Washington, Feb 10 : Researchers have discovered that the immune response regulator IKBKE (serine/threonine kinase) plays two roles in tobacco-related non-small cell lung cancers.

Tobacco carcinogens induce IKBKE and, in turn, IKBKE induces chemotherapy resistance.

Washington, Feb 10 : Practice makes perfect is an old truism. And now science is proving that those who practise tasks repeatedly, especially after mastering them, exert less energy, performing with greater ease and efficiency.

Whether you are an athlete, a musician or a stroke patient learning to walk again, practice may not only make you perfect, but also more efficient, says a new study from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Washington, Feb 10 : Use of a drug in mice appears to quickly reverse the pathological, cognitive and memory deficits caused by the onset of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study.

The results point to the significant potential that the medication, bexarotene, has to help the roughly 5.4 million Americans suffering from the progressive brain disease, US researchers said.

Washington, Feb 9 : Scientists have designed tiny "micromotors" that propel themselves through acidic environments using hydrogen bubbles.

These micromotors are expected to work in stomach acid.

Researchers, led by University of California San Diego nanoengineering professor Joseph Wang, constructed each micromotor from extremely tiny plastic tubes containing a thin layer of zinc, Discovery News reported.

Washington, Feb 8 : A botanical formula considerably suppresses tumour growth in aggressive, hormone refractory (androgen independent) human-prostate cancer cells, according to researchers.

Scientists at Indiana University, Methodist Research Institute study a botanical formula that kills aggressive prostate cancer tumours. Their findings are based on experiments in mice using a human prostate cancer tumour model.

Washington, Feb 9 - Coronary artery disease (CAD) and prostate cancer, two seemingly unrelated conditions, may actually share similar causes, according to the findings of a drug trial.

CAD kills more adults in the US than any other cause, accounting for one in four deaths. Risk factors include inactivity, obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol, cigarette smoking, and diabetes.

Washington, Feb 9 - Coronary artery disease or CAD, which kills tens of thousands worldwide every year, is likely to pass from father to son, reveals a study.

A new study by the University of Leicester's cardiovascular sciences and genetics departments, which took four years to complete, suggests that the Y-chromosome, a part of DNA present only in men, plays a role in the inheritance of CAD.

Washington, Feb 8 - A new smart phone senses your depression and nudges you to go out with friends, a study reveals.

It's the future of therapy at a new Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine centre where scientists are inventing web-based, mobile and virtual technologies to treat depression and other mood disorders.

Washington, Feb 6 - Newly-divorced middle-aged women are more vulnerable to contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, a study reveals.

It is because they tend to let their guard down with new sexual partners and avoid using protection since they are unafraid of getting pregnant, said study author Christopher Coleman, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

Washington, Feb 1 - Space scientists are harnessing ultrasound to not only detect painful kidney stones but also to get rid of them through a process called "twinkling artifact".

The risk of kidney stones developing in space is aggravated by environmental conditions, scarcity of resouces and the distance from the earth, which could restrict treatment options.

Washington, Jan 30 : Differences in systolic blood pressure between arms could be a useful indicator of the likelihood of vascular risk and death, scientists have said.

The findings of the study, conducted by researchers from the University of Exeter Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD), add support to the calls for both-arm blood pressure checks to be performed as standard.

Washington, Jan 30 : People who carry rare genetic mutations in the receptor for body clock hormone –melatonin- are more vulnerable to type 2 diabetes, a new study has suggested.

The findings could help scientists to more accurately assess personal diabetes risk and could lead to the development of personalized treatments.

Washington, Jan 30 : Exposing the testicles to high frequency ultrasound could effectively stop sperm production, researchers say.

New research used commercially available therapeutic ultrasound equipment to reduce sperm counts of male rats to levels, which would result in infertility in humans.

Washington, Jan 30 : Researchers have identified thirty one regions of the genome that were associated with levels of circulating metabolites, i. e., small molecules that take part in various chemical reactions of the human body.

Washington, Jan 29 - An itch can be the most vexing when it occurs on your ankles or your back, also providing the greatest relief when the particular part is scratched, reveals a study pointing to specific nerve fibres.

The results of a study show that an itch was perceived most intensely at the ankle and back, while the perception of scratching relief was less pronounced on the forearm.

Washington, Jan 28 : Bedwetting isn’t always due to problems with the bladder but it can also be due to undiagnosed constipation, according to a new study.

Constipation is often the culprit and if it isn’t diagnosed, children and their parents must endure an unnecessarily long, costly and difficult quest to cure nighttime wetting, say researchers at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Washington, Jan 28 : Scientists have discovered a new approach for treating cancer based on manipulating the immune response to malignant tumours.

And the team at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, led by Professor Kingston Mills, Professor of Experimental Immunology, have also developed a new vaccine to treat cancer at the pre-clinical level.

Washington, Jan 28 : Influenza virus can rapidly evolve from one form to another, complicating the effectiveness of vaccines and anti-viral drugs used to treat it.

Now, University of Georgia researchers have identified several novel host genes and associated cell pathways that can be targeted with existing drugs to silence virus replication.

Washington, Jan 28 : Smells can transport us back to powerful and emotional memories from the past more effectively as compared to sounds, a new study has found.

A well-known idea called the “Proustian phenomenon” proposes that distinctive smells have more power than any other sense to help us recall distant memories, the Telegraph reported.

Washington, Jan 28 : The eyes are the window into the soul, or, at least the mind, a new study has suggested.

According to the new study, measuring the diameter of the pupil, the part of the eye that changes size to let in more light, can show what a person is paying attention to. Pupillometry, as it's called, has been used in social psychology, clinical psychology, humans, animals, children, infants.

Washington, Jan 28 : The link between amygdala and fear, especially a fear of others unlike us, has gone too far not only in pop culture but also in psychological science, a new study has claimed.

Washington, Jan 28 : What an individual thinks about their illness matters just as much, if not more, in determining their health outcomes, a new study has found.

Keith Petrie, of the University of Auckland, and John Weinman, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, reviewed the existing literature on patients' perceptions of illness.

Washington, Jan 28 : Scientists, including Indian-origin researchers, have found that a prion-like protein plays a key role in storing long-term memories.

Memories in our brains are maintained by connections between neurons called "synapses".

Washington, Jan 28 : An Indian origin scientist and his team have found that in both cell lines and mouse models, grape seed extract (GSE) kills head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells, while leaving healthy cells unharmed.

Nearly 12,000 people will die of head and neck cancer in the United States this year and worldwide cases will exceed half a million.

Washington, Jan 28 : Psychotherapy - both cognitive-behavioural and psychodynamic therapy - helps people with depressive personality traits- chronic melancholics - as much as those without the disposition, a psychologist has found.

Depression is a serious and sometimes devastating health problem, which affects millions of people worldwide.