http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—Investigation by researchers from the University of Exeter and ETH Zurich has shed new light on a protein which is linked to a common neurological disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-machinery-cells-reveals-clues-neurological.html Neuroscience Thu, 16 May 2013 08:29:30 EST news287911675 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 An international group of researchers has discovered seven new regions of the human genome—called loci—that are associated with increased risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness. The AMD Gene Consortium, a network of international investigators representing 18 research groups, also confirmed 12 loci identified in previous studies. The findings are reported online today in the journal Nature Genetics. Supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI), a part of the National Institutes of Health, the study represents the most comprehensive genome-wide analysis of genetic variations associated with AMD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-genetic-factors-common-eye-disorder.html Genetics Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:00:32 EST news281520412 Urinary-tract infections are the second most common bacterial infection in humans, and many of them are recurrent. A study published by Cell Press on February 14th in the journal Immunity reveals the cellular and molecular basis of recurrent bladder infections and suggests possible treatment strategies, such as vaccines, to prevent this common problem. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-molecular-roots-recurrent-bladder-infections.html Medical research Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:50:01 EST news280070442 Our ability to learn and form new memories is fully dependent on the brain's ability to be plastic – that is to change and adapt according to new experiences and environments. A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute – The Neuro, McGill University, reveals that DCC, the receptor for a crucial protein in the nervous system known as netrin, plays a key role in regulating the plasticity of nerve cell connections in the brain. The absence of DCC leads to the type of memory loss experienced by Dr. Brenda Milner's famous subject HM. Although HM's memory loss resulted from the removal of an entire brain structure, this study shows that just removing DCC causes the same type of memory deficit. The finding published in this week's issue of Cell Reports, extends Dr. Milner's seminal finding to another level, revealing a key part of the molecular basis for learning and memory. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-memory-guidance-proteins-brain-plasticity.html Neuroscience Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:03:48 EST news279216219 A research team in Israel has devised a novel approach to identifying the molecular basis for designing a drug that might one day decrease the risk diabetes patients face of developing Alzheimer's disease. The team will present its work at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS), held Feb. 2-6, 2013, in Philadelphia, Pa. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-ii-diabetes-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:44:17 EST news278959450 Stroke the soft body of a newborn fruit fly larva ever-so-gently with a freshly plucked eyelash, and it will respond to the tickle by altering its movement—an observation that has helped scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) uncover the molecular basis of gentle touch, one of the most fundamental but least well understood of our senses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-secrets-gentle-revealed.html Neuroscience Sun, 09 Dec 2012 13:00:08 EST news274276293 (Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers at McGill University have discovered a molecular basis for the potential cancer preventive effects of vitamin D. The team, led by McGill professors John White and David Goltzman, of the Faculty of Medicine's Department of Physiology, discovered that the active form of vitamin D acts by several mechanisms to inhibit both the production and function of the protein cMYC. cMYC drives cell division and is active at elevated levels in more than half of all cancers. Their results are published in the latest edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-vitamin-d-cells-premalignant-malignant.html Cancer Fri, 23 Nov 2012 07:19:01 EST news272877506 Researchers at McMaster University have discovered new genetic evidence about why some people are happier than others. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-obese-happy-gene-common-perception.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 20 Nov 2012 05:43:58 EST news272612627 One of the brain's jobs is to help us figure out what's important enough to be remembered. Scientists at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University have achieved some insight into how fleeting experiences become memories in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-when-being-scared-twice-is.html Neuroscience Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:02:28 EST news258739339 Molecular imbalance lies at the root of many psychiatric disorders. Current EU-funded research has discovered a major RNA molecular player in neurogenesis and has characterised its action and targets in the zebrafish embryo. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-brain-machinery.html Neuroscience Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:17:34 EST news258362246 Chronic exposure to cocaine reduces the expression of a protein known to regulate brain plasticity, according to new, in vivo research on the molecular basis of cocaine addiction. That reduction drives structural changes in the brain, which produce greater sensitivity to the rewarding effects of cocaine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-chronic-cocaine-triggers-brain-neuron.html Neuroscience Wed, 09 May 2012 17:13:46 EST news255802413 Chromosomes, the molecular basis of genetic heredity, remain enigmatic 130 years after their discovery in 1882 by Walther Flemming. New research published online in Nature by the team of Edith Heard, PhD, from the Curie Institute and Job Dekker, PhD, from the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), reveals a new layer in the complex organization of chromosomes. The scientists have shown that chromosomes fold in a series of contiguous "yarns" that harbor groups of genes and regulatory elements, bringing them in contact with each other and allowing them to work in a coordinated manner during development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-discovery-reveals-chromosomes-yarns.html Genetics Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:41:21 EST news253373802 A new study has identified a key mechanism that causes breast cancer to spread. The research, published by Cell Press on March 30th in the journal Molecular Cell, enhances our knowledge about the signals that drive cancer metastasis and identifies new therapeutic targets for a lethal form of invasive breast cancer that is notoriously resistant to treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-mechanism-breast-cancer-invasive.html Cancer Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:00:03 EST news252240001 Researchers from the University of Zurich have found a cellular brake that protects cancer cells from chemotherapy -- and they demonstrate which medication can be used to render it inoperative. Their study published in the journal Natural Structural and Molecular Biology provides the molecular basis for promising therapeutic advances. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-chemotherapy-effective.html Cancer Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:17:06 EST news250165001 A recent study from scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies suggests that a strawberry a day (or more accurately, 37 of them) could keep not just one doctor away, but an entire fleet of them, including the neurologist, the endocrinologist, and maybe even the oncologist. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-flavonoids-two-fisted-assault-diabetes-nervous.html Medical research Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:00:04 EST news228394928 A new study identifies the mutation that underlies a rare, inherited accelerated-aging disease and provides key insight into normal human aging. The research, published by Cell Press online May 5 in the American Journal of Human Genetics, highlights the importance of a cellular structure called the "nuclear envelope" in the process of aging. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-mutation-insight-molecular-mechanisms-aging.html Genetics Thu, 05 May 2011 13:06:44 EST news223819543 Damage to normal DNA is a hallmark of cancer cells. Although it had previously been known that damage to normal cells is caused by stress to their DNA replication when cancerous cells invade, the molecular basis for this remained unclear. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-dna-cancer-cells.html Cancer Tue, 03 May 2011 11:07:15 EST news223639620