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A gene linked to living a very long life -- to 90 and beyond -- is also associated with short stature in women, according to new research. Animal research had shown that mutations to genes involved in the IGF-I signaling pathway cause two effects: Affected animals have impaired growth but also longer life spans. Newly discovered gene mutations somehow play a role in extending the human life span as well that of many other organisms. Remarkably, the female children of centenarians had IGF-I plasma levels that were 35 percent higher than female controls.

Older men with lower free testosterone levels in their blood appear to have higher prevalence of depression, according to a new article. Women are more likely to be depressed than men until age 65, when sex differences almost disappear. Several studies have suggested that sex hormones might be responsible for this phenomenon.

Scientists have for the first time succeeded in monitoring electron transfer by Complex I in real time. In the future, this work might, for example, have medical relevance, because most of the maternally inherited so-called mitochondrial diseases are caused by dysfunction of Complex I.

Scientists have identified a new genetic marker of risk for breast cancer. Women with this DNA variation are at a 1.4 times greater risk of developing breast cancer compared to those without the variation.

One of the most comprehensive investigations done to date on aromatherapy failed to show any improvement in either immune status, wound healing or pain control among people exposed to two often-touted scents. While one of two popular aromas touted by alternative medicine practitioners -- lemon -- did appear to enhance moods positively among study subjects, the other -- lavender -- had no effect on reported mood, based on three psychological tests.

Positive results have been found in a pilot clinical trial of a treatment for amblyopia, or "lazy eye." The treatment was effective on 20-year-old subjects. Amblyopia is normally considered mostly irreversible after age eight. Many amblyopes, especially in developing countries, are diagnosed too late for conventional treatment with an eye patch. The disorder affects about nine million people in the U.S. alone.

Testosterone appears to protect people against eating disorders, providing further evidence that biological factors -- and not just social influences -- are linked to anorexia and bulimia.

A toxic pollutant spread by oil spills, forest fires and car exhaust is also present in cigarette smoke, and may represent a second way in which smoking delays bone healing, according to new research.

A small, three-week trial of tamoxifen, a drug typically used to treat breast cancer, indicates that it also may decrease symptoms of mania in patients with bipolar disorder, according to a new article.

Researchers have designed a small molecule that is highly effective in cell cultures at inhibiting the interaction between the protein p53 and another protein that inactivates p53 in cancer. The new molecule is ideal for drug development as it can be given orally as a pill and it appears to be safe for use in animals.