Refuting 30 years of scientific theory that solely credits hormones for brain development, UCLA scientists have identified 54 genes that may explain the different organization of male and female brains. Published in the October edition of the journal Molecular Brain Research, the UCLA discovery suggests that sexual identity is hard-wired into the brain before birth and may offer physicians a tool for gender assignment of babies born with ambiguous genitalia.

“Our findings may help answer an

The approximately 50 million people in the U.S. who suffer from autoimmune diseases like HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis, may soon be able to control their immune responses, thanks to a breakthrough discovery by a researcher at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Wilfred Jefferies, a professor at UBC’s Biotechnology Laboratory, has discovered and characterized the mechanics of a cellular pathway that triggers immune responses. He and his team have also

A homeopathic remedy made from arsenic oxide could ease the suffering of the hundreds of millions of people at risk from arsenic poisoning worldwide. Research, published this week in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, suggests that Arsenicum Album reduces the liver damage caused by arsenic poisoning. Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a major health problem for people from India, Bangladesh and at least fifteen other countries. Drinking arsenic contaminated well water has cause

Food is a major and underused anticancer weapon, according to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer. In collaboration with the Institute of Food Research, the Group is calling for diet to be better deployed in reducing cancer risk in the UK.

“With dietary interventions, we have the potential to prevent around a third of all cancers”, according to Dr Ian Gibson MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer. “In the long term, we could also save some of the £2.4-3.5 billion a

By applying a new technique that combines independent lines of genomic evidence, Duke University Medical Center researchers and colleagues have identified a single gene that influences the age at which individuals first show symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Such genes that can impact patients’ age at onset for the two very prevalent neurological disorders are of particular interest as alternative targets for treatment, said Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., dire

Therapies for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and type II diabetes should be directed toward a new molecular culprit — the precursor to the clumps of abnormal proteins that have garnered attention for the last century.

Israeli scientists say they have solid evidence that the precursor molecules — called protofibrils — are the problem molecules in type II diabetes, and their results support a similar mechanism for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Further, they say that the current f

Shrinks tumors in some patients and reduces symptoms in others

A new anti-cancer agent designed to block the signals responsible for telling cancer cells to grow has shown promising results for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. The results of a double blind, randomized trial of the compound, gefinitib (Iressa), led by Dr. Mark Kris, chief of thoracic oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, are published in the October 22 Journal of the American Medical Ass

Results further implicate iron deposits in brain in MS impairments

The mental impairment and problems with walking experienced by patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are linked to damage in the brain’s gray matter, with MRI findings suggesting the damage is due to toxic deposits of iron, researchers from the University at Buffalo have shown for the first time.
Previous breakthrough work by the team had linked deep gray matter iron deposits to the disease course of MS, brai

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and elsewhere have completed the first large-scale study demonstrating sustained efficacy of a medication to treat insomnia for a period of six months.

Eszopiclone (trade name Estorra), was administered nightly to patients with chronic insomnia and led to significant improvement in patients’ ability to fall asleep and stay asleep and in the quality of their sleep without any evidence of a loss of effect over time, the researchers said. Prio

Leading Scientists and Clinicians at McGill University Health Centre Win A-List Impact Award for MOXXI Research Project

A Montreal team’s unique approach to patient and heath care management received international attention today. This team, led by scientists and clinicians at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), was the only Canadian winner of the QUALCOMM 3G CDMA-List Award for use of innovative wireless technology. The team won the A-List Impact Awa

Learning the molecular processes that cause termite larvae to grow into workers, soldiers or reproductive adults may lead to new methods to decimate colonies of the wood-eaters, according to Purdue University researchers.

The scientists identified 25 genes that provide some of the first information concerning the differentiation of the insects based on the role they play within a colony. The study, published in this month’s issue of the journal Genome Biology (http://genomebiology.com/2003

Researchers find that ’one sniff will do’ for odor discrimination

Rats inhabit a world of smells far beyond our poor powers to discriminate. Thousands of odors that smell the same to us, or that we cannot perceive at all, are quickly recognizable as distinct and meaningful odors to rodents and other animals in which the Nose Knows. But just how quick?

By measuring the speed of smell, researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have now found that unlike humans, rat

The red flour beetle can be a pest in massive grain elevators or in the 5-pound sack of flour in your kitchen. But it also can be an important organism in the field of genetic research.

As the result of research performed by scientists from Kansas State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grain Marketing and Production Research Lab in Manhattan, the red flour beetle has been selected from a long list of nominated organisms for genome sequencing by the National Human Gen

Imperial College London researchers report today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine that they have developed a novel strategy for effectively treating the symptoms of the most deadly type of flu.

Working with influenza A virus, they show in mice that their novel treatment eliminates symptoms by reducing the response of active T white blood cells by a third.

Flu A is the type of influenza responsible for pandemics such as the 1919 outbreak of ’Spanish flu’, which glo

New research shows that men with clinically localized prostate cancer, treated to high dose levels with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), achieved long-term PSA relapse-free survival (PRFS) with minimal side effects. Researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) presented findings from the 10-year retrospective study today at the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“This i

People screened for lung cancer by a spiral CT scanner (commonly known as a CAT scanner) have accelerated and prolonged quit rates of smoking regardless of whether the screening showed any type of malignancy. This suggests that the screening is an ideal place to provide cessation messages even to those people with or at risk for developing lung cancer.

The new study, conducted by researchers at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, will appear in the December 1