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A new report shows that a non-ambulatory (unable to walk or stand) child with a cervical spinal cord injury was able to restore basic walking function after intensive locomotor training. The case study evaluated the effects of locomotor training in a 4 ½ year-old-boy, who had no ability to walk following a gunshot wound sixteen months earlier.

Sun exposure and vitamin D levels may play a strong role in risk of type 1 diabetes in children, according to new findings. This association comes on the heels of similar research findings by this same group regarding vitamin D levels and several major cancers.

Bioengineers have discovered that intense pressure -- similar to what someone would experience more than a half-mile beneath the ocean's surface -- stimulates cartilage cells to grow new tissue with nearly all of the properties of natural cartilage. The new method requires no stem cells and may eventually provide relief for thousands of arthritis sufferers. It also holds promise for producing tissues to repair bladders, blood vessels, kidneys, heart valves, bones and more.

Alcohol cuts the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis by up to 50 percent, reveals new research. And the more alcohol was consumed, the lower the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Among those who drank regularly, the quarter with the highest consumption were up to 50% less likely to develop the disease compared with the half who drank the least. The effect was the same for both men and women.

Young adults who abuse amphetamines may be at greater risk of suffering a heart attack. Amphetamines may contribute to heart attacks by increasing heart rate and blood pressure and by causing inflammation and artery spasms that limit blood to the heart muscle.

The number of bacteria living within the body of the average healthy adult human are estimated to outnumber human cells 10 to one. Changes in these microbial communities may be responsible for digestive disorders, skin diseases, gum disease and even obesity.

A new study has shown that topical estrogen could help prevent HIV infection by blocking entry of the virus into the human penis. The study reveals that application of estrogen to the human penis increased the thickness of the natural keratin layer on the skin, which could prevent HIV from infecting the male.

Drinking water disinfected by chlorine while pregnant may increase the risk of having children with heart problems, cleft palate or major brain defects, according to a new study.

Every year, millions of people are confronted with potentially irreparable brain or spinal cord injuries resulting from traffic accidents. Because the nerves in a damaged spinal cord cannot, or cannot fully, be repaired, the patient remains (partially) paralyzed. Now, scientists have successfully developed a simple model that enables the study of injured brain tissue.

Researchers have shown that by blocking a signaling protein, they can prevent prostate cancer cells from metastasizing. In a series of experiments in both the laboratory and animal models, they found that the protein, Stat3, is key to the metastatic progression of prostate cancer. The work opens the door to studies examining the protein as a target for therapies to keep prostate cancer at bay.