A drug-like molecule called Wnt can be substituted for the cancer gene c-Myc, one of four genes added to adult cells to reprogram them to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, according to Whitehead researchers. Researchers hope that such embryonic stem-cell-like cells, known as induced pluripotent (IPS) cells, eventually may treat diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and diabetes.

At a hospital appointment last week, I received a diagnosis of sensorimotor axonal neuropathy. Possible causes they are looking at are medication-related, coeliac disease, and vasculitis. We know that I don’t have diabetes or alcoholism, which are the most common causes. So, of course, I’m doing all the googling. Amongst others, I have learned these two things: 1) With exception of the Roman Catholic Church, most mainline Christian churches offer their communicants gluten-free alternatives to

Researchers at the Salk Institute in San Diego have found two drugs that did wonders for the athletic endurance of “couch potato” mice. One drug, known as Aicar, increased the mice’s endurance on a treadmill by 44 percent after just four weeks of treatment. A second drug, GW1516, increased endurance by 75 percent, but had to be combined with exercise to have any effect.

The chemicals involved are already available, and athletes are already asking about whether they work on humans.

Dr. Richard N. Bergman, an expert on obesity and diabetes at the University of Southern California, worried that the drugs might prove to have serious side effects. However, he acknowledged that if they are safe, they could become widely used.

The drugs activate at least one of the chemical pathways triggered by resveratrol, a substance that also resulted in increased endurance in mice. Large doses of resveratrol can allow mice to run twice as far as usual on a treadmill before collapsing.

Anxiety, depression and sleepless nights all can increase the risk of diabetes in men, according to a recent study.

Researchers found that men with high levels of psychological distress had more than double the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study looked at more than 2,000 men and more than 3,100 women, but did not find a similar link for women.

The men, who had normal blood glucose levels, were questioned for signs of psychological distress, such as anxiety, insomnia, depression, apathy and fatigue. The men with the highest levels of psychological distress were 2.2 times more likely to develop the condition.

One in three U.S. adults already suffers from some degree of hearing loss. The use of personal stereos and an aging population may soon create a hearing impairment epidemic, if it has not already done so.

It has been estimated that 55 million Americans have hearing loss in one or both ears. One out of six, or 29 million adults, have some trouble discerning speech.

Factors that dramatically increased the chances of hearing loss included smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes.