Grapefruit, orange, and apple juices block drugs commonly used to treat infections, allergy, transplant rejection, cancer, and high blood pressure.

Reports that grapefruit, orange, and apple juices decrease the absorption of several important medications:

The study was published in the Aug. 21 issue of Nature.

A protein that induces bone growth also helps promote development of "good" brown fat that helps burn calories and plays a role in fighting obesity. They said their finding about the protein, called BMP-7, may help lead to new ways to prevent and treat obesity.

The two main types of fat cells in the body are white and brown.

The study was published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Cancer Research.

A cannabinoid receptor lying on the surface of cells may help suppress colorectal cancer, say U.S. researchers. When the receptor is turned off, tumor growth is switched on. Cannabinoids are compounds related to the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in the cannabis plant.

The study was published in the Aug. 18 issue of the journal PLoS Medicine.

The Stanford researchers developed their mathematical model using two common blood biomarkers: prostate specific antigen (PSA), which is often elevated in prostate cancer, and CA125, used as a marker for follow-up therapy in ovarian cancer patients.

Simply chewing gum after colon surgery can reduce recovery time and shorten hospital stays, a review of research shows. 

A study is carried out for accessing of Gum Chewing, which may Speed Recovery. 5 studies were carried out with 158 patients in June 2006. Gum chewing was found to speed up the time it took the intestines to begin working again after surgical removal of all or part of the colon. 

As per reported in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Threading a catheter into the heart from the wrist rather than the groin reduces the incidence of bleeding problems during angioplasty, a new study finds.

The liver X receptor (LXR) is a member of the nuclear receptor family of transcription factors and is closely related to nuclear receptors such as PPAR, FXR and RXR. Liver X receptors (LXRs) are important regulators of cholesterol, fatty acid, and glucose homeostasis. Since there is no clear consensus on what the endogenous ligand of LXR is, LXR is referred to as an orphan receptor. 

Monitoring levels of a hormone called fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) may help improve treatment of kidney failure patients, say Massachusetts General Hospital researchers. Their analysis of patient data revealed that those who had elevated levels of FGF-23 when they began hemodialysis were much more likely to die within the first year of treatment, regardless of other risk factors. Patients with the highest FGF-23 levels had a 600 percent higher death rate than those with the lowest levels. Patients with intermediate FGF-23 levels also had an increased risk of death.¹

Harvard Stem Cell Institute "core" facility being established at Massachusetts General Hospital, Researchers in Massachusetts have succeeded in generating several disease-specific stem cell lines.

Researchers have identified an "odor profile" for skin cancer, with an eye toward developing a fast, simple and noninvasive test to diagnose the most common form of skin cancer in the United States. Researches found that the odor profile coming from the skin of skin cancer patients was markedly different than that coming from healthy skin.

So, this kind of biomarker could be used in a rapid and noninvasive way to detect skin cancer, and this would be novel, because now the only way to do so is with a visual exam and a biopsy, which is, of course, invasive.