Chronic alcohol disrupts body’s biological clock

September 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Alexis Webb enters a small room painted dark green, turns off the lights and bends over a microscope over a black box to see a single nerve cell on a glass cover slip glowing dimly - indicating the isolated cell is busy keeping time. Researchers at Washington University in St.

September 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Chronic alcohol consumption blunts the biological clocks ability to synchronise daily activities with light, even days after the drinking ends, according to a new study. The study describes the changes that drinking can produce on the bodys masterclock and how it affects behaviour.

August 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a unique device, called Dermastream, which could heal bedsores and chronic ulcers in bedridden elderly and infirm. When ill, such people are prone to painful and dangerous pressure ulcers, and diabetics are susceptible to wounds caused by a lack of blood flow to the extremities.

August 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Asparagus extract contains amino acids and minerals, which may ease alcohol hangover and protect liver cells against toxins, according to a study. Asparagus officinalis is a common vegetable that is widely consumed worldwide, and has long been used as an herbal medicine due to its anticancer effects.

June 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - While it is known that chronic pain and depression go hand in hand, a new study has shown that the link between pain and depression is strongest in middle-age women. For the study, researchers at Wayne State University examined a representative community sample of 1,100 Michigan residents and found that the incidence of chronic pain, defined as pain persisting for six months, was 22 percent.

June 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Alcohol can get to a person's head in just six minutes after taking a drink, according to researchers in Heidelberg. Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), the scientists have shown that only six minutes after consuming an amount of alcohol-equivalent to three glasses of beer or two glasses of wine, which leads to a blood alcohol level of 0.05 to 0.06 percent-can cause changes in the brain cells.

May 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Two studies conducted by scientists at Dartmouth Medical School have provided significant insights into why the 24-hour body clock does not change with temperature when metabolism is so affected. Circadian systems are biological oscillators that orchestrate activities through an elaborate network of interactive proteins and feedback loops.

May 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - American racing cyclist Lance Armstrong has revealed in his forthcoming book that he and former fiancé Sheryl Crow called it quits because Crow was keen to have a baby while Lance was not. Lance divulges in his book that, as he had just got out of his marriage, he did not have any immediate plans to have a baby with former fiancé Sheryl Crow, as her biological clock was ticking.

May 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A moderate dose of alcohol increases a person's mind wandering, while at the same time reducing the likelihood of noticing that one's mind has wandered, according to a new study. The study offers the first evidence that alcohol disrupts an individual's ability to realize his or her mind has wandered, suggesting impairment of a psychological state called meta-consciousness.

April 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Your usual nine to five office shift has a biological reason behind it, and now scientists have found that some genes in the body are switched on once every 12 or 8 hours, which in turn keeps us actively involved in the work, according to a new study. The findings by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies indicated that shorter cycles of the circadian rhythm are also biologically encoded.

April 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, a team of scientists has proposed the concept, principles and techniques of active optical clock. The study was done at the Institute of Quantum Electronics, School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University.

March 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Vitamin D deficiency might worsen the condition of people suffering from chronic pain, according to a new study. The research from Mayo Clinic has found a link between inadequate vitamin D levels and the amount of narcotic medication taken by patients who have chronic pain.

February 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A drug prescribed for male and female infertility and menstrual disorders could be the key to a more effective treatment for alcoholism. A study by University of California San Franciso (UCSF)-affiliated Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Centre showed that 'alcoholic' rodents, when injected with cabergoline, decreased their alcohol consumption and alcohol-seeking behaviour and were less likely to relapse.

February 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Diarrhoea claims nearly two million people annually, the bulk of them being from poor countries in Africa and Asia. The disease accounts for 18 percent of all deaths among children - and yet is almost always preventable with proper treatment.

January 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are nearly twice as likely to be depressed as diabetics. Dutch researchers compared the health characteristics of 999 patients with COPD, 978 patients with diabetes, and 2,494 healthy control subjects.