http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorTue, 07 Oct 2008 6:59:44 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/39245/3-virologists-share-medicine-nobel-prize.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Nobel Prize for medicine was awarded today to three scientists who discovered two of the world's deadliest sexually transmitted viruses. Half the prize goes to Harald zur Hausen, a German who discovered the human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer in women. The other half goes to Françoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier, the two French virologists who discovered HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.http://www.newser.com/story/39245/3-virologists-share-medicine-nobel-prize.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 06 Oct 2008 8:51:57 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/39217/herpes-linked-to-brain-cancer.html?refid=rss_all_defaultCancer researchers are finally taking seriously a young surgeon’s decade-long hunch that brain tumors are linked to a strain of herpes that lies dormant in 80% of Americans. The physician speculated that brain cancer patients—many of them affluent and educated—were more vulnerable to common viruses such as the herpes CMV strain because of their "hyper-hygienic" lives, reports the San Francisco Chronicle .http://www.newser.com/story/39217/herpes-linked-to-brain-cancer.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSun, 05 Oct 2008 23:57:02 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/39004/genetic-hiccup-causes-obesity-in-mice-study.html?refid=rss_all_defaultScientists have discovered an immune system pathway in the brain that they think is the root cause of diseases related to obesity, Reuters reports. When mice were overfed, the hypothalamus secreted a compound that suppressed the conversion of food into energy, and led to inflammation associated with heart disease and diabetes. Altering the gene responsible through genetic engineering kept the mice slim and healthy.http://www.newser.com/story/39004/genetic-hiccup-causes-obesity-in-mice-study.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 02 Oct 2008 14:37:51 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/38728/leading-supplements-dont-slow-arthritis-study.html?refid=rss_all_defaultPopular nutritional supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate don’t slow the progression of arthritis, a 2-year study finds. Though a combination of the two is the nation's sixth-highest-selling dietary supplement, they didn’t cut cartilage loss any better than sugar pills in osteoarthritis patients, reports USA Today , confirming the findings of earlier research.http://www.newser.com/story/38728/leading-supplements-dont-slow-arthritis-study.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 30 Sep 2008 7:24:32 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/38649/combo-heart-pills-enter-trials-in-london.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTrials begin this week in London on a cheap "polypill" that could cut heart attack and stroke deaths in half worldwide, the Guardian reports. The pill combines four drugs—aspirin, a cholesterol-lowering statin, an ACE inhibitor, and thiazine to battle high blood pressure. The aim is to sell it—for about $1 a month—over the counter at pharmacies in the developing world, where cardiovascular disease is soaring.http://www.newser.com/story/38649/combo-heart-pills-enter-trials-in-london.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 29 Sep 2008 6:45:42 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/38515/docs-tout-safer-non-embryonic-stem-cells.html?refid=rss_all_defaultScientists have discovered a safer way to turn adult cells into stem cells, the Boston Globe reports. The cells, similar to those harvested from embryos, are called induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells; Japanese researchers introduced the method 2 years ago. But the Japanese used retroviruses, which can cause cancer; the new research uses a different virus, which is safe.http://www.newser.com/story/38515/docs-tout-safer-non-embryonic-stem-cells.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 26 Sep 2008 14:36:16 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/38249/autism-reversing-drugs-show-promise.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMIT scientists have discovered one of the mechanisms of Fragile X Syndrome, one cause of autism, and are developing drugs to treat it, NPR reports. The disorder, triggered by a genetic mutation, interferes with the normal links between brain cells, making those networks something like a car without a brakes. The new drugs limit acceleration, and have been successful in mice.http://www.newser.com/story/38249/autism-reversing-drugs-show-promise.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 24 Sep 2008 8:06:06 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/37995/need-your-gall-bladder-taken-out-say-ahhh.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA new surgery technique aims to send patients home without a scar —but you might have to put your gall bladder where your mouth is to do it. The Washington Post takes a look at surgeons who operate purely through existing bodily openings, largely the aforementioned gall bladder being removed orally. While some are hailing a surgical revolution, many health experts are concerned that the procedure’s popularity could soar before it’s properly studied.http://www.newser.com/story/37995/need-your-gall-bladder-taken-out-say-ahhh.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSun, 21 Sep 2008 7:44:07 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/37983/new-gizmos-wage-war-on-sperm-flow.html?refid=rss_all_defaultCondoms may be reliable, but they’re so last century, prompting scientists to develop a new arsenal of high-tech male contraceptives, the London Times reports. One device, the tiny “fertility control micro-valve,” is injected into a duct to let men control sperm flow using a remote-controlled key fob, while another uses ultrasound waves to heat the testes and thwart sperm production.http://www.newser.com/story/37983/new-gizmos-wage-war-on-sperm-flow.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSat, 20 Sep 2008 14:16:29 CDT