Nerve growth factor (NGF), as the name says, is an essential peptide factor for the growth and differentiation of neuronal cells. Therefore we can imagine that this growth factor is important for the nervous system including brain.
The pigment melanin, which is responsible for skin and hair color in mammals, is produced in specialized cells called melanocytes and then distributed to other cells. But not every cell in the complex layers of skin becomes pigmented. The question of how melanin is delivered to appropriate locations may have been answered by a study from researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cutaneous Biology Research Center (CBRC).
The human genome has now been thoroughly screened in the hunt for the genetic causes of rheumatoid arthritis. The results, which both confirms previous hypotheses and turn the spotlight on entirely new genes, are presented in two articles in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.
Beta blockers should be the first line of prevention against variceal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension.
Australian parents need to be educated about managing fever in young children because many give medication incorrectly and often unnecessarily, according to a Queensland University of Technology nursing researcher.
Rice University biomedical engineers have developed a new technique for growing cartilage from human embryonic stem cells, a method that could be used to grow replacement cartilage for the surgical repair of knee, jaw, hip, and other joints.
Sleep-disordered breathing was common when chronic pain patients took prescribed opioids. A direct dose-response relationship was found between central sleep apnea and methadone and benzodiazepines, an association which had not been previously reported.
Efforts to halt underage drinking often focus on peer pressure and the prevention of risky behaviors, but the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is undertaking a new federally funded project to give middle-school children a science-based understanding of what can happen to them if they use alcohol.
Parents with bipolar disorder are taking part in a study that will give them the chance to follow a highly successful parenting skills program.
A new mouse model for myotonic dystrophy – the most common form of adult-onset muscular dystrophy – helped Baylor College of Medicine researchers show that levels of CUGBP1, a protein that binds and controls the activity of the genetic material RNA, increase early in affected cells of the animals with the disease. This means CUGBP1 plays a key role in the disorder.