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Hepatitis C virus is a major health problem worldwide, and more than 3 percent of the world's population is infected with HCV. Despite popular belief, HCV is not only a liver disease, but affects many organs, tissues, and systems.

Proteins, the biological molecules involved in virtually every action of every organism, may themselves move in surprising ways, according to a recent study that may shed new light on how proteins interact with drugs and other small molecules.

The human brain contains its own store of a powerful enzyme (and stroke drug) called tissue plasminogen activator, which appears to be a key regulator of blood flow to brain cells, scientists reports. This powerful enzyme -- best known as emergency stroke drug -- could also play key role in Alzheimer's disease.

Short male babies run more than double the risk of a violent suicide attempt as an adult, suggests a new study. Catch up growth during childhood does not lessen the impact of short stature at birth, the research shows.

A new prosthetic tooth that releases a controlled dose of medication at regular intervals may achieve a goal that has eluded doctors for 2500 years: finding a way to help patients follow treatment. "Keep a watch also on the faults of the patients, which often make them lie about the taking of things prescribed," warned the father of medicine, Hippocrates, 2500 years ago.

Viruses use many tricks to gain control over their host cells and to reprogram them to their own advantage. Scientists were able to show how the Epstein-Barr virus exploits a signal protein of its host cell, which normally mediates programmed cell death, in order to convert the cell into a cancer cell.

A new way of understanding autistic disorders, incorporating both psychological and biological factors, could lead to the conditions being picked up earlier, researchers have found. The work relates to autistic and Asperger's disorders, which are characterized by ritualistic behaviors -- such as counting, tapping, flicking, or repeatedly restating information -- and compulsive behaviors including as a rigid adherence to routine and a marked resistance to change.

Two research groups in the United Kingdom have been given permission to use hybrid human-animal embryos in research which aims to lead to the development of new therapies for debilitating human conditions such as Parkinson's disease and stroke.

Scientists have made an extraordinary advance in the understanding of the function of a gene previously shown to be part of an 11-gene "signature" that can predict which tumors will be aggressive and likely to spread. The gene, USP22, encodes an enzyme that appears to be crucial for controlling large scale changes in gene expression, one of the hallmarks of cancer cells.

Findings from what is believed to be the largest comparison of blood samples collected from healthy individuals and people with schizophrenia suggest that infection with the common Toxoplasma gondii parasite, carried by cats and farm animals, may increase the risk of schizophrenia.