ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Patients' skin cells turned into heart muscle cells to repair their damaged hearts
• Discoveries into perception via popular magic tricks
• Uproar over prostate-cancer screenings explained
• Zapping deadly bacteria using space technology
• Rapid DNA sequencing may soon be routine part of each patient's medical record
• Role of fusion gene in prostate cancer: Mutation found in half of all prostate cancers may lead to disease development
• New TB test promises to be cheap and fast
• Neuron-nourishing cells appear to retaliate in Alzheimer's
• Flu shot during pregnancy shows unexpected benefits in large study
• Home damage after 9/11 linked with respiratory illness
• New anti-cancer drug developed
• GPS for the brain: New brain map developed
• How Staph bacteria gain resistance to last-line drug
• How high fat foods impact diabetes and metabolic syndrome
• High prevalence of severe asthma with fungal sensitization
• Stem cell research paves way for progress on dealing with Fragile X
• Disagreeable people prefer aggressive dogs, study suggests
• Diabetes drug target identified
• Students design a better pill bottle for the blind and visually impaired

Patients' skin cells turned into heart muscle cells to repair their damaged hearts Posted: 22 May 2012 05:06 PM PDT For the first time scientists have succeeded in taking skin cells from heart failure patients and reprogramming them to transform into healthy, new heart muscle cells that are capable of integrating with existing heart tissue.

Discoveries into perception via popular magic tricks Posted: 22 May 2012 03:07 PM PDT Researchers have unveiled how and why the public perceives some magic tricks in recent studies that could have real-world implications in military tactics, marketing and sports.

Uproar over prostate-cancer screenings explained Posted: 22 May 2012 03:06 PM PDT Despite recent recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force, many people simply don't believe that the prostate-specific antigen test is ineffective. Even faced with overwhelming evidence, many activists and medical professionals are clamoring for men to continue receiving their annual PSA test. Why the disconnect? A new article examines the reasons why people are so reluctant to give up the PSA test.

Zapping deadly bacteria using space technology Posted: 22 May 2012 12:48 PM PDT Technology spin-off from long-running research aboard the International Space Station is opening up a new way to keep hospital patients safe from infections. Using plasma -- electrically charged gas -- researchers are developing ways to kill bacteria and viruses that can cause infections in hospitals.

Rapid DNA sequencing may soon be routine part of each patient's medical record Posted: 22 May 2012 12:26 PM PDT Rapid DNA sequencing may soon become a routine part of each individual's medical record, providing enormous information previously sequestered in the human genome's 3 billion nucleotide bases. Recent advances in sequencing technology using a tiny orifice known as a nanopore are covered in a new a article.

Role of fusion gene in prostate cancer: Mutation found in half of all prostate cancers may lead to disease development Posted: 22 May 2012 12:24 PM PDT Up to half of all prostate cancer cells have a chromosomal rearrangement that results in a new "fusion" gene and formation of its unique protein — but no one has known how that alteration promotes cancer growth. Now, researchers have found that in these cancer cells, the 3-D architecture of DNA, wrapped up in a little ball known as a chromatin, is warped in such a way that a switch has been thrown on thousands of genes, turning them on or off to promote abnormal, unchecked growth. Researchers also found that new chromosomal translocations form, further destabilizing the genome.

New TB test promises to be cheap and fast Posted: 22 May 2012 10:53 AM PDT Biomedical engineers have developed a microfluidic chip to test for latent tuberculosis. They hope the test will be cheaper, faster and more reliable than current testing for the disease.

Neuron-nourishing cells appear to retaliate in Alzheimer's Posted: 22 May 2012 10:51 AM PDT When brain cells start oozing too much of the amyloid protein that is the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, the astrocytes that normally nourish and protect them deliver a suicide package instead, researchers report.

Flu shot during pregnancy shows unexpected benefits in large study Posted: 22 May 2012 10:49 AM PDT Getting a flu shot during pregnancy provides unanticipated benefits to the baby, according to the authors of a large population-based study examining the issue. Specifically, the study showed that H1N1 vaccination during the pandemic was associated with a significantly reduced risk of stillbirth, preterm birth and extremely small babies at birth.

Home damage after 9/11 linked with respiratory illness Posted: 22 May 2012 10:47 AM PDT Residents of Lower Manhattan who suffered home damage following the September 11 terrorist attacks are more likely to report respiratory symptoms and diseases than area residents whose homes were not damaged, concludes a new study .

New anti-cancer drug developed Posted: 22 May 2012 08:52 AM PDT Scientists have created a new type of anti-cancer drug named BP-1-102. The drug, which can be orally administered, targets a key protein that triggers the development of many types of cancer including lung, breast and skin cancers. The development of BP-1-102 was guided by the research teams computer based molecular analysis of the cancer causing Stat 3 protein.

GPS for the brain: New brain map developed Posted: 22 May 2012 08:50 AM PDT Researchers have developed a map of the human brain that shows great promise as a new guide to the inner workings of the body's most complex and critical organ.

How Staph bacteria gain resistance to last-line drug Posted: 22 May 2012 08:49 AM PDT Scientists have determined the genome sequences of a dozen strains of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria known to be resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic of last resort. The researchers demonstrated that resistance arose independently in each strain, and identified shared features among the strains that may have helped them acquire vancomycin resistance and evade human immune defenses.

How high fat foods impact diabetes and metabolic syndrome Posted: 22 May 2012 08:45 AM PDT The Bcl10 protein helps the free fatty acids found in high fat foods impair insulin action and raise blood sugar, new research shows.

High prevalence of severe asthma with fungal sensitization Posted: 22 May 2012 08:03 AM PDT New research suggests that a significant proportion of children with asthma failing Step 4 or greater therapy may have severe asthma with fungal sensitization.

Stem cell research paves way for progress on dealing with Fragile X Posted: 22 May 2012 05:45 AM PDT Researchers have achieved, for the first time, the generation of neuronal cells from stem cells of Fragile X patients. The discovery paves the way for research that will examine restoration of normal gene expression in Fragile X patients.

Disagreeable people prefer aggressive dogs, study suggests Posted: 22 May 2012 05:43 AM PDT Aggressive dog ownership is not always a sign of attempted dominance or actual delinquency. A new study finds that younger people who are disagreeable are more likely to prefer aggressive dogs, confirming the conventional wisdom that dogs match the personality of their owners.

Diabetes drug target identified Posted: 21 May 2012 01:38 PM PDT New research points to the naturally produced protein apolipoprotein A-IV as a potential target for a new diabetes therapeutic.

Students design a better pill bottle for the blind and visually impaired Posted: 21 May 2012 11:19 AM PDT Students have applied for a provisional patent on their design and prototype of a prescription-medicine pill bottle for the blind and visually impaired -- an innovation that could benefit millions of users.

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