Science and Health News

Slowing down the aging process might be possible one day with supplements derived from gut bacteria. Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have identified bacterial genes and compounds that extend the life of and also slow down the progression of tumors and the accumulation of amyloid-beta, a compound associated with Alzheimer’s disease, in the laboratory worm C. elegans.

Epigenetic changes present at birth - in genes related to addiction and aggression - could be linked to conduct problems in children, according to a new study by King’s College London and the University of Bristol.

The urge to satisfy hunger is a primal one, but – as any dieter knows – choices about when and what to eat can be influenced by cues in the environment, not just how long it’s been since breakfast. The fact that food-associated visual cues in television commercials and on highway signs can contribute to overeating is well-documented. But how exactly do these external signals trigger cravings and influence behavior?

An international team of researchers has found, for the first time, seven risk genes for insomnia. With this finding the researchers have taken an important step towards the unravelling of the biological mechanisms that cause insomnia.

In people aged 75 or over, long-term daily aspirin use is linked to a higher than expected risk of disabling or fatal bleeding, according to a new study in The Lancet.

Investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) have developed a way of increasing pigmentation in human skin without the damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

The first drug to treat calcification of heart valves may be one originally designed for rheumatoid arthritis.

A University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) research team led by Vladimir Zharov, Ph.D., D.Sc., has demonstrated the ability to kill single cancer cells using the world’s smallest laser.