University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have discovered a gene that helps control the secretion of acid in the stomach—information that could one day aid scientists in creating more efficient treatment options for conditions such as acid reflux or peptic ulcers.

This data is published in the Nov. 3 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

UC professor Manoocher Soleimani, MD, and colleagues found that when transporter Slc26a9—the gene responsible for the production of chloride in the stomach—is eliminated from the mouse model's system, acid secretion in the stomach stops.

Gastric acid, comprised mainly of hydrochloric acid (HCL), is the main secretion in the stomach and helps the body to break down and digest food. 

In August 2005, The Lancet published an editorial entitled 'The End of Homeopathy', prompted by a review comparing clinical trials of homeopathy with trials of conventional medicine. The conclusion that homeopathic medicines are just placebo was based on 6 clinical trials of conventional medicine and 8 studies of homeopathy but did not reveal the identity of those trials. The review was criticized by some for its opacity as it gave no indication of which trials were analyzed and the various assumptions made about the data.

If you own(ed) a digital video recorder like a Replay, you probably never felt so liberated.   While watching a television show, it jumped over the entire block of commercials.   You could send programs to friends over the internet and watch them in different parts of your house.   It was a miracle of viewer-friendly technology and that's why it was under constant lawsuit pressure from large media companies.

Consuming caffeine at any time during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of fetal growth restriction (low birth weight), according to research published on bmj.com today. 

Although some previous studies have also shown this, the study additionally shows that any amount and type of caffeine intake — from tea, cola, chocolate, cocoa, and some prescription drugs, as well as coffee—is linked with relatively slower fetal growth. 

Dr Justin Konje and colleagues from the University of Leicester as well as collaborators from the University of Leeds, examined the association of maternal caffeine intake and individual caffeine metabolism on birth weight. 

An unfortunate downside to the energy debate is that, when politics get involved, science goes out the window.   The same activist groups that insisted ethanol would be the savior of the environment for 20 years (and were horribly wrong) now insist solar energy is the perfect solution.

Fibromyalgia is frequently considered an 'invisible syndrome' since musculoskeletal imaging is negative.  Some researchers have thought that the pain reported by fibromyalgia patients was the result of depression rather than symptoms of a disorder.