ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• 'Personality genes' may help account for longevity
• Pivotal role for proteins: From helping turn carbs into energy to causing devastating disease
• Categories for kinship vary between languages
• New clues about cancer cell metabolism: Smallest amino acid, glycine, implicated in cancer cell proliferation
• Device may inject a variety of drugs without using needles
• Persistent sensory experience is good for aging brain
• Anti-psychotic drug pushes cancer stem cells over the edge
• Male fertility genes discovered
• Protein necessary for behavioral flexibility discovered
• Key gene found responsible for chronic inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer
• Synchronized brains: Feeling strong emotions makes people's brains 'tick together'
• Method to delay aging of stem cells developed
• DNA vaccine and duck eggs protect against hantavirus disease
• More physical education in schools leads to better grades, study suggests
• Socioeconomics may affect toddlers' exposure to flame retardants: Hand wipes indicate PBDE levels

'Personality genes' may help account for longevity Posted: 24 May 2012 06:53 PM PDT Researchers have found that personality traits like being extroverted, enjoying laughter and staying engaged may also be part of the longevity genes mix that allows some people to reach age 100 and beyond.

Pivotal role for proteins: From helping turn carbs into energy to causing devastating disease Posted: 24 May 2012 11:35 AM PDT Research into how carbohydrates are converted into energy has led to a surprising discovery with implications for the treatment of a perplexing and potentially fatal neuromuscular disorder and possibly even cancer and heart disease.

Categories for kinship vary between languages Posted: 24 May 2012 11:34 AM PDT Different languages refer to family relationships in different ways. For example, English speakers use two terms -- grandmother and grandfather -- to refer to grandparents, while Mandarin Chinese uses four terms. Many possible kinship categories, however, are never observed, which raises the question of why some kinship categories appear in the languages of the world but others do not. A new study shows that kinship categories across languages reflect general principles of communication.

New clues about cancer cell metabolism: Smallest amino acid, glycine, implicated in cancer cell proliferation Posted: 24 May 2012 11:34 AM PDT Researchers have looked across 60 well-studied cancer cell lines, analyzing which of more than 200 metabolites were consumed or released by the fastest dividing cells. Their research yields the first large-scale atlas of cancer metabolism and points to a key role for the smallest amino acid, glycine, in cancer cell proliferation.

Device may inject a variety of drugs without using needles Posted: 24 May 2012 10:47 AM PDT A new device delivers a tiny, high-pressure jet of medicine through the skin without the use of a hypodermic needle.

Persistent sensory experience is good for aging brain Posted: 24 May 2012 09:32 AM PDT Despite a long-held scientific belief that much of the wiring of the brain is fixed by adolescence, a new study shows that changes in sensory experience can cause massive rewiring, even as one ages. The study also found this rewiring involves fibers that supply the primary input to the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for sensory perception, motor control and cognition. These findings may open new avenues of research on brain remodeling and aging.

Anti-psychotic drug pushes cancer stem cells over the edge Posted: 24 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT An anti-psychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia appears to get rid of cancer stem cells by helping them differentiate into less threatening cell types. The discovery comes after researchers screened hundreds of compounds in search of those that would selectively inhibit human cancer stem cells, and it may lead rather swiftly to a clinical trial.

Male fertility genes discovered Posted: 24 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT A new study has revealed previously undiscovered genetic variants that influence fertility in men. The findings shed much-needed light on human reproduction and might provide answers for countless men suffering from infertility.

Protein necessary for behavioral flexibility discovered Posted: 24 May 2012 09:28 AM PDT Researchers have identified a protein necessary to maintain behavioral flexibility, which allows us to modify our behaviors to adjust to circumstances that are similar, but not identical, to previous experiences. Their findings may offer new insights into addressing autism and schizophrenia—afflictions marked by impaired behavioral flexibility.

Key gene found responsible for chronic inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer Posted: 24 May 2012 09:28 AM PDT Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have, for the first time, identified a single gene that simultaneously controls inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer.

Synchronized brains: Feeling strong emotions makes people's brains 'tick together' Posted: 24 May 2012 08:23 AM PDT Human emotions are highly contagious. Seeing others' emotional expressions such as smiles triggers often the corresponding emotional response in the observer. Researchers have now found that feeling strong emotions makes different individuals' brain activity literally synchronous.

Method to delay aging of stem cells developed Posted: 24 May 2012 06:20 AM PDT Stem cells are essential building blocks for all organisms, from plants to humans. They can divide and renew themselves throughout life, differentiating into the specialized tissues needed during development, as well as cells necessary to repair adult tissue. Therefore, they can be considered immortal, in that they recreate themselves and regenerate tissues throughout a person's lifetime, but that doesn't mean they don't age. They do, gradually losing their ability to effectively maintain tissues and organs. Now, researchers have uncovered a series of biological events that implicate the stem cells' surroundings, known as their "niche," as the culprit in loss of stem cells due to aging. This research has implications for treatment of age-related diseases and for the effectiveness of regenerative medicine.

DNA vaccine and duck eggs protect against hantavirus disease Posted: 23 May 2012 08:50 AM PDT Scientists have successfully protected laboratory animals from lethal hantavirus disease using a novel approach that combines DNA vaccines and duck eggs.

More physical education in schools leads to better grades, study suggests Posted: 23 May 2012 08:47 AM PDT More physical education in schools leads to better motor skills and it can also sharpen students' learning ability, new research shows. The differences are especially clear among boys.

Socioeconomics may affect toddlers' exposure to flame retardants: Hand wipes indicate PBDE levels Posted: 23 May 2012 07:28 AM PDT A study of toddlers suggests that exposure to potentially toxic flame-retardant chemicals may be higher in nonwhite toddlers than in white toddlers.

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