Diet :: National survey on the dietary pattern – India
India for the first time will conduct a national survey on the dietary pattern of its population that will help in making health and food related policies.
Food
Botulism :: Molecular basis of botulism toxin’s deadly activity
Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute, the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have revealed in atomic detail how the toxins that cause botulism target and bind to nerve cells. This new understanding could ultimately lead to new ways for treating botulism, as well as to improved therapies for nervous system diseases such as dystonias, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis.
Eating :: Study finds gender differences related to eating and body image
Researchers have discovered a subtle new difference between men and women — this one occurring in the realm of eating.
Dental :: Dental crowns reveal the diet of a species
According to recent research, the complexity of tooth surfaces reveals the diet of a species. Scientists at the University of Helsinki’s Institute of Biotechnology and Department of Geology showed that the more complex the surface of an animal’s teeth, the greater the share of vegetables in its diet. For instance, the teeth of carnivores and rodents differ in almost every aspect, but if a carnivore and a rodent eat similar food, their teeth are equally complex. The results were published in Nature.
Stent :: Safety of carotid stenting in ‘real-world’ setting
The largest-ever study of carotid stenting in high-surgical risk patients has shown that with proper education and training, community physicians are just as successful at using catheter-based techniques to unclog arteries supplying blood to the brain as are those who pioneered the procedure at major university medical centers.
Breast Cancer :: Tykerb, lapatinib – novel breast cancer drug
A clinical trial of a new targeted breast cancer drug, led by physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center, has begun enrolling patients. The TEACH (Tykerb Evaluation After CHemotherapy) trial will investigate the experimental drug Tykerb (lapatinib) in patients with early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer who have not been treated with Herceptin, another targeted drug used for the same type of tumor.
Study finds oysters can take heat and heavy metals, but not both
Could low-level heavy metal pollution be combining with warm water temperatures to fatally weaken sea life? A study examining the joint effects of cadmium and temperature on mitochondrial metabolism in oysters finds a combined effect that is potentially lethal and could be a significant contributor to recent oyster declines. The research has broad implications for cold-blooded marine organisms.
Botulinum :: How botulinum toxin attaches to nerve cells – explained
A group of researchers, funded in part through two of NIAID’s Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, has provided a rare atomic glimpse of the initial step one of botulinu’s toxins takes to gain entry into human neurons. In an advanced online publication of the journal Nature, the scientists show structurally how botulinum neurotoxin B (one of seven toxins the bacterium produces) recognizes receptors on the surface of human neurons.
Lung Cancer :: Avastin drug chokes off tumor blood vessels offers new hope to lung cancer patients
Patients suffering from the most common type of lung cancer experienced a 20-percent improvement in overall survival in a national clinical trial of a drug that chokes off the blood vessels nourishing tumors, a multicenter study has found.
Chagas Disease :: ORTHO T. cruzi ELISA Test System to Screen Blood Donors for Chagas Disease
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved a new test to screen blood donors for a blood-borne parasite that causes Chagas disease, a serious and potentially fatal parasitic infection. The test, called the ORTHO T. cruzi ELISA Test System, detects antibodies to the Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) parasite and is the first such test approved by FDA.