Archives

It's hard to stay on the wagon when you're depressed, according to a new study of problem drinkers. Researchers documented the quitting success of 462 people who tried to simultaneously give up alcohol and cigarettes.

What's the key to looking and feeling better and enhancing your health? Exercise. Moderately strenuous exercise, about 30 minutes a day, can lead to enormous benefits in terms of your mood, health, weight and the ability to live an independent and fulfilling life. The exercise doesn't need to be athletic or difficult. Studies have shown that simply walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes or more on most days can lead to significant health improvements. Add simple strengthening exercises two or three times a week and the benefits are even greater.

The scary reality is that cancer cells are our own cells gone awry. Our immune system therefore doesn't always see cancer as a horrific invader. The tumor is smart, one researcher says, changing just enough to stay out of the line of fire.

Scientists have uncovered a new biological mechanism that could provide a clearer window into a cell's inner workings. What's more, this mechanism could represent an "epigenetic" pathway -- a route that bypasses an organism's normal DNA genetic program -- for so-called Lamarckian evolution, enabling an organism to pass on to its offspring characteristics acquired during its lifetime to improve their chances for survival.

There is new hope for patients with chronic wounds: medical scientists have been granted approval to produce artificial skin from patients' own cells. It sounds like something from a science fiction novel: Pluck a few of someone's hairs, and four to six weeks later they have grown into a piece of skin.

Prescription drug ads on television first hit the airwaves just over a decade ago, but a new study finds that most of them still do not present a fair balance of information, especially when it comes to the risk of side effects.

Most studies of college-student drinking have looked at the individual, and have relied on self reports; New findings gathered from on-the-spot observations show that parties with drinking games can predict higher blood-alcohol concentrations; and young women at theme parties, especially with sexualized themes and costumes, drink more heavily than men. Interestingly, larger parties were associated with less drinking.

Researchers have developed a new modeling technique to study and design miniature "biosensors," a tool that could help industry perfect lab-on-a-chip technology for uses ranging from medical diagnostics to environmental monitoring. The experimental devices represent a new class of portable sensors designed to capture and detect specific "target molecules," which will allow the sensors to identify pathogens, DNA or other substances.

Researchers were surprised to discover that mice that lack a molecule found in a type of white blood cell had a significantly higher survival rate from malaria than those in which the molecule is present. One-quarter of mice in which the alpha D gene was knocked out survived a severe form of malaria, compared with zero survivors in a group that had functioning alpha D genes.

Hydrogen peroxide, the same mild acid that many people use to disinfectant their kitchens or treat cuts and abrasions, is also produced by the body to keep cells healthy. Now, researchers have solved how part of this complex process works.