The consumption of illicit or noncommercial alcohol is widespread in a number of countries worldwide and contributes significantly to the global burden of disease, as per a new report released recently by the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP). The report focuses on the use of noncommercial alcohol, defined as traditional beverages produced for home consumption or limited local trade and counterfeit or unregistered products, in three regions: sub-Saharan Africa, southern Asia, and central and eastern Europe........

People with pre-existing medical conditions, such as obesity, and vascular problems such as diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol, may experience a delay in being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), or experience an increase in severity of the disease at diagnosis, as per a research studyreported in the October 29, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology........

Labs that conduct the highest number of routine blood tests are more likely than others to report estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), an important measure of kidney function that can identify early kidney disease, as per a survey funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The work is published in the recent issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.......

A link between certain behaviors and the lack of the protein linked to Rett Syndrome a devastating autism spectrum disorder demonstrates the importance of MeCP2 (the protein) and reveals never-before recognized functions linked to aggression and obesity, said scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the current issue of the journal Neuron........

The superior colliculus has long been thought of as a rapid orienting center of the brain that allows the eyes and head to turn swiftly either toward or away from the sights and sounds in our environment. Now a team of researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has shown that the superior colliculus does more than send out motor control commands to eye and neck muscles........

It will be the only magnetic resonance tomograph of the modern 7 tesla generation in the world, in which a metrology institute is also involved. Magnetic resonance tomographs, which use a magnetic field of 7 tesla, have not yet been in operation in hospitals and clinics, but have solely served research. For the first time in the world, cardiovascular research carried out on such a device is now also to play an important role. The magnetic resonance tomograph costing approximately seven million Euros and weighing 35 tonnes was delivered to its new location, the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC) of the Max Delbrück Center (MDC) for Molecular Medicine in Berlin-Buch on 11th September........

For the first time, scientists have identified variations in a single gene that are strongly linked to kidney diseases disproportionately affecting African-Americans. This work was conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and by NIH-funded researchers at the Johns Hopkins University. The findings are published online today in two papers in Nature Genetics and would be reported in the October print issue........

Emerging cryopreservation techniques are increasing hope of restoring fertility for women after diseases such as ovary cancer that lead to destruction of reproductive tissue. The same techniques can also be used to maintain stocks of farm animals, and protect against extinction of endangered animal species by maintaining banks of ovarian tissue or even nascent embryos that can used to produce offspring at some point in the future........

Pilot screening programmes for abdominal aortic aneurysms in men aged 65 are due to be launched in England this year, but is this move too hasty? Two experts debate the issue in this weeks BMJ. Around 90% of people with a ruptured aortic aneurysm die. But if the aneurysm is discovered before it ruptures and is repaired by an experienced vascular surgeon, mortality is around 7.4%, writes James Johnson, consultant surgeon at Halton General Hospital, Runcorn........

Nearly 20 percent of military service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan -- 300,000 in all -- report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or major depression, yet only slight more than half have sought therapy, as per a new RAND Corporation study. In addition, scientists found about 19 percent of returning service members report that they experienced a possible traumatic brain injury while deployed, with 7 percent reporting both a probable brain injury and current PTSD or major depression........

Scientists at National Jewish Medical and Research Center are conducting trials to evaluate a method to prevent allergic reactions to food. They are feeding peanut- and egg-allergic people increasing doses of an investigational protein extract from the foods to see if they can induce the participants' immune systems to tolerate the food........

Mankind triumphed in a recent 'competition' against nature when researchers succeeded in creating a new type of enzyme for a reaction for which no naturally occurring enzyme has evolved. This achievement opens the door to the development of a variety of potential applications in medicine and industry........

How can scientists track where teens go when not in or near home or school to see if this movement has an impact on health-related behavior such as smoking or sexual activity" The answer is through that ubiquitous teen accessory the cell phone. In a paper reported in the recent issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health scientists from Indiana University School of Medicine report on a pilot study which reviewed the feasibility of using global position system -enabled cell phones to track where 14- to 16-year-old girls spent their time........

Scientists at the University of Washington have uncovered how the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, including the notorious MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staph aureus) superbug strains, resists our body's natural defenses against infection. The work, which was featured on the cover of the March 21 issue of Science, could lead to new ways to fight the bacteria........

A University of California, San Diego-led research team has demonstrated that immunization with a stabilized version of a protein found on Streptococcus bacteria can provide protection against Strep infections, which afflict more than 600 million people each year and kill 400,000. In the March 7 issue of the journal Science, the scientists describe, for the first time, the detailed structure of the streptococcal M protein, which is critical to the virulence of Group A Streptococcus (GAS). GAS causes a wide variety of human diseases including strep throat, rheumatic fever, and the life-threatening flesh-eating syndrome called necrotizing fasciitis. Studies were performed using M1 protein, which represents the version of M protein present on the most common disease-associated GAS strains........

Eventhough scientists have long agreed that girls have superior language abilities than boys, until now no one has clearly provided a biological basis that may account for their differences. For the first time -- and in unambiguous findings -- scientists from Northwestern University and the University of Haifa show both that areas of the brain linked to language work harder in girls than in boys during language tasks, and that boys and girls rely on different parts of the brain when performing these tasks........

The Netherlands, January 14, 2008 A rapid and accurate DHPLC assay for determination of apolipoprotein E genotypes has been developed by scientists from the Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. This assay combines PCR and DHPLC and can be used to conduct efficient genotyping of the human population, which in turn will help in the diagnosis and therapy of Alzheimers disease. A description of the assay has been published this month in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease........

Its a topic people often dont want to talk about, but suicide is a serious issue that needs serious attention. As per a University of Alberta researcher, teens are difficult to reach and there have traditionally been few services that directly target adolescent suicidal behavior. Elaine Greidanus says a number of teens arent picking up a phone, or seeing a counsellor, theyre more likely logging on for emotional support........

ATLANTA Oregon Health and Science University Cancer Institute researchers have opened a new window into the roots of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We are looking under the surface of CML to understand better where the cancer is coming from. We have discovered abnormal cells in the early stem cell population in some CML patients, which dont belong to the CML clone. These are abnormal cells that are not part of the CML clone, said Thomas Bumm, M.D., OHSU Cancer Institute member........