A new mouthwash developed by a microbiologist at the UCLA School of Dentistry is highly successful in targeting the harmful Streptococcus mutans bacteria that is the principal cause tooth decay and cavities.
In a recent clinical study, 12 subjects who rinsed just one time with the experimental mouthwash experienced a nearly complete elimination of the S. mutans bacteria over the entire four-day testing period. The findings from the small-scale study are published in the current edition of the international dental journal Caries Research. (more…)
*Dr. Craig Stump, interim director of the Diabetes Research Program at the UA College of Medicine–Tucson, suggests simple behavior changes that can add up to big benefits.*
Diabetes kills more people each year than breast cancer and AIDS combined, and 79 million Americans are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Diabetes Association. (more…)
EAST LANSING, Mich. — A diet high in fiber – but not necessarily one low in saturated fat or cholesterol – is tied to a lower risk of heart disease and type-2 diabetes in teenagers, according to new findings from Michigan State University.
A study led by Joseph Carlson of MSU’s Division of Sports and Cardiovascular Nutrition suggests to reduce metabolic syndrome – a collection of risk factors including high blood pressure and a large waistline – it is more important to emphasize diets including fiber-rich, nutrient-dense, plant-based foods than focus on restricting foods high in cholesterol or saturated fat. (more…)
AUSTIN, Texas — Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have devised a simple test, using dopamine-deficient worms, for identifying drugs that may help people with Parkinson’s disease.
The worms are able to evaluate as many as 1,000 potential drugs a year. The researchers have received federal funding that could increase that to one million drug tests a year. (more…)
Healthy dietary habits can improve long-term health of collision-sport athletes
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Football players experience repeated head trauma throughout their careers, which results in short and long-term effects to their cognitive function, physical and mental health. University of Missouri researchers are investigating how other lifestyle factors, including diet and exercise, impact the late-life health of former collision-sport athletes.(more…)
A key mechanism by which a bacterial pathogen causes the deadly tropical disease melioidosis has been discovered by an international team, including a University of Exeter scientist.
The findings are published in the journal Science and show how a toxin produced by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei kills cells by preventing protein synthesis.
The study, led by the University of Sheffield, paves the way for the development of novel therapies to combat the bacterium which infects millions of people across South East Asia and Northern Australia.
Using intense X-rays at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron facility, and at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, the research team solved the structure of a protein from Burkholderia, the function of which was initially unknown. (more…)
Study provides more evidence linking depression to possible dementia later in life
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the elderly, but little is known about the underlying biology of its development in older adults.(more…)
