Klotho, a life-extending protein hormone, occurs in only a minority of people. But eventually, scientists may be able to administer it to others. Scientists at UC San Francisco found that giving klotho to young, aging or impaired mice rapidly improves their cognitive and physical performance. While previous studies had revealed associations between elevated klotho levels… Continue reading Rare Hormone May Eventually Be A Life Extender for Humans
Category: Medical Research
How You Can Help Alzheimer’s Research
From the experts at the National Institute on Aging, a list of studies that people can consider joining as part of an effort to learn more about Alzheimer’s and other kinds of dementia: Joining a registry or matching service can help advance research on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. You don’t have to have Alzheimer’s to… Continue reading How You Can Help Alzheimer’s Research
Low-Dose Hypertension Pill Shows Remarkable Results
Researchers have concluded based a small but clinically important trial that a new ultra-low dose pill to treat hypertension has produced startling results. Every patient in the pilot trial conducted by The George Institute for Global Health, in Sydney, Australia, saw their blood pressure levels drop to normal levels in just four weeks. Professor Clara… Continue reading Low-Dose Hypertension Pill Shows Remarkable Results
A New Drug Could Fight Both Breast and Prostate Cancers
Scientists have designed two new drug candidates to target prostate and triple negative breast cancers. The new research, from experts at the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) was published recently as two separate studies in ACS Central Science and the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The studies show that a new… Continue reading A New Drug Could Fight Both Breast and Prostate Cancers
Genetic Testing: Is It for You?
Have you ever wondered whether you should undergo genetic testing? It’s a complicated decision, and you should consider talking to a genetic counselor before making your choice. Here, the experts from SeniorHealth, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), tell you the pros and the cons: In a genetic test, a small sample… Continue reading Genetic Testing: Is It for You?
A Faster TB Treatment?
Taking a new approach toward tuberculosis therapy, a UCLA-led research team has devised a potential drug regimen that could cut the treatment time by up to 75 percent, while simultaneously reducing the risk that patients could develop drug-resistant TB. To identify the regimen, the researchers launched a systematic search for an optimal drug treatment using… Continue reading A Faster TB Treatment?
The First Pair of “Smart” Glasses
The days of wearing bifocals or constantly switching to reading glasses might soon come to an end. A team led by University of Utah electrical and computer engineering professor Carlos Mastrangelo and doctoral student Nazmul Hasan has created “smart glasses” with liquid-based lenses that can automatically adjust the focus on what a person is seeing,… Continue reading The First Pair of “Smart” Glasses
Use of NSAIDS Linked to Risk of Hearing Loss in Older Women
Prolonged use of over-the-counter pain relievers is linked to a higher risk of hearing loss in older women, according to new research. As many as two-thirds of women in the United States over the age of 60 have some degree of hearing loss. A team led by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, reached… Continue reading Use of NSAIDS Linked to Risk of Hearing Loss in Older Women
A Component of Areca Nut Has Anti-Cancer Properties
Arecoline — the stimulant component of areca nuts — has anticancer properties, researchers at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University have discovered. The findings were published in Molecular Cell. Paradoxically, the areca nut may also cause cancer. Areca nuts are chewed for their stimulant effects in many Asian countries, and evidence links the practice to… Continue reading A Component of Areca Nut Has Anti-Cancer Properties
A Compound Found in Licorice Could Affect Fertility
Exposure to a compound found in licorice affects steroid sex hormone production in the ovary, according to a recent study that used mice as subjects. This is the first study to examine the effects of the compound, isoliquiritigenin, on the ovary. Exposure to high levels of the compound, which the researchers call “iso,” lowered the… Continue reading A Compound Found in Licorice Could Affect Fertility
A New Finding on Telomeres
Researchers are drawing closer to a better understanding of the biology of telomeres, “caps” of DNA that protect the tips of chromosomes and play key roles in a number of health conditions, including cancer, inflammation and aging. The findings, by investigators from the University of Pittsburg, were published in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular… Continue reading A New Finding on Telomeres
Paper or Electronic: Which Kind of Prescription is Better?
The way a dermatology prescription is written – paper or electronic – can influence whether a patient fills it and picks it up, according to a researcher from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. In the study, published in JAMA Dermatology, Adewole S. Adamson, MD, assistant professor of dermatology, used data from a… Continue reading Paper or Electronic: Which Kind of Prescription is Better?
What Nanoscience Can Do
Nanoscience research involves molecules that are only 1/100th the size of cancer cells and that have the potential to profoundly improve the quality of our health and our lives. Now nine prominent nanoscientists look ahead to what we can expect in the coming decade, and conclude that nanoscience is poised to make important contributions in… Continue reading What Nanoscience Can Do
New Insight into Course and Transmission of Zika Infection
Though first documented 70 years ago, the Zika virus was poorly understood when it burst onto the scene in the Americas in 2015. In one of the first and largest studies of its kind, a research team lead by virologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston has characterized the progression of two… Continue reading New Insight into Course and Transmission of Zika Infection
An Unexpected Benefit of Progesterone?
The female hormone progesterone, widely used in birth control, appears to ward off the worst effects of influenza and may also help damaged lung cells to heal more quickly, researchers have found in an animal study. The findings, by researchers from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, were published in PLOS Pathogens. The… Continue reading An Unexpected Benefit of Progesterone?
New Discovery about Oxygen and Cancer Cells
Scientists are drawing closer to understanding how cancer cells pursue oxygen, which they need to survive. The discovery represents a step toward understanding one of the ways cancer spreads. In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, bioengineers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania report results of… Continue reading New Discovery about Oxygen and Cancer Cells
Fighting The “Nightmare Bacteria”
New research could help experts fight the so-called “nightmare bacteria” as well as other superbugs. Scientists from the University of Michigan Medical School say they have discovered more about the risk we face from one of our most dangerous microscopic foes, Klebsiella pneumoniae. They made the discovery in mice with pneumonia. K. pneumoniae has already… Continue reading Fighting The “Nightmare Bacteria”
On the Trail of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Researchers have now identified a characteristic chemical signature for the baffling and debilitating ailment known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The researchers, from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, used a variety of techniques to identify the signature. The finding were published in the journal PNAS. It is similar to the state… Continue reading On the Trail of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome