Drinking a specially-made cocoa beverage daily may have the potential to reverse impairments in the functioning of blood vessels, according to a first-of-its-kind study published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology. The cocoa used in the study was rich in flavanols, naturally-occurring compounds abundant in freshly harvested cocoa prior to their destruction during the typical processing and manufacture of cocoa and chocolate products. [click link for full article]

Mohammed Mahmoud Ibrahim, aged 4, is the 24th human to become infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus strain in Egypt since the disease appeared in the country in 2006, according to the country’s Ministry of Health today. On the 8th March, Mohammed, from Daqahliya, was admitted to the Manshiyat Al Bakri Children’s Hospital, Cairo, with bird flu like symptoms. According to Health Ministry Officials, the boy was infected by poultry raised by his family. [click link for full article]

Critical portions of the brain in those who are obese don’t really know they are overweight, researchers have reported in the March issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, published by Cell Press. These findings in obese mice show that a sensor in the brain that normally detects a critical fat hormone - causing a cascade of events that keeps energy balance in check - fails to engage. Meanwhile, the rest of the metabolic pathway remains ready to respond. [click link for full article]

A study by The Food Magazine found that 40 out of 41 pediatric medicines it investigated contained banned food additives. Foods and drinks for children under three in the UK are not allowed to have colors or sweeteners in them - most preservatives are not allowed either. Only in extremely rare cases are these additives permitted. [click link for full article]

The results from the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) trial, one of the largest breast cancer prevention clinical trials ever conducted, provide a good opportunity to look back at the obstacles and successes in the development of these two drugs, according to a commentary by V. Craig Jordan, Ph.D., D.Sc., of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. [click link for full article]

An Oregon Health & Science University researcher believes the discovery of a gene cluster from a bacterium that protects a moss-like marine invertebrate from predators may be the first step toward engineering cancer-fighting drugs.Margo Haygood, Ph.D. [click link for full article]

Mutations in a gene known as EXT1 cause Multiple Osteochondromas, a rare hereditary disorder that results in the formation of benign cartilage-covered bone tumors. Now scientists have shown that EXT1 is also involved in the development of nonhereditary osteochondromas, the more common form of the disease. [click link for full article]

Changes in breast density within a three year period may impact breast cancer risk, according to a new study. The two measurements of breast density needed to calculate that change may better predict a woman’s risk of breast cancer than a single measurement.High breast density is a strong predictor of breast cancer risk, but researchers did not know whether changes in breast density over time would affect this risk. Karla Kerlikowske, M.D. [click link for full article]

Platelets are cell fragments in the blood that have a central role in regulating hemostasis, the physiologic process whereby bleeding is stopped. Deregulation of platelet function can therefore lead to uncontrolled bleeding or to the formation of thrombi, which can block blood vessels and, in the heart and brain, lead to heart attacks and strokes. [click link for full article]

Chronic lung diseases such as asthma and cystic fibrosis are characterized by an increase in the number of cells known as goblet cells and an increase in the production of lung mucous. Although the molecular details of how these changes are regulated are not well defined, a new study by researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital indicates that a protein known as SPDEF has an important role in controlling these processes. [click link for full article]