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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Microwave imaging can see how well treatment is progressing

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:18 PM PDT

Microwave imaging can be used to monitor how well treatment for breast cancer is working, finds new research. Microwave tomography was able to distinguish between breast cancer, benign growths, and normal tissue.

Anti-smoking ads with strong arguments, not flashy editing, trigger part of brain that changes behavior

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:17 PM PDT

Researchers have shown that an area of the brain that initiates behavioral changes had greater activation in smokers who watched anti-smoking ads with strong arguments versus those with weaker ones, and irrespective of flashy elements, like bright and rapidly changing scenes, loud sounds and unexpected scenario twists. Those smokers also had significantly less nicotine metabolites in their urine when tested a month after viewing those ads, the team reports.

Binge eating curbed by deep brain stimulation in animal model

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:17 PM PDT

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in a precise region of the brain appears to reduce caloric intake and prompt weight loss in obese animal models, according to a new study.

ALS trial suggests novel therapy is safe

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT

An investigational treatment for an inherited form of Lou Gehrig's disease has passed an early phase clinical trial for safety, researchers report.

Brain biology tied to social reorientation during entry to adolescence

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT

A specific region of the brain is in play when children consider their identity and social status as they transition into adolescence -- that often-turbulent time of reaching puberty and entering middle school, says a psychologist.

Researchers discover new explanation for diabetes and poor growth

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT

A group of researchers has taken a significant step towards understanding the reasons for both diabetes and growth hormone deficiency. Their new discoveries center on the body's ability to regulate certain hormones.

Study reveals alcohol industry tactics to influence alcohol policy reform in Scotland

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT

The alcohol industry misrepresented international evidence on effective alcohol control measures in an attempt to influence the Scottish Government's public health policy to its advantage, according to new research.

Air pollution and hardening of arteries

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT

Long term exposure to air pollution may be linked to heart attacks and strokes by speeding up atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries", according to a new study.

Battling with bugs to prevent antibiotic resistance

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:27 PM PDT

Bacteria can evolve resistance more quickly when stronger antibiotics are used, new research confirms.

Effectiveness of early sport specialization limited in most sports, sport diversification may be better approach at young ages

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 02:26 PM PDT

Ever-increasing requirements for success in competitive sports has created added pressure for young athletes to train with greater intensity at earlier ages. The goal to become the next Olympian or more commonly, to obtain a college scholarship, motivates many parents to encourage their children to specialize in one sport at a young age. This has resulted in an increased demand for year-round sport training programs, facilities and products. But is this approach really an effective way to generate long-term success in competitive athletics?

Children routinely injured or killed by guns, U.S. study shows

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 01:19 PM PDT

While gun control issues usually surface after major incidents like the fatal shooting of 20 elementary school students in Newtown, Connecticut, a new U.S. study shows that children are routinely killed or injured by firearms.

Binge drinking in college can lead to heart disease later in life

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 01:19 PM PDT

Frequent binge drinking in college can cause more than a hangover. Regularly consuming multiple drinks in a short window of time can cause immediate changes in circulation that increase an otherwise healthy young adult's risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life, according to new research.

Use of anti-epileptic drug during pregnancy associated with increased risk of autism

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 01:18 PM PDT

Maternal use of valproate (a drug used for the treatment of epilepsy and other neuropsychological disorders) during pregnancy was associated with a significantly increased risk of autism in offspring, according to a new study. The authors caution that these findings must be balanced against the treatment benefits for women who require valproate for epilepsy control.

Repairing articular cartilage defects with an injectable gel engineered with gene modified BMSCs

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 11:43 AM PDT

Tissue engineering combined with gene therapy technology has the potential to manage the repair of defective articular cartilage. In this study, through minimally invasive injection methods the authors were able to repair rabbit articular cartilage defects with CS/PVA gel and gene modified BMSCs.

Hundreds of tiny untethered surgical tools deployed in first animal biopsies

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:58 AM PDT

Using swarms of untethered grippers, each as small as a speck of dust, engineers and physicians have devised a new way to perform biopsies that could provide a more effective way to access narrow conduits in the body as well as find early signs of cancer or other diseases.

Troubling patterns of teacher assignments within schools

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:57 AM PDT

Even within the same school, lower-achieving students often are taught by less-experienced teachers, as well as by teachers who received their degrees from less-competitive colleges, according to a new study. The study, using data from one of the nation's largest school districts, also shows that student class assignments vary within schools by a teacher's gender and race.

Doctors-in-training spend very little time at patient bedside, study finds

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:57 AM PDT

Medical interns spend just 12 percent of their time examining and talking with patients, and more than 40 percent of their time behind a computer, according to a new study that closely followed first-year residents at Baltimore's two large academic medical centers. Indeed, the study found, interns spent nearly as much time walking (7 percent) as they did caring for patients at the bedside.

Infants' sweat response predicts aggressive behavior as toddlers

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:57 AM PDT

Infants who sweat less in response to scary situations at age 1 show more physical and verbal aggression at age 3, according to new research.

New pathway, enhancing tamoxifen to tame aggressive breast cancer identified

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:57 AM PDT

Tamoxifen is a time-honored breast cancer drug used to treat millions of women with early-stage and less-aggressive disease, and now medical researchers have shown how to exploit tamoxifen's secondary activities so that it might work on more aggressive breast cancer.

Virus kills melanoma in animal model, spares normal cells

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:57 AM PDT

Researchers have demonstrated that vesicular stomatitis virus is highly competent at finding, infecting, and killing human melanoma cells, both in vitro and in animal models, while having little propensity to infect non-cancerous cells.

Whether human or hyena, there' s safety in numbers

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:51 AM PDT

Humans, when alone, see threats as closer than they actually are. But mix in people from a close group, and that misperception disappears.

Vitamin E identified as potential weapon against obesity

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:40 AM PDT

A potential new way to fight obesity-related illness has been uncovered, thanks to a serendipitous finding.

Obese men with benign biopsy at high risk for prostate cancer

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:40 AM PDT

Obese men were more likely to have precancerous lesions detected in their benign prostate biopsies compared with nonobese men and were at a greater risk for subsequently developing prostate cancer, according to new data.

Contact killing of Salmonella by human fecal bacteria

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 08:08 AM PDT

Researchers have recently found a novel mode of interaction between Salmonella, a foodborne pathogen, and the bacteria that live in our guts. Fecal bacteria collected from healthy donors effectively inactivated Salmonella, when they were allowed close contact. Mathematical modelling of this interaction is now being used to find new ways of controlling Salmonella.

'Toggle switch' to burn fat identified

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 08:07 AM PDT

For a long time, scientists have dreamt of converting undesirable white fat cells into brown fat cells and thus simply have excess pounds melt away. Researchers have now gotten a step closer to this goal: They decoded a "toggle switch" in mice which can significantly stimulate fat burning.

Facebook and romantic relationships

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 08:07 AM PDT

A Western Illinois University faculty member who published a widely covered study about Facebook and narcissism last year has authored another study about Facebook and romantic relationships.

Bacteria may contribute to premature births, STDs

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:24 AM PDT

New research points to a common species of bacteria as an important contributor to bacterial vaginosis, a condition linked to preterm birth and increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases.

Anatomy of a blast: Researchers develop sensor system to assess the effects of explosions on soldiers

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:21 AM PDT

To study the effects of improvised explosive devices on soldiers and help provide continuing treatment, researchers have developed a sensor system that measures the physical environment of an explosion and collects data that can correlate what the soldier experienced with long-term outcomes.

Tart cherries linked to reduced risk of stroke

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:21 AM PDT

For the millions of Americans at risk for heart disease or diabetes, a diet that includes tart cherries might actually be better than what the doctor ordered, according to new animal research.

The biology of fats in the body

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:21 AM PDT

Researchers are studying triglycerides, cholesterol and other fats to learn more about normal and abnormal biology. Chew on these findings the next time you ponder the fate of the fat in a French fry.

Drug reduces fat by blocking blood vessels

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:21 AM PDT

Researchers have long known that cancerous tumors grow collections of abnormal blood cells, the fuel that feeds this disease and keeps it growing. Now, new evidence in an animal model suggests that blood vessels in the fat tissue of obese individuals could provide the same purpose —- and could provide the key to a new way for people to lose weight.

Epigenetic changes shed light on biological mechanism of autism

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:11 AM PDT

Scientists have identified patterns of epigenetic changes involved in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by studying genetically identical twins who differ in autism traits. The study is the largest of its kind and may shed light on the biological mechanism by which environmental influences regulate the activity of certain genes and in turn contribute to the development of ASD and related behavior traits.

Atrophy in key region of brain associated with multiple sclerosis

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:11 AM PDT

Magnetic resonance imaging measurements of atrophy in an important area of the brain are an accurate predictor of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. According to the researchers, these atrophy measurements offer an improvement over current methods for evaluating patients at risk for MS.

Uncleaned cells mean weak muscles

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:10 AM PDT

The protein complex mTORC1 promotes muscle growth. However, should this complex remain constantly active, it impairs the ability of the cells to self-clean, causing myopathy. Scientists have now described the exact mechanism involved.

Workplace stress poses risk to health

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:09 AM PDT

Stressful situations at work can have a negative impact on the cardiovascular system and the metabolism. Stress, which is transmitted by direct and indirect signaling pathways, leads to an inflammatory response in the body, which can trigger cardiovascular diseases, amongst others.

Quit smoking? Vitamin E may give extra boost to heart health

Posted: 23 Apr 2013 06:08 AM PDT

Taking a specific form of a vitamin E supplement can accelerate the health benefits that occur when people quit smoking, new research suggests.

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