An experimental the-rapy that targets the protein that feeds certain types of advanced melanomas has successfully shrunk tumours in up to 80 percent of test patients, a new study says. The orally administered medication, called PLX4032, “shuts off” tumours by neutralizing a mutated gene called “BRAF” that feeds the cancerous growths. “We have never seen [...]

A protein that eliminates iron from cells could be used to slow the growth of cancerous tumours, to treat breast cancer, and to predict the outcome for breast cancer patients, a study published this week has found. Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina found that levels of ferroportin – a [...]

People with insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes are at higher risk of developing plaques associated with Alzheimer’s, Japanese researchers say in a study. The research, published in the American Academy of Neurology, involved 135 peo-ple with an average age of 67 from Hisayama, Japan. The group was tested for blood sugar levels and followed over [...]

Fast food restaurants could hand out free cholesterol-busting statin drugs with their burgers and fries so customers can offset the heart disease risks caused by the food, according to British researchers. Statins lower the amount of unhealthy LDL cholesterol in the blood, and a raft of data has shown they are highly effective in fighting [...]

India’s health authorities have angrily accused British researchers and the medical journal The Lancet that published their work of scaremongering over a new multi-drug-resistant superbug that first appeared in India. They say doctors at a leading private hospital in Mumbai warned earlier this year about the threat, months before a British study produced the same [...]

Prayer heals when it’s close-up and personal, according to a study carried out in Mozambique by doctors, scientists and a religion professor. It’s not just any kind of prayer, but “proximal intercessory prayer,” or PIP – when one or more people pray for someone in that person’s presence and often with physical contact – that [...]

Ordinary calcium supplements taken by the elderly to strengthen bones may boost the risk of heart attacks, according to a new study. The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, suggest that the role of calcium in the treatment of osteoporosis should be reconsidered, the researchers said. Calcium tablets are commonly prescribed to boost skeletal [...]

Scientists have shown for the first time that it may be possible to replace a human hip or knee with a joint grown naturally inside the body using the patient’s stem cells. In experiments on rabbits, the researchers coaxed the animals’ stem cells to rebuild the bone and cartilage of a missing leg joint, according [...]

People who sleep more or fewer than seven hours a day, including naps, are increasing their risk for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, a study published this week shows. Sleeping fewer than five hours a day, including naps, more than doubles the risk of being diagnosed with angina, coronary [...]

Japan’s ancient samurai swords were once used to slice apart enemies, but in a new fitness craze they serve to slash away at extra pounds and cut down on modern-day stress instead. “Cut down!” a sword-wielding instructor shouted during a recent “Samurai Camp” gym session in Tokyo as a squad of sweat-drenched women warriors followed [...]

US and European researchers have identified two new genes that may play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and could help unravel new treatments, a study published this week said. Researchers have now uncovered nine genes they believe are involved in the development of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), according to a study published in [...]

Going nuts in your diet can be good for your health, according to a study published this week that showed that eating nuts helps to lower blood cholesterol levels. People who ate an average of 67 grams of nuts a day saw a 5.1 percent fall in total cholesterol concentration and a 7.4 percent drop [...]