PHILADELPHIA - A novel protein marker has been found that identifies rare adult liver stem cells, whose ability to regenerate injured liver tissue has the potential for cell-replacement therapy. For the first time, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine led by Linda Greenbaum, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, have demonstrated that cells expressing the marker can differentiate into both liver cells and cells that line the bile duct.
Body
St. Louis, MO – November 12, 2008 – In an attempt to reinvent itself as a "responsible corporate citizen," tobacco company Philip Morris supports regulation of tobacco products by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Blood levels of resistin, a hormone produced by fat cells, can independently predict an individual's risk of heart failure, cardiologists at Emory University School of Medicine have found.
Their findings were presented Nov. 12 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions conference in New Orleans.
DURHAM, N.C. – Heart failure patients who regularly exercise fare better and feel better about their lives than do similar patients who do not work out on a regular basis, say researchers at Duke University Medical Center.
The findings, reported today at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008, go a long way toward addressing concerns about the value of exercise for the nation's five million patients with heart failure. They also raise important policy questions for the country's Medicare program and other insurers.
Adults with severe heart failure see almost three times as many Medicare providers each year compared to a typical beneficiary, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.
An analysis conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado and Scios, Inc. showed that:
Ikerlan-IK4, Gaiker-IK4 and the Donostia hospital in representation of Bioef are taking part in a European project the goal of which is to design a portable device that will revolutionise the manner of controlling flu epidemics internationally, thanks to a significant reduction in the time needed for their detection from the current 24 hours to a period of between 30 and 60 minutes, and to an increase in the number of control points.
Measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence is an effective way of determining how well plants can cope with low-water conditions. The technique described in the open access journal Plant Methods, published by BioMed Central, allows a quantitative and precise determination of viability in intact, drought-stressed plants.
Scientists from the universities of Leicester and Cambridge and from the British Geological Survey have published new research in the journal Geology this month (November) shedding new light on a 500-million year old mystery.
The 500 million year-old fossils of the Burgess Shale in Canada, discovered over a century ago, still provide one of the most remarkable insights into the dawn of animal life. The beautiful silvery fossils show the true nature of the life of that time, just after the "Cambrian explosion" of animal life.
According to a paper published in the November issue of the Springer journal Osteoporosis International, Medicare reimbursement for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry has been cut to levels substantially below the cost to perform the procedure. As a result, many physicians and clinics around the country are likely to discontinue this critical health service, greatly limiting the public's access to the test and jeopardizing those at risk for a fracture.
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Nov. 12, 2008 –– Hot on the heels of a new supercomputer, plans for a new light-speed data line between the Translational Genomics Research Institute and Arizona State University could slash the time is takes to transfer genetic information.
Accelerating the flow of information could help speed discoveries that eventually could help produce treatments and cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's, autism, diabetes and various cancers.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful, inflammatory type of arthritis that occurs when the body's immune system attacks itself. A new paper, published in this week's issue of PLoS Biology, reports a breakthrough in the understanding of how autoimmune responses can be controlled, offering a promising new strategy for therapy development for rheumatoid arthritis.
Results from the European study IMMIDIET, published today in the Journal of Hypertension, official journal of the European Society of Hypertension and International Society of Hypertension, confirm that elevated blood pressure, an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is still a looming problem in Europe. Many hypertensive Europeans do not know about their condition, so they are not taking action against it. Even among those who have been diagnosed, more than half have their blood pressure not under optimal control.
A high proportion of people are not using condoms when they have sex with a new partner, according to a new study of heterosexual partnerships among British men and women. Among people in their 30s and 40s, and in partnerships where there is an age difference of five or more years, condom use is particularly low.
In view of the rising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the authors of the study say that condom use needs to be promoted to all age groups, and not just to young people.
Research into a cancer that is on the rise in the UK is to be presented at the University of Leicester.
It will discuss new studies at Leicester into the differences between benign and cancerous moles.
Postgraduate researcher Dr Philip Da Forno of the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Studies will describe new advances in the fight against malignant melanoma at a Doctoral Inaugural Lecture to be given on 12 November.
Minority children awaiting a donor heart for transplant have a higher death rate than white children, even after controlling for clinical risk factors, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.
In a study conducted by researchers in Boston, waitlist mortality was 14 percent for white children, 19 percent for black, 21 percent for Hispanic and 27 percent for others awaiting heart transplants.