Summaries | Headlines

Three Genetic Prostate Cancer Risk Factors Identified (October 11, 2007) -- Three separate locations on human chromosome 8q24 appear to be independently associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. Evidence for genetic susceptibility to prostate cancer is quite ... > full story

Virtual Game Helps Children Escape Realities Of Burn Unit (October 11, 2007) -- Nurses and physicians are using the latest technology to help young burn victims endure the extreme pain of dressing changes and wound care. Instead of traditional distraction devices, such as books ... > full story

Smoking Has No Effect On Progression Of Multiple Sclerosis, Study Suggests (October 11, 2007) -- Contrary to an earlier report, smoking appears to have no effect on the progression of multiple sclerosis, according to a new study. Researchers surveyed 364 people at both the initial and secondary ... > full story

Inside Job: New Radioactive Agents For Colon Cancer Work Inside Cells (October 11, 2007) -- Scientists have developed a potentially novel way to fight colorectal cancer using tiny molecules to deliver potent barrages of radiation inside cancer cells, unlike current treatments that bind to ... > full story

Expensive Trainer Running Shoes Are A Waste Of Money, Study Finds (October 11, 2007) -- Expensive trainer running shoes are not worth the money, finds a small study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Cheap and moderately priced running shoes are just as good, if not ... > full story

Discovery Of Retinal Cell Type Ends 40-year Search (October 11, 2007) -- High-energy physicists and neuroscientists have discovered a type of retinal cell that may help monkeys, apes and humans see motion. The cell type has very similar properties to so-called Y retinal ... > full story

Banked Blood Loses Ability To Deliver Oxygen To Tissues Almost Immediately (October 11, 2007) -- Almost immediately after it is donated, human blood begins to lose a key gas that opens up blood vessels to facilitate the transfer of oxygen from red blood cells to oxygen-starved tissues. Thus, ... > full story

Antioxidants Do Not Prevent Degenerative Eye Disease (October 11, 2007) -- A diet rich in antioxidant vitamins and minerals does not seem to prevent the degenerative eye disease known as age related macular degeneration. Age related macular degeneration is the leading cause ... > full story

'Network' Approach Identifies Potential Breast Cancer Susceptibility Gene (October 11, 2007) -- Like a crossword-puzzle solver who uses the letters in some answers to figure out others, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an international group of collaborators have used data on ... > full story

Highs And Lows Of Drug Cravings (October 11, 2007) -- The anticipation of a cocaine fix and the actual craving to abuse the drug are two closely related phenomena, according to new evidence. Scientists explain that craving is an intense and often ... > full story

New Hope For HIV Patients: Potent Peptides Inhibit HIV Entry Into Cells (October 11, 2007) -- Based in part on protein structures determined at the National Synchrotron Light Source at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, scientists have developed new peptides that ... > full story

Women With High Or Increasing Blood Pressure Are Up To Three Times More Likely To Develop Diabetes (October 11, 2007) -- One of the largest studies to investigate the relationship between blood pressure and type 2 diabetes has found that women who have high blood pressure levels are three times more likely to develop ... > full story

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Health science -- Health science is the discipline of applied science which deals with human and animal health. There are two parts to health science: the study, research, and knowledge of health and the application ... > full article

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder -- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (sometimes referred to as ADD for those without hyperactivity) is thought to be a neurological disorder, always present from childhood, which manifests ... > full article

Encephalopathy -- Encephalopathy is a nonspecific term describing a syndrome affecting the brain. Generally, it refers to involvement of large parts of the brain (or the whole organ), instead of identifiable changes ... > full article

Limbic system -- The limbic system is the collective name for structures in the human brain involved in emotion, motivation, and emotional association with memory. It affects motivation and is more active in ... > full article

Human brain -- The human brain is the center of the central nervous system in humans as well as the primary control center for the peripheral nervous system. The brain controls "lower" or involuntary activities ... > full article

Amygdala -- The amygdala (Latin, corpus amygdaloideum) is an almond-shape set of neurons located deep in the brain's medial temporal lobe. Shown to play a key role in the processsing of emotions, the amygdala ... > full article

Hypothalamus -- In mammals, the hypothalamus is a region of the brain located below the thalamus, forming the major portion of the ventral region of the diencephalon and functioning to regulate certain metabolic ... > full article

Central nervous system -- The central nervous system (CNS) represents the largest part of the nervous system, including the brain and the spinal cord. Together with the peripheral nervous system, it has a fundamental role in ... > full article

Spinal cord -- The spinal cord is a part of the vertebrate nervous system that is enclosed in and protected by the vertebral column (it passes through the spinal canal). It consists of nerve cells. The cord conveys ... > full article

Motor neuron -- In vertebrates, motor neurons (also called motoneurons) are efferent neurons that originate in the spinal cord and synapse with muscle fibers to facilitate muscle contraction and with muscle spindles ... > full article

Sensory neuron -- Sensory neurons are nerve cells within the nervous system responsible for converting external stimuli from the organism's environment into internal electrical impulses. For example, some sensory ... > full article

Heart -- The heart is a hollow, muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in annelids, mollusks, and arthropods. The ... > full article

Lung -- The lung is the essential organ of respiration in air-breathing vertebrates. Its principal function is to transport oxygen from the atmosphere into the bloodstream, and to excrete carbon dioxide from ... > full article

Electrocardiogram -- An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG, abbreviated from the German Elektrokardiogramm) is a graphic produced by an electrocardiograph, which records the electrical voltage in the heart in the form of a ... > full article

Cardiac arrest -- A cardiac arrest is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the ventricles of the heart to contract effectively during systole. The resulting lack of blood supply results ... > full article

Blood transfusion -- Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood or blood-based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. Blood transfusions may treat medical conditions, such as massive ... > full article

Immune system -- The immune system is the system of specialized cells and organs that protect an organism from outside biological influences. (Though in a broad sense, almost every organ has a protective function - ... > full article

Stomach -- In anatomy, the stomach is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract used to digest food. In general, the stomach's primary function is not the absorption of nutrients from digested food; this task is ... > full article

Enzyme -- Enzymes are proteins that catalyze (i.e. accelerate) chemical reactions. Enzymes are biochemical catalysts. In these reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called substrates, ... > full article

Aspirin -- Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is a drug in the family of salicylates, often used as an analgesic (against minor pains and aches), antipyretic (against fever), and anti-inflammatory. It has also an ... > full article