http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Massachusetts Institute of Technology Over the past few decades, scientists have developed many devices that can reopen clogged arteries, including angioplasty balloons and metallic stents. While generally effective, each of these treatments has drawbacks, including the risk of side effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-clogged-arteries.html Cardiology Tue, 21 May 2013 07:26:39 EST news288339960 Over the past few decades, neuroscientists have made much progress in mapping the brain by deciphering the functions of individual neurons that perform very specific tasks, such as recognizing the location or color of an object. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-neurons-multitask-greatly-brain-power.html Neuroscience Mon, 20 May 2013 09:33:40 EST news288261161 When cells suffer too much DNA damage, they are usually forced to undergo programmed cell death, or apoptosis. However, cancer cells often ignore these signals, flourishing even after chemotherapy drugs have ravaged their DNA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-ids-key-protein-cell-death.html Genetics Tue, 14 May 2013 06:27:15 EST news287731615 In the summer of 1968, a new strain of influenza appeared in Hong Kong. This strain, known as H3N2, spread around the globe and eventually killed an estimated 1 million people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-influenza-viruses-circulating-pigs-birds.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 10 May 2013 16:32:19 EST news287422322 Enrollment in Medicaid helps lower-income Americans overcome depression, get proper treatment for diabetes, and avoid catastrophic medical bills, but does not appear to reduce the prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, according to a new study with a unique approach to analyzing one of America's major health-insurance programs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-health-lower-income-americans-depression-diabetes.html Health Fri, 03 May 2013 08:50:03 EST news286788809 Suppose you hear someone say, "The man gave the ice cream the child." Does that sentence seem plausible? Or do you assume it is missing a word? Such as: "The man gave the ice cream to the child." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-decoding-noisy-language-daily-life.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:52:16 EST news286480321 Mapping the human brain, with its billions of neurons, is one of science's most elusive projects. But a new federal program—the $100 million Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative—could help neuroscientists at MIT and other institutions unlock some of the brain's mysteries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-expert-discusses-brain-affect-neuroscience.html Neuroscience Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:12:02 EST news286017113 One of the defining characteristics of autism is difficulty communicating with others. However, it is unclear whether those struggles arise only from the poor social skills commonly associated with autism, or whether autistic children suffer from more specific linguistic impairments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-reveals-linguistic-deficits-autistic-children.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:34:51 EST news285928484 Most cancer deaths are caused by metastatic tumors, which break free from the original cancer site and spread throughout the body. For that to happen, cancer cells must undergo many genetic and physical changes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-view-cancer-cells-physical-tumor.html Cancer Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:27:35 EST news285920842 Osteoarthritis, which affects at least 20 percent of adults in the United States, leads to deterioration of cartilage, the rubbery tissue that prevents bones from rubbing together. By studying the molecular properties of cartilage, MIT engineers have now discovered how the earliest stages of arthritis make the tissue more susceptible to damage from physical activities such as running or jumping. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-earliest-stages-arthritis-high-impact-worsen.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:02:16 EST news285429716 The bones that support our bodies are made of remarkably complex arrangements of materials—so much so that decoding the precise structure responsible for their great strength and resilience has eluded scientists' best efforts for decades. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-decipher-molecular-basis-bone-remarkable.html Medical research Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:13:35 EST news285408807 Nearly half of the world's population is at risk of infection by the dengue virus, yet there is no specific treatment for the disease. Now a therapy to protect people from the virus could finally be a step closer, thanks to a team at MIT. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-advances-therapy-dengue-virus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:18:40 EST news284656447 Nitric oxide (NO), a gas with many biological functions in healthy cells, can also help some cancer cells survive chemotherapy. A new study from MIT reveals one way in which this resistance may arise, and raises the possibility of weakening cancer cells by cutting off their supply of NO. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-reveals-melanoma-evades-chemotherapy.html Cancer Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:29:01 EST news284624933 New research from MIT may allow scientists to develop a test that can predict the severity of side effects of some common chemotherapy agents in individual patients, allowing doctors to tailor treatments to minimize the damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-enzyme-cancer-patients-reveal-healthy.html Genetics Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:24:11 EST news284365409 Decades of research and three large-scale clinical trials have so far failed to yield an effective HIV vaccine, in large part because the virus evolves so rapidly that it can evade any vaccine-induced immune response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-hiv-vaccine.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:44:52 EST news283095882