medical research

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Scientists Reprogram Adult Cells
Scientists Reprogram  Adult Cells
Aug 28, 2008 2:20 AM CDT

Scientists Reprogram Adult Cells

Breakthrough could leap embryonic stem-cell quagmire

(Newser) - In a stunning medical advance, scientists have found a way to transform an adult cell in a living animal into an entirely different type of cell. The development is another step toward freeing the field of regenerative medicine from the controversies of stem-cell research. Harvard biologists discovered three key molecular...

Ovarian Cancer Test 'Premature,' Critics Worry

Early screening's false positives may cause unneeded surgeries

(Newser) - Though a new ovarian cancer test gives hope that the 21,000 new cancer cases expected this year may be detected at a treatable stage, the FDA is worried OvaSure may do more harm than good, the New York Times reports. If the unregulated test detects cancer where there isn't...

Psychedelic Drug Tests Resume After Decades

LSD, 'shrooms studied for ill, depressed

(Newser) - For the first time since the 1970s, scientists in several countries are studying the effects of psychedelic drugs like LSD in clinical trials, the Guardian reports. Researchers believe the long-stigmatized drugs may improve patients’ quality of life, helping them cope with the ravages of illness, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even...

Pharma Under Fire Over Pricey Drugs for Kids
Pharma Under Fire Over Pricey Drugs for Kids
GLOSSIES
Jul 27, 2008 7:37 AM CDT

Pharma Under Fire Over Pricey Drugs for Kids

Lawmakers lash astronomical hikes in drugs for rare diseases

(Newser) - In the face of astronomical hikes in the price of drugs used to treat children, a congressional committee is looking into why companies have increased prescription costs as much as 18-fold when related research and marketing expenses are stable, according to lawmakers. One such company charges $69,000 for a...

Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise
 Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise 
Jun 24, 2008 5:11 PM CDT

Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise

Colorectal disease spreads more slowly in immunized mice

(Newser) - Encouraging results in experiments on mice are raising hopes of an effective colon cancer vaccine, Reuters reports. Capitalizing on the fact that the intestines have their own immune system, researchers isolated a protein that occurs only in the gut to create a vaccine. In treated mice, an average of three...

$600M Windfall Aims to Boost Risky Research

Institute launches drive to encourage scientific breakthroughs

(Newser) - American medical research got a big boost today, courtesy of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The philanthropic body, one of the world’s largest, committed $600 million to fund the research of 56 scientists that it thinks can change the world. The institute hopes to back high-risk, high-reward research that...

New Trust Drug: Good for Shyness, Bad for Investing

Natural hormone makes people dumb with their money in experiment

(Newser) - Scientists have created a nasal spray that makes its users more trusting, the BBC reports. Made up mostly of oxytocin, alternatively nicknamed the “love hormone” or “cuddle chemical,” the spray decreases social fears by lowering activity in the amygdala. That should be great news for social phobics;...

Doggy Wants a Bone...Transplant
 Doggy Wants
 a Bone...Transplant 
May 18, 2008 12:50 PM CDT

Doggy Wants a Bone...Transplant

Bone marrow procedure to cost $15K-$20K

(Newser) - Doggy wants a bone, and he deserves it too. Canines will soon be lining up at Washington State University for bone marrow transplants, enjoying a little payback after pooches made the procedure possible in people, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. But the cancer treatment won't come cheap: WSU will treat man’...

Vitamin D May Curb Breast Cancer: Study

Spreading tumors, early death linked to low levels in women

(Newser) - Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the spread of breast cancer tumors to other parts of the body, reports the Toronto Globe and Mail. Women diagnosed with breast cancer were twice as likely to see it spread and 73% more likely to die early if they had low levels...

Robot Worms Offer Cancer Hope
 Robot Worms Offer
 Cancer Hope 
May 13, 2008 2:31 PM CDT

Robot Worms Offer Cancer Hope

Tiny machines could identify, kill tumors early

(Newser) - Little mechanical “worms” offer the latest hope for early detection—and eradication—of cancer. Researchers have created tiny machines that travel through the body, find tumors that are too small to see in normal scans, and then deliver drugs to kill them. The method has worked to spot tumors...

Smaller Babies Become Hostile Adults: Study

Low weight at birth and childhood linked to more hostility later in life

(Newser) - New research has linked low birth weight and slow growth in childhood to increased levels of hostility in adults, Reuters reports. Researchers also discovered that the higher levels of aggression were linked to health trouble, including coronary problems, type 2 diabetes and earlier death. The levels of hostility appeared unconnected...

Pot Linked to Heart Attack Risk
Pot Linked to
Heart Attack Risk
May 13, 2008 3:07 AM CDT

Pot Linked to Heart Attack Risk

Smoking 78-350 joints a week boosts level of protein that hardens arteries

(Newser) - Heavy users of marijuana have elevated levels of a protein that can raise the risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attacks, according to US government researchers.  The drug apparently causes the liver to overproduce the protein, raising serious health issues for long-term smokers, researchers warned. The survey studied...

What We Can Learn From Being Dog-Tired

Sled dogs' metabolism may yield clues on fighting human fatigue

(Newser) - Alaskan sled dogs racing for days on end don’t get tired out the way a human runner would, the New York Times reports, and researchers eager to imitate this fatigue resistance in people—particularly soldiers—say it’s because they’re somehow able to change their metabolism. “Suddenly...

Ibuprofen Cuts Alzheimer's Risk: Study

Anti-inflammatory drugs reduced risk 40%, but experts sound note of caution

(Newser) - Long-term use of ibuprofen and some similar drugs cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to new research. The study found the drugs cut the risk of dementia by more than 40%, WebMD reports. Doctors warn, however, that such medications can have serious side effects and that it 's...

Science Could Crack Peanut Allergy: Expert

Researcher predicts cure, or genetically modified nut

(Newser) - Scientists are working to help those with peanut allergies and may even replace nuts with a tasty, genetically modified snack, one expert says. "There are multiple types of studies that are ongoing now," said Dr. Wesley Burks of Duke University. "I think there's some type of immunotherapy...

Regrown Finger Called 'Absurd'
 Regrown Finger Called 'Absurd' 
May 1, 2008 7:36 PM CDT

Regrown Finger Called 'Absurd'

Scientist blast man's claim that pig-bladder 'pixie dust' restored digit

(Newser) - A UK plastic surgeon repudiated claims by an American company that a powder made from a pig’s bladder spurred regrowth of a man’s severed fingertip, the Guardian reports. Stories circulated this week of Lee Spievack’s “miraculous” recovery thanks to what he called “pixie dust,”...

Despite Danger, FDA Sanctioned Artificial Blood Studies

Product tripled heart attack risk in subjects

(Newser) - The Food and Drug Administration repeatedly approved experiments using artificial blood despite data showing the products to be dangerous, the Washington Post reports. Investigators from the National Institutes of Health found heart attack risk tripled and death increased by 30% for subjects in 16 studies testing five kinds of artificial...

New Cancer Scan Promising, But Much Testing Remains

Dramatic decrease in mortality rate is contested by scientists

(Newser) - A study claiming to dramatically reduce the risk of lung-cancer death is the object of intense scientific debate, Philip Boffey writes in the New York Times. Researchers screened asymptomatic smokers with spiral CT scans, which are more sensitive than the traditional chest X-ray. They estimate 92% of those found to...

Some Docs Snub Handouts From Drug Firms

Researchers forgo consulting fees to protect reputations

(Newser) - Academic scientists are retreating from their traditional cushy advisory roles with drug and medical companies or doing work pro bono, the New York Times reports. Researchers offered fees for advice once didn't think twice. “People thought they were suckers if they didn’t,” one med school professor says....

Eating Right Slims Risk of Strokes, Heart Attacks

Fruits and veggies boosted heart health, study finds

(Newser) - Women following a government-recommended diet to lower blood pressure significantly reduced their risk of heart attacks and strokes, AP reports. Those following a diet high in fruit, vegetables and grains were 24% less likely to have a heart attack and 18% less likely to have a stroke than women eating...

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