ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• An embryo that is neither male nor female: Impact of three unexpected sex determination factors analyzed
• New molecule to target in pancreatic cancer treatment
• Your brain on Big Bird: Sesame Street helps to reveal patterns of neural development
• Gene variant linked to active personality traits also linked to human longevity
• New study links low wages with hypertension, especially for women and younger workers
• Editing genome with high precision: New method to insert multiple genes in specific locations, delete defective genes
• Rethinking bacterial persistence: Optofluidics allow for new understanding of resistance to antibiotics
• Synthetic chemistry: Steroids that only nature could make on a large scale, until now
• How deadly skin cancer spreads into other parts of the body
• Time pressure enhances thrill of auctions
• Researchers use stem cells to pinpoint cause of common type of sudden cardiac death
• Stem cell technology could help harness patients' own immune cells to fight disease
• Cancer-specific killer T cells created from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)
• Sorting stem cells: Scientists propose a new way to isolate early stage embryonic stem cells
• In epigenomics, location is everything: Researchers exploit gene position to test 'histone code'
• Secretive food concocting: New characteristic of binge eating identified
• Smile: Gingivitis bacteria manipulate your immune system so they can thrive in your gums
• Cholesterol medicine affects energy production in muscles
• Quick detection of periodontitis pathogens
• Study suggests gene variation may shape bladder cancer treatment
• New information on autism and genetics
• No need for routine repeated CT scans after mild head trauma, study suggests
• 'Universal' personality traits don't necessarily apply to isolated indigenous people
• Cognitive difficulties associated with menopause described
• Use of disinfection cap is associated with fewer bloodstream infections, study finds
• Spinal ultrasounds seeking why astronauts grow taller in space
• Cup color influences the taste of hot chocolate
• Repeated miscarriage: Scientists pinpoint molecular signals that make some women prone to miscarriage
• Updated tool now available to predict prostate cancer spread

An embryo that is neither male nor female: Impact of three unexpected sex determination factors analyzed Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:24 PM PST Is it a girl or a boy? This is the first question parents ask at the birth of an infant. Though the answer is obvious, the mechanism of sex determination is much less so. Researchers attempt to shed light on this complex process by identifying the crucial role played by insulin and IGF1 and IGF2 growth factors, a family of hormones known for its role in metabolism and growth.

New molecule to target in pancreatic cancer treatment Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:23 PM PST Researchers have identified a new target to improve treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cancer, which accounts for more than 95 percent of pancreatic cancer cases.

Your brain on Big Bird: Sesame Street helps to reveal patterns of neural development Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:23 PM PST Using brain scans of children and adults watching Sesame Street, cognitive scientists are learning how children's brains change as they develop intellectual abilities like reading and math. The novel use of brain imaging during everyday activities like watching TV, say the scientists, opens the door to studying other thought processes in naturalistic settings and may one day help to diagnose and treat learning disabilities.

Gene variant linked to active personality traits also linked to human longevity Posted: 03 Jan 2013 12:15 PM PST A variant of a gene associated with active personality traits in humans seems to also be involved with living a longer life, researchers have found. People who carry this variant gene seem to be more motivated to pursue social, intellectual and physical activities. The variant is also linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and addictive and risky behaviors, researchers say.

New study links low wages with hypertension, especially for women and younger workers Posted: 03 Jan 2013 11:32 AM PST Workers earning the lowest wages have a higher risk of hypertension than workers with the highest wages, according to new research.

Editing genome with high precision: New method to insert multiple genes in specific locations, delete defective genes Posted: 03 Jan 2013 11:32 AM PST Researchers have developed a new technique for precisely altering the genomes of living cells by adding or deleting genes.

Rethinking bacterial persistence: Optofluidics allow for new understanding of resistance to antibiotics Posted: 03 Jan 2013 11:31 AM PST Scientists have used microfluidics to observe the behavior of individual tuberculosis-like bacteria in the presence of antibiotics. Their observations call into question the prevailing theory of bacterial resistance, and they have proposed a new explanation for why some bacteria become resistant.

Synthetic chemistry: Steroids that only nature could make on a large scale, until now Posted: 03 Jan 2013 11:31 AM PST Scientists have achieved a feat in synthetic chemistry by inventing a scalable method to make complex natural compounds known as "polyhydroxylated steroids." These compounds, used in heart-failure medications and other drugs, have been notoriously problematic to synthesize in the laboratory.

How deadly skin cancer spreads into other parts of the body Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:12 AM PST After recently announcing success in eliminating melanoma metastasis in laboratory experiments, scientists have made another important discovery in understanding the process by which the gene mda-9/syntenin contributes to metastasis in melanoma (the spread of skin cancer) and possibly a variety of other cancers.

Time pressure enhances thrill of auctions Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:11 AM PST Shopping is more than the rational exchange of goods against money. Emotions, however, do not only play a role when buying a red sports car or the fiftieth pair of shoes. At the stock exchange or during auctions, bidders also are often influenced by irrational motives.

Researchers use stem cells to pinpoint cause of common type of sudden cardiac death Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:11 AM PST When a young athlete dies unexpectedly on the basketball court or the football field, it's both shocking and tragic. Now researchers have, for the first time, identified the molecular basis for a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that is the most common cause for this type of sudden cardiac death.

Stem cell technology could help harness patients' own immune cells to fight disease Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:11 AM PST Researchers reporting in two separate recent articles used stem cell technology to successfully regenerate patients' immune cells, creating large numbers that were long-lived and could recognize their specified targets: HIV-infected cells in one case and cancer cells in the other. The findings could help in the development of strategies to rejuvenate patients' exhausted immune responses.

Cancer-specific killer T cells created from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:09 AM PST Researchers in Japan report today that they have succeeded for the first time in creating cancer-specific immune system cells called killer T lymphocytes from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). To create these killer cells, the team first had to reprogram T lymphocytes specialized in killing a certain type of cancer, into iPS cells. The iPS cells then generated fully active, cancer-specific T lymphocytes. These lymphocytes regenerated from iPS cells could potentially serve as cancer therapy in the future.

Sorting stem cells: Scientists propose a new way to isolate early stage embryonic stem cells Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:07 AM PST When an embryonic stem cell is in the first stage of its development it has the potential to grow into any type of cell in the body, a state scientists call undifferentiated. Using an electric field to pull stem cells through a fluid, a team of researchers from Scotland has now demonstrated a way to easily distinguish undifferentiated embryonic stem cells from later-stage stem cells whose fate is sealed.

In epigenomics, location is everything: Researchers exploit gene position to test 'histone code' Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:07 AM PST In a novel use of gene knockout technology, researchers tested the same gene inserted into 90 different locations in a yeast chromosome -- and discovered that while the inserted gene never altered its surrounding chromatin landscape, differences in that immediate landscape measurably affected gene activity.

Secretive food concocting: New characteristic of binge eating identified Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:07 AM PST A new study suggests food concocting -- the making of strange food mixtures like mashed potatoes and Oreo cookies, frozen vegetables mixed with mayonnaise, and chips with lemon, pork rinds, Italian dressing and salt -- is common among binge eaters. The findings reveal that 1 in 4 survey participants secretly create concoctions.

Smile: Gingivitis bacteria manipulate your immune system so they can thrive in your gums Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:42 AM PST A new research report shows how the bacteria known for causing gum disease -- Porphyromonas gingivalis -- manipulates the body's immune system to disable normal processes that would otherwise destroy it.

Cholesterol medicine affects energy production in muscles Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:42 AM PST Up to 75 percent of patients who take statins to treat elevated cholesterol levels may suffer from muscle pain. Scientists have now identified a possible mechanism underlying this unfortunate side effect.

Quick detection of periodontitis pathogens Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:41 AM PST Millions upon millions of people suffer from periodontitis, an inflammation that can lead to the loss of teeth if left untreated. A new diagnostic platform enables the pathogens to be detected quickly, enabling dentists to act swiftly to initiate the right treatment.

Study suggests gene variation may shape bladder cancer treatment Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:38 AM PST Patients who have inherited a specific common genetic variant develop bladder cancer tumors that strongly express a protein known as prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA), which is also expressed in many pancreatic and prostate tumors, according to new research.

New information on autism and genetics Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:38 AM PST Research has revealed another piece of the puzzle in a genetic developmental disorder that causes behavioral diseases such as autism.

No need for routine repeated CT scans after mild head trauma, study suggests Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:38 AM PST When initial computed tomography (CT) scans show bleeding within the brain after mild head injury, decisions about repeated CT scans should be based on the patient's neurological condition, according to a new report.

'Universal' personality traits don't necessarily apply to isolated indigenous people Posted: 03 Jan 2013 06:52 AM PST Five personality traits widely thought to be universal across cultures might not be, according to a study of an isolated Bolivian society.

Cognitive difficulties associated with menopause described Posted: 03 Jan 2013 06:20 AM PST The memory problems that many women experience in their 40s and 50s as they approach and go through menopause are both real and appear to be most acute during the early period of post menopause.

Use of disinfection cap is associated with fewer bloodstream infections, study finds Posted: 03 Jan 2013 06:20 AM PST Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) dropped by 52 percent when an alcohol-impregnated disinfection cap was used instead of standard scrubbing protocol, according to a new study.

Spinal ultrasounds seeking why astronauts grow taller in space Posted: 03 Jan 2013 06:06 AM PST Did you ever wish you could be just a teensy bit taller? Well, if you spend a few months in space, you could get your wish -- temporarily. It is a commonly known fact that astronauts living aboard the International Space Station grow up to 3 percent taller while living in microgravity. They return to their normal height when back on Earth. Studying the impact of this change on the spine and advancing medical imaging technologies are the goals of the Spinal Ultrasound investigation.

Cup color influences the taste of hot chocolate Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:32 AM PST Hot chocolate tastes better in an orange or cream colored cup than in a white or red one, new research has shown. The study adds to recent research demonstrating how our senses perceive food in a different way depending on the characteristics of the container from which we eat and drink.

Repeated miscarriage: Scientists pinpoint molecular signals that make some women prone to miscarriage Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:32 AM PST Scientists have identified molecular signals that control whether embryos are accepted by the womb, and that appear to function abnormally in women who have suffered repeated miscarriages.

Updated tool now available to predict prostate cancer spread Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:30 AM PST Prostate cancer experts have developed an updated version of the Partin Tables, a tool to help men diagnosed with prostate cancer and their doctors to better assess their chance of a surgical cure.

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