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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Early-life traffic-related air pollution exposure linked to hyperactivity

Posted: 20 May 2013 10:12 PM PDT

Early-life exposure to traffic-related air pollution was significantly associated with higher hyperactivity scores at age 7, according to new research.

Resistance to last-line antibiotic makes bacteria resistant to immune system

Posted: 20 May 2013 10:12 PM PDT

Bacteria resistant to the antibiotic colistin are also commonly resistant to antimicrobial substances made by the human body, according to a new study. Cross-resistance to colistin and host antimicrobials LL-37 and lysozyme, which help defend the body against bacterial attack, could mean that patients with life-threatening multi-drug resistant infections are also saddled with a crippled immune response.

Women who smoke during pregnancy increase the risk of both obesity and gestational diabetes in their daughters

Posted: 20 May 2013 03:54 PM PDT

Women who smoke during pregnancy increase the risk of both obesity and gestational diabetes, in their daughters.

Bed sharing leads to fivefold increase in risk of crib death for babies whose parents do not smoke

Posted: 20 May 2013 03:54 PM PDT

Parents who share a bed with their breastfed baby could face a fivefold increase in the risk of crib death, even if the parents do not smoke, according to a new study.

Practice makes perfect? Not so much, new research finds

Posted: 20 May 2013 01:39 PM PDT

Turns out, that old "practice makes perfect" adage may be overblown. New research finds that a copious amount of practice is not enough to explain why people differ in level of skill in two widely studied activities, chess and music.

How bilinguals switch between languages

Posted: 20 May 2013 01:38 PM PDT

Individuals who learn two languages at an early age seem to switch back and forth between separate "sound systems" for each language, according to new research. The research addresses enduring questions in bilingual studies about how bilingual speakers hear and process sound in two different languages.

Do salamanders' immune systems hold the key to regeneration?

Posted: 20 May 2013 01:37 PM PDT

Salamanders' immune systems are key to their remarkable ability to regrow limbs, and could also underpin their ability to regenerate spinal cords, brain tissue and even parts of their hearts, scientists have found. In new research, scientists have found that when immune cells known as macrophages were systemically removed, salamanders lost their ability to regenerate a limb and instead formed scar tissue.

New source of kidneys for transplant suggested

Posted: 20 May 2013 01:36 PM PDT

Nearly 20 percent of kidneys that are recovered from deceased donors in the U.S. are refused for transplant due to factors ranging from scarring in small blood vessels of the kidney's filtering units to the organ going too long without blood or oxygen. But, what if instead of being discarded, these organs could be "recycled" to help solve the critical shortage of donor organs?

Gym class reduces probability of obesity, study finds for first time

Posted: 20 May 2013 01:36 PM PDT

Little is known about the effect of physical education on child weight, but a new study finds that increasing the amount of time that elementary schoolchildren spent in gym class reduces the probability of obesity.

Timing of cancer radiation therapy may minimize hair loss

Posted: 20 May 2013 01:36 PM PDT

Discovering that mouse hair has a circadian clock - a 24-hour cycle of growth followed by restorative repair - researchers suspect that hair loss in humans from toxic cancer radiotherapy and chemotherapy might be minimized if these treatments are given late in the day.

Protein study suggests drug side effects are inevitable

Posted: 20 May 2013 01:36 PM PDT

A new study of both computer-created and natural proteins suggests that the number of unique pockets – sites where small molecule pharmaceutical compounds can bind to proteins – is surprisingly small, meaning drug side effects may be impossible to avoid.

Less sleep associated with increased risk of crashes for young drivers

Posted: 20 May 2013 01:32 PM PDT

A new study suggests less sleep per night is associated with a significant increase in the risk for motor vehicle crashes for young drivers.

Compound in Mediterranean diet makes cancer cells 'mortal'

Posted: 20 May 2013 12:43 PM PDT

New research suggests that a compound abundant in the Mediterranean diet takes away cancer cells' "superpower" to escape death.

Leading explanations for whooping cough's resurgence don't stand up to scrutiny

Posted: 20 May 2013 12:42 PM PDT

Whooping cough has exploded in the United States and some other developed countries in recent decades, and many experts suspect ineffective childhood vaccines for the alarming resurgence.

Intestinal bacteria protect against E. coli O157:H7

Posted: 20 May 2013 12:42 PM PDT

A cocktail of non-pathogenic bacteria naturally occurring in the digestive tract of healthy humans can protect against a potentially lethal E. coli infection in animal models according to new research.

Molecular trigger for Alzheimer's disease identified

Posted: 20 May 2013 12:42 PM PDT

Researchers have pinpointed a catalytic trigger for the onset of Alzheimer's disease -- when the fundamental structure of a protein molecule changes to cause a chain reaction that leads to the death of neurons in the brain.

Combined wood and tobacco smoke exposure increases risk and symptoms of COPD

Posted: 20 May 2013 11:27 AM PDT

People who are consistently exposed to both wood smoke and tobacco smoke are at a greater risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and for experiencing more frequent and severe symptoms of the disease, as well as more severe airflow obstruction, than those who are exposed to only one type of smoke.

Prenatal exposure to traffic is associated with respiratory infection in young children

Posted: 20 May 2013 11:27 AM PDT

Living near a major roadway during the prenatal period is associated with an increased risk of respiratory infection developing in children by the age of 3, according to a new study.

Air pollution and noise pollution increase cardiovascular risk

Posted: 20 May 2013 11:27 AM PDT

Both fine-particle air pollution and noise pollution may increase a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to new research.

Breakup of physician, drug company relationship could improve health care, cut cost

Posted: 20 May 2013 10:37 AM PDT

A new report suggests that improved health care and significant reductions in drug costs might be attained by breaking up the age-old relationship between physicians and drug company representatives who promote the newest, more costly and often unnecessary prescription drugs.

Far-reaching, microvascular damage found in uninjured side of brain after stroke

Posted: 20 May 2013 10:37 AM PDT

An animal-model study finds far-reaching microvascular damage in the uninjured side of the brain after a stroke. The findings suggest repair of the protective blood-brain barrier may help prevent this breach in the days following the acute injury.

Telerehabilitation allows accurate assessment of patients with low back pain

Posted: 20 May 2013 10:37 AM PDT

A new "telerehabilitation" approach lets physical therapists assess patients with low back pain over the Internet, with good accuracy compared with face-to-face examinations, reports a new study.

Advance in nanotech gene sequencing technique

Posted: 20 May 2013 10:37 AM PDT

The allure of personalized medicine has made new, more efficient ways of sequencing genes a top research priority. One promising technique involves reading DNA bases using changes in electrical current as they are threaded through a nanoscopic hole. Now, physicists has used solid-state nanopores to differentiate single-stranded DNA molecules containing sequences of a single repeating base.

Link between childhood ADHD and obesity revealed in first long-term study

Posted: 20 May 2013 08:39 AM PDT

A new study found men diagnosed as children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were twice as likely to be obese in a 33-year follow-up study compared to men who were not diagnosed with the condition.

Immune protein could stop diabetes in its tracks, discovery suggests

Posted: 20 May 2013 07:49 AM PDT

Researchers have identified an immune protein that has the potential to stop or reverse the development of type 1 diabetes in its early stages, before insulin-producing cells have been destroyed. The discovery has wider repercussions, as the protein is responsible for protecting the body against excessive immune responses, and could be used to treat, or even prevent, other immune disorders such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Predicting infectious influenza

Posted: 20 May 2013 07:49 AM PDT

A new computer model could help scientists predict when a particular strain of avian influenza might become infectious from bird to human, according to a new report.

Mechanism linking key inflammatory marker to cancer identified

Posted: 20 May 2013 06:53 AM PDT

Researchers have revealed how a key player in cell growth, immunity and the inflammatory response can be transformed into a primary contributor to tumor growth.

Discovery of a novel medicine for the treatment of chronic wounds

Posted: 20 May 2013 06:50 AM PDT

Every 20 seconds, a limb is lost as a consequence of diabetic foot ulcer that does not heal. To date, medical solutions that can change this situation are very limited. A researchers has now presented a novel medicine for chronic wound treatment that may completely change the lives of millions of patients.

Echolocation: Blind people have the potential to use their 'inner bat' to locate objects, study finds

Posted: 20 May 2013 06:48 AM PDT

New research shows that blind and visually impaired people have the potential to use echolocation, similar to that used by bats and dolphins, to determine the location of an object. The study examined how hearing, and particularly the hearing of echoes, could help blind people with spatial awareness and navigation.

Anabolic steroids may affect future mental health

Posted: 20 May 2013 06:48 AM PDT

There is a link between use of anabolic-androgenic steroids and reduced mental health later in life. This is the main conclusion of a new study on elite male strength athletes. Twenty per cent of the subjects in the study admitted steroid use.

Genetic diversity within tumors predicts outcome in head and neck cancer

Posted: 20 May 2013 06:46 AM PDT

A new measure of the heterogeneity – the variety of genetic mutations – of cells within a tumor appears to predict treatment outcomes of patients with the most common type of head and neck cancer.

One in 10 teens using 'study drugs,' but parents aren't paying attention

Posted: 20 May 2013 06:44 AM PDT

Just one in 100 parents believe their kids have used prescription stimulants to boost grades, according to a new poll.

Molecular marker from pancreatic 'juices' helps identify pancreatic cancer

Posted: 19 May 2013 04:14 PM PDT

Researchers have developed a promising method to distinguish between pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis — two disorders that are difficult to tell apart. A molecular marker obtained from pancreatic "juices" can identify almost all cases of pancreatic cancer, their study shows.

Commonly used catheters double risk of blood clots in ICU and cancer patients

Posted: 19 May 2013 04:14 PM PDT

Peripherally inserted central catheters – an often preferred route for delivery of IV medications — increase risk of blood clots in sickest patients.

Heat-related deaths in Manhattan projected to rise: Killing season may push into spring and fall

Posted: 19 May 2013 04:04 PM PDT

Researchers say deaths in Manhattan linked to warming climate may rise some 20 percent by the 2020s, and, in some worst-case scenarios, 90 percent or more by the 2080s. Higher winter temperatures may partially offset heat-related deaths by cutting cold-related mortality -- but even so, annual net temperature-related deaths might go up a third.

Novel approach to regulating blood sugar levels in the body

Posted: 19 May 2013 11:56 AM PDT

For the first time, scientists showed that targeting glucagon action in the brain may be a new frontier for regulating diabetes.

Ginger compounds may be effective in treating asthma symptoms, study suggests

Posted: 19 May 2013 11:56 AM PDT

Gourmands and foodies everywhere have long recognized ginger as a great way to add a little peppery zing to both sweet and savory dishes; now, a study shows purified components of the spicy root also may have properties that help asthma patients breathe more easily.

Potential new risk for sleep apnea identified: Asthma

Posted: 19 May 2013 11:56 AM PDT

Researchers have identified a potential new risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea: asthma.

Sleep Apnea linked to Alzheimer's

Posted: 19 May 2013 11:56 AM PDT

A new study looking at sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and markers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and neuroimaging adds to the growing body of research linking the two.

Autism: Sensory-motor or environmental enrichment may be promising approach

Posted: 18 May 2013 12:33 PM PDT

In the first successful experiment with humans using a treatment known as sensory-motor or environmental enrichment, researchers documented marked improvement in young autistic boys when compared to boys treated with traditional behavioral therapies, according to new research

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