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“Medicinal plant 2012” - Liquorice root, contains anti-diabetic substance in the amorfrutin class of natural substances
Mothers with symptoms of depression disrupt their infants' sleep
ONO-4641 Pill Reduced Number of MS Lesions in Phase II Trial
Can behavior be controlled by genes? The case of honeybee work assignments
New study indicates Greenland may be slip sliding away due to surface lake melt
Honey bee colonies on Hainan Island - Promiscuous queen bees maintain genetic diversity
International team uncovers new genes that shape brain size, intelligence
Mayo Clinic Study Suggests Coronary Stents Not Harmful to Patients with History of Metal Allergy
Stress about wife's breast cancer can harm a man's health
University of Toronto biologists predict extinction for organisms with poor quality genes
Football-related catastrophic brain injuries on the rise
Discovery advances graphene-based electronics
Study Recommends Ways to Evaluate End of Life Care in Nursing Homes
Better Care for Some Elderly Patients Means Less Intervention, Says UB Geriatrics Specialist

“Medicinal plant 2012” - Liquorice root, contains anti-diabetic substance in the amorfrutin class of natural substances

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 07:07 AM PDT

Liquorice root Glycyrrhiza contains different substances that help to alleviate disorders of the airways and digestive system. It provides the raw material for liquorice candy, calms the stomach and alleviates diseases of the airways: liquorice root. Chosen as the “Medicinal plant 2012”, the root has been treasured in traditional healing since ancient times. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin have now discovered that liquorice root also contains substances with an anti-diabetic effect.

Mothers with symptoms of depression disrupt their infants' sleep

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 04:15 AM PDT

According to a new study mothers with higher levels of symptoms of depression might act in ways that disturb their infants' sleep. To understand whether infant sleep problems led to maternal depression or vice versa, the researchers studied 45 mother-infant pairs in their home environments across seven consecutive days. Mothers with more symptoms of depression and worries behaved in ways that disrupted their infants' sleep -- for example, picking up babies who were sleeping.

ONO-4641 Pill Reduced Number of MS Lesions in Phase II Trial

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 01:52 PM PDT

An investigational oral drug called ONO-4641 reduced the number of lesions in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to the results of a phase two clinical trial to be presented as Emerging Science (formerly known as Late-Breaking Science) at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.

Can behavior be controlled by genes? The case of honeybee work assignments

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 12:34 PM PDT

What worker bees do depends on how old they are. A worker a few days old will become a nurse bee that devotes herself to feeding larvae (brood), secreting beeswax to seal the cells that contain brood and attending to the queen.

After about a week, she will progress to other tasks, such as grooming nest mates, ventilating the nest and packing pollen. Only at the end of her life will she become a forager, venturing forth to collect nectar and pollen for the colony.

New study indicates Greenland may be slip sliding away due to surface lake melt

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 12:10 PM PDT

Like snow sliding off a roof on a sunny day, the Greenland Ice Sheet may be sliding faster into the ocean due to massive releases of meltwater from surface lakes, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder-based Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.

Honey bee colonies on Hainan Island - Promiscuous queen bees maintain genetic diversity

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 11:59 AM PDT

According to a study focused on giant honey bee colonies on Hainan Island, off the coast of China, scientists found that queen bees avoid inbreeding and keep colonies healthy by mating with nearly 100 males. The results were published in the current issue of PLoS ONE.

International team uncovers new genes that shape brain size, intelligence

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 10:05 AM PDT

In the world's largest brain study to date, a team of more than 200 scientists from 100 institutions worldwide collaborated to map the human genes that boost or sabotage the brain's resistance to a variety of mental illnesses and Alzheimer's disease.

Published April 15 in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Genetics, the study also uncovers new genes that may explain individual differences in brain size and intelligence.

Mayo Clinic Study Suggests Coronary Stents Not Harmful to Patients with History of Metal Allergy

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 09:56 AM PDT

Cardiologists have long grappled with how to best manage patients with coronary artery disease who report skin hypersensitivity to nickel or other metal components found in stents — small tubes placed in narrowed or weakened arteries to help improve blood flow to the heart. But new Mayo Clinic research, published in the April 16, 2012, issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, may help allay these concerns.

Stress about wife's breast cancer can harm a man's health

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 09:51 AM PDT

Caring for a wife with breast cancer can have a measurable negative effect on men’s health, even years after the cancer diagnosis and completion of treatment, according to recent research.

Men who reported the highest levels of stress in relation to their wives’ cancer were at the highest risk for physical symptoms and weaker immune responses, the study showed.

University of Toronto biologists predict extinction for organisms with poor quality genes

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 09:46 AM PDT

Evolutionary biologists at the University of Toronto have found that individuals with low-quality genes may produce offspring with even more inferior chromosomes, possibly leading to the extinction of certain species over generations.

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 09:38 AM PDT

Catastrophic brain injuries associated with full-contact football appear to be rising, especially among high school students, according to a new report.

The increase is alarming and indicates more coaches and athletic trainers should change how they teach the fundamental skills of the game, according to researchers based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Discovery advances graphene-based electronics

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 09:30 AM PDT

Scientists and engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have discovered an entirely new carbon-based material that is synthesized from the “wonder kid” of the carbon family, graphene. The discovery, which the researchers are calling “graphene monoxide (GMO),” pushes carbon materials closer to ushering in next-generation electronics.

Study Recommends Ways to Evaluate End of Life Care in Nursing Homes

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 09:26 AM PDT

While nursing homes are the place where an estimated 30 percent of Americans die, there currently exists no way to compare which institutions do a better job at managing end of life care. A new study appearing this week in the Journal of Palliative Medicine is starting a discussion over the need to create end of life quality measures in order to both inform consumers and provide nursing homes with incentive to improve care.

Better Care for Some Elderly Patients Means Less Intervention, Says UB Geriatrics Specialist

Posted: 16 Apr 2012 09:15 AM PDT

To provide elderly, hospitalized patients with the best care possible, the medical community needs to reevaluate its reliance on medical technologies, says Bruce J. Naughton, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University at Buffalo and a specialist in geriatrics, which deals specifically with the problems of aging.