RNA interference, a natural mechanism that inhibits the gene expression of individual genes in eukaryotic cells, is a major topic in modern biology. However, their potential was usable to only a limited extent in mammals because the mechanism for the uptake of small RNAs was unknown up to now. ETH Zurich biologists have now clarified this, which also opens the door for therapies based on this mechanism.
The 15 minutes it took to remove Buffalo Bills player Kevin Everett off the field after he suffered a spinal cord injury may seem like a long time for someone needing acute medical care, but in fact, those minutes underscore how critical it is to carefully move a player with a suspected spinal cord injury off the field. It also highlights the challenges faced when needing to minimize any further movement to an injured spinal cord.
The most commonly used measure for pain screening may only be modestly accurate, according to researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine and the University of North Carolina. In a study that appears in the October issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, they evaluate the usefulness of a scale that asks patients in primary care to rate their current pain from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain).
For orthopaedic implants to be successful, bone must meld to the metal that these artificial hips, knees and shoulders are made of. A team of Brown University engineers, led by Thomas Webster, has discovered a new material that could significantly increase this success rate.
A team of researchers led by Fei Hu, assistant professor of computer engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology, is working to advance the integration of radio frequency identification technology, also known as RFID, into cardiac sensor networks, a new wireless technology for telemedicine delivery.
A University of Minnesota study of prostate cancer tumors from Caucasian and African-American men has shown no evidence that the cancer is more aggressive in black men. Lead investigator Akhouri Sinha, a professor of genetics, cell biology, and development and research scientist at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, said the belief that black men’s tumors are more aggressive is based on studies that failed to match patients properly and used only indirect means to measure tumor aggressiveness.
In a new randomized controlled trial, both aerobic and resistance exercise improved glycemic/blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes. The greatest improvements came from combined aerobic and resistance training.
Although prescription medications that may increase the risk of birth defects are commonly used by women in their childbearing years, only about half receive contraceptive counseling from their health care providers, according to a large-scale study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine reported in the Sept. 18 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Men in late middle age with depressive symptoms are more likely to leave the labor force than men without such symptoms are, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania.
Air pollution could be putting patients with heart disease at risk by affecting blood vessels and clotting, researchers warn. A study by the University of Edinburgh and Umeå University measured the effects of diesel exhaust on heart and blood vessel function in men who have previously experienced a heart attack.