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A review of epidemiological data has found evidence that people who spend fewer years in school may experience a slight but statistically significant delay in the realization that they're having cognitive problems that could be Alzheimer's disease.

A sludgy substance seen on the ultrasound images of about 15 percent of pregnancies is in fact a bacterial biofilm in the amniotic fluid, according to an expert on the slimy structures. "Doctors kept seeing this stuff on the ultrasound and we wanted to figure out what it was," the researcher said. "We suspected it was bacteria but didn't know for sure."

A biochemist has mapped several proteins that can regulate the activity of the human exosome and which play a role in the degradation of RNA molecules. He has also discovered that PM/Scl-75, one of the components from which the exosome is built, is cut as soon as a cell dies.

Researchers have found that a low concentration of vitamin E in the blood is linked with physical decline in older persons. The study included 698 people age 65 or older who were randomly selected from the population registry in two municipalities close to Florence, Italy.

Researchers have identified subtle genetic variations that predict the efficacy of two widely used antidepressant drugs. They found that certain variants in the gene for a protective transporter protein that pumps drugs and other substances out of the brain compromise the effectiveness of the antidepressants citalopram (trade name Celexa) and venlafaxine (Effexor).

Trimming damaged tissue through arthroscopic surgery does not relieve pain and swelling in arthritic knees any better than simply flushing loose debris from the joint, according to a new review of evidence.

A new study finds that the development of bullous lung disease occurs in marijuana smokers approximately 20 years earlier than tobacco smokers. A condition often caused by exposure to toxic chemicals or long-term exposure to tobacco smoke, bullous lung disease (also known as bullae) is a condition where air trapped in the lungs causes obstruction to breathing and eventual destruction of the lungs.

The contraceptive pill gives women substantial and long-lasting protection against ovarian cancer, according to a new report. The researchers found that the protection against ovarian cancer lasted for more than 30 years after women had stopped taking the Pill. They also found that the longer the Pill was used the greater the protection and that taking the Pill for 15 years halved the risk of ovarian cancer.

Scientists have shown for the first time how a particular family of diseases are passed down from mother to child and how this can lead to the severity of the disease differing widely. The research offers new hope of being able to predict a child's risk of developing a mitochondrial disease which can cause muscle weakness, diabetes, strokes, heart failure and epilepsy.

Acute and chronic stress can have devastating effects on the brain, and researchers have now pinpointed one receptor that plays a key role in that harmful cycle. Uncontrollable stress is a major contributing factor for neuropsychiatric disorders such as major depression and post-traumatic stress disorders, which have been linked to cellular changes in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a part of the brain that is particularly susceptible to stress.