ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Sitting for long periods increases risk of disease and early death, regardless of exercise
• Major cause of blindness linked to calcium deposits in the eye
• Insights into a rare genetic disease
• Know your enemy: Combating whooping cough requires informed vaccine booster schedules
• Bed nets and vaccines: Some combinations may worsen malaria
• New cellular pathway triggering allergic asthma response identified
• Lung transplant patients who receive organs from heavy drinkers may be at risk for worse outcomes
• Researchers discover 'idiosyncratic' brain patterns in autism
• Rare shared genetic mutation for disease in Inuit discovered
• Hidden cell types revealed
• Couples more likely to get healthy together
• Genetics underpinning antimalarial drug resistance revealed
• How the brain recognizes danger: New discovery
• Study suggests increase in falls among the elderly
• Researchers open 'Pandora’s Box' of potential cancer biomarkers
• Bariatric surgery can benefit some obese children, teens
• To beet or not to beet? Researchers test theories of beet juice benefits
• Early parental program improves long-term childhood outcomes
• Geographic clusters of underimmunization identified in Northern California
• How stable are arsenic compounds found in edible algae?
• Cellulose with braille for cells: Cellulose-sheaths for implants make them biocompatible
• Live coverage of the immune system at work
• Early knee arthritis symptoms first felt when using stairs
• Citrus scent inhibits liver cancer
• Gut microbes trigger autoimmune disease later in life in mice
• Women’s pain: Common, treatable and often overlooked or mismanaged
• How does the brain adapt to the restoration of eyesight?
• M6P deficiency leaves B cells out of sorts
• Dramatic decline in risk for heart attacks among HIV-positive Kaiser Permanente members in California

Sitting for long periods increases risk of disease and early death, regardless of exercise Posted: 19 Jan 2015 02:17 PM PST The amount of time a person sits during the day is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and death, regardless of regular exercise, according to a review study.

Major cause of blindness linked to calcium deposits in the eye Posted: 19 Jan 2015 12:43 PM PST Microscopic spheres of calcium phosphate have been linked to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a major cause of blindness. AMD affects 1 in 5 people over 75, causing their vision to slowly deteriorate, but the cause of the most common form of the disease remains a mystery. The ability to spot the disease early and reliably halt its progression would improve the lives of millions, but this is simply not possible with current knowledge and techniques.

Insights into a rare genetic disease Posted: 19 Jan 2015 12:43 PM PST In a big step towards understanding the effects of a rare genetic disease, research by scientists implicates the enzyme ENGase as the factor responsible for deficient protein degradation that occurs in the absence of mouse Ngly1 gene expression.

Know your enemy: Combating whooping cough requires informed vaccine booster schedules Posted: 19 Jan 2015 12:43 PM PST A key to victory in battle is to know your enemy, some say. In the current fight against whooping cough resurgence, perhaps the biggest obstacle is an incomplete understanding of its underlying causes, according to a population ecologist.

Bed nets and vaccines: Some combinations may worsen malaria Posted: 19 Jan 2015 12:43 PM PST Combining insecticide-treated bed nets with vaccines and other control measures may provide the best chance at eliminating malaria, which killed nearly 600,000 people worldwide in 2013, most of them African children.

New cellular pathway triggering allergic asthma response identified Posted: 19 Jan 2015 12:43 PM PST A novel signaling pathway critical to the immune response of cells associated with the initiation of allergic asthma has been identified by researchers. The discovery, they say, could point the way to new therapies that suppress the inflammatory allergic response, offering potential relief to millions of Americans with the chronic lung condition and potentially other allergic diseases.

Lung transplant patients who receive organs from heavy drinkers may be at risk for worse outcomes Posted: 19 Jan 2015 12:43 PM PST Lung transplant patients who receive lungs from heavy drinkers are nearly nine times more likely to experience a life-threatening complication called primary graft dysfunction. The study raises the question whether a history of alcohol abuse should exclude use of donor lungs.

Researchers discover 'idiosyncratic' brain patterns in autism Posted: 19 Jan 2015 09:48 AM PST New research suggests that the various reports -- of both over- and under-connectivity -- may, in fact, reflect a deeper principle of brain function. The study shows that the brains of individuals with autism display unique synchronization patterns, something that could impact earlier diagnosis of the disorder and future treatments.

Rare shared genetic mutation for disease in Inuit discovered Posted: 19 Jan 2015 09:47 AM PST A team of Canadian and Japanese researchers has identified the genetic mutation responsible for glycogen storage disease type IIIa in Inuit in northern Quebec, Canada. Their paper identifies a mutation in the gene encoding the glycogen debranching enzyme, which had previously been undetected in a decade of investigation by the same authors.

Hidden cell types revealed Posted: 19 Jan 2015 09:45 AM PST A new method improves single-cell genomics analyses, researchers report. The method clarifies the true differences and similarities between cells by modelling relatedness and removing confounding variables. They can can use known molecular pathways to better understand cancer cells, differentiation processes and the pathogenesis of diseases.

Couples more likely to get healthy together Posted: 19 Jan 2015 09:45 AM PST People are more successful in taking up healthy habits if their partner makes positive changes too, according to research. Investigators found that people were more successful in swapping bad habits for good ones if their partner made a change as well.

Genetics underpinning antimalarial drug resistance revealed Posted: 19 Jan 2015 09:45 AM PST Researchers have identified a series of mutations that could help to improve early detection of resistance to our most effective antimalarial drug. The largest genome-wide association study to date of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum unveils a complex genetic architecture that enables the parasite to develop resistance to our most effective antimalarial drug, artemisinin. The results could help to improve early detection of emerging artemisinin resistance.

How the brain recognizes danger: New discovery Posted: 19 Jan 2015 09:45 AM PST Our existence depends on a bit of evolutionary genius aptly nicknamed "fight or flight." But where in our brain does the alarm first go off, and what other parts of the brain are mobilized to express fear and remember to avoid danger in the future? New research sheds some light on this question.

Study suggests increase in falls among the elderly Posted: 19 Jan 2015 09:45 AM PST Over a 12-year period, the prevalence of falls among older adults appeared to be on the rise, a new American nationally representative study says.

Researchers open 'Pandora’s Box' of potential cancer biomarkers Posted: 19 Jan 2015 09:45 AM PST The global landscape of a portion of the genome that has not been previously well-explored has been the focus of recent study. This new analysis opens the door to discovery of thousands of potential new cancer biomarkers, the researchers say.

Bariatric surgery can benefit some obese children, teens Posted: 19 Jan 2015 07:08 AM PST Bariatric surgery--as a last resort when conservative interventions have failed--can improve liver disease and other obesity-related health problems in severely obese children and adolescents, according to a new position paper.

To beet or not to beet? Researchers test theories of beet juice benefits Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:33 AM PST Athletes who down beet juice before exercising to increase blood flow and improve performance may be surprised at the results of a recent study. While beetroot juice rich in nitrates did not enhance muscle blood flow or vascular dilation during exercise, researchers found that it did 'de-stiffen' blood vessels under resting conditions, potentially easing the workload of the heart.

Early parental program improves long-term childhood outcomes Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:32 AM PST Children whose parents participated in a prenatal program aimed at enhancing couples' co-parenting relationship were better adjusted at age seven than children whose parents were assigned to a control group, according to researchers.

Geographic clusters of underimmunization identified in Northern California Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:32 AM PST Researchers used spatial analysis software and electronic medical records to identify clusters of underimmunization and vaccine refusal among Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California, according to a study.

How stable are arsenic compounds found in edible algae? Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:30 AM PST The stability of diverse arsenic species found in edible marine algae have been studied by researchers who have established the best conditions for their storage and preservation.

Cellulose with braille for cells: Cellulose-sheaths for implants make them biocompatible Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:30 AM PST Artificial implants such as pacemakers often cause complications because the body identifies them as foreign objects. Researchers have now demonstrated a simple method to fabricate cellulose-sheaths for implants, whose micro-structured surface makes them especially biocompatible.

Live coverage of the immune system at work Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:30 AM PST Researchers have developed a new technique to safely mark T-cells for non-invasive in vivo imaging to better understand what happens during immune reactions in the body. The immune system's T-cells are a key starting point for researchers developing immunotherapies against cancer and autoimmune diseases. T-cells are constantly on the move throughout the body, checking for invading pathogens and diseased cells. If any of these structures which fit the T-cells' specific receptors like a key fits the right lock -- then the T-cell will proliferate and set off a series of signals, starting the process of eradicating the diseased cell.

Early knee arthritis symptoms first felt when using stairs Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:30 AM PST People who suffer from knee pain when using the stairs may be experiencing the early symptoms of osteoarthritis, according to a new study. "Knowing this will help us intervene earlier, perhaps leading to more effective ways of treating this very painful condition," one author notes.

Citrus scent inhibits liver cancer Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:29 AM PST As main component of essential oils, terpenes can inhibit the growth of different cancer cells. Researchers have analyzed this process in liver cancer cells in detail. Their shed light upon the molecular mechanisms that resulted in cancer cells stop growing, following the application of (-)-citronellal, and they proved that the olfactory receptor OR1A2 is the crucial molecule for that purpose. In future, the olfactory receptor could serve as target for liver cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Gut microbes trigger autoimmune disease later in life in mice Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:29 AM PST The colonization of the gut of young mice by certain types of bacteria can lead to immune responses later in life that are linked to disease, researchers report. Increases in the levels of segmented filamentous bacteria can trigger changes in the lymphoid tissue of the mouse gut that result in the production of antibodies that attack components of the cell nucleus. This type of damage is a hallmark of autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis where organs throughout the body are damaged by wayward immune responses.

Women’s pain: Common, treatable and often overlooked or mismanaged Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:27 AM PST Despite the variety of effective treatments, and physicians who specialize in treating pain, women often suffer unnecessarily from conditions ranging from backaches to pain after cancer surgery, and also treat their pain with medications that may be ineffective and possibly harmful, according to a review of research.

How does the brain adapt to the restoration of eyesight? Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:27 AM PST Recent scientific advances have meant that eyesight can be partially restored to those who previously would have been blind for life. However, scientists have discovered that the rewiring of the senses that occurs in the brains of the long-term blind means that visual restoration may never be complete.

M6P deficiency leaves B cells out of sorts Posted: 19 Jan 2015 05:27 AM PST A group of white blood cells known as B cells, which play a key role in the human immune response, need a protein-targeting signal called M6P in order to proliferate, differentiate, and present immune cell--activating antigens, scientists report.

Dramatic decline in risk for heart attacks among HIV-positive Kaiser Permanente members in California Posted: 16 Jan 2015 01:15 PM PST Previously reported increased risk of heart attacks among HIV-positive individuals has been largely reversed in recent years for Kaiser Permanente's California patients, according to a new study.

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