NIH provides $32.8 million to enhance biomedical informatics research network
... The Function BIRN is working to understand the underlying causes of schizophrenia and to develop new treatments for the disease. The goal is to determine the role of frontal and temporal lobe dysfunction in schizophrenia, and to assess the impact of treatments on functional brain abnormalities. The Brain ...Genetic defect confers risk of major depression, resistance to SSRI drug therapy
... "Our findings provide a novel molecular mechanism underlying dysfunction in serotonin neurotransmission in some patients with depression." The genetic defect is the first genetic variant of functional consequence in the production of serotonin identified in any psychiatric disorder, the researchers said. Pat...Mutant gene linked to treatment-resistant depression
...olar disorder proves to be evidence of a different underlying biology remains to be investigated in future studies. The researchers say their finding provides a potential molecular mechanism for aberrant serotonin function in neuropsychiatric disorders. Also participating in the study were: Raul Ga...Study in Royal Society journal on first evidence for magnetic field detection in sharks
...occurs as a result of the glacier sliding over the underlying bedrock. In this study, we show that the equation which is most widely used to represent sliding in numerical models of glaciers is not consistent with the physics involved, and generally overestimates friction at the glacier bed. Based on a mathemat...Alfred Sommer awarded prestigious Pollin Prize
...0 million children die worldwide each year and the underlying cause of many of these deaths is malnutrition. I applaud efforts like the Pollin Prize that assist and encourage a new generation of researchers, like Parul Christian, to pursue the important discoveries that will continue to save the lives of millio...Scientists find impaired chromatin structure formation & imprinted gene involvement in Rett Syndrome
...sion of target genes caused by mutated MeCP2 is an underlying hypothesis explaining RTT symptoms. Although MeCP2 is expressed throughout the body, RTT is a disorder of the central nervous system and therefore it is crucial to identify MECP2's target genes in the brain. Dr. Kohwi-Shigematsu and colleagues have ...Body's biological clock found to affect cardiac rhythm patterns in healthy adults
...these tools, the researchers hoped to find whether underlying patterns in the heartbeat data of the study partic...her studies could, however, provide insight to the underlying cause of the disease -- and to therapies that might work better by being timed to the specific phase...Scientist discover the cellular roots of graying hair
...n if they do solve a longstanding puzzle about the underlying mechanism of graying. Of more interest to the researchers is the pattern of cellular signals that triggers the death of pigment stem cells, since melanoma is dangerous for the opposite reason melanocytes proliferate uncontrollably to form tumors and ...Healthy mix of GI tract microbes are key to preventing allergies and asthma
...he walls of the gastrointestinal tract are a major underlying factor responsible for the immune system's ability to ignore inhaled allergens," says Gary Huffnagle, Ph.D., an associate professor of internal medicine and of microbiology and immunology in the U-M Medical School. "Change the microflora in the gut a...JCI table of contents, 3 January 2005
...Chernobyl thyroid cancers, it is the genetic event underlying BRAF activation that can differentiate between the...lacia (softening of the bones), however the events underlying this process have remained unknown until now. In the January 3 issue of the Journal of Clinical inve...Cincinnati study of Chernobyl residents uncovers new cause of thyroid cancer
...Chernobyl thyroid cancers, it is the genetic event underlying BRAF activation that can differentiate between the two types of tumors, with a higher proportion of point mutations occurring in sporadic thyroid cancers and intrachromosomal inversion responsible for a larger percentage of radiation-induced tumors. ...FDA approves ABRAXANE(TM) for metastatic breast cancer
...rd-looking statements also include the assumptions underlying or relating to any forward-looking statements. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. ...Cleft palate research receives 200,000 award
... craniofacial research for the last 14 years. "The underlying developmental mechanisms are poorly understood but recent genetic studies have provided important insights into this complex process." Helen Moore, a PhD student working with Dr Dixon, has already shown that a reduction in the level of p63 precedes p...Reduced calorie and carbohydrate diet slows progression of Alzheimer's disease in mouse model
...eliminated amyloid plaque development, which isthe underlying pathology in AD. The study, published in the Februaryissue of The FASEB Journal Express, is the first to demonstrate that achange in diet can slow and possibly prevent Alzheimer's diseases. "While it is far too early for us to make specific recommend...Anti-seizure drugs slow aging in worms
...y 47 percent. The group then sought to uncover the underlying mechanism for the effect of the anticonvulsants. It was apparent that the drugs did not mimic the anti-aging effects of caloric restriction, because the worms had abundant food and looked well-fed. The researchers also demonstrated that anticonvulsan...EB and IUPS - Where cures of tomorrow can be seen in the science of today
...in recognition of the interdisciplinary approaches underlying so many of today's scientific and medical advances. In large part, the expansion is due to the decision of the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) to hold its 35th Congress - a meeting held every five years - in conjunction with E...COX-2 levels are elevated in smokers
...n culture to tobacco smoke to define the mechanism underlying smoke-induced elevation of COX-2. The researchers determined that COX-2 levels were increased due to tobacco smoke induced activation of EGFR, a cell membrane protein also associated with various types of cancer. Tobacco smoke stimulated the oral mu...Fat hormone acts on brain circuit to curb obesity, diabetes
... in mice provide insight into potential mechanisms underlying type II diabetes and suggest new avenues for treatment, according to the researchers. Secreted by fat cells, leptin signals the status of the body's energy content to the brain and is required for normal body weight and glucose balance. Mice lacking ...Spleen may be source of versatile stem cells
...atment designed to address the autoimmune reaction underlying type 1 diabetes actually cured the disease in diabetic mice. Late in 2003 they reported the mechanism behind the earlier discovery: cells from the spleens of donor mice intended to train the diabetic animals' immune systems not to attack islet cell...Better understanding of the mechanisms underlying cancer development has lead to the development of new anti-cancer drugs aimed at specific molecular targets. Because cancer is a heterogeneous disease, however, many of these new drugs work only in a subset of patients. They are also expensive, and t...