You will be able to “grow your own transplant liver in a lab within just five years”, says the Daily Mail.   This news story is based on research that demonstrated a method to develop skin cells into stem cells, which were then matured into liver cells. The researchers used this technique to develop lab-grown liver cells from patients with various inherited liver diseases, which they hope might aid future research into diseases.

“Millions of blind and partially sighted people are being given hope they will see again after artificial corneas were successfully ‘grown’ in eyes,” the Daily Express reported.

“Stocking up on vitamin D supplements and enjoying the summer sun could cut the risk of a host of diseases,” reported the Daily Mail . This news story is based on a study that investigated how vitamin D might influence the risk of certain diseases by affecting the activity of genes.

A “body clock pill” could cure both jet lag and manic depression, according to T he Daily Telegraph. The newspaper reports that a new study has identified a drug that can “slow down, kick-start and reset the body clocks of mice”. The lead researcher is quoted as follows: “It’s possible to use drugs to synchronise the body clock of a mouse and so it may also be possible to use similar drugs to treat a whole range of health problems associated with disruptions of [the body clock]”.

A predictive blood test for tuberculosis (TB) is “a step closer”, according to BBC News. The article said that a “DNA fingerprint in the blood shows promise in identifying which carriers of TB will go on to get symptoms and spread the infection”. This study is important and illustrates the power of a relatively new technique called “genomic transcriptional profiling”, but it is too early to know in practice how many of the TB patients identified by the test will go on to develop the disease. After some fine-tuning in London, the test was repeated in patients from South Africa, which increases confidence in its accuracy.

“Eating just two small bits of chocolate a week can cut the risk of heart failure by up to a third,” according to an article in the Daily Express . The news story is based on a study of whether chocolate affects the risk of heart failure in elderly and middle-aged women

“Calcium pills increase risk of heart attacks,” BBC News reported.

Foetal transplants for Parkinson’s disease patients have been “brought closer to reality” by new research, said The Independent today. Trials of the experimental technique, which implants tissue from foetuses into the brain, had been stopped in the 1990’s after many patients experienced uncontrollable jerky movements known as dyskinesias

Women who “pile on the pounds” during pregnancy could be putting their child at risk of heart disease in later life, reported the Daily Mail. This study assessed the relationship between mothers’ weight gain in pregnancy and weight before pregnancy, and their children’s body fat and heart (cardiovascular) disease risk

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has appointed four new members to the National Advisory Council for Nursing Research (NACNR), the principal advisory board for the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). Members of the council are drawn from the scientific and lay communities, embodying a diverse perspective from the fields of nursing, public and health policy, law, and economics. An important role of the council is to conduct a second level of review of grant applications that have been scored by scientific review groups.