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Exactly how airborne particulates harm our lungs still puzzles epidemiologists, physicians, environmental scientists, and policy makers. Now California Institute of Technology researchers have found that they act by impairing the lungs' natural defenses against ozone.

A statin drug used to lower cholesterol has been found to stop hepatitis C, especially in patients resistant to standard treatment. The drug, Fluvastatin, has been approved since 1993 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of elevated cholesterol in adults. Millions of patients have taken Fluvastatin for cholesterol without difficulty.

Infants and toddlers whose mothers are severely depressed are almost three times more likely to suffer accidental injuries than other children in the same age group, according to a new study. The study's findings suggest that proper treatment for depression would improve not only the mothers' health, but the health of young children as well.

Researchers have discovered the first conclusive evidence of Alzheimer's-like neurofibrillary brain tangles in an aged nonhuman primate. They also discovered deposits of beta-amyloid protein in plaques and blood vessels of the chimp's brain tissue, although these changes were infrequent compared to Alzheimer's in humans. The finding could move the scientific community closer to understanding why age-related neurodegenerative diseases are uniquely human and seem to never fully manifest in other species, including our closest evolutionary relative, the chimpanzee.

Women who commit sexual offenses are just as likely to have mental problems or drug addictions as other violent female criminals. This according to the largest study ever conducted of women convicted of sexual offenses in Sweden.

Results from a major clinical trial show that adding a screening ultrasound examination to routine mammography reveals more breast cancers than mammography alone -- but also increases the rates of false positive findings.

A study investigating aging in mice has found that hormonal changes that occur when mice eat significantly less may help explain an already established phenomenon: a low calorie diet can extend the lifespan of rodents, a benefit that even regular exercise does not achieve.

Researchers have identified a specific carbohydrate structure that confers anti-inflammatory activity to a glycoprotein antibody that could lead to improved treatment of autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. The study was reported in Science.

Researchers have discovered how tuberculosis bacteria hide and multiply in the human body and are working toward a treatment to block this mechanism of infection. The missing link between a TB protein and its newly discovered counterpart protein in the human body’s white blood cells (macrophages) has been discovered.

When office staff took part in a workplace educational and physical initiative, headaches fell by 41 percent, neck and shoulder pain fell by 43 percent and painkiller use fell by 51 percent. Researchers taught staff office and home relaxation techniques and provided red stickers to place around the workplace to avoid excessive contraction of the head and shoulder muscles. 169 staff were in the intervention group with 175 in the control group. All kept daily diaries.