We are admonished not to gain weight during winter’s two big eating holidays — but might a little temporary fat actually strengthen our immune systems?

Indiana University Bloomington assistant professor and biologist Gregory Demas is studying the relationship between fat reserves and immune function in animal models.

So far, Demas has found that sudden weight loss leads to the rapid depression of immune function, and he says the opposite also holds true: an increase in fat

Early identification of potential stress fractures with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can reduce the threat of season-ending injuries for college basketball players, according to a Duke University Medical Center radiologist.

The findings — based on the study of 26 male college basketball players — suggest that such diagnostic work should perhaps be included as a standard part of physical examinations for male and female basketball players, who regularly place considerable

St. Jude study shows three-week treatment with methylphenidate led to significant improvement of attention and behavior problems due to central nervous system exposure to radiation, chemotherapy

Children who suffer from behavioral and learning problems after their central nervous systems have been exposed to chemotherapy or radiation appear to benefit from treatment with methylphenidate (MPH), the drug commonly known by the brand name Ritalin®. This finding, from investigators a

Nearly as many women who received only one embryo at a time gave birth as women who received two embryos. At the same time the risk of giving birth to twins is minimized. These are the findings of a major study from the Sahlgrenska Academy, at Göteborg University in Sweden.

In-vitro fertilization, IVF, is a successful method to help childless couples to become parents. To maximize the chance of pregnancy, physicians have generally reintroduced more than one embryo. This has led to

Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered a molecular mechanism — a tiny protein attacking nerve cells — that could explain why the brain damage in early Alzheimer’s disease results in memory loss and not other symptoms such as loss of balance or tremors.

The research team, led by William L. Klein, professor of neurobiology and physiology, found that toxic proteins, called “amyloid ß-derived diffusible ligands” (ADDLs, pronounced “addles”), from the brain tis

Benefits of weight loss may depend on alignment of affected leg, study suggests

A painful and sometimes crippling disease characterized by progressive cartilage loss, osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee affects an estimated 6 percent of adults over age 30. AT present, no treatments are available that have been shown to impede the destructive course of this disease, apart from knee replacement surgery. Numerous studies have shown that being overweight increases the risk of developing kn

3D MDCT accurate for imaging liver arteries

3D MDCT angiography is a more efficient way to classify liver arterial anatomy before liver surgery, according to researchers from Duke University in Durham, NC. In the study, 43 patients were evaluated before using 3D MDCT angiography. In 40 of 43 patients, surgical findings concurred with MDCT findings, indicating that 3D MDCT is an accurate method for imaging liver arteries prior to surgery, said Erik K. Paulson, MD, an author on th

A new Tofu-based biomaterial that can help mend broken bones and damaged tissues is being developed thanks to an investment of £149,000 from NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), the organization that champions UK creativity and innovation.

The idea is the brainchild of Dr Matteo Santin – a senior lecturer at the University of Brighton’s School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Studies – who has worked in the field of biomaterials since 1991.

Orange juice and cancer don’t mix. In fact, the popular citrus drink could become a cocktail to prevent or stop the deadly disease in humans.

Research by Texas Agriculture Experiment Station scientists has shown that citrus compounds called limonoids targeted and stopped neuroblastoma cells in the lab. They now hope to learn the reasons for the stop-action behavior and eventually try the citrus concoction in humans.

Neuroblastomas account for about 10 percent of a

Biologist says public’s scientific illiteracy has frightening repercussions

The rising popularity of shark cartilage extract as an anti-cancer treatment is a triumph of marketing and pseudoscience over reason, with a tragic fallout for both sharks and humans, according to a Johns Hopkins biologist writing in the Dec. 1 issue of Cancer Research. “Since shark cartilage has been promoted as a cancer cure, not only has there has been a measurable decline in shark populations,

The polyphenols present in green tea help prevent the spread of prostate cancer by targeting molecular pathways that shut down the proliferation and spread of tumor cells, as well as inhibiting the growth of tumor nurturing blood vessels, according to research published in the December 1 issue of Cancer Research.

A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis., and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, documented the role of green tea polyphenols (

University of Pittsburgh study focuses on genes regulating the inflammatory response

Specific variants in genes that encode proteins regulating inflammation may hold a key to explaining a host of disease processes known to cause increased risk of illness and death among African Americans, according to a study from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH). The study, “Differential Distribution of Allelic Variants in Cytokine Genes Among African Amer

EU research to tackle the problem

Both obesity and type 2 diabetes have become global epidemics over recent decades bringing, in their wake, a number of metabolic symptoms and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Both of these disorders, however, are just the tip of the iceberg, being just two manifestations of the metabolic syndrome (see notes to editors) which has been suggested to affect 25% of the adult population in countries such as the UK, and has severe consequences for both

The last novel written by author Iris Murdoch before she died reveals signs of the first stages of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in the latest online issue of Brain.

As part of their on-going research into the effects of Alzheimer’s disease on language, scientists at University College London and Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit decided to compare three of Dame Iris Murdoch’s works, including her final novel written just befo

For dry mouth sufferers Saliwell’s innovative patented devices brings welcome relief by restoring natural saliva production through electro-stimulation.

Most of us may suffer dry mouth from time to time. But for 80 million people in the developed world it is a permanent condition caused by a lack of lubrication in the mouth. With IST programme funding Saliwell has developed devices that stimulate saliva production. “Our devices apply a low energy level of electricity to the

The Spanish Pediatrics Association has recently awarded the Pediatrics laboratory at the University of Navarre for a research into tobacco and foetal genetic instability. The study, by Marta Zalacaín, was carried out in conjunction with the Department of Gynacology and Obstetrics at the Hospital Virgen del Camino. “It involved analysing umbilical cords from many births which took place at both centres over three years and which have been distributed in four groups: non-smoking mothers, ex-smokers