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Agronomy / Food Science - Health - 31.03.2011

Research shows taste perception of bitter foods depends on genetics
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. How we perceive the taste of bitter foods - and whether we like or dislike them, at least initially - depends on which versions of taste-receptor genes a person has, according to a researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Those genes affect dietary choices, such as whether we eat enough vegetables, drink alcoholic beverages or enjoy citrus fruits.

Health - Life Sciences - 31.03.2011

Scientists discover crucial trigger for tumour protein
Adapted from a news release issued by Cancer Research UK Thursday 31 March 2011 Scientists have discovered an essential protein that controls inflammation induced by "tumour necrosis factor" (TNF) - an important part of the body's defences against infection and a driver of cancer-associated inflammation, according to research published in Nature today.

Health - Psychology - 31.03.2011

Older bereaved ’die of broken immune system not broken heart’
Immunity experts at the University of Birmingham have found biological evidence to suggest that bereavement lowers physical immunity, putting older people at risk of life-threatening infections. Brand new research published online in the journal Brain Behavior and Immunity shows that the emotional stress of bereavement is associated with a fall in the efficiency of white blood cells known as neutrophils, which combat infections such a pneumonia, a major cause of death in older adults.

Health - Life Sciences - 31.03.2011

Scientists discover crucial trigger for tumour protein
Australian scientists have contributed to an important international discovery, which could play a critical role in the future treatment of cancers and autoimmune diseases. Researchers have characterised the role of 'Sharpin', a protein that controls inflammation induced by 'Tumour Necrosis Factor' (TNF) - an important part of the body's defences against cancer, according to research published in Nature today.

Health - Life Sciences - 30.03.2011

Cholesterol regulator plays key role in development of liver scarring, cirrhosis
UCLA researchers have demonstrated that a key regulator of cholesterol and fat metabolism in the liver also plays an important role in the development of liver fibrosis — the build-up of collagen scar tissue that can develop into cirrhosis. Cirrhosis, in turn, is a major cause of premature death and is incurable without a liver transplant.

Health - Chemistry - 28.03.2011

New insight into how ’tidying up’ enzymes work
A new discovery about how molecules are broken down by the body, which will help pharmaceutical chemists design better drugs, has been made by researchers at the University of Bristol. Working with Professor Jeremy Harvey and Professor Adrian Mulholland of Bristol's School of Chemistry , Dr Julianna Olah, an EU Marie Curie Fellow in Bristol at the time, studied a class of enzymes ' cytochromes P450 - which play an important role in removing drug molecules from the body.

Health - Agronomy / Food Science - 28.03.2011

Researchers discover link between a gene, lack of folate and colon cancer risk in mice
Cornell researchers report that they have identified a gene that increases the risk for colon cancer in laboratory mice when their diets lack folate. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. More than 50,000 people die each year in this country from colon cancer, many due to a lack of early detection.

Chemistry - Health - 28.03.2011

Engineers make breakthrough in ultrasensitive sensor technology
Princeton researchers have invented an extremely sensitive sensor that opens up new ways to detect a wide range of substances, from biological markers of cancer to hidden explosives. The sensor, which is the most sensitive of its kind to date and easy to produce, relies on a completely new architecture and fabrication technique developed by the Princeton researchers.

Health - 28.03.2011

A jog a day keeps osteoporosis away
A short burst of vigorous physical activity like running and jogging is important for building bones in children, whereas more gentle exercise like walking, even for a longer period, has little effect. This suggests that while current recommendations on exercise aim to combat obesity and heart disease by promoting walking, these are unlikely to offer much protection against the risk of osteoporosis in later life.

Health - Environment - 25.03.2011

Secondhand smoke raises the stakes in America’s casinos
New research from Stanford and Tufts universities shows secondhand smoke is a danger to tens of millions of casino patrons and hundreds of thousands of workers. Threats range from heart attacks to cancer. BY ANDREW MYERS Millions of Americans visit casinos to unwind and test their luck against the hands of fate, but lurking in the shadows is a gamble few would contemplate before they stepped inside a casino's doors.

Health - 24.03.2011

Eye movement differs in British and Chinese populations
Liverpool, UK - 24 March 2011: Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that eye movement patterns of Chinese people, born and raised in China, are different to those of Caucasian people living in Britain. The team, working with Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, investigated eye movements in Chinese and British people to further understanding of the brain mechanisms that control them and how they compare between different human populations.

Health - Psychology - 24.03.2011

Could ’training the brain’ help children with Tourette syndrome?
PA96/11 Children with Tourette syndrome could benefit from behavioural therapy to reduce their symptoms, according to a new brain imaging study. Researchers at The University of Nottingham discovered that the brains of children with Tourette syndrome (TS) develop in a unique way — which could suggest new methods of treating the condition.

Life Sciences - Health - 24.03.2011

$4M grant to explore plant-pathogen ’cat and mouse’ games
The arms race between plants and pathogens prompts both to evolve: Pathogens continually find new strategies to infect plants, and plants counter by foiling those strategies. Now, Cornell and Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) researchers have received a $4 million National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program grant to explore plant-pathogen interactions in order to create more resistant crops.

Health - 24.03.2011

Palliative care survey published today
A group of leading researchers and clinicians, led by Professor Irene Higginson OBE at King's College London, will today call for delivery of end-of-life care across Europe to be reviewed, and investment in research increased, in order to meet people's needs more effectively at the end of their lives.

Health - 24.03.2011

Acupuncture is equally effective with simulated needles
[NEWS 24 March 2011] Simulated acupuncture - sometimes referred to as placebo - is just as beneficial as real acupuncture for treating nausea in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, according to a study from Karolinska Institutet and Linköping University in Sweden. Patients, who received only standard care including medications for nausea, felt significant more nausea than patients in both the acupuncture groups.

Health - Life Sciences - 23.03.2011

Epigenomic findings illuminate veiled variants
Genes make up only a tiny percentage of the human genome. The rest, which has remained measurable but mysterious, may hold vital clues about the genetic origins of disease. Using a new mapping strategy, a collaborative team led by researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and MIT has begun to assign meaning to the regions beyond our genes and has revealed how minute changes in these regions might be connected to common diseases.

Health - Life Sciences - 23.03.2011

Do pre-conceived expectations impact on doctor analysis of X-rays?
Scientists have long suspected that clinicians' ability to read X-rays can be skewed according to what they expect to find, but a University of Sydney study published this month in the international journal Radiology did not find evidence to support this theory. Lead author Warren Reed from the Faculty of Health Sciences put 22 highly experienced radiologists from the American Board of Radiologists to the test by studying the impact of prevalence expectation on the ability of the radiologists to detect pulmonary nodular lesions, or lung cancer.

Health - Life Sciences - 22.03.2011

Scientists identify gene responsible for severe skin condition
Liverpool, UK - 23 March 2011: Scientists at the University of Liverpool and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland have identified a gene that could indicate if epilepsy patients starting drug treatment are likely to experience side-effects resulting in blistering of the skin. The drug, called carbamazepine, is commonly used to treat patients with epilepsy and other diseases such as depression and trigeminal neuralgia.

Health - 22.03.2011

Call for a better policy vision for hearing and sight impaired
Preliminary results from a University of Sydney study have shown up to 80 percent of people presenting to an eye clinic for vision loss assessment also have mild or moderate hearing loss. "The study highlights the potential for improved health services for the elderly, such as one-stop shops for screening both hearing and vision - services currently funded and offered separately in Australia," said researcher Dr Julie Schneider, from the Menzies Centre for Health Policy.

Health - 21.03.2011

Blood test identifies more heart attacks
A highly sensitive blood test could help identify heart attacks in thousands of patients who would otherwise have gone undiagnosed,. A University study evaluating the test, which identifies heart muscle damage, found that it detected heart attacks in a third more patients who were admitted to hospital with chest pain than previous tests.