the Medical Research community of South Africa

Green tea holds hope for prevention of oral cancer

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:05:00 +0200

Green tea extract has shown promise as cancer prevention agent for oral cancer in patients with a pre-malignant condition known as oral leukoplakia, according to researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Centre.
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Scientists identify compounds that hold promise for treating parasitic infection

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:28:00 +0200

Using an unconventional approach that they designed, University of Pittsburgh drug discoverers and their collaborators at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research have identified compounds that hold promise for treating leishmaniasis, a parasitic infection that many consider one of the world's most overlooked diseases. The findings are available online today in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
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Risk of postoperative visual loss is highest after heart surgery

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:17:00 +0200

Imagine waking up after surgery to find out you have lost your sight—permanently. Although rare, postoperative visual loss is a well-recognized complication of anaesthesia and surgery that is more common after certain types of procedures and in some groups of patients, according to a study in the November issue of Anaesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anaesthesia Research Society (IARS).
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Lipid may be vital to learning

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:29:00 +0200

Saturated fats have a deservedly bad reputation, but Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a sticky lipid occurring naturally at high levels in the brain may help us memorize grandma's recipe for cinnamon buns, as well as recall how, decades ago, she served them up steaming from the oven.
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Girls' ethnicity and weight linked to participation in risky sexual behaviours

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:53:00 +0200

A University of Pittsburgh study sheds new light on the relationship between race, body weight and sexual behaviour among adolescent girls. The results suggest that a girl's ethnicity and her actual weight or perception of her weight may play a role in her participation in risky sexual behaviours. The study results are published in the November issue of Pediatrics, now available online.
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Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:16:00 +0200

Scientists find that Internet training can improve brain activity in older adults.
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Those maddening mosquitoes - what attracts them

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:14:00 +0200

Mosquitoes are attracted by naturally produced, dominant odour in humans.
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Study: General anaesthesia can cause brain injury in immature rats

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:39:00 +0200

Studies by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have shown that blocking the NMDA receptor in immature rats leads to profound, rapid brain injury and disruption of auditory function as the animals mature.
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Regulatory differences between mother and daughter cells shed new light on cell division

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:21:00 +0200

When mother and daughter cells are created each time a cell divides, they are not exactly alike. They have the same set of genes, but differ in the way they regulate them. New research now reveals that these regulatory differences between mother and daughter cells are directly linked to how they prepare for their next split.
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Testicular cancer survivors at risk of effective treatment

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:12:00 +0200

Testicular cancer survivors can face an increased risk of long-term illness, not because of the malignancy, but the highly effective treatment they receive, according to a study in the urology journal BJUI.
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