New research on mouse whiskers reveals a surprise -- at the fine scale, the sensory system's wiring diagram doesn't have a set pattern. And it's probably the case that no two people's touch sensory systems are wired exactly the same at the detailed level,
The brain is an extremely adaptable organ – but it is also quite conservative. That’s in short, what scientists are now able to show. Researchers have found that neurons in the brain regulate their own activity in such a way that the o
By NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine
Researchers have discovered a new mechanism by which the deadly Staphylococcus aureus bacteria attack and kill off immune cells. Their findings explain a critical survival tactic of a pathogen that causes more skin and heart infections than any other micr
Alexis Carulli wants to make a difference in fighting human disease. So do the thousands of bright graduate students like her. But with federal scientific research funding flat, eroded by inflation and cut by budget sequestration, Carulli worries for her
As the nation prepares for more uninsured Americans to gain health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, a question hangs over crowded emergency rooms: Will the newly insured make fewer ER visits than they do today? A new study suggests that while the
Prolactin has an important function in the liver, but how important? Researchers, using an animal model, found that animals with extra prolactin had larger livers, regenerated their livers faster after partial removal, and were significantly more likely t
Changes in gene regulation have been used to study the evolutionary chasm that exists between humans and chimpanzees despite their largely identical DNA. However, scientists have discovered that mRNA expression levels, long considered a barometer for diff
Students and a professor of neuroscience have found “America’s favorite cookie” is just as addictive as cocaine – at least for lab rats. In a study designed to shed light on the potential addictiveness of high-fat/
Various behavioral treatment options are helping to treat the sleeplessness experienced by American soldiers who have been deployed in recent military operations. A review of research has been done on deployment-related insomnia among military personnel a
By University of California, San Diego Health Sciences
Increased vitamin D levels may prevent a wide range of diseases, according to recent studies. However, some previous studies led to a concern that vitamin D supplementation could increase an individual’s risk of developing kidney stones.
By University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Most people who receive bariatric surgery in Canada, and around the world, are obese women, even though their male counterparts are more at risk, especially if those men are smokers and have diabetes.
Researchers discovered that a mutation in the NFKB2 gene impairs a protein from functioning properly, which interferes with the body's ability to make antibodies and fight infection.
New research shows that chronic itching, which can occur in many medical conditions, is different from the urge to scratch a mosquito bite. Chronic itching appears to incorporate more than just the nerve cells that normally transmit itch signals. In chron
Cell biologists and chemists reveal how viral DNA traffics in human cells. They have developed a new method to generate virus particles containing labeled viral DNA genomes. This allowed them to visualize, for the first time, single viral genomes in the c
Many negative effects of drinking, such as transitioning into heavy alcohol use, often take place during adolescence and can contribute to long-term negative health outcomes as well as the development of alcohol use disorders. A new study of adolescent dr
Researchers have identified a biomarker -- a biological 'fingerprint' -- for sepsis in the blood, and showed it could be possible to diagnose the condition within two hours by screening for this biomarker at a patient's bedside.
Researchers are using adult bone marrow stem cells as they investigate a completely new way of treating chronic kidney disease and heart failure in rats.
