Recent genetic association studies have uncovered a number of DNA variants associated with prostate cancer. However, some of these risk variants lie outside of genes, posing a challenge to researchers working to understand the biology of cancer. In a report published online today in Genome Research, researchers have characterized a functional DNA element associated with prostate cancer, lending new insight into the molecular mechanisms of the disease.

New research shows that people with Alzheimer's disease who have large heads have better memory and thinking skills than those with the disease who have smaller heads, even when they have the same amount of brain cell death due to the disease. The research is published in the July 13, 2010, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

A genetic variant implicated in several cancers by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has been found to drive increased expression of a known oncogene in the prostate. The study, published July 13 in Genome Research, showcases a new protocol for studying the activity of cancer-risk variants suggested by GWAS studies.

A new study by scientists at the Institute for Aging Research of Hebrew SeniorLife says the use of antibiotics to treat pneumonia in terminal dementia patients presents a "double-edged" sword for health-care providers and family members, finding that antibiotics may prolong survival for these patients, but do not improve their comfort.

A new study of children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome finds that self-hypnosis taught with the aid of videotape training reduced their symptoms and improved their quality of life.Seventy-nine percent of 33 research participants achieved enough improvement in tic control to report personal satisfaction with the technique.

Severe obstructive sleep apnea may raise the risk of heart failure in middle-aged and older men. Obstructive sleep apnea significantly predicts the risk of coronary heart disease in men up to age 70. Researchers didn't find a link in women, but said further study is warranted.

A research team from the Peninsula Medical School, University of Exeter, has established the first clear link between vitamin D deficiency and the development of cognitive problems that are a key feature of dementia.

New research from the University of Michigan reveals racial and ethnic differences in the emotional attitudes of caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients.

Over half of UK swine flu hospital admissions and inpatient deaths occurred in people with no underlying health problems or obvious risk factors, reveals research published in Thorax today.

One in four global CEOs sees biodiversity loss as a strategic issue for business growth: Latin American and African CEOs are most concerned about impacts of biodiversity loss on business growth prospects -- European CEOs are least concerned.

Light has been cast on the interaction between broccoli consumption and reduced prostate cancer risk. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open-access journal Molecular Cancer have found that sulforaphane, a chemical found in broccoli, interacts with cells lacking a gene called PTEN to reduce the chances of prostate cancer developing.

Scientists from Singapore's Agency of Science, Technology and Research have made three successive breakthroughs in key areas of cancer research. Their work, published in top scientific journals Cancer Cell, Nature Cell Biology, and Cancer Research, sheds light on the mechanism behind cancer metastasis, suggest why breast cancer cells live as long as they do, and show a better way to detect and fight cervical cancer.

Using molecular techniques, Agricultural Research Service and collaborating scientists have shown how the subversion of a single gene in wheat by two fungal foes triggers a kind of cellular suicide in the grain crop's leaves.

A new study has found that heterosexual African American couples in which only one partner is HIV-positive practiced safer sexual behaviors after participating in a culturally specific intervention program designed to reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Researchers with the National Institutes of Health have found susceptibility to Behcet's disease, a painful, inflammatory condition, to be associated with genes involved in the body's immune response.