The hormone erythropoietin is mainly produced in the kidney. It is involved in the production of red blood cells. Also erythropoietin is able to increase sportsmen productivity. Due to this fact the hormone is recognized as a dope. The new study, conducted by members of the University of Barcelona, involved 79 people with depression or bipolar disorder, Zee News reports.

Scientists have found that carotid bodies of a carotid artery can be responsible for hypertension. News-medical writes that the therapy should effect on them. It was proved that by removing some of the bodies, in some cases, instant and prolonged pressure reduction can be achieved. Moreover, no medicine shows such results.

At present, antibiotics are the only remedy for bacterial infections. But gradually bacteria mutate and become resistant to medications. Scientists from the University of Melbourne attempted to solve this problem. They created small star-shaped polymers that can fight bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

The fast and simple test for tumors was presented by the scientists at Swansea Science Festival in the UK. The test indicates red blood cells’ alterations that occur in the human body when the cancer cells present.

Scientists of Brown’s University have revealed that the disease, detected at the brothers and sisters of two families in Pakistan and Oman, is associated with changes in GPT2 gene. It encodes an enzyme which plays an important role in mitochondria - "power plants" of cells. The study was started over 5 years ago, NDTV reports.

So, some genetic variants that increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease or cancer do not leave from generation to generation. It turns out that the process helping people to resist pathogens, allows the problematic mutations to occur again in the genome. That is, the law of evolutionary selection does not work here, The Economic Times says.

Scientists constantly look for safe sweeteners. The latest development is a fruit protein brazzein. It is sweeter than regular sugar, and it contains fewer calories, Lab Manager says. But the protein has a problem: if it is obtained directly from the fruit harvested in West Africa, it may be very expensive. Therefore, the scientists have made the fungi to produce the protein in vitro and in large quantities.

Scientists say, they have developed an alternative to morphine, which does not cause breathing problems. A respiratory arrest is one of the main causes of death with an overdose of morphine, The Australian says. Plus, the alternative is not addictive.

It was developed by scientists from the National Institute of Science and Technology of Ulsan. Immunosensor measures the level of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) - a protein that enters the blood after a heart attack. For diagnose, only one drop of blood is needed. The result appears in a minute, NDTV says.

It helps to identify the areas where genes are "turned off". This method might simplify the diagnosis of disorders such as Alzheimer's disease or schizophrenia. The new technique is a type of positron emission tomography (PET), says Popular Science.