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Researchers have defined a mutation in the mouse genome that mimics progressive hearing loss in humans. Scientists have found that mice carrying a mutation called Oblivion displayed problems with the function of hair cells in the inner ear, occurring before clear physical effects are seen.

Scientists have discovered a substance with the capacity to maintain protein p53 stable even when it presents certain mutations that promote the appearance of cancer.

By manipulating the brain non-invasively in a new way with magnetic stimulation, researchers have shown that they can restore some experience of color where before there was no visual awareness whatsoever.

Prenatal exposure to famine can lead to epigenetic changes that may affect a person's health into midlife. New findings show a trickle-down effect from pregnant women to the DNA of their unborn children and the timeframe over which such early damage can operate. These data are the first to show that early-life environmental conditions can cause epigenetic changes in humans that persist throughout life.

Normal-weight women who carry out lots of vigorous exercise are approximately 30 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than those who don't exercise vigorously. A study of more than 30,000 postmenopausal American women has revealed that a sedentary lifestyle can be a risk factor for the disease -- even in women who are not overweight.

Scientists successfully created a sensitive prototype device that could test for dozens or even hundreds of diseases simultaneously by acting like a credit card-swipe machine to scan a card loaded with microscopic blood, saliva or urine samples. The prototype works on the same principle -- giant magnetoresistance or GMR -- that is used to read data on computer hard drives or listen to tunes on portable digital music players.

Popular media coverage of infectious diseases greatly influences how people perceive those diseases, making them seem more dangerous, according to a new study.

The diabetes medication metformin may be associated with a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies. No associations were found between other diabetes medications and beneficial or harmful cardiovascular effects, in part because of insufficient data, the authors note.

Research has not proven that the pill causes weight gain. But many women are put off using contraceptive pills because this has been listed as one of their adverse effects. Their concern may be narrowing their contraceptive choices without good reason, according to new research.

Because of the increased number of patients, growing reliance on multiple medications and the shift toward more expensive new medicines, the annual cost of diabetes drugs nearly doubled in only six years, rising from $6.7 billion in 2001 to $12.5 billion in 2007. The single greatest contributor was the use of newer, more expensive medications.