The Case of the Telltale Fingertips

jerry submitted, created time 5 months 3 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

Club-shaped fingers can be a warning sign for serious lung and heart conditions, but the cause of the disorder has remained a mystery for more than 2400 years. Now, researchers may have taken a step toward solving the puzzle by pinpointing the mutation that spurs a rare type of clubbing...

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Rosiglitazone-Associated Fractures in Type 2 Diabetes

Notch controls bone formation and strength

jane2007 submitted, created time 8 months 3 weeks (www.bcm.edu)

Notch, a protein known to govern the determination of cell differentiation into different kinds of tissues in embryos, plays a critical role in bone formation and strength later in life. These findings may provide a basis for understanding osteoporosis and diseases in which there is too much bone.

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TB-scarred Homo erectus skull found in Turkey

Darkfrog submitted, created time 11 months 3 days (www3.interscience.wiley.com)

The article discusses the way in which TB affected migrating populations. According to the article, examination of this skull supports the idea that as dark-skinned hominids moved into areas where the sun was less intense, they found themselves deficient in vitamin D, which affected their bones and immune systems.

It also got a writeup in the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/science/18skul.html?ref=science

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Denosumab fortifies bone in breast cancer patients

Eric wu submitted, created time 11 months 3 days (www.reuters.com)

The osteoporosis drug denosumab increased bone strength in women receiving hormone therapy for breast cancer, drug maker Amgen Inc said Friday.

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