The liver could be the cause of Alzheimer's disease

Scientists from an American institute might just have revolutionized the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative disease that leads to loss of memory. While it was long thought that the underlying pathology starts somewhere in the brain, for an unknown reason, the researchers have shown that it actually seems to be the liver that induces the disease. If these findings can be verified, it is a revolution in our understanding of the disease, and it will have important implications for treatment, or finding a cure.

NASA discovers planet similar to Earth

NASA researchers have found a planet where water can exist in liquid form. The temperatures and the conditions were claimed to be favourable to life, and the planet is orbiting a star that is quite similar to our sun. It is the first time a planet is discovered outside of our own that could harbour life.

Relevance of accupuncture to relieve pain gets some scientific backing

Acupuncture is a technique were therapists stick a bunch of needles in a patient's skin. Long has it been confined to a place in the field of alternative medicine, but a recent study has shown that here is scientific proof for its use to relief pain. That is welcome news for acupuncturists, and an interesting result for medicine in general.

Active nervous system predicts effective weight loss

Surprisingly, scientists have found a correlation between activity of the nervous system and someone's success in losing weight. They showed that increased activity of the autonomous nervous system during rest affects the rate at which the body's metabolises, and the rate at which calories derived from food are being used up. According to the researchers, working at an institute in Melbourne, Australia, the measured activity can accurately predict obesity, which is a helpful tool in analysing one's change on losing weight.

Muscle tiredness starts in the brain

A mechanism in the brain has been linked to inducing the feeling of being unable to gather the strength for certain tasks during physical exercise. It appears to be a key factor in determining the limits of our muscle capabilities. Though we are inclined to think that our muscles are the most important in determining our limits, it is actually the brain that sets them. Modifying this mechanism can prove to be interesting for athletes, that want to push themselves to the extreme.

Drugs reverse lethal radiation damage

Radiation treatment is often used to combat certain types of cancer, or before a bone marrow transplantation in blood diseases. Like many other therapies, it is not very specific, causing harm to surrounding tissue. Scientists from Harvard Medical School found that drug treatment can significantly decrease the damage caused by radiation therapy. It can probably be used in the clinic, to ameliorate the side-effects found when patients undergo radiation therapy.

Cancer cells can be tricked with poisonous sugar

There is a lot of research being performed on treating cancer. The trend is to find specific therapies that only target cancer cells, and leave healthy cells alone. Scientists from Kyushy University Medical School propose a new idea: treatment with sugar. By coupling sugar molecules with a specific drug, cancer cells can be forced to kill themselves with relatively high selectivity. Apparently it works so well that the researchers hope to start clinical trials soon.