medical breakthrough

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Guzzle Coffee, Prevent Multiple Sclerosis?

Mice who consumed equivalent of 6-8 cups a day were protected

(Newser) - For preventing the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis, caffeine might be just what the doctor ordered, the Daily Telegraph reports. In a study involving what must have been some very jittery mice, researchers found that the equivalent of 6-8 cups of coffee per day conferred protection from the rodent equivalent of...

Surgery Cuts Down Obesity Without a Knife

First-of-its-kind trial a success in Boston

(Newser) - A Boston hospital has successfully performed a first-of-its-kind obesity surgery that doesn’t require a scalpel. The promising treatment involves passing a tube through the patient’s throat, which bypasses the need to cut the patient—and reduces the risk of infections, bleeding, and scarring. “This is less invasive,...

Magnetic Pulse Heads Off Migraines
Magnetic Pulse  Heads Off Migraines
Jun 27, 2008 10:13 AM CDT

Magnetic Pulse Heads Off Migraines

New device prevents pain without the side effects of drugs

(Newser) - For some of the 13% of Americans who suffer from migraine headaches, help might be only a button-click away, Gizmag reports. A new hand-held device works by sending a painless magnetic pulse through the brain, effectively scrambling the signals that would otherwise lead from the "aura" phase of the...

Gene Test May Rewrite Breast Cancer Screening

Mouth swab will offer more precise measure

(Newser) - Scientists say they will soon be able to take a simple mouth swab from women to better determine their risk of breast cancer, the Guardian reports. Researchers at Cambridge University have zeroed in on several genetic variants—with more to come—that offer a far more precise measure of a...

Powder Could Help Wounded Regrow Limbs

Substance extracted from pigs provides 'scaffold' for new tissue

(Newser) - Powder sprinkled on the wounded hand of an Iraq veteran might help him regrow a lost finger, CNN reports. The new therapy, taking a cue from the regenerative abilities of salamanders, uses a powder made from pig tissue to trick the body into using stem cells to attract other cells—...

$600M Windfall Aims to Boost Risky Research

Institute launches drive to encourage scientific breakthroughs

(Newser) - American medical research got a big boost today, courtesy of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The philanthropic body, one of the world’s largest, committed $600 million to fund the research of 56 scientists that it thinks can change the world. The institute hopes to back high-risk, high-reward research that...

Predicting Cancer Is All in Your Head

Test on smokers' mouths shows link to disease in lungs

(Newser) - A simple test on cells from the mouth could help doctors predict which smokers will develop lung cancer, Reuters reports. In a test group, 95% of subjects with the genetic damage associated with cancer in their lungs had the same damage in their mouths.

New Drug Protects Body From Radiation

Promising treatment has potential medical, military applications

(Newser) - A promising new drug that protects animals from damaging radiation is ready for clinical trials in humans, the BBC reports. The drug interferes with the protein that ordinarily causes cell suicide in the presence of radiation, meaning it could be useful in treating cancer patients undergoing radiation as well as...

Cold Virus Joins Cancer Fight

Brain tumors may yield to targeted infection

(Newser) - Scientists are trying to beat some of the most untreatable forms of cancer by employing another undefeated ailment: the common cold. A research team in Seattle has "modified the viruses so they can selectively target the tumor cells, replicate inside them and kill them," says one of the...

Scientists Discover New Diabetes Genes

Six variants each add risk for developing the disease

(Newser) - Scientists pooling data from European and US studies have identified six more genes associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, the Guardian reports. The study, published in Nature Genetics, found small but significant connections between the genes and the disease, with certain genetic variants linked to a 10-15%...

Scientists Build Immune System in Test Tube

Breakthrough could make it easier, and safer, to test vaccines

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a way to produce tiny artificial human immune systems, Time reports, a breakthrough that could transform vaccine research. The process—called Modular Immune In Vitro Construct—will allow researchers to test budding medicines as never before and possibly make faster progress against AIDS and other killers. 

Scientists Link Gene Mutation to Longevity

Alteration makes cells less receptive to growth factor

(Newser) - A genetic mutation that makes cells less responsive to growth hormone has been linked to human longevity, Scientific American reports. A recent study looked at children of Ashkenazi Jews with a family history of long life and an average age of 98, and compared their genes with the children of...

Antidepressants Mostly Useless, Study Finds

Prozac and others make a difference only in most extreme cases

(Newser) - Big Pharma swallowed a bitter pill yesterday as Prozac and other antidepressants were found in a UK study to be largely ineffectual in all but the most extreme cases of depression. The meta-analysis of 47 clinical trials submitted to the FDA with licensing applications for six popular antidepressants concluded that...

Gecko Toes Inspire New Surgical Tape

MIT team duplicates nano-scale ridges on lizards' sticky feet

(Newser) - Inspired by geckos' sticky feet, MIT scientists have developed a bandage that could soon be used in place of stitches or staples during surgery. The waterproof material, coated with a sugar-based adhesive that has the nano-scale hills and valleys found on lizard feet, is flexible enough to be used on...

Snorer Slept 14 Minutes A Night
Snorer Slept 14 Minutes A Night
Feb 8, 2008 11:38 AM CST

Snorer Slept 14 Minutes A Night

British doctors aghast at patient's plight

(Newser) - After 17 years of getting only minutes of sleep per night, a British man is finally getting some quality sack time. Doctors say it's one of the worst cases of sleep apnea on record, the Guardian reports. The man thought he slept 12 hours a night and couldn't figure out...

Docs Shelve Diabetes Study After Deaths

Findings contradict long-held doctrine of lowering blood sugar

(Newser) - Researchers have abruptly tabled a major study measuring the effects of lowering diabetics' blood sugar after a surprising number of deaths among participants. The results come as a shock to the medical community, which has long held that lowering blood sugar through diet and medication is the only way for...

Scientists Rebuild Heart With Stem Cells

Advance could save heart disease patients, regrow other organs

(Newser) - Scientists rebuilt rat and pig hearts using stem cells taken from the recipients themselves, the Telegraph reports—a medical breakthrough that could help the 22 million people who suffer from heart failure worldwide. The technique, called whole organ decellularization, produced the world’s first functioning “bioartificial” heart within eight...

'Rewired' Nerves Restore Ability to Walk

Promising research on mice raises hopes for human breakthrough

(Newser) - Scientists have figured out how mice that lose the ability to walk after a spinal-cord injury can regain it, a finding that could someday help human patients, Scientific American reports. When the long nerves that run from the brain to the base of the spine were severed, shorter nerves in...

Researchers Find New Breast Cancer Marker

Discovery predicts which early tumors will become cancerous

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of women may avoid unnecessary treatment for breast cancer in the future, thanks to the discovery of a means to predict which precancerous breast tumors will become cancerous, the Chicago Tribune reports. Researchers found molecular markers that can be used to identify—out of 50,000 women...

Mirror Eases Phantom Limb Pain
Mirror Eases Phantom
Limb Pain
Nov 23, 2007 8:44 PM CST

Mirror Eases Phantom Limb Pain

Reflection of healthy appendage helps fool brains of amputees

(Newser) - The phantom pain amputees experience from a missing limb can be dramatically reduced if they view their remaining leg or foot in a mirror, Reuters reports. The mirror tricks the brain into thinking the amputated limb is intact, researchers conclude. A controlled study of injured soldiers at Walter Reed found...

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