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Saturday, April 13, 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Could new flu spark global flu pandemic? New bird flu strain seen adapting to mammals, humans

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 04:24 PM PDT

A genetic analysis of the avian flu virus responsible for at least nine human deaths in China portrays a virus evolving to adapt to human cells, raising concern about its potential to spark a new global flu pandemic.

Scientists map elusive 3-D structure of telomerase enzyme, key actor in cancer, aging

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 10:24 AM PDT

Like finally seeing the gears of a watch and how they work together, all components of an entire telomerase enzyme complex have been positioned into a three-dimensional structure for the first time. This first complete visual map of the telomerase enzyme complex, known to play a significant role in cancer and aging, is a breakthrough from biochemists.

Reactivating memories during sleep: Memory rehearsal during sleep can make a big difference in remembering later

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 10:24 AM PDT

Why do some memories last a lifetime while others disappear quickly? A new study suggests that memories rehearsed, during sleep or waking, can have an impact on memory consolidation and on what is remembered later. A new study shows that when the information that makes up a memory has a high value, the memory is more likely to be rehearsed and consolidated during sleep and remembered later.

Secrets of bacterial slime revealed

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 10:24 AM PDT

Scientists have revealed the mechanism that causes a slime to form, making bacteria hard to shift and resistant to antibiotics.

Scientists use 'the force' (atomic force microscopy) to decode secrets of our gut

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 10:24 AM PDT

A new technique based on atomic force microscopy was developed to help "read" information encoded in proteins that make up the mucus layer that lines our gut.

Clues to heart disease in unexpected places

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 10:24 AM PDT

A major factor in the advance of heart disease is the death of heart tissue, a process that a team of scientists think could be prevented with new medicines.

Teenage smoking behavior influenced by friends' and parents' smoking habits

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 10:24 AM PDT

The company you keep in junior high school may have more influence on your smoking behavior than your high school friends, according to newly published research.

L-carnitine significantly improves patient outcomes following heart attack, study suggests

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 10:23 AM PDT

L-carnitine significantly improves cardiac health in patients after a heart attack, say a multicenter team of investigators in a study. Their findings, based on analysis of key controlled trials, associate L-carnitine with significant reduction in death from all causes and a highly significant reduction in ventricular arrhythmias and anginal attacks following a heart attack, compared with placebo or control.

Exercise or make dinner? Study finds adults trade one healthy act for another

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 10:22 AM PDT

American adults who prepare their own meals and exercise on the same day are likely spending more time on one of those activities at the expense of the other, a new study suggests.

Study on patients with disc prolapse: Same gene variant promotes pain in women, suppresses pain in men

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 05:45 AM PDT

More women than men develop chronic low back pain and sciatica. The explanation may lie with a gene variant that plays into the body's pain regulation.

Asbestos exposure, asbestosis, and smoking combined greatly increase lung cancer risk

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 05:42 AM PDT

The chances of developing lung cancer associated with asbestos exposure, asbestosis and smoking are dramatically increased when these three risk factors are combined, and quitting smoking significantly reduces the risk of developing lung cancer after long-term asbestos exposure, according to a new study.

Are human genes patentable?

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 05:42 AM PDT

On April 15, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral argument in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, a case that could answer the question, "Under what conditions, if any, are isolated human genes patentable?". Experts say the layered uncertainties make this case an unusually difficult case in which to predict the outcome.

Bad behavior in kids with hearing implants doesn't predict slowed language development

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 05:42 AM PDT

A new study is challenging a long held belief among speech therapists and audiologists that bad behavior in young children with hearing implants is an indicator of device failure and a predictor of poor language development.

Romantic comedies affect beliefs about relationships less strongly than expected

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 05:42 AM PDT

Romantic-comedy films are not a major source for developing unrealistic expectations about relationships among young adults, finds a new study to be published online this week in the National Communication Association's journal Communication Monographs.

Novel surface marker helps scientists 'fish out' mammary gland stem cells

Posted: 11 Apr 2013 04:49 PM PDT

It is now possible to profile normal and cancerous mammary stem cells at an unprecedented high degree of purity. This may help identify genes that should be investigated as the next breast cancer drug targets.

New research examines the spiritual, psychological and other under-appreciated effects of opioids on patients with sickle cell disease

Posted: 11 Apr 2013 04:42 PM PDT

Researchers sought to shed light on the biopsychosocial and spiritual effects of taking prescribed opioids to treat noncancer pain. Such questions have received little examination and impact the challenging decision of when and how to use opioids, the study authors said. They found that taking opioids had many and diverse consequences for patients in terms of biological, psychological, social and spiritual functioning.

Why do people with apple-shaped bodies have an increased risk of kidney disease?

Posted: 11 Apr 2013 04:40 PM PDT

People with apple-shaped bodies tend to have lower kidney function, lower kidney blood flow, and higher blood pressure within the kidneys than people with pear-shaped bodies. The findings may help explain why people with apple-shaped bodies are more likely than those with pear-shaped bodies to develop kidney disease.

Soy-based compound may reduce tumor cell proliferation in colorectal cancer

Posted: 11 Apr 2013 04:40 PM PDT

Scientists have developed a soy-based treatment for colorectal cancer, a promising agent in ovarian cancer, and a new drug target for advanced prostate cancer.

Pain improves during first year but mental-health problems linger in returning veterans with major limb injuries

Posted: 11 Apr 2013 04:40 PM PDT

Few studies document short- and long-term pain and behavioral health in combat-injured service members with major limb trauma. In a 2-year longitudinal study, multiple post-injury pain and related outcomes are reported.

Doctors urged to 'pause before posting' and not 'friend' patients

Posted: 11 Apr 2013 12:23 PM PDT

New recommendations offer physicians ethical guidance for preserving trust in patient-physician relationships and the profession when using social media.

New procedure safely opens blocked carotid arteries, experts say

Posted: 11 Apr 2013 11:27 AM PDT

Doctors have become the first on the West Coast to perform a new, less-invasive procedure to help clear plaque-ridden carotid arteries.

How Alzheimer's could occur: Wrong signal for cell division?

Posted: 11 Apr 2013 09:36 AM PDT

A new hypothesis has been developed on how Alzheimer's disease could occur. Protein spheres in the nucleus give the wrong signal for cell division. This may explain the degeneration and death of nerve cells in Alzheimer's patients.

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