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• Chinese Medicine Chang Shan Yields Secrets to Scientists
• Many causes for learning lags in tumor disorder
• Functional brain imaging identifies risk for bipolar disorder
• Study Shows Early Cognitive Problems Among Those Who Eventually Get Alzheimer's
• Increased Medical and Social Support Needed to Reduce Black Infant Mortality
• Military projects push boundaries of flexible electronics in imaging technologies

Chinese Medicine Chang Shan Yields Secrets to Scientists Posted: 29 Dec 2012 06:45 AM PST The mysterious inner workings of Chang Shan—a Chinese herbal medicine used for thousands of years to treat fevers associated with malaria—have been uncovered thanks to a high-resolution structure solved at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). read more

Many causes for learning lags in tumor disorder Posted: 29 Dec 2012 06:34 AM PST The causes of learning problems associated with an inherited brain tumor disorder are much more complex than scientists had anticipated, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. The disorder, neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1), is among the most common inherited pediatric brain cancer syndromes. Children born with NF1 can develop low-grade brain tumors, but their most common problems are learning and attention difficulties. read more

Functional brain imaging identifies risk for bipolar disorder Posted: 29 Dec 2012 05:06 AM PST  Researchers have used brain imaging technology to show that young people with a known genetic risk of bipolar but no clinical signs of the condition have clear and quantifiable differences in brain activity when compared to controls. “We found that the young people who had a parent or sibling with bipolar disorder had reduced brain responses to emotive faces, particularly a fearful face. This is an extremely promising breakthrough,” says study leader Professor Philip Mitchell. read more

Study Shows Early Cognitive Problems Among Those Who Eventually Get Alzheimer's Posted: 28 Dec 2012 10:15 AM PST People who study or treat Alzheimer’s disease and its earliest clinical stage, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), have focused attention on the obvious short-term memory problems. But a new study suggests that people on the road to Alzheimer’s may actually have problems early on in processing semantic or knowledge-based information, which could have much broader implications for how patients function in their lives.           read more

Increased Medical and Social Support Needed to Reduce Black Infant Mortality Posted: 28 Dec 2012 08:56 AM PST The mortality rate for black and white infants in Dane County was just about equal from 2004 until 2007.  However, black infant deaths rose from 2008 to 2010 while the mortality rate for white babies remained steady. In light of this trend, research led by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health says reductions in medical and social support for black expectant mothers combined with a brutal economic recession may be responsible for the increase in black infant deaths.  read more

Military projects push boundaries of flexible electronics in imaging technologies Posted: 28 Dec 2012 08:52 AM PST Aiming to address the strategic military need for accurate, high-resolution imaging, a University of Wisconsin-Madison electrical and computer engineer working with the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the U.S. Department of Defense has a simple goal: to make night vision more accurate and easier for soldiers and pilots to use.   read more

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