Washington, Mar 14 : Researchers from Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a molecular pathway that can be a potential therapeutic target for Down's syndrome, the most frequent cause of mental retardation.

The study showed that synaptojanin-1, a central component of the pathway, is essential to production of glia, brain cells that act as neurons'' personal assistants.

Down''s syndrome, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer''s disease, and stroke all are linked by an overproduction of glia.

Washington, Mar 14: While alcohol consumption has always been attributed to devastating effects on health, a new study has revealed that moderate consumption might make bones stronger in older adults.

An international team of experts headed by Katherine Tucker studied a cohort of older adults in the Framingham Offspring Study to determine an association between alcohol consumption and bone mineral density.

“Moderate alcohol consumption was shown to contribute to stronger bones (measured as hip and spine bone mineral density),” said ASN Spokesperson Stephanie Atkinson, PhD.

London, Mar 14 : A bioabsorbable, drug-eluting stent appears to be a safe and effective way of treating blocked coronary arteries, according to results from the open-label ABSORB study.

Two years after implanting of an investigational, everolimus coronary stent in patients, boffins recorded no cardiac deaths, target lesion revascularizations, or stent thromboses, reports The Lancet.

Washington, March 14 : Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have revealed that they have been able to block the development of the malaria-causing parasite in Anopheles gambiae, A. stephensi and A. albimanus mosquitoes-three mosquito species that spread malaria in Africa, Asia and the Americas-by silencing a gene called caspar.

Washington, Mar 14 : Being in heavy traffic triples your risk of heart attack within one hour, warn researchers.

Researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention that people who have had a heart attack are likely to report having been in traffic shortly before their symptoms began.

Washington, March 14: Doctors at Instituto Medico La Floresta in Caracas, Venezuela, have successfully performed the world’s first live human transvaginal nephrectomy using the Tri-port multi-channel port supplied by Advanced Surgical Concepts Ltd.