High cholesterol has been found to contribute to a loss of bone density in two ways, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center. It blocks formation of new bone cells and it encourages the activity of mechanisms responsible for breaking down bone. The findings, from studies on mice, open new possibilities for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis and highlight a possible new way that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may improve bone health.

A recently published study — the largest long-term study of its kind — brings good news about kidney transplantation. Conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic , the study used protocol biopsies of the transplanted kidney (taken at one and five years after transplantation) to assess the frequency and examine the progression of tissue changes — particularly fibrosis (scarring), which can ultimately cause transplanted organs to fail.

The first study to compare contemporary approaches to surgery and medical therapy for heart failure caused by clogged coronary arteries found coronary bypass surgery should be considered in addition to medical therapy, according to researchers at Duke Clinical Research Institute. The findings were presented today at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session and simultaneously published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. “This is the first study in over three decades to provide important insight into the care of high risk heart failure patients with coronary disease who are candidates for bypass surgery in the setting of modern medicine,” said Eric J.

The powers that be in Las Vegas figured out something long before neuroscientists at two Duke University medical schools confirmed their ideas this week: Trying to make decisions while sleep-deprived can lead to a case of optimism. The scientists showed, using a functional MRI, that a night of sleep deprivation leads to increased brain activity in brain regions that assess positive outcomes, while at the same time, this deprivation leads to decreased activation in the brain areas that process negative outcomes. Sleep-deprived individuals in the study tended to make choices that emphasized monetary gain, and were less likely to make choices that reduced loss

Using inexpensive air filters may help reduce cardiovascular disease risk that results from exposure to air pollution, according to researchers from Canada, who studied healthy adultsliving in a small community in British Columbia where wood burning stoves are the main sources of pollution.

The quantum computers of tomorrow might use photons, or particles of light, to move around the data they need to make calculations, but photons are tricky to work with. Two new papers* by researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have brought science closer to creating reliable sources of photons for these long-heralded devices

Researchers have for the first time mapped the complex choreography used by the immune system’s T cells to recognize pathogens while avoiding attacks on the body’s own cells. The researchers found that T cell receptors – molecules located on the surface of the T cell – first bind with the antigen on the pathogen-invaded cell