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Friday, April 26, 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Poor parenting -- including overprotection -- increases bullying risk

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:40 PM PDT

Children who are exposed to negative parenting -- including abuse, neglect but also overprotection -- are more likely to experience childhood bullying by their peers, according to a meta-analysis of 70 studies of more than 200,000 children.

How Parkinson's disease protein acts like a virus

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:37 PM PDT

A protein known to be a key player in the development of Parkinson's disease is able to enter and harm cells in the same way that viruses do, according to a new study.

Boosting the powers of genomic science

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:37 PM PDT

Scientists describe novel statistical models that more broadly and deeply identify associations between bits of sequenced DNA called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs and say lead to a more complete and accurate understanding of the genetic underpinnings of many diseases and how best to treat them.

Roundworm quells obesity and related metabolic disorders

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 01:45 PM PDT

Researchers have shown in a mouse model that infection with nematodes (also known as roundworms) can not only combat obesity but ameliorate related metabolic disorders.

Cost-effectiveness of helicopter transport of trauma victims examined

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 01:45 PM PDT

Researchers have for the first time determined how often emergency medical helicopters need to help save the lives of seriously injured people to be considered cost-effective compared with ground ambulances.

Novel approach to find RNAs involved in long-term memory storage

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 01:02 PM PDT

Scientists have developed a novel strategy for isolating and characterizing a substantial number of RNAs transported from the cell-body of neuron (nerve cell) to the synapse, the small gap separating neurons that enables cell to cell communication.

Hormone levels and sexual motivation among young women

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 01:02 PM PDT

Feeling frisky? If so, chances are greater your estrogen level -- and, perhaps, fertility -- are hitting their monthly peak. If not, you're more likely experiencing a profusion of desire-deadening progesterone, and the less fertile time in your cycle. Oh, the power of hormones.

Forced exercise may still protect against anxiety and stress

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 01:02 PM PDT

Being forced to exercise may still help reduce anxiety and depression just as exercising voluntarily does, according to a new study.

Sunshine hormone, vitamin D, may offer hope for treating liver fibrosis

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 01:01 PM PDT

Liver fibrosis results from an excessive accumulation of tough, fibrous scar tissue and occurs in most types of chronic liver diseases. In industrialized countries, the main causes of liver injury leading to fibrosis include chronic hepatitis virus infection, excess alcohol consumption and, increasingly, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Clues to making vaccine for infant respiratory illness

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:24 AM PDT

An atomic-level snapshot of a respiratory syncytial virus protein bound to a human antibody represents a leap toward developing a vaccine for a common -- and sometimes very serious -- childhood disease.

Longer days bring 'winter blues' -- for rats, not humans

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:24 AM PDT

Biologists have found that rats experience more anxiety and depression when the days grow longer. More importantly, they discovered that the rat's brain cells adopt a new chemical code when subjected to large changes in the day and night cycle.

Missing link in Parkinson's disease found: Discovery also has implications for heart failure

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:23 AM PDT

Researchers have described a missing link in understanding how damage to the body's cellular power plants leads to Parkinson's disease and, perhaps surprisingly, to some forms of heart failure.

More days in classroom does not translate into more learning in Mexico

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:22 AM PDT

As Mexico wrestles with improving the quality of education for primary school students, economists have found that extending the length of the school year will do little to improve student performance.

Thanks to rare alpine bacteria, researchers identify one of alcohol's key gateways to the brain

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:28 AM PDT

Thanks to a rare bacteria that grows only on rocks in the Swiss Alps, researchers have been the first to identify how alcohol might affect key brain proteins.

Novel mechanism by which UVA contributes to photoaging of skin

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:26 AM PDT

A study provides new evidence that longwave ultraviolet light induces a protein that could result in premature skin aging. The findings demonstrate that aspects of photoaging, the process of skin aging by chronic exposure to ultraviolet radiation, could be linked to genetic factors that accelerate the aging process when induced by the environment.

Discovery of a gene that controls three different diseases

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:26 AM PDT

Scientists have identified a single gene, ERCC4, that can be involved in three human diseases depending on which type of mutation it presents: Fanconi anaemia, xeroderma pigmentosum, or a type of progeria. The new findings add to existing knowledge of two DNA repair activities that are important in maintaining the stability of our genes and preventing cancer in the general population.

Inhibiting enzymes in the cell may lead to development and proliferation of cancer cells

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:26 AM PDT

Blocking certain enzymes in the cell may prevent cancer cell division and growth, according to new findings.

Periodic bursts of genetic mutations drive prostate cancer

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:26 AM PDT

Cancer is typically thought to develop after genes gradually mutate over time, finally overwhelming the ability of a cell to control growth. But a new closer look at genomes in prostate cancer by an international team of researchers reveals that, in fact, genetic mutations occur in abrupt, periodic bursts, causing complex, large scale reshuffling of DNA driving the development of prostate cancer.

As people live longer and reproduce less, natural selection keeps up

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:26 AM PDT

In many places around the world, people are living longer and are having fewer children. But that's not all. A study of people living in rural Gambia shows that this modern-day "demographic transition" may lead women to be taller and slimmer, too.

'Redshirting' kindergarteners not as common as reported

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:23 AM PDT

New research findings show that "redshirting" in kindergarten – the practice of delaying for a year a child's entry into kindergarten – is not happening at the rate previously reported.

Examine social factors to explain rise in diagnoses of mental disorders

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 07:32 AM PDT

Examining social factors is vital to better explaining and understanding the dramatic rise in the number of Americans diagnosed with mental disorders in recent years, according to a new analysis.

Role of vital proteins in allergic reactions, other conditions

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 07:31 AM PDT

Antihistamine drugs work by preventing histamine from attaching to H1 receptors. Researchers have learned something new about these receptors and other medically important proteins.

Early dialogue between parents, children stems teen smoking

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:16 AM PDT

Early, substantive dialogue between parents and their grade-school age children about the ills of tobacco and alcohol use can be more powerful in shaping teen behavior than advertising, marketing or peer pressure, a researcher has shown.

Melatonin delays ALS symptom onset and death in mice

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:16 AM PDT

Melatonin injections delayed symptom onset and reduced mortality in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a new study.

Novel therapeutic approaches may cure chronic HBV infection

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:16 AM PDT

Exciting new data from early in vitro and in vivo studies targeting covalently closed circular DNA, which may form the basis of a cure for chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

New advances in the management of patients with cirrhosis

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:16 AM PDT

New data from clinical studies provide new rationale for an old and established treatment option for portal hypertension. Additionally, spleen stiffness predicts the occurrence of clinical complications, which is of paramount importance in clinical practice.

Liver disease: New studies demonstrates lethal link between alcohol, weight

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:16 AM PDT

Scientists have revealed the deadly impact that alcohol and body weight have on liver disease.

Faith in God positively influences treatment for individuals with psychiatric illness

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:16 AM PDT

Belief in God may significantly improve the outcome of those receiving short-term treatment for psychiatric illness, according to a recent study.

Autism risk spotted at birth in abnormal placentas

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:16 AM PDT

Researchers have figured out how to measure an infant's risk of developing autism by looking for abnormalities in his/her placenta at birth, allowing for earlier diagnosis and treatment for the developmental disorder.

Link between school climate and violence confirmed

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:14 AM PDT

Schools may be a step closer towards the development of effective strategies to prevent violent behavior. New research shows that there is a direct link between school climate and school violence.

Metabolic disorders predict the hardening of the arterial walls already in childhood

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:14 AM PDT

Metabolic disorders, such as excess abdominal fat, raised blood pressure, higher levels of insulin, glucose and triglycerides and lower levels of the beneficial HDL cholesterol can be found in children as young as 6 to 8 years of age, according to a new study. These metabolic risk factors often accumulate in overweight children and, in the newly published study, this accumulation was linked with mild artery wall stiffness.

Pedophiles identified accurately with implicit association tasks

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:14 AM PDT

A combination of two tasks for implied sexual associations has distinguished – with more than 90 per cent certainty – a group of pedophilic men from a group of men with a sexual preference for adult women. In the long term this could lead to a diagnostic test, for example for men who have applied to work with children.

Coffee may help prevent breast cancer returning, study finds

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:13 AM PDT

Drinking coffee could decrease the risk of breast cancer recurring in patients taking the widely used drug Tamoxifen, a study has found. Patients who took the pill, along with two or more cups of coffee daily, reported less than half the rate of cancer recurrence, compared with their Tamoxifen-taking counterparts who drank one cup or less.

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