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Provided they stick to the same guidelines about alcohol consumption as younger adults, regular moderate drinking poses no additional risks to the 'over 65s,' and may even bring health benefits, according to two new studies.

Researchers have discovered how low-oxygen conditions can worsen chronic kidney disease. The key player is a protein called hypoxia-inducible-factor that, as its name suggests, is active when the kidney does not get enough oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia. This research has implications for new approaches to kidney dialysis.

Heart attacks among cigarette smokers may have less to do with tobacco than genetics. A common defect in a gene controlling cholesterol metabolism boosts smokers’ risk of an early heart attack, according to a new study. The findings also show that smokers without the defect normally have heart attacks no sooner than their non-smoking peers.

When we are injured, the body launches a complex rescue operation. Two new insights into wound healing and scar tissue formation are expected to lead to improved treatment. The insights relate to the mechanical factors that play a critical role in the differentiation and function of fibroblasts and connective tissue cells that play a role in wound healing and scar tissue formation.

A simple technique using a preformed crown offers an improved and effective method to fight tooth decay in children's molars, according to new research.

A new robotic surgery technique appears promising for the removal of cancer involving the tonsil region, according to a new article. Typically, surgeons trying to remove tonsils of patients with cancer through the mouth have limited access to the area. If the cancer has spread to any of the surrounding tissues, an open approach involving cutting through the skin is needed.

Researchers have uncovered new information about the body's immune system in a study that suggests new strategies may be in order for protecting the country's aging population against disease. The scientists discovered an actual process by which naïve T-cells are lost later in life.

Using a large population survey researchers has found an association between domestic violence and adult smoking. Smoking and chewing tobacco contribute to some 800,000 deaths in India every year.

Using robotic teleconferencing to monitor patients after urologic surgery appears to result in similar patient outcomes and satisfaction as traditional bedside rounds, according to a new report.

An overgrowth of intestinal bacteria is often present in adult population of Westernized countries, because of poor daily intake of fibres and faecal stasis; such an overgrowth contributes to a chronic inflammation on intestinal mucosa and development of symptoms that look like those of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBS). However, a modern test can now discriminate between a bacterial overgrowth and an IBS and, therefore, addresses the patients towards an appropriate treatment with antibiotics.