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Recent clinical trials indicate that estrogen replacement therapy may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. A new study in mice has examined whether adverse effects of ERT are related to the doses used. Researchers found that moderate and high doses of ERT increased problems in the kidney and heart. The results suggest that ERT dosage may be an important determinant in a woman's overall health.

Some seven percent of Americans have lost their sense of smell and with it their ability to enjoy the fragrance of flowers, foods and beverages. For individuals whose smell loss relates to the biochemistry of two common proteins, there is some good news. A team of researchers has found that a drug used long ago to help asthmatics can benefit some with smell loss.

Evidence is growing from animal and human studies that genistein, a potent chemical found in soy, protects against development of breast cancer -- but only if consumed during puberty. The challenge now, she says, is for scientists to understand precisely why soy appears to provide a shield against the most common cancer in women.

Canadian researchers spent nearly 300 hours observing and carrying out interviews with staff, patients and families in an intensive care unit and a palliative care unit for people with terminal illnesses. They concluded that "combined with scientific skill and compassion, humor offers a humanizing dimension in healthcare that is too valuable to be overlooked."

In one of the first clinical trials involving men 60-85 years of age, researchers' preliminary results indicate that testosterone treatment for five months has a positive effect on the bone markers of older men. This is the first known study to report on the impact of bone metabolism based on dosing schedules.

Engineers are creating a wireless device designed to be injected into tumors to tell doctors the precise dose of radiation received and locate the exact position of tumors during treatment.

New research suggests that many children diagnosed with severe language disorders in the 1980s and 1990s would today be diagnosed as having autism. The research supports the theory that the rise in the number of cases of autism may be related to changes in how it is diagnosed.

The Human Genome Project revealed that only a small fraction of the 3 billion "letter" DNA code actually instructs cells to manufacture proteins, the workhorses of most life processes. This has raised the question of what the remaining part of the human genome does. How much of the rest performs other biological functions, and how much is merely residue of prior genetic events?

Leaky blood vessels that lose their ability to protect the spinal cord from toxins may play a role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to research in Nature Neuroscience.

"Mother cells" which produce the neurons affected by Parkinson's disease have been identified by scientists. The new discovery could pave the way for future treatments for the disease, including the possibility of growing new neurons, and the cells which support them, in the lab. Scientists hope these could then be transplanted into patients to counteract the damage caused by Parkinson's.