(February 7, 2012 - Insidermedicine)

From Buffalo - Scientists have discovered the origins of Parkinson's disease, according to a report published in Nature Communications.  Researchers studied live human neurons of two Parkinson's disease patients, finding that mutations to their parkin gene prevented dopamine from supporting neural computation and resulted in the death of dopamine neurons. Injecting the neurons with a normal parkin gene, the researchers were able to reverse these defects.

From San Francisco - A new report published in Cell Metabolism finds that metabolic profiles are fundamental to personalizing cancer treatment. Studying mice with different cancer causing genes, researchers found that the rodents tumours had very different metabolisms--emphasizing that need for metabolic profiling when planning cancer therapy.
 
And finally, from the UK - Weaning infants on finger foods as opposed to spoon fed purees may help prevent obesity, according to a report published in BMJ Open. Resaerchers followed 155 children from 20 months old to 6.5 years old, finding that those who were allowed to feed themselves with finger foods during weaning were more likely to prefer healthy foods and less likely to be overweight or obese than those who ate spoon fed-purees.