A molecular receptor pivotal to the action of male hormones such as testosterone also plays a crucial role in the body's ability to heal, report scientists in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
In studies in mice, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that this receptor – the androgen receptor – delays wound healing. When scientists used an experimental compound to block the receptor, wounds healed much more quickly.
Testing hair from Asian monkeys living close to people may provide early warnings of toxic threats to humans and wildlife, according to a study published online this week in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
In parts of South and Southeast Asia, macaques and people are synanthropic, which means they share the same ecological niche. They drink from identical water sources, breathe the same air, share food sources, and play on the same ground.
If you're an aging baby boomer hoping for a buffer physique, there's hope. A team of American scientists from Texas and Michigan have made a significant discovery about the cause of age-related muscle atrophy that could lead to new drugs to halt this natural process. This research, available online the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), shows that free radicals, such as reactive oxygen species, damage mitochondria in muscle cells, leading to cell death and muscle atrophy.
Conservation projects often attempt to enhance the water-based transport of material, energy, and organisms in natural ecosystems. River restoration, for example, commonly includes boosting maximum flow rates. Yet in some highly disturbed landscapes, restoration of natural water flows may cause more harm than good, according to a study published in the January 2010 issue of BioScience.
CHAPEL HILL – Bacteria can swim, propelling themselves through fluids using a whip-like extension called a flaggella. They can also walk, strolling along solid surfaces using little fibrous legs called pili. It is this motility that enable some pathogenic bacteria to establish the infections – such as meningitis – that cause their human hosts to get sick or even die.
New York, NY, January 4, 2010 – Knee osteoarthritis (OA) accounts for more disability in the elderly than any other disease. Running, although it has proven cardiovascular and other health benefits, can increase stresses on the joints of the leg. In a study published in the December 2009 issue of PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation, researchers compared the effects on knee, hip and ankle joint motions of running barefoot versus running in modern running shoes.
A majority of Pennsylvania's mobile home residents say they are overwhelmingly satisfied with their homes despite problems like construction quality, social stigma and financing associated with them, according to Penn State geographers.
COLLEGE STATION – This time of year, the word "virus" conjures up a bedridden stint with coughs and chills – something everyone goes to great lengths to avoid.
But scientists for Texas AgriLife Research have gone the distance to show that at least some viruses can be put to work to help us.
A new study by Dr. Karen-Beth Scholthof and her husband Dr. Herman Scholthof, to be published in the January issue of Virology, shows that plant viruses may work like a trucking service loaded to carry freight to its destination.
The new recommendations from the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) on breast cancer screening, published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR), state that breast cancer screening should begin at age 40 and earlier in high-risk patients. The recommendations also suggest appropriate utilization of medical imaging modalities such as mammography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound for breast cancer screening.
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A Mayo Clinic research study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology finds that St. John's wort is not an effective treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). While antidepressants are frequently used to treat IBS, to date, no study has examined the success of using the herbal supplement St. John's wort in treating IBS.
Women's minds and genitals respond differently to sexual arousal, whereas in men, the responses of the body and mind are more in tune with each other, according to Assistant Professor Meredith Chivers, from Queen's University in Kingston, Canada, and her international collaborators, Michael Seto, Martin Lalumière, Ellen Laan, and Teresa Grimbos. Their meta-analysis1 of the extent of agreement between subjective ratings and physiological measures of sexual arousal in men and women is published online this week in Springer's journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.
Researchers at University College London say they have gleaned a key insight into the molecular beginnings of age-related macular degeneration, the No. 1 cause of vision loss in the elderly, by determining how two key proteins interact to naturally prevent the onset of the condition.
A team of researchers is being recognized for devising a new way to study a human protein that long has evaded close scrutiny by scientists investigating its role in the communication of important genetic messages inside a cell's nucleus to workhorse molecules found elsewhere.
PHILADELPHIA – A minimally invasive surgical approach developed by head and neck surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Sunnyvale, California) has been cleared for TransOral otolaryngologic surgical procedures to treat benign tumors and select malignant tumors in adults.
Johns Hopkins University researchers have created biodegradable nanosized particles that can easily slip through the body's sticky and viscous mucus secretions to deliver a sustained-release medication cargo.
The researchers say these nanoparticles, which degrade over time into harmless components, could one day carry life-saving drugs to patients suffering from dozens of health conditions, including diseases of the eye, lung, gut or female reproductive tract.