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Genes known to cause spinal mutations in chick and mouse model systems also play an important role in human patients with congenital vertebral abnormalities. Working with samples from 31 patients at Boston Children's Hospital with various congenital vertebral defects, the team sequenced five genes thought to be involved in the malformations.

Carbon-coated nanomagnets may offer a new form of cancer treatment. New research suggests that nanoparticles consisting of metallic iron with a protective carbon coat could serve as a safe and effective hyperthermia agent.

Losing weight may help resolve erectile dysfunction in obese men. Morbid obesity can cause sexual dysfunction independent of other common confounders, including diabetes, hypertension and smoking.

By targeting a common virus, doctors may be able to extend the lives of patients diagnosed with the most prevalent and deadly type of brain tumor. A type of herpes virus called human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is found in up to 80 percent of Americans, though the virus normally produces very few clinical symptoms, is dormant, and usually undetectable in most people.

Higher incidences of congenital anomalies, including cryptorchidism (undescended testicles) and hypospadias, were found in boys whose mothers had higher serum levels of certain organochlorine compounds, researchers say.

Researchers have successfully creating bone tissue "in vivo", using embryonic stem cells. They imitated bone formation in embryos and children, which uses cartilage as a template. This new approach appears to be a promising way of repairing bone defects. Previous attempts to create bone using embryonic stem cells were unsuccessful. In the lab, there was clear evidence that these stem cells were differentiating into the bone lineage "in vitro", however this process stalled after implantation and no bone tissue was formed.

Bladder regeneration via a neo-bladder replacement may prove to be effective in humans.

The Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne, Switzerland, has ruled that Pistorius is eligible to participate in International Association of Athletics Federations sanctioned competitions. If he qualifies for the 2008 Beijing games, Pistorius would be the first disabled athlete ever to run against able-bodied athletes in an Olympic event.

The earliest event in the development of sun-induced skin cancer may have been identified. Researchers found that the point of entry for skin cancer in response to sun exposure is in receptor molecules, molecular "hooks" on the outer surface of cells that also pull cannabinoid compounds found in marijuana out of the bloodstream.

Researchers have found a therapy that effectively kills human leukemia cells in mice using natural killer cells from umbilical cord blood. They have demonstrated an effective method for expanding the number of NK cells from a single cord blood unit while retaining the cells' anti-leukemia effects.