ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Sunday, May 8, 2011

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Sunday, May 8, 2011

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Engineers patch a heart: Tissue-engineering platform enables heart tissue to repair itself (May 7, 2011) -- Engineering researchers have established a new method to patch a damaged heart using a tissue-engineering platform that enables heart tissue to repair itself. The breakthrough is an important step forward in combating cardiovascular disease, one of the most serious health problems of our day. ... > full story

Telomerase: Research reveals how cancer-driving enzyme works (May 7, 2011) -- Cancer researchers are helping unlock the cellular-level function of the telomerase enzyme, which is linked to the disease's growth. ... > full story

Direct proof of how T cells stay in 'standby' mode: Study offers means of activating T cells to fight disease without antigenic triggers (May 7, 2011) -- Researchers offer definitive proof that T cells need to actively maintain "quiescence," a sort of standby mode the cells enter while waiting activation by other parts of the immune system. The researchers also found that they can activate quiescent cells by targeting a single protein, opening the possibility that quiescent T cells within tumors can be used to kill cancer cells. ... > full story

How shifts in temperature prime immune response (May 7, 2011) -- Researchers have found a temperature-sensing protein within immune cells that, when tripped, allows calcium to pour in and activate an immune response. This process can occur as temperature rises, such as during a fever, or when it falls -- such as when immune cells are "called" from the body's warm interior to a site of injury on cooler skin. ... > full story

Potential multiple sclerosis therapy could kill brain cells, study suggests (May 7, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered that some "protective" T-cells can kill neurons. This finding is significant because a specific type of T-cell therapy is being touted in the medical community as a potential treatment for MS and other autoimmune conditions. ... > full story

Families are 'lovin' it': Parents' work influences how often family meals are eaten outside of home (May 7, 2011) -- Americans are spending about half their food budget in restaurants. As it is widely known, food prepared away from home, as compared to food prepared at home, is often higher in calories, saturated fat, and sodium. With children's dietary quality at risk, a study explores the influence of parental styles and work schedules on children's use of and time spent in fast-food and full-service restaurants. ... > full story

Malaria mosquitoes accurately find their way to smelly feet (May 6, 2011) -- Malaria mosquitoes utilize carbon dioxide from exhaled air to localize humans from afar. In the vicinity of their preferred host, they alter their course towards the human feet. Researchers discovered how female malaria mosquitoes use foot odors in the last meters to guide them to their favored biting place. The research suggests possibilities to disrupt the host seeking behavior of the malaria mosquito. ... > full story

Parental exposure to BPA during pregnancy associated with decreased birth weight in offspring (May 6, 2011) -- Parental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during pregnancy is associated with decreased birth weight of offspring, compared with offspring from families without parental BPA exposure in the workplace, according to researchers. ... > full story

Advanced instrument analyzes immune cells in far more detail: Technology promises more effective prescription drug therapies (May 6, 2011) -- Researchers have taken a machine already in use for the measurement of impurities in semiconductors and used it to analyze immune cells in far more detail than has been possible before. The new technology lets scientists take simultaneous measurements of dozens of features located on and in cells, whereas the existing technology typically begins to encounter technical limitations at about a half-dozen. ... > full story

Protein snapshots reveal clues to breast cancer outcomes (May 6, 2011) -- Measuring the transfer of tiny amounts of energy from one protein to another on breast cancer cells has given scientists a detailed view of molecular interactions that could help predict how breast cancer patients will respond to particular therapies. ... > full story

Combination of ADHD and poor emotional control runs in families, study suggests (May 6, 2011) -- A subgroup of adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also exhibit excessive emotional reactions to everyday occurrences, and this combination of ADHD and emotional reactivity appears to run in families. ... > full story

Insight into HIV immunity may lead to vaccine (May 6, 2011) -- The latest insights into immunity to HIV could help to develop a vaccine to build antibodies' defenses against the disease, a new study has found. ... > full story