Sep 30 2009
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which can appear as either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, damages the lining of the digestive tract and leads to abdominal cramps, incomplete digestion and nutritional deficiencies.
Previous research on IBD gave researchers reason to suspect that the CD39 gene, which is involved with inflammatory responses and immunity, may play a role [...]
Sep 29 2009
In the United States, prostate cancer affects about one in every six men. Genomewide association studies aimed at finding common genetic variants associated with this common disease have been particularly successful. More than a dozen SNPs have been associated with prostate cancer, but researchers calculate that these variants represent only a tiny fraction of the [...]
Sep 25 2009
For as long as humans have lived in complex communities, cities and civilizations, they have divided and classified their societies. Those divisions have been based on age, gender, appearance or – in many cases – occupation. In many traditional societies artisans would share the same social status; as would soldiers, priests and workers in any [...]
Sep 24 2009
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness and is estimated to affect over 66 million people worldwide. This group of diseases is typically caused by increased pressure in the eye, which slowly damages the optic nerve and leads to gradual vision loss and eventual, incurable blindness if left untreated.
Sep 24 2009
Take a look at the second installment of 23andMe’s Human Prehistory 101 series. 23andMe’s creative team (led by chief illustrator Ariana Killoran) recently released “Out of (Eastern) Africa.” With this new installment, we pick up where the previous video left off, when humans were starting to take their first tentative steps beyond the shores of [...]
Sep 22 2009
Addiction to alcohol is associated with the brain’s reward system, which reinforces behaviors that feel good — like drinking — by releasing neurotransmitters such as dopamine and endorphins. With prolonged alcohol consumption, a person’s brain can gradually adapt to the point that excessive amounts of drinking are required in order to produce the same pleasure [...]
Sep 18 2009
Unlike the flu virus, which the body is generally able to fight off completely, infection with hepatitis C is often chronic. That means for most of the three to four million people worldwide who are newly infected each year the virus will persist in the body, where it greatly increases risk for chronic liver [...]
Sep 17 2009
New research suggests the primary genetic mutation that causes alpha-1 antritrypsin deficiency, a condition that results in liver damage and a wide variety of other problems, also affects risk for liver disorders associated with cystic fibrosis.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited, childhood-onset disorder that causes the lungs, intestines and pancreas to become clogged with mucus, resulting [...]
Sep 11 2009
This MRI of a man’s pelvis shows that his prostate is enlarged to almost three times the regular size, which may be a sign of cancer. The prostate is marked by a cross.
Prostate cancer, the most common cancer to affect men, kills 30,000 men of all ethnicities each year. The disease is known to have [...]
Sep 10 2009
Scientists are narrowing in on two regions of the human genome that could be responsible for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
ALS is a neurodegenerative disorder that weakens muscles and paralyzes patients within three years of onset, and has no known cure. The available drug treatment delays progression by only three [...]
