Thursday, 9 February, 2012

Bacteria can help or harm their hosts. Now we hear how one genus of bacteria can multiply fly reproduction. In this symbiosis, both parties benefit. This bacterium also alters insect immunity, and could lead to new tactics for killing horrific parasites.

When hospitals run out of anesthetics, antibiotics and cancer drugs, should we blame or thank the “gray-market”?

Synopsis: Each year, as influenza season approaches, medical authorities must scramble to predict which strains of flu will be most important, and then to grow enough vaccine to inoculate the population. Why does this take so much time, and what are some alternative strategies that might speed the process? Find the article: Flu vaccine shortage [...]

Among foodies, apples lack the “healthy-tasty” cachet of acai berries or pomegranates. But in a year-long study, apples produced major benefits in cholesterol and inflammation. After eating 75 grams of dry apple a day, the women even lost three pounds. Is there something not to love about apples?

Got flu? Then virus particles can enter the air aboard aerosols released by a sneeze, cough or even a breath. Smaller droplets can stay aloft for hours — so size matters. According to a new study, many droplets can float for an hour — plenty long enough to infect another victim.

Cholera can kill with record speed. The bacterium is easy to control — if wastewater and drinking water are treated. Haiti — chronically corrupt, painfully poor, and wasted by the January quake, is paradise for the cholera bug. How is cholera prevented, and what are the enduring gifts of this deadly bug?

To stay young, science says you drastically cut calories. It works for fruitflies, rodents, monkeys, and every mammal that has been tested. A new study proves that the benefit requires the Sirt-3 gene. Could Sirt-3 be the key to an anti-aging drug treatment?

Aware that a small amount of function often returns after a stroke, neurologists have helped neurons recover after an experimental stroke. Mice that got a candidate drug that blocks GABA, the major inhibitory neurotransmitter, recovered up to half of their motor control. In the future, can we treat strokes that cannot be prevented?

A federal court has thrown the field of embryonic stem cell research into confusion. Last week, research that destroys embryos could not get federal bucks — even if those embryos were doomed or destroyed years ago. This week, it can. How is the legal yo-yo affecting researchers — and desperate patients?

The science behind medical marijuana is emerging. Some tests show that it dulls pain in cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and AIDS. Why is medical marijuana so difficult to explore? What’s coming to the market?