An extract from grape seeds forces laboratory leukemia cells to commit cell suicide, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky. They found that within 24 hours, 76 percent of leukemia cells had died after being exposed to the extract.



The investigators, who report their findings in the January 1, 2009, issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, also teased apart the cell signaling pathway associated with use of grape seed extract that led to cell death, or apoptosis. They found that the extract activates JNK, a protein that regulates the apoptotic pathway.

Antibiotics may be overprescribed in kids because of concern by helicopter parents and worries about malpractice lawsuits, but in at least one instance they are saving a lot of lives - as a preventive measure to patients in intensive care units (ICUs).

This from a study involving nearly sixthousand Dutch patients in thirteen hospitals. Researchers at University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht have published their findings in an article in The New England Journal of Medicine. 

Researchers in Great Britain and the United States have imaged the first high definition imprints that dolphin sounds make in water.   They consider it a real breakthrough in deciphering dolphin language.

Certain sounds made by dolphins have long been suspected to represent language but the complexity of the sounds has made their analysis difficult. Previous techniques, using the spectrograph, display cetacean (dolphins, whales and porpoises) sounds only as graphs of frequency and amplitude.

Religious people have more self-control than non-religious counterparts, says a study by University of Miami professor of Psychology Michael McCullough and he says this is why religious people may be better at pursuing and achieving long-term goals and also might help explain why religious people tend to have lower rates of substance abuse, better school achievement, less delinquency, better health behaviors, less depression, and longer lives.

Using tiny gold particles and infrared light, researchers have developed a drug-delivery system that allows multiple drugs to be released in a controlled fashion.  Such a system could one day be used to provide more control when battling diseases commonly treated with more than one drug, according to the researchers.

Delivery devices already exist that can release two drugs, but the timing of the release must be built into the device — it cannot be controlled from outside the body. The new system is controlled externally and theoretically could deliver up to three or four drugs. 

The new technique takes advantage of the fact that when gold nanoparticles are exposed to infrared light, they melt and release drug payloads attached to their surfaces. 

While in some cases a child with ADHD cannot function without medication, there is growing concern about the health risks and side effects associated with the common ADHD medications, including mood swings, insomnia, tics, slowed growth and heart problems. In 2006 the FDA required manufacturers to place warning labels on ADHD medications, listing the potential serious health risks. 

These high risks and growing concerns are fueling parents' search for alternatives that may be safer for their kids.

The Transcendental Meditation technique may be an effective and safe non-pharmaceutical aid for treating ADHD, according to a study published in Current Issues in Education.