(www.americanheart.org)A region of the brain -- the insular cortex -- plays a role in drug craving in amphetamine-addicted rats, according to an article in Science. This finding ultimately may help support the development of new therapies to treat drug addiction as well as certain behavioral side effects of medications.

Labels: genetic, health, symptoms

Severely restricting calories leads to a longer life, scientists have proved. New research now has shown for the first time that such a diet also can maintain physical fitness into advanced age, slowing the seemingly inevitable progression to physical disability and loss of independence.
(www.americanheart.org)

Labels: calories, diet, longer life

Lasers are at the cutting edge of surgery. However, there is still a lot that scientists do not know about the ways in which laser light interacts with living tissue. Now, some of these basic questions have been answered in the first investigation of how ultraviolet lasers -- similar to those used in LASIK eye surgery -- cut living tissues.
(www.americanheart.org)

Labels: eye, lasers

Islets transplantation is one promising approach to type 1 diabetes treatment, but it is limited by the shortage of islet cells. To address this issue, scientists have successfully shortened the process of differentiation and enhanced the output of insulin-producing cells.
(www.americanheart.org)

Labels: scientists, transplantation

(www.americanheart.org)A neural network that may generate the human tendency to be optimistic has been identified. As humans, we expect to live longer and be more successful than average, and we underestimate our likelihood of getting a divorce or having cancer. The results, reported in the most recent issue of Nature, link the optimism bias to the same brain regions that show irregularities in depression.

Labels: genetic, health, symptoms

(www.americanheart.org)Viruses may contribute to cancer by causing excessive death to normal cells while promoting the growth of surviving cells with cancerous traits. Viruses may act as forces of natural selection by wiping out normal cells that support the replication of viruses, leaving behind those cells that have acquired defects in their circuitry.

Labels: cancer, genetic, health, viruses

Emphysema patients whose lungs are implanted with a pencil eraser-sized, one-way endobronchial valve experience significantly improved measures of lung function and report better quality of life. The 31-center, two-year study involved 321 patients in the US.
(www.americanheart.org)

Labels: implanted, life, valve

A new neurobiological study has found that a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, is an effective anti-depressant at low doses. However, at higher doses, the effect reverses itself and can actually worsen depression and other psychiatric conditions like psychosis.
(pharmareleas.blogspot.com)

Labels: anti-depressant, cannabis, neurobiological

Air pollution is becoming one of the biggest dangers for the future of the planet, causing premature deaths of humans and damaging flora and fauna. With their vantage point from space, satellites are the only way to carry out effective global measurements of air-polluting emissions and their transboundary movement.
(www.americanheart.org)

Labels: air pollution, satellites

New technology under development could lead to more successful hip and bone replacement surgeries, make better use of solar power and even prevent your computer from overheating. Through the creation of nano micro laser texturing and "nanospikes" on the surfaces of semiconductors and metals scientists are adding a new dimension to these materials' effectiveness.
Common Virus May Help Doctors Treat Deadly Brain Tumors
A common human virus may prove useful in attacking the deadliest form of brain tumors, according to a new study. The researchers said the finding is an important step in developing a vaccine that can attack the tumors by enlisting the help of the body's immune system.
(lookhotinfo.org.ua)

Labels: human virus, immune system, micro laser, new technology

(www.americanheart.org)A common human virus may prove useful in attacking the deadliest form of brain tumors, according to a new study. The researchers said the finding is an important step in developing a vaccine that can attack the tumors by enlisting the help of the body's immune system.

Labels: genetic, health, symptoms

Geneticists have discovered two genes linked to a disabling form of arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis, a painful and progressive disease in which some or all of the spine's vertebrae fuse together. The researchers also validated the association of two genes implicated in Graves' disease, an autoimmune condition that causes overactivity of the thyroid gland.
(www.americanheart.org)

Labels: genetic, Graves' disease, health

A completely new mechanism that mammalian cells employ to fight infections of the Hepatitis C virus, which affects approximately 2.7 million Americans and 170 million people worldwide, has been discovered. The achievement could improve current antiviral regimens or result in new treatments that are more effective and possess fewer detrimental side effects for those with the Hepatitis C virus infection, which frequently leads to liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer.
(www.bloglines.com/blog/Difficulhealth)

Labels: health, Hepatitis C virus, new mechanism

Scientists have found that increased exposure to sunlight -- which increases levels of vitamin D in the body -- may decrease the risk of advanced breast cancer. These new findings about breast cancer risk and sun exposure based on skin color measurements are consistent with previous research that had shown that women who reported frequent sun exposure had a lower risk of developing breast cancer than women with infrequent sun exposure.
(pharmareleas.blogspot.com/)

Labels: health, research, risk of cancer