Researchers have new insights into a mysterious type of amnesia, according to a study published in the June 22 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study showed lesions didn’t appear immediately in the patients’ brains, but developed one to two days after an episode of transient global amnesia.

Using diffusion weighted imaging, a type of MRI, a team in Germany examined 31 patients within hours of the onset of amnesia. In a new approach, the pat

New research by scientists by the University of Warwick may explain why methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are so difficult to control in hospitals. MRSA is a major cause of invasive and sometimes deadly disease in hospitalised patients. Currently, attempts to prevent spread of these infections include isolating infected patients and increasing staff hygiene measures such as handwashing. However, these attempts have met with limited success.

A new mathematical mo

Two researchers affiliated with the University of Verona have reviewed the literature on depression caused by medications in an article published in the July-August issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. Certain medications may contribute to the etiology of depressive symptoms and disorders. Research in this area, however, has been hampered by methodological and conceptual problems. This review had two objectives: to identify evidence linking medical drugs to depressive symptoms and disor

“AIDS is now the leading cause of death in military and police forces in some African countries, accounting for more than half of in-service mortality,” write Ugboga Nwokoji and Ademola Ajuwon in the Open Access journal BMC Public Health today. They believe that secrecy about AIDS-related deaths, and multiple sex partnering in the Nigerian navy could be helping to fuel the HIV epidemic in Nigeria, Africa’s most populated country. Their survey of 480 Nigerian naval personnel revealed tha

The commercial launch of the first ever fool-proof document security system is planned for 2006, reports Marina Murphy in Chemistry & Industry magazine. The system, which uses DNA fingerprinting, will allow documents to be authenticated with an accuracy of billions to one against duplication, according to the Australian scientists working on the system.

The scientists plan to use human DNA in documents such as government bonds, securities, bearer bonds, shares and wills for authentication o

A new computer cluster funded by the University of Sheffield and located within the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, will help scientists to improve their understanding of how human cells and organs work. This will ultimately lead to more effective ways of treating cardiovascular disease and cancer as well as other diseases. It will also eventually allow doctors to tailor treatment in a way specific to that patient rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.

Two of the current uses for the comput

Under the EU Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) for Research and Development (2002-2006) 2.2 million Euros have been awarded to the 3DGENOME-research program. FP6 is one of the world’s largest research programmes, with a budget of 17.5 billion Euros, of which around 3 billion Euros is available for life sciences research. The main objective of the 3DGENOME program is to understand how the human genome, consisting of a number of very long DNA molecules that carry our genetic information, are coiled

Finding could yield new insight into the Neurobiology of romantic love and the inability to form social bonds

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University and Atlanta’s Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) have found transferring a single gene, the vasopressin receptor, into the brain’s reward center makes a promiscuous male meadow vole monogamous. This finding, which appears in the June 17 issue of Nature, may help better explain the ne

In recent years the consumer market for candles has grown dramatically, as candles of all shapes, sizes, colours and fragrances have been used increasingly in homes and restaurants to create atmosphere and enhance mood.

Now two researchers at the University of Southampton have taken the potential uses of fragranced candles one step further, by demonstrating that they can also have valuable and effective bactericidal properties.

The researchers, Dr Lindsey Gaunt and Sabrina Higgins,

Long term relief for arthritis sufferers could be one step closer, thanks to a study of B-cell targeted therapy published today. The study from UCL reveals a major but hitherto poorly acknowledged role for B-cells in the most common and severe form of arthritis to affect younger people. By targeting B-cells, which are part of the body’s immune system, it may be possible to break a key vicious cycle underlying the disease.

The drug trial, led by UCL Professor Jonathan Edwards, published toda

José María Mato is a scientist at the new CIC-Biogune research centre in Zamudio (Bizkaia). For more than twenty years now he has been studying the liver disease known as steatohepatitis. This is a serious illness which develops when large amounts of fat are accumulate din the liver, and mat result in cirrhosis or, in the worst scenario, in cancerous tumours.

The greatest problem with this illness to date is that it cannot be diagnosed until the symptoms have already appeared and then it is

Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who enter remission with abnormal chromosomes in bone marrow cells are twice as vulnerable to recurrence of their disease as are AML patients with normal bone marrow cells at remission, according to a new study.

The findings by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute call for routine testing for chromosomal abnormalities in AML patients at diagno

UK researchers have shown a strong direct relationship between ovarian volume and the number of primordial follicles (eggs) remaining in the ovaries of women of reproductive age. The measurement of ovarian volume by transvaginal ultrasound will enable an accurate prediction of the age of menopause and hence a woman’s reproductive age.

They say that the possibility of making an accurate assessment of ovarian reserve will revolutionize the care of women seeking assisted conception, those

A new approach to therapy can avoid most of the debilitating effects of preparing for critical, postsurgical treatment for patients with thyroid cancer, according to an international study led by researchers from Johns Hopkins and the University of Pisa.

Using a genetically engineered thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) – called thyrotropin alfa, or rTSH – doctors were able to ablate, or destroy, the small amount of thyroid gland tissue that often remains after thyroidectomy, without the need

Angel Montero Carcaboso’s research work, “Lecciones nuevas con una vieja vacuna” (New lessons for an old vaccine) is the prizewinner in the Thesis Award Competition. The Users’ Award, on the other hand, goes to, Pedro Ilundain Aranburu’s work, “Producción de pinturas vinílicas y acrílicas ecológicas” (Production of ecological vinyl and acrylic paintings).

The Thesis Award Competition organised by the Basque Research portal has been judged. This year a total of 40 theses were presente

Every hour counts for stroke victims. The sooner they get to hospital, the better their outcome. The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and Urgences Santé announced today a new initiative to get stroke victims to the hospital and treated as fast as possible. This programme builds on an initiative started more than a year ago by the Centre Hospitalier l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) where the Stroke Centre was launched in August 2002. “By the time an individual arrive