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Researchers unveiled data during this week's Digestive Disease Week outlining improved bariatric surgery options and studies that offer new insight into the related toll on the body created by obesity, which causes many individuals to develop cancers of the esophagus and pancreas.

A probe so sensitive that it can tell whether or not a cell living within the human body is veering towards cancer development may revolutionize how future colonoscopies are done.

Researchers have discovered that people with high oxidation levels of the low-density lipoprotein particle that carries cholesterol throughout the blood are much more likely to develop metabolic syndrome -- which can lead to a considerably increased risk of developing heart disease.

Scientists have mapped the human protein Steap3, which plays an important role in the absorption of iron into the bloodstream. Iron irregularities are some of the most common blood disorders in the world.

Z-plasty, a minimally invasive surgical technique to treat internal nasal valve collapse, showed significant improvement in relieving nasal obstruction with less recovery time compared to more traditional open rhinoplasty, according to new research.

Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine are challenging conventional thinking with a study showing that modest wine consumption, defined as one glass a day, may not only be safe for the liver, but may actually decrease the prevalence of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). The study showed that for individuals who reported drinking up to one glass of wine per day, as compared to no alcohol consumption, the risk of liver disease due to NAFLD was cut in half.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) afflicts as many as 10 out of 100,000 people in the United States and currently available treatment options are short-term and invasive with toxic side effects. Now medical scientists are successfully developing a safe and effective, orally administered non-viral gene delivery system that promises a painless treatment option with long-term effects and aims to ultimately replace the frequent injection regimen offered to patients today.

Cat ownership may have a protective effect against the development of asthma symptoms in young children at age five. The study found that children with cats in the home were more likely to have made allergy-related antibodies to cats.

Researchers publishing their studies in CELL TRANSPLANTATION are seeking new ways to treat Parkinson's disease using cell transplantation in animal models. Recent studies are aimed at finding ways to track the progress of transplanted cells and monitor motor and behavioral changes in test animals. The survival of transplanted cells in the microenvironment to which they are directed, and their ability to be efficacious in the presence of tracking tools, is of prime importance.

Researchers have discovered a new mechanism to allow embryonic stem cells to divide indefinitely and remain undifferentiated. The study also reveals how embryonic stem cell multiplication is regulated, which may be important in understanding how to control tumor cell growth.