Sure Santa Claus asks boys and girls what toys they want, but, why they want them is a better question. The answer may have to do with a biological pre-wiring that influences boys’ and girls’ preferences based on the early roles of males and females, says a Texas A&M University psychologist.

It’s commonly believed that boys and girls learn what types of toys they should like based solely on society’s expectations, but psychologist Gerianne Alexander’s work with verv

Developed at MGH, digital tomosynthesis may better identify malignant lesions

A new approach to mammography, developed by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), holds the potential for greatly improving the detection of breast lesions and the ability to predict whether they are benign or malignant. In a presentation earlier this month at the scientific assembly of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Elizabeth Rafferty, MD, of the MGH Breast Imaging Service

Results of a 2 ½ year study led by doctors at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center could have implications for the nation’s decreasing blood supply.

In an article published in the December 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Drs. Howard L Corwin and Andrew Gettinger describe the effects of administering recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) to critically ill patients. Significantly, they found that use of the hormone, which stimulates red blood

Latest research at Oxford University’s Glycobiology Institute has provided new leads towards the development of an oral contraceptive for men. The advantages of the substance at the centre of the research, an alkylated imino sugar (NB-DNJ), are that it does not affect reproductive hormones, its effects are easily reversed and it is undergoing clinical evaluation in other contexts.

NB-DNJ interferes with the development of sperm cells in such a way that they become very poor swimmers, highly

A University of Sheffield scientist has isolated a bacterium that may cause cancers in those with a genetic pre-disposition to the disease.

Dr Milton Wainwright, of the University’s Molecular Biology and Biotechnology department, researched historical literature and found that, as early as the 1890s, bacteria were believed to cause cancer. Unfortunately, none of the bacteria involved in these studies were ever kept or even named, making it impossible to verify claims about their role

Findings based on ’knock-out’ mice detailed in the journal Physiology and Behavior

A team led by University of Massachusetts Amherst researcher Deborah J. Good has identified a gene that appears to play a role in obesity, physical activity, and sex behaviors in mice. Good works with so-called “knock-out” mice, which have a specific gene deleted. Scientists then monitor the animals for changes in their physiology and behavior, in an effort to determine the gene’s role. H

What molecule or particle passes the finishline first? A good way to split a fluid sample into its separate parts is: organize a contest in a micro-channel. The largest parts will pass the optical detector first, the smaller ones follow at short distance. This principle of ‘hydrodynamic chromatography’ is now also possible on a chip. ‘On-chip’ separation is faster, needs tiny samples and uses minimum of harmful solvents. Marko Blom developed this separation chip within the MESA+ research institute of

Investigators at the University of Calgary and McGill University have identified genes that underlie two severe diseases of vitamin B12 metabolism. The two diseases, known as the cblA and cblB forms of methylmalonic aciduria, may produce brain damage, mental retardation and even death if not detected in infancy or early childhood.

Melissa Dobson, a graduate student at the University of Calgary working with Roy Gravel PhD in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, is lead autho

A Mayo Clinic study of more than 41,000 postmenopausal women in Iowa provides new evidence that the most common type of lung cancer in women is more closely linked to smoking cigarettes than previously recognized. The findings of the study will be published in the Dec. 15, 2002 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer death in women for more than a decade. In 2000, about 68,000 American women died of lung cancer. That’s compared to

The protein that forms the protective capsid surrounding the West Nile virus genetic material may contribute to the deadly inflammation associated with the virus. West Nile virus, which has rapidly spread across the United States, causes neurological symptoms and encephalitis, which can result in paralysis or death. According to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the West Nile virus capsid (WNV-Cp) is a destructive protein that can trigger apoptosis – the automatic self

Novel methods of measuring magnetic fields outside the head give further insights to the functioning of the human brain. In his doctoral thesis “Estimating Neural Currents from Neuromagnetic Measurements”, Kimmo Uutela developed new methods for finding electrical activity of the brain, which enable easier identification of different brain areas. The Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers (TEK) and the Engineering Society in Finland (TFiF) honoured Uutela’s work with their joint doctoral thesis awa

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Whitehead Institute have discovered a pattern of genetic activity in several types of primary tumors that appears to predict the likelihood that they will spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body. If larger studies support these findings, this early indicator of life-threatening cancer spread might lead to a clinical test that would help determine appropriate treatment.

The study will be published by Nature Genetics on its

A tapeworm may be the unlikely source of a new contraceptive – 100% effective in either sex!

Despite intensive research, scientists have so far failed to find the perfect contraceptive for women – let alone men. However, a study in freshwater fish of the carp family has found a parasite, Ligula intestinalis, that makes the fish infertile. The infertility appears to be caused by a compound released by the parasite, which suppresses the production of eggs in females and sperm in males. P

Findings with lab mice may lead to novel cholesterol-lowering drugs against heart disease

Two people eat the same egg, cheese and ham muffin for breakfast, yet one absorbs significantly more cholesterol into his or her blood than the other. Why?
The answer, and all of its implications for combating heart disease, remains stubbornly hidden within our DNA. In recent genetic studies with lab mice, however, researchers at The Rockefeller University have begun to close in on the culpr

A California research team has mapped an entire group of human enzymes, providing important information for the development of a new generation of drugs to treat cancer and other diseases. The findings will be published in the Dec. 6 issue of Science.

In the study, the team from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the biotechnology company SUGEN created a detailed catalog of the 518 protein kinase genes encoded by the human genome. Protein kinases are among the most important regu

Authors of a research letter in this week’s issue of THE LANCET provide further evidence that the effect of sunlight on neurotransmitters in the brain plays a significant role in seasonal mood disorders.

The success of phototherapy (ultraviolet light therapy to stimulate brain neurotransmitter activity) and drugs that prevent the reuptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin have suggested that serotonin itself has a role in the development of seasonal depression. However, concentrations