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Hospitals warned that wet breathing system filters transmit harmful bacteria and yeast

Doctors have highlighted potential problems with the breathing system filters used in anaesthesia, including intensive care units, after demonstrating that they don't provide protection from harmful bacteria and yeast when they become wet.

Research in the July issue of Anaesthesia has shown that when they were wet, six commonly available filters allowed substantial passage of Candida albicans (a yeast infection linked to a range of chronic illnesses) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (a common hospital-acquired bacterial infection).

Maternal diet and genes interact to affect heart development

A pregnant mother's diet may be able to interact with the genes her unborn child inherits and influence the type or severity of birth defect according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The study, published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, suggests that mothers who eat a high fat diet before and through pregnancy could be inadvertently putting the health of their offspring at risk.

Alcohol and drugs leads to less sex, not more - study

CANADA/MONTREAL/July 5, 2010 — Sharing a bottle of red wine has always been considered the best recipe for a romantic interlude but a Concordia University study, which evaluated the effect of a wide range of drugs, including alcohol, on sexual behavior, definitively show that despite our preconceived notions, use of many recreational drugs can cause a loss in that lovin' feeling.

The findings were published in the journal Hormones and Behavior.

Cocoa flavanols double cells associated with repair of blood vessels, according to Mars Inc. study

McLean, VA (July 5, 2010) – New findings indicate that cocoa flavanols may be an important part of a healthy diet for people with cardiovascular disease, which affects more than 80 million Americans, according to research by a team of internationally-renowned researchers, including scientists from Mars, Incorporated.

First step to new therapy for chronic bowel disease

Scientists associated with VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and Ghent University (UGent) have discovered that A20 protein plays an important protective role in diseases associated with chronic bowel inflammation. This makes A20 into a promising therapeutic target for the development of new anti-inflammatory drugs.

Chronic bowel inflammation

ESHRE study shows new PGS method can predict chromosomal abnormalities

Scientists at the University of Bonn and at the SISMER centre in Bologna used a new micro-array technology that screens all chromosomes in one cell within 12 hours, allowing for fresh transfer of the egg into the female patient. They could identify the chromosomal status of the eggs in 89 % of all polar bodies analysed, Prof. Joep Geraedts told the 26th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Monday).

A new opportunity for hepatitis C research

The hepatitis C virus is highly specialised. We humans are its natural hosts. The only other living organisms that could be infected with the hepatitis C virus in the lab are chimpanzees. Nevertheless it is – from the viewpoint of the virus – highly successful: around 170 million people are chronically infected with the virus. And with the chronic infection the risk of developing liver cancer also increases.

Isolation a threat to Great Barrier Reef fish

At first glance it may seem like a good idea to be a fish living the quiet life on a small and isolated reef.

But a team of researchers has found that the opposite is the case on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Scientists find link between estrogen metabolism pathway and breast cancer risk

Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), a biomedical research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, recently discovered that DNA polymorphisms related to the production of estrogen play an important role in the development of hormone-sensitive breast and endometrial cancer. The knowledge gained may help develop better measures for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.

Cocoa flavanols improve vascular and blood pressure measures for coronary artery disease patients

A new study by UCSF cardiologists and researchers found that high concentrations of cocoa flavanols decrease blood pressure, improve the health of blood vessels and increase the number of circulating blood-vessel-forming cells in patients with heart disease. The findings indicate that foods rich in flavanols – such as cocoa products, tea, wine, and various fruits and vegetables – have a cardio-protective benefit for heart disease patients.

Scientists reveal the mystery of sudden cardiac death

The pioneering research, using detailed computer models, could help save lives through preventative treatment of those most at risk from a form of heart rhythm disorder called sick sinus syndrome.

This occurs when the activity of the heart's pacemaker, the sinoatrial node, is impaired. Up to now, no-one has been able to work out why this happens.

But groundbreaking research by Professor Henggui Zhang at The University of Manchester shows how gene mutation and activity of the nervous system can combine to seriously disrupt the heart's normal rhythm.

TGen finds protein inhibitor revives chemotherapy for ovarian patients

PHOENIX, Ariz. — July 6, 2010 — Investigators at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) have discovered a way that may help ovarian cancer patients who no longer respond to conventional chemotherapy.

A scientific paper that will be published in the September issue of the journal Gynecologic Oncology describes how the inhibition of a protein, CHEK1, may be an effective element to incorporate into therapies for women with ovarian cancer.

Salmon in hot water

Rearing juvenile salmon at the relatively high temperature of 16°C causes skeletal deformities in the fish. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Physiology investigated both the magnitude and mechanisms of this effect, which occurs when salmon farmers use warmed water to increase fish growth rates.

Revolutionary therapy slows tumor growth in advanced breast cancer, Penn research reports

PHILADELPHIA – A novel therapy designed to attack tumors in patients with a genetic mutation in either BRCA1 or BRCA2, slowed tumor growth in 85 percent of advanced breast cancer patients treated in a small study, researchers report in the July 6 issue of the Lancet.

Heart patients with anxiety disorder experience more cardiovascular events, deaths

Among patients with heart disease, anxiety disorders appear to be associated with a higher risk of stroke, heart attack, heart failure and death, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.