Monthly Archives: August 2007

Laboratory experiments show that an extract of the skin of muscadine
grapes can inhibit growth of prostate cancer cells in the laboratory.
Investigators from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of
the National Institutes of Health, and their research partners
also show that muscadine grape skin extract (MSKE) does not contain
significant amounts of resveratrol, another grape skin component
that has been widely studied and shown to be of potential benefit
in preventing prostate cancer growth. The results appear in the
September 1, 2007, issue of . Continue reading →

That fruit fly hovering over your kitchen counter may be attracted to more than the bananas that are going brown; it may also want a sip of your carbonated water. Fruit flies detect and are attracted to the taste of carbon dioxide dissolved in water, such as water found on rotting fruits containing yeast, concludes a study appearing in the August 30 issue of the journal . Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, who conducted the study, suggest that the ability to taste carbon dioxide may help a fruit fly scout for food that is nutritious over that which is too ripe and potentially toxic. The research is partly funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), one of the National Institutes of Health. Continue reading →

The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) today issued the first comprehensive update in a decade of clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma. The guidelines emphasize the importance of asthma control and introduce new approaches for monitoring asthma. Continue reading →

Among a growing number of Americans seeking general health information and information about cancer, the Internet remains a frequent first source, even though the public’s trust in online material about health has declined, reports a government study. At the same time, consumers voiced greater confidence in information received from healthcare professionals. The report, , is based on data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), a survey done every other year and sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. Continue reading →

The Director of the National Institutes of Health, Elias Zerhouni, M.D., has appointed eight new members to the NIH Peer Review Advisory Committee. This committee provides technical and scientific advice on matters related to the procedures and policies governing the scientific and technical evaluation of NIH grant applications. Peer review is the key method NIH uses to ensure that the $20+ billion it invests in biomedical research grants each year advances the most promising research. Continue reading →

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have discovered a novel cause of iron overload in patients with thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder that causes anemia. According to the study, thalassemia patients overproduce a protein called GDF15, which suppresses the production of a liver protein, hepcidin, which in turn leads to an increase in the uptake of dietary iron in the gut. This finding has implications for iron metabolism in other diseases, including cancer, and may contribute to the future development of therapies for thalassemia. The study, led by researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the NIH, appears online August 26, 2007, as an Advanced Online Publication in the journal, Nature Medicine. Continue reading →

By the time they reached adulthood, graduates of an intensive early childhood education program for poor children showed higher educational attainment, lower rates of serious crime and incarceration, and lower rates of depressive symptoms, a study has found. Continue reading →

Scientists have come up with a potential new treatment strategy for Alzheimer’s disease: Prevent the buildup of a toxic protein in the brain by soaking the protein up in the bloodstream and letting the body clear it away. Continue reading →

Scientists are using the shapes of viral molecules to help find mutations that make it easier for the virus to infect and spread between people. Their studies could help researchers prepare vaccines and therapies against deadly flu viruses before they emerge. Continue reading →

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, is releasing The Science of Healthy Behaviors, the newest in a popular series of curriculum supplements available for free to teachers (grades K-12) who request them. The Science of Healthy Behaviors, for use by middle school teachers, introduces students to the scientific study of behavior and helps them explore how behavioral and social factors influence health. Continue reading →