Research suggests link between infertility, low egg reserve, and breast/ovarian cancer gene (BRCA1)

A New York Medical College physician who specializes in restoring or preserving fertility in female cancer patients has discovered a possible link between the presence of breast cancer genes and infertility. more  

Rapid-acting insulin analogues: Trials provide no proof of additional benefit for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Due to a lack of suitable studies, it remains unclear whether children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes benefit more or less from long-term treatment with rapid-acting insulin analogues than with short-acting human insulin. Certainly, there is no proof of additional benefit from the available results from clinical trials of maximum one year duration. This applies both in the comparison with human insulin and in the comparison between analogues only. This is the conclusion of the final report of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) published on 16 November 2009. more

Physicist Sees With “T-rays"

“T-rays” may make X-rays obsolete as a means of detecting bombs on terrorists or illegal drugs on traffickers, among other uses, contends a Texas A&M physicist who is helping lay the theoretic groundwork to make the concept a reality. In addition to being more revealing than X-rays in some situations, T-rays do not have the cumulative possible harmful effects. more  

Bourbon versus vodka: Bourbon hurts more the next day, performance is the same

Many alcoholic beverages contain byproducts of the materials used in the fermenting process. These byproducts are called "congeners," complex organic molecules with toxic effects including acetone, acetaldehyde, fusel oil, tannins, and furfural. Bourbon has 37 times the amount of congeners that vodka has. A new study has found that while drinking a lot of bourbon can cause a worse hangover than drinking a lot of vodka, impairment in people's next-day task performance is about the same for both beverages. more

The use and misuse of alcohol and marijuana can be traced to a common set of genes  

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Roughly eight to 12 percent of marijuana users are considered "dependent" and, just like alcohol, the severity of symptoms increases with heavier use. A new study has found that use and misuse of alcohol and marijuana are influenced by a common set of genes. more

Researchers create new 'smart' nanocapsule delivery system for use in protein therapy  

Protein therapy — the delivery of healthy proteins directly into human cells to replace malfunctioning proteins — is considered one of the most direct and safe approaches for treating diseases. But its effectiveness has been limited by low delivery efficiency and the poor stability of proteins, which are frequently broken down and digested by cells' protease enzymes before they reach their intended target. more

UAB researchers link calorie intake to cell lifespan, cancer development

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have discovered that restricting consumption of glucose, the most common dietary sugar, can extend the life of healthy human-lung cells and speed the death of precancerous human-lung cells, reducing cancer's spread and growth rate. more

© Vidyya. All rights reserved.

Information appearing on the Vidyya Medical News Service is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Seek professional medical help and follow your health care provider's advice.

Interested in subscribing to our daily e-mail newsletter? Send an email to Vidyya@vidyya.com with the word subscribe in the subject field.