Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have put an end to a 10-year debate over which form of a molecular messenger called Fas ligand is responsible for killing cells during programmed cell death (also called apoptosis).
Apoptosis is an important process in human biology as it removes unwanted and dangerous cells from our bodies, protecting us against cancer development and diseases where the immune system attacks the body's own tissues, such as in lupus or insulin-dependent diabetes.
When parents are told their babies' scoliosis needs treatment, they often try bracing first. If that fails, they need surgery to place metal rods in their backs with spinal fusion later on. These children face the risk of complications from the surgery and their backs and chests may be stiff for life.
Drug companies are sprinting ahead in a race against the clock to deliver millions of doses of vaccine for the H1N1 influenza virus before cooler weather ushers in the 2009-2010 flu season. A two-part cover story in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine, focuses on that topic and efforts to develop antiviral drugs for flu infections.
Scientists are reporting discovery of a much sought after crack in the armor of a common microbe that infects the stomachs of one-sixth of the world's population, causing stomach ulcers and other diseases. They identified a group of substances that block a key chemical pathway that the bacteria need for survival. Their study, which could lead to new, more effective antibiotics to fight these hard-to-treat microbes, is scheduled for the October 16 issue of ACS Chemical Biology, a monthly journal.
The more weight women gain from the age of 18 until middle age, the less likely they are to enjoy a long and healthy life, according to new research published on bmj.com today.
Compared with lean women, the results show that being obese in middle age reduces those odds by 79%, underscoring the importance of maintaining a healthy weight from early adulthood, say the authors.
Exposure to radon gas in homes is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, according to a study carried out by researchers from the University of Cantabria and the Babes-Bolyai University in Romania. The team has studied data on exposure to this element in a uranium mining area in Transylvania and in an area of granite in Torrelodones, Madrid.
LOS ANGELES (September 29, 2009) – A simple, non-invasive test appears to be an effective screening tool for identifying patients with silent heart disease who are at risk for a heart attack or sudden death. Coronary artery calcium scans can be done without triggering excessive additional testing and costs, according to the multi-center EISNER (Early Identification of Subclinical Atherosclerosis by Noninvasive Imaging Research) study, led by investigators at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.
A study by Monash University researchers has shed new light on the microscopic antennas in the kidney that are involved in the organ's repair process.
The work may be a crucial step towards a cure for polycystic kidney disease, a potentially fatal disease that affects more than one in 1000 people.
The study, led by Dr James Deane a researcher at the Centre for Inflammatory Disease at the Monash Medical Centre, showed how kidney repair processes are controlled and helps explain the cause of polycystic kidney disease.
Former professional football players with large bodies don’t appear to have the same risk factors for heart disease as their non-athletic counterparts, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found in studying a group of National Football League (NFL) alumni.
Compared to other men in a similar age range, retired NFL players had a significantly lower prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, sedentary lifestyles and metabolic syndrome, the study authors report. The scientific findings appear in the September issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
Pre- and post-menopausal women who self-rated themselves as being sexually satisfied had a higher overall psychological well-being score and scores for "positive well-being" and "vitality," compared with sexually dissatisfied women in a study of 295 women sexually active more than twice a month. The study, published today in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, also uncovered a positive association between age and well-being, but a negative association for general health.
Berkeley -- A study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has identified critical biochemical pathways linked to the aging of human muscle. By manipulating these pathways, the researchers were able to turn back the clock on old human muscle, restoring its ability to repair and rebuild itself.
The findings will be reported in the Sept. 30 issue of the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, a peer-reviewed, scientific publication of the European Molecular Biology Organization.
Women who put on weight as they approach middle-age could reduce their chances of enjoying a healthy old age by up to 80%, according to research from the University of Warwick.
The study, published today (Wednesday) in the British Medical Journal, suggests that women who have a high body mass index in middle age are significantly more likely to suffer from major chronic diseases such as cancer and coronary heart disease and poor quality of life.
DALLAS – Sept. 30, 2009 – Former professional football players with large bodies don't appear to have the same risk factors for heart disease as their non-athletic counterparts, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found in studying a group of National Football League (NFL) alumni.
Paleontologists Ewan Wolff (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Steve Salisbury (University of Queensland), Jack Horner (Museum of the Rockies) and David Varricchio (Montana State University), published new research in the open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal PLoS ONE that found the Tyrannosaurus rex and its close relatives suffered from a potentially life-threatening infectious disease similar to one that occurs in living birds known as trichomonosis.
The world's largest living lizard species, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), is vulnerable to extinction and yet little is known about its natural history. New research by a team of palaeontologists and archaeologists from Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia, who studied fossil evidence from Australia, Timor, Flores, Java and India, shows that Komodo Dragons most likely evolved in Australia and dispersed westward to Indonesia.