Human ancestor Australopithecus did indeed walk upright
...pelvis is tilted in humans to give leverage to leg muscles that extend the legs backward during bipedal striding and running. However, unlike modern humans, Australopithecines have relatively small vertebral bodies and exhibit much pathology in these vertebral bodies. This suggests that while the back part o...UT Southwestern researchers find protein transforms sedentary muscles to resemble exercised muscles
...ling protein transforms sedentary, easily fatigued muscles into energy-producing, fatigue-resistant muscles, ... by genetically expressing the protein in skeletal muscles of laboratory mice, easily fatigued, or type II, muscle fibers were transformed into fatigue-resista...Cells in patients noses hold potential to restore function in spinal cord injury
...o touch and proprioception (stimuli originating in muscles and tendons) in their hind-limbs. These results are the most dramatic functional and histological repair yet achieved after complete spinal cord transection in adult mammals, and they open new avenues in the search for treatment of spinal cord injuri...DEET brain effects in animals warrant caution
...in structures: the cerebral cortex, which controls muscles and movement; the hippocampal formation, which controls memory, learning and concentration; and the cerebellum, which synchronizes body movements. In addition, many of the surviving brain cells showed signs of degeneration and damage consistent wit...Damaged DNA synthesis enzyme shown to cause progressive muscle weakening
...cifically to this rare affliction in which the eye muscles deteriorate and the patient must move his head, ra...nerative diseases progress with time, the involved muscles getting progressively weaker, has been long in coming: Nearly 40 years ago, a patient with such a...Freezing cancer cells makes them prime targets for anti-cancer drug, new study finds
...es a greater risk for damage to healthy nerves and muscles surrounding the prostate. "It becomes a tradeoff between killing off all the cancer cells and avoiding such side effects as impotence and incontinence," said Dr. Israel Barken, chairman and medical director of the Prostate Cancer Research and Educati...Unique population of muscle stem cells found in mice
... cells or MDSC. These cells were injected into the muscles of mdx mice, a rodent model for Duchenne muscular ... a potential approach to deliver dystrophin to the muscles of mdx mice. Less refined muscle cells, called EP (early plate) cells, also were transplanted into m...Muscle derived cell transplants offer alternative incontinence therapy says Pitt study
...continence. Essentially, we are giving the bladder muscles the ability to fix themselves by generating new muscle, said Michael Chancellor, M.D., professor of urology and gynecology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In future studies we hope this will turn into a long lasting, if not perman...The mind may help restore movement to the immobile
... functional electrical stimulation of the patients muscles may allow them to use their own limbs instead of robotic devices. For additional information: Dr. Stephen Helms Tillery, a coauthor at Arizona State University, 480-965-0753. The Neurosciences Institute focuses its research on the fundamental pri...Clonal human (hNT) neurons re-establish connection in rats with severe spinal cord injury
...tation, how to send out appropriate signals to the muscles so the animal can walk again That's the next step." Layton BioScience Inc. of Atherton, CA, holds the license for hNT neuron transplantation technology and is developing the cells for the treatment of several neurological disorders....Steven Vogel was suffering sore muscles -- ironic for a biologist who had just published a...wards," he winced. Indeed, the phenomenon of sore muscles is only one scientific morsel Vogel offers in a smorgasbord of topics covered in his book, including...Researchers identify defect that causes rare muscular dystrophies
...veral rare forms of muscular dystrophy that affect muscles and cause additional developmental brain abnormalities including mental retardation. The new findings will immediately help doctors in providing accurate diagnosis and appropriate genetic counseling to patients and their families. In the longer ter...Case Western Reserve University researchers developing new treatment for cardiovascular disease
...nerves, kidneys, bones and soft tissues, including muscles and tendons and others. "Liposomes as a drug delivery device is novel in cardiovascular disease," Marchant said. "These nanoscale devices are extremely versatile because they are easily modified, they encapsulate a large volume for carrying therapeu...First drug developed for widespread use against botulism
...etylcholine from reaching the muscle. As a result, muscles cannot contract, leading to paralysis. Progressive paralysis of the breathing muscles is fatal without mechanical ventilation. The researchers refer to the technique used to make the dr...U of C researcher tracks path of flying snake
... "It's actually undulating in the air. So whatever muscles it's using to flatten are probably decoupled from the muscles it's using to undulate." Socha also found that its orientation changes throughout the trajectory. Be...Scientists identify a new kind of genetic problem in muscular dystrophy
...e, shoulder blades, and upper arms, although other muscles also deteriorate. Despite intensive efforts, researchers have been unable to identify any genes that are altered in this disorder. In the new study, Rossella Tupler, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and th...Scientists discover cause of common muscular dystrophy
...arms or even smile. Progressive weakness of other muscles make it difficult to walk. Eye and hearing diseases are often associated with the disorder that affects one in 20,000 Americans. Many FSHD patients are severely disabled and need to use wheelchair for many decades. In the new study, Rossella Tupler...Research links adolescent steroid use to reduction in serotonin, altered signaling
...lly linger long after both the steroid use and the muscles and strength developed have waned. With funding from the National Institute of Health, Northeastern University psychology professor Richard Melloni and graduate student Jill Grimes examined the phenomenon of long-term steroid use through a series of...Scientists discover chemical switch that determines muscle fiber type
...rs create the bulkier, strong but quickly fatigued muscles of weightlifters or sprinters. Most muscles contain a combination of the two fibers. "PGC-1 appears to be the switch, or a major component of it...Protein transforms sedentary muscles into exercised muscles, researchers report
...nd in skeletal muscle that can transform sedentary muscles into energy-producing, exercised muscles. Research...highly exercised muscles. "When you exercise, your muscles change fiber type specificity, switching from type II fibers to type I fibers," said Dr. Rhonda Bass...