ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Sunday, January 29, 2012

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Sunday, January 29, 2012

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Discovery of new vaccine approach for treatment of cancer (January 28, 2012) -- Scientists have developed a new vaccine to treat cancer at the pre-clinical level. They developed a new approach for treating the disease based on manipulating the immune response to malignant tumors. ... > full story

Genetic variation that raises risk of serious complication linked to osteoporosis drugs identified (January 28, 2012) -- Researchers have identified a genetic variation that raises the risk of developing serious necrotic jaw bone lesions in patients who take bisphosphonates, a common class of osteoclastic inhibitors. ... > full story

The amygdala and fear are not the same thing (January 28, 2012) -- In a 2007 episode of the television show Boston Legal, a character claimed to have figured out that a cop was racist because his amygdala activated – displaying fear, when they showed him pictures of black people. ... > full story

Heart of silk: Scientists use silk from the tasar silkworm as a scaffold for heart tissue (January 28, 2012) -- Damaged human heart muscle cannot be regenerated. Scar tissue grows in place of the damaged muscle cells. Scientists are seeking to restore complete cardiac function with the help of artificial cardiac tissue. They have succeeded in loading cardiac muscle cells onto a three-dimensional scaffold, created using the silk produced by a tropical silkworm. ... > full story

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor: Finding may have implications for Rett Syndrome, other neurological disorders (January 28, 2012) -- Researchers have discovered that a molecule critical to the development and plasticity of nerve cells -- brain-derived neurotrophic factor -- is severely lacking in brainstem neurons in mutations leading to Rett syndrome, a neurological developmental disorder. The finding has implications for the treatment of neurological disorders, including Rett syndrome that affects one in 10,000 baby girls. ... > full story

Where there's a worm there's a whale: First distribution model of marine parasites provides revealing insights (January 28, 2012) -- Each year around 20,000 people are infected by nematodes of the genus Anisakis and suffer from illnesses ranging from gastrointestinal diseases to serious allergic reactions as a result. For the first time, parasitologists have gathered data on the occurrence of the parasitic worm and have modeled the worldwide distribution of individual species in the ocean. The resulting maps not only enable statements to be made on the occurrence and migration behavior of certain hosts of the parasites, such as Baleen or toothed whales,  but also provide conclusions on the risk of human infection. ... > full story

New information for flu fight: Researchers study RNA interference to determine host genes used by influenza for virus replication (January 28, 2012) -- Influenza virus can rapidly evolve from one form to another, complicating the effectiveness of vaccines and anti-viral drugs used to treat it. By first understanding the complex host cell pathways that the flu uses for replication, researchers are finding new strategies for therapies and vaccines, according to a new study. ... > full story

The pupils are the windows to the mind (January 28, 2012) -- The eyes are the window into the soul -- or at least the mind, according to a new article. ... > full story

Making memories last: Prion-like protein plays key role in storing long-term memories (January 27, 2012) -- Memories in our brains are maintained by connections between neurons called "synapses." But how do these synapses stay strong and keep memories alive for decades? Neuroscientists have discovered a major clue from a study in fruit flies: Hardy, self-copying clusters or oligomers of a synapse protein are an essential ingredient for the formation of long-term memory. ... > full story

How cholera bacterium gains a foothold in the gut (January 27, 2012) -- Biologists have made an important advance in our understanding of the way cholera attacks the body. The discovery could help scientists target treatments for the globally significant intestinal disease which kills more than 100,000 people every year. ... > full story

Grape seed extract kills head and neck cancer cells, leaves healthy cells unharmed (January 27, 2012) -- In both cell lines and mouse models, grape seed extract kills head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells, while leaving healthy cells unharmed, new research shows. ... > full story

Mind over matter: Patients' perceptions of illness make a difference (January 27, 2012) -- Whenever we fall ill, there are many different factors that come together to influence the course of our illness. Additional medical conditions, stress levels, and social support all have an impact on our health and well-being, especially when we are ill. But a new report suggests that what you think about your illness matters just as much, if not more, in determining your health outcomes. ... > full story