A careful study by a group of investigators of the University of Giessen suggests that there is no indication for mercury intoxication or amalgam allergy as a cause of somatic complaints.

To deepen the understanding of the numerous unspecific complaints which are related to the dental material amalgam both in patients and physicians, an interdisciplinary case-control study regarding toxicological, allergic, psychological and psychiatric aspects was conducted. Forty patients with amalgam-asso

A group of investigators of the University of Cagliari found an interesting association between chemokinines and dementia in Down’s syndrome, which may have far reaching implications.

People with Down`s syndrome (DS) show early Alzheimer-like dementia. It has been suggested that the pro-inflammatory cytokine class plays a role in Alzheimer`s disease (AD). The study aims at verifying whether pro-inflammatory cytokines in DS are correlated with age, affective symptoms and intellectual decline

A new screening test to be piloted in Bristol could help to revolutionise the way children with leukaemia are treated by enabling doctors to fine tune treatment to the needs of each individual patient.

Experts from five centres – Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Sheffield – will pilot the test for the most common form of the childhood leukaemia – acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The team at the University of Bristol and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children is using special technology c

Virginia Tech student presents first findings at international geochemistry conference

Every living thing needs iron. The strategies some organisms use to accumulate iron can impact the quality of our environment and could be adapted for our use.

Imagine a falconer releasing his falcon to nab pigeons for his dinner. That is somewhat how the bacteria, Azotobacter vinelandii , acquire iron. They release siderophore molecules, called azotobactin, which nabs iron out of m

The collaboration between cardiologist and orthopedist may at first seem novel, if not odd. But just such an interdisciplinary connection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has yielded potentially useful fruit: a bioengineered, rhythmically beating experimental model of heart muscle.

The new model system is a bioartificial trabeculum, or BAT. Trabecula are thin sections of cardiac tissue within the inner surface of the heart’s main pumping chambers. Although still some

New polymer could prevent burns, food poisoning, traffic accidents

Imagine a fire door that changes color when hot, football jerseys that can tell when a player is overheating, road signs that change color indicating icy road conditions, and food packaging stamps that disappear when products have been kept at room temperature for too long. At the University of Rhode Island, chemists Brett Lucht and Bill Euler and chemical engineer Otto Gregory are working to make these products a real