People in Biological News

$2 million grant aids study of lung cancer in people who never smoked

DALLAS July 21, 2009 Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center are among an elite group of cancer scientists to share a $2 million grant to find biomarkers for lung cancer that develops in people who have never smoked. The National Cancer Institute's Early Detection Research Network (EDRN...

Study shows CGM devices also benefit people with type 1 diabetes

NEW YORK, May 27, 2009 People with type 1 diabetes who have already been successful in achieving recommended blood sugar goals can further benefit from using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices, according to results of a major multi-center clinical trial by the Juvenile Diabetes Research ...

Scientists aim to bring indigenous people into climate change monitoring and policy

(ST. LOUIS): Scientists at the Missouri Botanical Garden are calling for the inclusion of indigenous peoples around the world in helping monitor the effects of global climate change and develop policy. In a special issue on traditional peoples and climate change in the May volume of " Global Env...

Research suggests vegetable juice may help people with metabolic syndrome lose weight

NEW ORLEANS, April 19, 2009 Drinking at least one glass of low sodium vegetable juice daily may help overweight people with metabolic syndrome achieve better weight loss results. A study, conducted at the Baylor College of Medicine and presented at this week's Experimental Biology Meeting, found...

UW-Madison study reveals new options for people with PKU

MADISON For people with the genetic condition known as phenylketonuria (PKU), diet is a constant struggle. They can eat virtually no protein, and instead get their daily dose of this key macronutrient by drinking a bitter-tasting formula of amino acids. Yet drink it they must; deviating from this...

1 drug may help people both lay down the drink and put out the cigarette

A popular smoking cessation drug dramatically reduced the amount a heavy drinker will consume, a new Yale School of Medicine study has found. Heavy-drinking smokers in a laboratory setting were much less likely to drink after taking the drug varenicline compared to those taking a placebo, accordin...

'Neurological work-arounds' offer hope to people with monoamine-related disorders

Researchers have known for decades that the brain has a remarkable ability to "reprogram" itself to compensate for problems such as traumatic injury. Now, a research article published in the February 2009 issue of the journal Genetics ( http://www.genetics.org ) suggests that the brain may also ...

2 genes influence social behavior, visual-spatial performance in people with Williams syndrome

SALT LAKE CITYUnraveling the genetics of social behavior and cognitive abilities, researchers at the University of Utah and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have traced the role of two genes,GTF2I and GTF2IRD, in a rare genetic disorder known as Williams Syndrome. Their results, publi...

When it comes to sleep research, fruit flies and people make unlikely bedfellows

You may never hear fruit flies snore, but rest assured that when you're asleep they are too. According to research published in the January 2009 issue of the journal GENETICS ( http://www.genetics.org ), scientists from the University of Missouri-Kansas City have shown that the circadian rhythms...

New evidence that people make aspirin's active principle -- salicylic acid

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2008 Scientists in the United Kingdom are reporting new evidence that humans can make their own salicylic acid (SA) the material formed when aspirin breaks down in the body. SA, which is responsible for aspirin's renowned effects in relieving pain and inflammation, may be th...

Bird flu vaccine protects people and pets

A single vaccine could be used to protect chickens, cats and humans against deadly flu pandemics, according to an article published in the November issue of the Journal of General Virology . The vaccine protects birds and mammals against different flu strains and can even be given to birds while ...

Researchers note differences between people and animals on calorie restriction

St. Louis, Sept. 24, 2008 Calorie restriction, a diet that is low in calories and high in nutrition, may not be as effective at extending life in people as it is in rodents, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Previous research had shown that labo...

Checking people at airports -- with terahertz radiation

This press release is available in German . Within the last few years the number of transport checks above all at airports has been increased considerably. A worthwhile effort as, after all, it concerns the protection of passengers. Possibilities for new and safe methods of transport chec...

Older people who diet without exercising lose valuable muscle mass

BETHESDA, Md. (Sept. 17, 2008) - A group of sedentary and overweight older people placed on a four-month exercise program not only became more fit, but burned off more fat, compared to older sedentary people who were placed on a diet but did not exercise. The new study also showed that when old...

Genes may make some people more prone to anxiety

WASHINGTON Inborn differences may help explain why trauma gives some people bad memories and others the nightmare of post-traumatic stress. Scientists in Germany and the United States have reported evidence linking genes to anxious behavior. The findings appear in the August issue of Behavioral N...

Robotics research: Enhancing the lives of people with disabilities

Robots may be the solution for people with disabilities who are struggling to regain the use of their limbs, thanks to a research team that includes engineers and students from Rochester Institute of Technology. The study utilizes physiological information, or bio-signals, produced by the human...

Simian foamy virus found in several people living and working with monkeys in Asia

A research team led by University of Washington scientists has found that several people in South and Southeast Asian countries working and living around monkeys have been infected with simian foamy virus (SFV), a primate virus that, to date, has not been shown to cause human disease. The findings...

Why do people vote? Genetic variation in political participation

Washington, DCA groundbreaking new study finds that genes significantly affect variation in voter turnout, shedding new light on the reasons why people vote and participate in the political system. The research, conducted by political scientists James H. Fowler, Christopher T. Dawes (of UC San ...

Veterinary college researcher studying brain tumors in people and animals

Blacksburg, Va. -- A veterinary neurologist on faculty in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine( www.vetmed.vt.edu ) at Virginia Tech has been awarded funding from the Wake Forest University Translational Science Institute to study innovative approaches for treating brain t...

Most people believe smallpox not an extinct disease

The vast majority of Scottish people interviewed in the streets of Edinburgh are unaware of one of the greatest achievements of medical science the eradication of smallpox from the world over 40 years ago. A poll sponsored by the Society for General Microbiology (SGM), in conjunction with the Edi...

Gene guards grain-producing grasses so people and animals can eat

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University and USDA-Agricultural Research Service scientists have discovered that a type of gene in grain-producing plants halts infection by a disease-causing fungus that can destroy crops vital for human food supplies. The research team is the first to show that ...

Half of the people suffering from head injuries fake to receive financial help

This release is available in Spanish . How can it be proved that a patient is lying when they say that they have a cognitive problem, such as memory or concentration problems or anxiety" There are many people who exaggerate their injuries and even feign them in order to receive more money ...

100 percent of people carry at least 1 type of pesticide

This release is available in Spanish . A study carried out by researchers from the Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine of the University of Granada , in collaboration with the Andalusian School of Public Health (Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pblica), found that 100% of Spaniards...

Ozone can affect heavier people more

A new study provides the first evidence that people with higher body mass index (BMI) may have a greater response to ozone than leaner people. Short-term exposure to atmospheric ozone has long been known to cause a temporary drop in lung function in many people. This is the first study in humans ...

Energy drinks may pose risks for people with high blood pressure, heart disease

ORLANDO, Nov. 6 Downing an energy drink may boost blood pressure as well as energy, researchers said in a small study presented at the American Heart Associations Scientific Sessions 2007. In the study, conducted by Wayne State University researchers, blood pressure and heart rate levels increas...

Fungus genome yielding answers to protect grains, people and animals

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Why a pathogen is a pathogen may be answered as scientists study the recently mapped genetic makeup of a fungus that spawns the worst cereal grains disease known and also can produce toxins potentially fatal to people and livestock. The fungus, which is especially destruc...

Plants can be used to study how and why people respond differently to drugs

RIVERSIDE, Calif. While prescription medications work successfully to cure an ailment in some people, in others the same dose of the same drug can cause an adverse reaction or no response at all. According to a research team led by Sean Cutler, an assistant professor of plant cell biology at U...

MIT: Using touch to help deaf people

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Lip reading is a critical means of communication for many deaf people, but it has a drawback: Certain consonants (for example, p and b) can be nearly impossible to distinguish by sight alone. Tactile devices, which translate sound waves into vibrations that can be felt by the ...

Nitric oxide regulates plants as well as people

Nitric oxide has emerged as an important signaling molecule in plants - as in mammals including people. In studies of a tropical medicinal herb as a model plant, researchers have found that nitric oxide targets a number of proteins and enzymes in plants. In collaborative work with the research ...

Impacts of fossil fuels on fish and people

Scientist John Incardona will tell a scientific detective story that uncovers a previously unrecognized threat to human health from a ubiquitous class of air pollutants. Incardona of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration joins five other scientists from the U.S. government, Canadi...

Citizen Science -- a celebration of partnership between academia and local people

As part of its 50th anniversary events, the University of Leicester is joining with the Earthwatch Institute, currently celebrating 21 years of continuous support for research in the Lakes of Kenyas Rift Valley, with a one-day conference. Citizen Science Past, Present & Future, to be held at V...

New study finds biodiversity conservation secures ecosystem services for people

Arlington, Virginia (Dec. 5, 2007) Healthy ecosystems that provide people with essential natural goods and services often overlap with regions rich in biological diversity, underscoring that conserving one also protects the other, according to a new study. Titled Global Conservation of Biod...

Rising food prices threaten world's poor people

BeijingIncome growth, climate change, high energy prices, globalization, and urbanization are all converging to transform food production, markets, and consumption, according to a new report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). As a result, global food demand and prices are...

Study finds mix of disease processes at work in brains of most people with dementia

Few older people die with brains untouched by a pathological process, however, an individual’s likelihood of having clinical signs of dementia increases with the number of different disease processes present in the brain, according to a new study. The research was funded by the National Institute ...

NIDA study identifies genes that might help some people abstain from smoking

Scientists supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have for the first time identified genes that might increase a person’s ability to abstain from smoking. The breakthrough research was conducted by Dr. George Uhl at NIDA’s Intramural Res...

Stanford-led study closes in on genes that may predispose some people to severe depression

Some people appear to be genetically predisposed to developing severe depression, but researchers have yet to pin down the genes responsible. Now, a specific region rife with promise has been located on one chromosome by a consortium of researchers working under Douglas Levinson, MD, professo...

Eating with our eyes: Why people eat less at unbused tables

People watching the Super Bowl who saw how much they had already eaten -- in this case, leftover chicken-wing bones -- ate 27 percent less than people who had no such environmental cues, finds a new Cornell study. The difference between the two groups -- those eating at a table where leftover bon...

Gene that makes people 'early to bed and early to rise' demystified

The recent discovery that a mutant "clock" gene made some people "early to bed and early to rise," a condition known as familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS), offered one of the first glimpses into the genetic basis of sleep in humans. Now, researchers report in the Jan. 12, 2007 issue of ...

'Mindless autopilot' drives people to underestimate food decisions

People estimate that, on average, they make about 15 food- and beverage-related decisions each day. But the truth is, they make more than 15 times that -- more than 200 such decisions. Commenting on his new Cornell study, Brian Wansink, the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing and of Applied Econ...

Herbal medicine silymarin may help sugar-control in people with type II diabetes

Diabetes is a growing health problem. Giving antioxidants is recognised as one way of helping people with diabetes to control their blood sugar levels. The herbal medicine extracted from seeds of the Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum (silymarin) is known to have antioxidant properties and research ...