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New Study Finds No Benefit to Selecting Dose of Blood Thinner Based on Patients' Genetic Makeup
mTOR: A Key Brain Signaling Mechanism For Rapidly Acting Antidepressants
Blacks Have Less Access to Cancer Specialists, Treatment
Evidence found for granite on Mars
Study finds more spending on fire suppression may lead to bigger fires
New Findings Could Help Target the Bacteria That Cause Lyme Disease and Syphilis
Blood Test Accurately Diagnoses Concussion and Predicts Long Term Cognitive Disability
Protein imbalances doom hybrids
Reading the pancreas through the eye

New Study Finds No Benefit to Selecting Dose of Blood Thinner Based on Patients' Genetic Makeup

Posted: 20 Nov 2013 04:50 AM PST

Largest randomized, multi-center controlled trial of gene-based strategy for warfarin dosing also found better outcome for African Americans patients with non-genetic strategy

mTOR: A Key Brain Signaling Mechanism For Rapidly Acting Antidepressants

Posted: 20 Nov 2013 04:38 AM PST

Two years ago, mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR, a signaling protein, was identified as a key mediator of the antidepressant effects of ketamine, the first rapidly acting antidepressant medication to be identified.

Several years later, a group at the National Institutes of Mental Health Intramural Program reported that scopolamine, a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, also produced rapidly appearing antidepressant effects, similar to the actions of ketamine.

Blacks Have Less Access to Cancer Specialists, Treatment

Posted: 19 Nov 2013 12:03 PM PST

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say metastatic colorectal cancer patients of African-American descent are less likely to be seen by cancer specialists or receive cancer treatments. This difference in treatment explains a large part of the 15 percent higher mortality experienced by African-American patients than non-Hispanic white patients.

Evidence found for granite on Mars

Posted: 19 Nov 2013 11:51 AM PST

Researchers now have stronger evidence of granite on Mars and a new theory for how the granite – an igneous rock common on Earth -- could have formed there, according to a new study. The findings suggest a much more geologically complex Mars than previously believed.

Study finds more spending on fire suppression may lead to bigger fires

Posted: 19 Nov 2013 11:36 AM PST

The “firefighting trap” is a term often used by business managers to describe a shortsighted cycle of problem-solving: dealing with “fires,” or problems, as they arise, but failing to address the underlying cause, thereby increasing the chance that the same problem will crop up in the future.

New Findings Could Help Target the Bacteria That Cause Lyme Disease and Syphilis

Posted: 19 Nov 2013 11:02 AM PST

The bacterial pathogens that cause Lyme disease and syphilis are highly invasive. These pathogens, or spirochetes, can invade the central nervous system and, in the case of syphilis, enter the placenta, causing disease in the unborn child. In the November 19 issue of the Biophysical Journal, a Cell Press publication, researchers provide new insights into how these spirochetes penetrate tissue barriers. The findings might be used to develop new treatment strategies to help affected patients or even prevent infections.

Blood Test Accurately Diagnoses Concussion and Predicts Long Term Cognitive Disability

Posted: 19 Nov 2013 08:41 AM PST

A new blood biomarker correctly predicted which concussion victims went on to have white matter tract structural damage and persistent cognitive dysfunction following a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in conjunction with colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine, found that the blood levels of a protein called calpain-cleaved αII-spectrin N-terminal fragment (SNTF) were twice as high in a subset of patients following a traumatic injury.

Protein imbalances doom hybrids

Posted: 19 Nov 2013 08:29 AM PST

Why do crosses between closely related species fail to produce fertile hybrids? A new study shows that differences in the levels - not necessarily the sequences - of certain key proteins are crucial in mediating reproductive isolation.

Reading the pancreas through the eye

Posted: 19 Nov 2013 08:03 AM PST

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found an innovative way to study glucose regulation in the body: by transferring the vital insulin-producing cells from the pancreas to the eye, the latter can serve as a kind of window through which health reports can be obtained from the former. The results, which are expected to have a significant impact on diabetes research, are published in scientific journal PNAS.