http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Syphilis is on the rise worldwide and there is an urgent need for reliable and rapid screening, particularly for people who live in areas where access to healthcare is limited. An international research team, led by scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) in Montreal, has demonstrated that rapid and point-of-care tests (POC) for syphilis are as accurate as conventional laboratory tests. The findings, which were published in PLoS ONE, call for a major change in approach to syphilis testing and recommend replacing first line laboratory tests with POC tests globally, especially in resource-limited settings. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-rapid-point-of-care-syphilis-future-diagnosis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:18:56 EST news281207930 Autism spectrum disorders affect nearly 1 in 88 children, with symptoms ranging from mild personality traits to severe intellectual disability and seizures. Understanding the altered genetic pathways is critical for diagnosis and treatment. New work to examine which genes are responsible for autism disorders will be presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS), held Feb. 2-6, 2013, in Philadelphia, Pa. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-autism-gene.html Genetics Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:46:00 EST news278959554 By sequencing cancer-cell genomes, scientists have discovered vast numbers of genes that are mutated, deleted or copied in cancer cells. This treasure trove is a boon for researchers seeking new drug targets, but it is nearly impossible to test them all in a timely fashion. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-nanoparticles-cancer-genes-tumors-mice.html Cancer Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:00:06 EST news264252262