genomics.

The genetic variant that causes this malfunction is nearly 15 times as prevalent in African-Americans as Caucasians and might explain why African-Americans have a higher rate of congestive heart failure, according to the first author, Alexander N

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the University of Utah have developed a mouse model of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in people over age 55, and Stargardt Macular Degeneration (STGD), a form of the disease that affects children and young adults.

The mouse model*, which was reported in the March 4, 2005 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “now permits th