Miami researchers identify nine Alzheimer's genes

Some prominent researchers at the University of Miami have identified nine genes that are likely to raise the risk of Alzheimer's, taking one more stride toward the day when people can accurately assess their risk of the disease and take action to avoid it.

''We now have some exciting new directions to explore,'' Margaret Pericak-Vance, director of the Miami Institute for Human Genomics at the University of Miami Medical School, told the Miami Herald. ''This is important because a lot of the drugs used to fight it work best when they're started early.''

Pericak-Vance is one of the leading genetic sleuths involved in researching Alzheimer's disease. As new genetic clues to Alzheimer's are unveiled, it makes it increasingly likely that people at high risk of the disease will be able to adopt lifestyle changes or start early treatment, delaying onset of a condition that afflicts five million Americans. The study will be published in the January issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics.

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Chew on this: We'll soon be able to grow replacement teeth

Toothlessness has declined 60 percent in the United States since 1960. Baby boomers will be the first generation in human history typically to go to their graves with most of their teeth.

And now comes tooth regeneration: growing teeth in adults, on demand, to replace missing ones. Soon.

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More Bulgarians resort to stem cell storage

Dimitar Georgiev, manager of the Bulgarian branch of Cryo-Save Group N.V., Europe’s largest adult stem cell storage bank, has said that in 2008, 570 Bulgarian families have saved stem cells from their children, Focus news agency reported on January 6 2009.

That number adds to a total of 1300 families, yet so far none of them has been in a situation requiring a treatment with preserved stem cells, Georgiev has said.

He has identified Bulgarians who take such a step as “intelligent and with progressive thinking,” adding that the procedure is becoming a common practice. Georgiev has also said that business at the Cryo Save Bulgaria has increased by 20 per cent, and he did not think that the economic crisis would affect the client flow or the quality of the company's services.

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I broke my leg in the snow - and healed it with cells from my hip

Every year, many thousands of people break a leg, and while the bone usually starts healing after eight weeks, in around a fifth of cases it takes much longer. Loraine Holland, 45, a science teacher from Hornchurch in Essex, benefited from a new technique. Here she tells CAROL DAVIS her story while her surgeon.

Two months after the operation, Professor Richardson told me the X-rays showed the bone was finally starting to grow back.

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Coffee may protect against oral cancers