Medicine

Genomic analysis helps scientists to start determining how licorice plants produce a highly beneficial compound

A pioneering research by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has uncovered the previously unknown anti-inflammatory mechanism for soothing the pain arising from arthritis, and thus unlocked the key to conducting further researches on the relationship between functional foods and this common crippling disease.

This award is bestowed on any scientists, institutions or organization worldwide in recognition of contributions and innovations towards solving problems in the tropics through science and technology and to be awarded to the most deserving based on merit. Deadline 31 March 2009.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include The legacy of the Bush presidency, 50 years of pheromones, Polaritons go with the flow and Ancient braincase helps reveal jawbone origins

Japanese researchers have identified two SNPs, which significantly increases susceptibility to the autoimmune diseases rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythmatosus (SLE).

Scitable provides students with free online access to more than 180 overviews of key genetics concepts. The overviews are evidence-based and have been vetted by Nature Publishing Group staff.

In Nature China this week - Researchers in China have generated induced pluripotent stem cells from rhesus monkeys and more

The Sports Control Council (LEKAS) of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has recently selected University Putra Malaysia’s Sports Academy as their official consultant on physical and psychology for their athletes.

A new type of biological camera can trace several different molecules at once in a live animal

In Nature China this week - Genetic heritage studies provide an insight into which Chinese individual is more likely to inherit Leber's disease

Sandra Blakeslee, a science writer for The New York Times who specializes in the brain sciences, recently interviewed Atsushi Iriki of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute (BSI), Wako, Japan.

Researchers in China have shed fresh light on the signalling pathways that regulate energy balance

The growing demand for cognitive enhancement within a healthy population requires a response, say leading figures in neuroscience, ethics and regulation. Their arguments are stimulated by the previously documented off-label use of such drugs by students and professors.

Human granulocytic anaplasmosis has been identified in China for the first time, and the disease may transmit from human to human

IDRC and partner organizations will convene policy-makers, researchers, grassroots organizations and journalists from Canada and across the globe at the International Ecohealth Forum 2008 in Mérida, Mexico, December 1-5.

Researchers at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology (RCAI) have begun bridging research for a vaccine to prevent and treat pollen disease caused by cedar pollen. Human clinical trials are still needed, but a vaccine appears to be in sight.

SERDANG, 25th Nov – Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and a leading company Sunzen Biotech Berhad agreed on academic collaboration in research and development involving animal health products (R&D).

Nurses on the front lines against AIDS, Countries unite to battle bird flu, mines of information, Tobacco and taxes: A winning strategy, Deadly delays and other health inequalities

The application ‘Google Flu Trends’, launched last week, attracted a great deal of attention and the research behind the tool is published online in Nature today.

After thousands of years of extinction, the woolly mammoth has its DNA decoded this week in Nature. The study marks the first report of nuclear genome sequencing for an extinct animal. Also, this week’s features celebrate the anniversary of Darwin’s Origin of Species.

To avoid unpredictable pharmacological responses among adolescents, this population should be more actively recruited into clinical trials, according to a new Commentary in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

New brain images show subconscious learning in action and could be used to monitor language rehabilitation

In Nature China this week - Cathelicidin found in snake venom is one of the most potent antimicrobial peptides discovered so far and more.

Penang, 4 Nov - A team of researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia have successfully produced a powdery substance obtained from durian rind that can be used to remove heavy metals in human body.

In Nature China this week - The first genomic map of the Chinese ethnic group Uygur uncovers ancestry contributions from Europe and East Asia and more.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating disease, gradually causing paralysis of the muscles in the hand and leg. The discovery by Koji Yamanaka and colleagues at the Brain Science Institute that the glial cells cause damage to the nerve cells shows great promise in the development of new treatments to prevent the progression of ALS.

A new algorithm crunches genomic data to predict maps of variable chromosomal regions that may yield valuable indicators of disease susceptibility or drug response

Countries must learn how to make better use of their citizens’ cognitive resources if they are to prosper economically and socially, according to a major new study.

In Nature China this week - Researchers in Beijing have identified the gene controlling the self-renewal of intestinal stem cells and more.

In Nature China this week - Researchers have found evidence that a magma plume under South China contributed to the break-up of the supercontinent Rodinia and more.