This post summarises a couple of things I stumbled upon. While browsing Wikipedia, the page on peptides actually contains this:

It has also been documented that, when certain food proteins such as gluten, casein, egg protein and spinach protein are broken down, opioid peptides are formed. These peptides mimic the effects of morphine, and those who are unable to break them down will experience mental illness. These peptides are quite short and are given names such as casomorphine, gluten exorphine and dermorphine.

What proof have they got for that? peptides are basically like proteins, but simpler. It's not alltogether clear where one category starts and the other ends.

Science Blog speculates that obesity may be contagious, via a virus.

Same guy behind that obesity stuff though. More sources needed.

Lastly I read a claim on Slashdot (How's that for trusted sources :-) that 90% of autists are of blood type A. Sources needed!

(First posted Jan. 31, 2006 12:12 am)

Not only has Viagra been linked to the production of new brain cells, now it seeems that the active ingredient can help the body fight cancer. We're as usual talking about mice. So far.

In a report published in the Nov. 27 issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, the Hopkins team says boosted levels of the chemical messenger nitric oxide appear to dampen the effects of a specialized cell that diverts the immune system away from tumors, allowing swarms of cancer-attacking T-cells to migrate to tumor sites in the rodents. Lab-grown cancer cells treated with sildenafil showed similar results, as did tissue samples taken from 14 head and neck cancer and multiple myeloma patients.

Read more: Viagra helps fight cancer | Science Blog

(First posted Dec. 7, 2006 7:41 pm)

Scientists from Johns Hopkins and from the University of Milan have effectively proven that they can inhibit lethal human brain cancers in mice using a protein that selectively induces positive changes in the activity of cells that behave like cancer stem cells. The report is published this week in Nature.

Read more: Natural protein stops deadly human brain cancer in mice | Science Blog

(First posted Dec. 8, 2006 10:44 am)

LaFerla; James McGaugh, research professor of neurobiology and behavior; and postdoctoral researchers Kim Green and Lauren Billings studied hundreds of mice between two and 18 months of age that were bred to develop the plaques and tangles characteristic of the disease. Mice in one group were allowed to "learn" by swimming in a round tank of water until they found a submerged platform on which to stand.

Read more: Learning slows physical progression of Alzheimer's disease | Science Blog

(First posted Jan. 24, 2007 7:55 pm)

Some may throw up their hands at this increase in autism and feel despair and pessimism. They may feel that the future is bleak for all of these newly diagnosed cases of autism. But I remain optimistic that for a good proportion of them, it has never been a better time to have autism. Why? Because there is a remarkably good fit between the autistic mind and the digital age.

Read more: THE WORLD QUESTION CENTER 2007 — Page 7

(First posted Jan. 3, 2007 1:27 pm)

Talc has been used as a treatment of a side effect of lung cancer. This side effect is that fluid builds up around the lungs and exerts pressure on them. Talc has been placed around the lungs and the ensuing scarring has prevented the fluid build up to happen.

Strange thing is though that patients under this treatment have also showed a longer life expectancy. It seems like the talc is able to stimulate good cells and inhibit bad ones. It seems to do this by stimulating the production of the hormone endostatin. This hormone has been tried before but done through injection . It is speculated that the talc does a better job by stimulating the body's own production, locally.

“We were surprised to find that talc has added benefits besides causing scarring and taking away the fluid that surrounds the lung,” Antony said. “The cells that cover the lining of the lung are stimulated by the presence of talc to produce a factor that inhibits the growth of blood vessels and kills the tumor cells themselves.” Less than one day after treatment with talc, patients began producing 10-fold higher levels of endostatin, a hormone released by healthy lung cells. Endostatin prevents new blood vessels from forming, slows cell growth and movement, and even induces nearby tumor cells to commit suicide. All of these make it hard for tumors to grow and spread into healthy lung tissue.

Read more: Talcum powder stunts growth of lung tumors | Science Blog

According to Wikipedia though,  talc is suspected suspected to be cancer inducing...

(First posted June 7, 2007 5:12 pm)

...so if you are a pet lover, one more reason to quit the habit!

“One reason cats are so susceptible to secondhand smoke is because of their grooming habits. Cats constantly lick themselves while grooming, therefore they lick up the cancer-causing carcinogens that accumulate on their fur,” MacAllister said. “This grooming behavior exposes the mucous membrane of their mouth to the cancer-causing carcinogens.” Malignant lymphoma is another type of cancer that cats that live with smokers have a higher risk of getting. This cancer occurs in the lymph nodes and cats are twice as likely to have this type of cancer compared to cats living in a non-smoking home. This form of cancer is fatal to three out of four cats within 12 months of developing the cancer.

Read more: Bark, bark, cough: Secondhand smoke a threat to pets | Science Blog

(First posted Sep. 2, 2007 8:14 pm)

In the study to be published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, Gary Small and his colleagues discovered that the chemical allowed doctors to pick out which of 83 volunteers had Alzheimer's, which had mild memory problems, and which were functioning normally for their age. It was 98 percent accurate in determining the difference between Alzheimer's and mild cognitive impairment.

Read more: New chemical gives insight into Alzheimer's - Yahoo! News

(First posted Jan. 5, 2007 5:44 pm)

University of South Florida researchers report that a novel needle-free vaccine approach is effective and safe in clearing brain-damaging plaques from a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. The transdermal, or across the skin, vaccination, may offer a simpler way of preventing or treating the devastating neurodegenerative disease with less likelihood of adverse immune reactions.

Read more: Skin patch treats Alzheimer's in mouse model | Science Blog

(First posted Jan. 23, 2007 11:51 am)

A mouse resistant to cancer, even highly-aggressive types, has been created by researchers at the University of Kentucky. The breakthrough stems from a discovery by UK College of Medicine professor of radiation medicine Vivek Rangnekar and a team of researchers who found a tumor-suppressor gene called "Par-4" in the prostate.

Read more: Cancer-resistant mouse discovered

(First posted Nov. 28, 2007 12:05 pm)

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa is a troublesome bacterium that causes infections in people with a weakened immune system, such as those who suffer from cystic fibrosis. In sufferers from this disease Pseudomonas Aeruginosa has a tendency to settle in the lungs and line them with a thicker and thicker biofilm, that is nearly impenetrable and resistant to antibiotics, through efficiently pumping the antibiotic toxins out. Ten percent of hospital infections are caused by the bacterium.

P Aeruginosa in its mucoid state is very difficult to combat for the body's immune system defenses. In patients with cystic fibrosis the body resorts to an attempt of "etching" away the mucus, which leads to tissue damage in the lungs.

It seems though that in its mucoid form, the bacterium is sensitive to a common preservative, Sodium Nitrite (E250). Sodium Nitrite needs to work its magic in a slighty acidic environment:

From Science Blog:

"We believe that we have discovered the Achilles' heel of the formidable mucoid form of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which could lead to improved treatment for cystic fibrosis airway disease," said Dr. Hassett. "We can essentially say that this organism, which some people thought could never be beaten, can now be destroyed by nothing more exotic than a common food preservative."

Cystic fibrosis, which affects about 30,000 people in the United States, mostly Caucasians of north European origin, is an inherited disease caused by a defect in a gene called the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Affecting the airways and many other vital organs and processes, cystic fibrosis is chronic, progressive and ultimately fatal, mostly as a result of respiratory failure.

"The lung-clogging, suffocating mucoid form of Pseudomonas aeruginosa essentially is a death sentence for cystic fibrosis patients because these bacteria are inherently antibiotic and white-cell resistant," said Dr. Hassett.

The first blog entry