New findings from the Lung Health Study (LHS) indicate that, in general, women’s lung function improves significantly more than men’s after sustained smoking cessation. LHS researchers previously published results showing that both men and women benefit from smoking cessation; this new analysis indicates that the benefits to the lungs are greater in women than in men. The results are published in the June 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Supported by the National H

How infants respond to their mother’s touches and smiles influences their development in a manner much like what young birds experience when learning to sing, according to a research project involving the Department of Psychology at Indiana University Bloomington and the Biological Foundations of Behavior program at Franklin and Marshall College.

An article on the research, titled “Social interaction shapes babbling: Testing parallels between birdsong and speech,” will be published this wee

University of Pittsburgh researchers report results in American Journal of Transplantation and at American Transplant Congress, suggesting blood test to determine who can be weaned not far off

Liver transplant patients who are off all immunosuppression and those who are undergoing withdrawal of their anti-rejection drugs have higher concentrations of a special immune system cell than those patients who have failed attempts at weaning or who have a history of organ rejection, report Un

In patients with metastatic breast cancer, immune cells from a genetically matched donor can attack and shrink tumors, researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) announced today at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. This is the first time researchers have clearly demonstrated this type of immune response, known as a graft-versus-tumor effect, acting against breast cancer.
“Graft-versus-tumor effects have been shown to be useful in treating cance

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have determined that a protein essential for the normal embryonic development of fruit flies is also used by mammals to assist in the timely healing of cuts and lacerations.

Their discovery, detailed in the June 3 issue of the journal Developmental Cell, provides new insight for scientists into the molecular mechanisms responsible for wound healing in humans and may one day lead to the design of new drugs for individuals whose healing is

A group of researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) have identified a small chemical molecule that controls the fate of embryonic stem cells.

“We found molecules that can direct the embryonic stem cells to [become] neurons,” says Sheng Ding, who recently completed his Ph.D. work at TSRI and is becoming an assistant professor in the chemistry department. Ding is the lead author on the study, which is described