Autistic Kids More Likely to Have Parents With Mental Illness

...thout autism, according to a comprehensive review of Swedish medical registries. Eventually, the information may provide a way for experts to start untangling the complex genetic and environmental interactions involved in different psychiatric conditions, including autism. "The study suggests there is no ...

Autism's origins: Mother's antibody production may affect fetal brain

...neurology at Hopkins Childrens. Researchers caution that the findings neednt be cause for alarm, but should be viewed instead as a step forward in untangling the complex nature of autism. Mostly anecdotal past evidence of immune system involvement has emerged from unusual antibody levels in some autistic...

First look at an enzyme target for antibacterial and cancer drugs

...ia (UC) at Berkeley have produced the first three-dimensional structural images of a DNA-bound Type II topoisomerase (topo II) that is responsible for untangling coiled strands of the chromosome during cell division. Preventing topo II from disentangling a cells DNA is fatal to the cell, which is why drugs ...

Viagra Can Create Relationship Problems as Well as Solve Them

...e answer to their prayers. But, according to Sexuality in Midlife and Beyond,// a new report from Harvard Medical School, these pills offer no help in untangling the emotional and relationship pressures that frequently accompany erectile dysfunction (ED). For one thing, the medications work only if the ma...

Untangling in Biological News

New book, 'Untangling the Double Helix,' explores enzymes responsible for maintaining genome integrity

...ook that discusses the history of topoisomerases, their mechanisms of action, and their use and potential as therapeutic targets. The book, entitled untangling the Double Helix , has just been released by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. "The primary motivation for [writing this book] is that, despite ...

Autism Speaks funds $5 million to studies on genetic and environmental risk factors for autism

... "We are optimistic that this unique study, which also incorporates genetic information from parents and children, will give us an excellent chance of untangling some of the complex causes of autism." The UNC-Chapel Hill brain imaging study will not only examine the brain but also behavioral changes through...

Anti-cancer drug prevents, reverses cardiovascular damage in mouse model of premature aging disorder

...nimals. Both drugs act upon the same biological pathway as FTI drugs. While progeria affects only a few dozen children worldwide, efforts aimed at untangling the biological roots of this rare disease may prove valuable in understanding the human aging process in general. "What we learn through studies of ra...

Dirty air brings rain -- then again, maybe not

... in the Sept 5 issue of the journal Science , the scientific team, which included researchers from Germany, has published the results of its research untangling the contradictions surrounding the conundrum. They do this by following the energy flow through the atmosphere and the ways it is influenced by aeroso...

Mapping neuron connections in the brain

...er simulations of neural circuits involving tens of thousands of neurons with biologically realistic connections--and provide a practical way to begin untangling the mysteries of the brain. ### Citation: Amirikian B (2005) A phenomenological theory of spatially structured local synaptic connectivity. PLoS...