Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, is important in the healthy body for healing wounds and, in females, for the monthly reproductive cycle and during pregnancy. It is controlled in the body through the use of the body’s own angiogenesis inhibitors and stimulators. In certain diseases the body is unable to control blood vessel growth. In diseases such as cancer, diabetic blindness and psoriasis, excessive angiogenesis is occurring; and in diseases such as coronary artery disease and stroke

Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Could Lessen the Impact

Incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease is expected to increase as the population of elderly grows. Early diagnosis and treatment will be the key to lessening the disease’s worst effects, but, how to spot the disease before its symptoms become serious (and harm is already done) is a challenge for health professionals. A new study by psychologists Konstantine K. Zakzanis, Ph.D., and Mark Boulos, B.Sc., of the University of

Undergoing anaesthesia may be more like falling asleep than we once thought, according to new research from Imperial College London and Harvard Medical School, USA.

Researchers report today in the journal Nature Neuroscience how two of the most widely used anaesthetics, pentobarbital and propofol induce sleep by mimicking the natural process of falling into a deep sleep.

Using behavioural studies and molecular imaging techniques in rats, the team of basic scientists and clinicians

In a powerful demonstration of how animal research can help humans, a pair of scientific teams is reporting the discovery of defects in a deafness gene in mice that led to the identification of similar genetic defects in people with hearing loss.

The findings, published in two new papers, may eventually lead to a screening test and therapy for families affected by one type of inherited hearing loss.

The discoveries also bring scientists closer to understanding the intricate choreo

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University report in the August 22 issue of Nature how magnesium activates microscopic ion channels in the membrane of a cell. These particular ion channels are important in controlling blood pressure. Scientists, the researchers say, can use this new finding in the quest to understand how magnesium helps to decrease blood pressure and also treat heart failure and stroke.

Calcium activated potassium channels are important microscopic pathways in the cell

In this month’s Genome Biology, Mitch Kostich and colleagues from the Schering-Plough Research Institute (NJ, USA) have identified and mapped an important group of molecules known as protein kinases. These molecules are central to the communication of information both within and between cells, in a process known as cell signaling. Defective protein kinases are associated with hundreds of human diseases, including some types of cancer, and it is hoped that this map, which shows the relationships betwe

Testing pregnant women for gestational diabetes at 16-weeks of pregnancy is a more efficient way to screen for the disease than the current method of screening women during their third trimester, said Gerard Nahum, M.D., an associate clinical professor at Duke University Medical Center’s department of obstetrics and gynecology.

The earlier tests, Nahum said, allow women at highest risk for gestational diabetes to be identified and treated earlier, possibly heading off complications in both

HIV selectively inserts itself into active areas of a host cell’s genome, Salk Institute researchers have found for the first time. The fact that the virus hooks itself up to areas of the cell’s genome that are busy expressing themselves may help explain why HIV can replicate, or reproduce itself, so rapidly. The findings are being published as the cover article in the Friday, August 23, issue of the journal Cell.

“HIV seems to be targeting not just genes, but active genes,” said

A researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine is discovering how a gene known as E1A, found in a virus responsible for the common cold, renders tumor cells vulnerable to destruction.

“By explaining how E1A works, we hope to develop novel strategies to make human immunological defenses against tumors, as well as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, more effective in combating cancer,” said Dr. James Cook, chief of infectious diseases and a member of the UIC Cancer

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have obtained the most complete protein coverage of any organism to date with the study of a radiation-resistant microbe known to survive extreme environments. This research potentially could open up new opportunities to harness this microorganism, called Deinococcus radiodurans , for bioremediation.

A study published in the Aug. 20 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences observed a

Carbohydrate activates body’s defenses, causing inflammation

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) have shown that certain types of naturally occurring carbohydrates in the body may cause rheumatoid arthritis, a debilitating, painful disease affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

Although there have been promising advances in treating the symptoms of arthritis, the exact causes of arthritic inflammation, swe

A new study by scientists at The Wistar Institute links the genes responsible for neurofibromatosis, a common neurological disorder, to a protein thought to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease.

In establishing a connection between the two diseases, the research opens new lines of thinking for investigators studying both diseases, while also providing basic biological insights into vital cellular processes. A report on the study was published electronically on August 20 in the Journal of

Daily consumption of whole grains has been associated in a number of studies with reductions in risk for ischemic stroke, coronary artery disease, and type 2 diabetes. The cereal fiber found in whole grains slows digestion, producing a greater feeling of fullness and helping to prevent obesity, a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes. In a long-term study of male health professionals published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Fung et al. found that men who ate several servings of whole

Milk is an essential source of minerals, vitamins, energy, and protein in children. The reasons young children avoid drinking cow milk include lactose intolerance or a parent’s lifestyle choice. A recent study published by Black et al. in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition compared New Zealand children who were long-term “milk avoiders” with children who habitually drank milk, by evaluating the daily calcium intake, bone mineral content, bone size, stature, and skeletal size of both grou

Placing These Cells in Injectable Hydrogel May Provide New Way to Repair Joints

Johns Hopkins University researchers have caused stem cells from adult goats to grow into tissue that resembles cartilage, a key step toward creating a minimally invasive procedure that may one day be used to repair injured knees, noses and other body parts.

In this method, doctors would inject a fluid filled with stem cells and nutrients into damaged tissue, then use light to harden the liquid i

Herpes viruses enter the body and hide away in cells, often re-emerging later to cause illnesses such as shingles, genital herpes and cancer. How these viruses evade the immune system remains poorly understood, but researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discovered that a mouse herpes virus uses molecules that mimic a cell’s own proteins to help thwart an immune attack.

The findings also suggest that a branch of the immune system known as the complement sys