ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• One in two people in the UK will get cancer
• One in three people would risk shorter life rather than take daily pill to avoid heart disease
• Widening health inequalities among adolescents, international study reveals
• Researchers reprogram tumor's cells to attack itself
• Online photos provide evidence for value of clean water
• University partnerships in high- and low-income countries can increase research capacity
• Our thoughts are susceptible to external influence, even against our will
• Get the gist? Tool provides unique insight for those with traumatic brain injury
• New research sheds light on neural circuit development
• Add nature, art and religion to life's best anti-inflammatories
• Children's hunger born from mothers' trauma
• If Facebook use causes envy, depression could follow
• White potatoes should be allowed under WIC, says report
• Neurologists Find Movement Tracking Device Helps Assess Severity of Parkinson's Disease
• Surgical metrics do not provide a clear path to improvement
• Study sheds new light on aggressive cancer in children
• Protective brain protein reveals gender implications for autism, Alzheimer's research
• Customers who binge-consume are more valuable, says study
• Power psychs people up about... themselves
• Sparing hope for the future: Preserving fertility in cancer patients
• How do 'graduation' ceremonies affect addiction treatment?
• Artificial blood vessels: Tri-layered artificial blood vessels for first time
• Just knowing isn't enough: Issuing hospital 'report cards' had no impact on surgical outcomes
• Study compares effectiveness of different transfusion strategies for severe trauma
• Care of patients prior to making a diagnosis rarely assessed by quality measures
• Hospital readmissions after surgery often related to complications from surgery
• Skin based immunity secrets revealed
• Reducing hospital readmission rates will require community-focused efforts
• Non-invasive first trimester blood test reliably detects Down's syndrome
• Research points to genes that may help us form memories
• Sleep problems may impact bone health
• Clarity needed in studies on gender, access to cardiac rehabilitation
• Smoking linked to higher risk of death among colorectal cancer survivors
• Birth method, gestation duration may alter infants' gut microbiota
• Primed memories tempt people into gambling more
• A few cells could prevent bone marrow transplant infections
• Early childhood programs found to significantly lower likelihood of special education placements in third grade
• Simple strategies used by parents lead to improvements in one-year-olds at risk for autism spectrum disorder
• Seeing the knee in a new light: Fluorescent probe tracks osteoarthritis development
• Smokers have strong support for many e-cigarette policies
• Precision medicine in action: Genomic test helps solve medical mystery
• How is noise produced by wind power plants experienced?
• Magnetic sense for humans? Electronic skin with magneto-sensory system enables 'sixth sense'
• Prostate cancer: Optimized PSA screening program developed
• Decreases in short-term memory, IQ, and altered brain metabolic ratios in urban apolipoprotein ?4 children exposed to air pollution
• New study postulates the role of dietary advanced glycation end products in the risk of Alzheimer's disease
• microRNAs can limit cancer spread
• Can we talk? Patients may avoid topic of work-related asthma for fear of losing jobs
• New mechanism of inheritance could advance study of evolution, disease treatment
• Researchers determine how the brain controls robotic grasping tools
• Too many heart failure patients are treated with IV fluids, study finds
• Which breast cancer patients need lymph nodes removed? Ultrasound narrows it down, study finds

One in two people in the UK will get cancer Posted: 03 Feb 2015 05:43 PM PST One in two people will develop cancer at some point in their lives, according to the most accurate forecast to date from the UK. Age is the biggest risk factor for most cancers, and the increase in lifetime risk is primarily because more people are surviving into old age, when cancer is more common.

One in three people would risk shorter life rather than take daily pill to avoid heart disease Posted: 03 Feb 2015 04:03 PM PST In a survey, one in three adults say they would risk living a shorter life rather than taking a daily pill to prevent cardiovascular disease. About one in five say they were willing to pay $1,000 or more to avoid taking a daily pill for the rest of their lives. Most respondents weren't willing to trade any weeks of life to avoid daily medication.

Widening health inequalities among adolescents, international study reveals Posted: 03 Feb 2015 04:02 PM PST Over the past decade, rising national wealth across high-income countries has contributed to some improvements in health and well-being among adolescents. But the gap in health between rich and poor has widened, an international study of nearly half a million adolescents from 34 countries across Europe and North America has found.

Researchers reprogram tumor's cells to attack itself Posted: 03 Feb 2015 04:00 PM PST Inserting a specific strain of bacteria into the microenvironment of aggressive ovarian cancer transforms the behavior of tumor cells from suppression to immunostimulation, researchers have found.

Online photos provide evidence for value of clean water Posted: 03 Feb 2015 01:01 PM PST A novel approach to calculating the value of clean water has been developed by scientists. Analyzing photos posted to the online photo-sharing site Flickr, researchers found Minnesota and Iowa lakes with greater water quality receive more visits than dirtier lakes, and that users are willing to travel farther to visit those clean, clear lakes.

University partnerships in high- and low-income countries can increase research capacity Posted: 03 Feb 2015 12:59 PM PST Developing national health research capacity in low- and middle-income countries is a key element toward strengthening their health systems.

Our thoughts are susceptible to external influence, even against our will Posted: 03 Feb 2015 11:23 AM PST New research documents how our thoughts are influenced by our outside environment. This research is the first demonstration of two thoughts in the stream of consciousness being controlled externally and against participants' will.

Get the gist? Tool provides unique insight for those with traumatic brain injury Posted: 03 Feb 2015 11:23 AM PST Individuals with traumatic brain injury have significantly more difficulty with gist reasoning than traditional cognitive tests, research shows. Using a unique cognitive assessment, these findings indicate that an individual's ability to 'get the gist' after a TBI more strongly predicts daily functionality than traditional cognitive tests alone.

New research sheds light on neural circuit development Posted: 03 Feb 2015 10:33 AM PST Using multiphoton imaging, researchers are now able to move beyond characterizing the properties of individual cells to investigate how communication among neurons changes over the course of development. In a new paper, researchers report substantial developmental changes in communication among cells that significantly improve the information processing capabilities of the brain.

Add nature, art and religion to life's best anti-inflammatories Posted: 03 Feb 2015 10:32 AM PST Taking in such spine-tingling wonders as the Grand Canyon, Sistine Chapel ceiling or Schubert's 'Ave Maria' may give a boost to the body's defense system. Researchers have linked positive emotions -- especially the awe we feel when touched by the beauty of nature, art and spirituality -- with lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Children's hunger born from mothers' trauma Posted: 03 Feb 2015 09:34 AM PST The roots of children's hunger today may stretch back, in part, to the past childhood trauma of their caregivers. Evidence amassed over the past two decades has demonstrated that stress and deprivation during childhood have lifelong consequences on health, as well as school and job performance. A new small-scale study now suggests a strong relationship between exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and household food insecurity among mothers of young children.

If Facebook use causes envy, depression could follow Posted: 03 Feb 2015 09:34 AM PST Facebook use can lead to symptoms of depression if the social networking site triggers feelings of envy among its users, research shows. "Facebook can be a fun and healthy activity if users take advantage of the site to stay connected with family and old friends and to share interesting and important aspects of their lives," an author said. "However, if Facebook is used to see how well an acquaintance is doing financially or how happy an old friend is in his relationship--things that cause envy among users--use of the site can lead to feelings of depression."

White potatoes should be allowed under WIC, says report Posted: 03 Feb 2015 09:34 AM PST The US Department of Agriculture should allow white potatoes as a vegetable eligible for purchase with vouchers issued by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC), says a new report. If relevant changes occur in the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the recommendation should be re-evaluated.

Neurologists Find Movement Tracking Device Helps Assess Severity of Parkinson's Disease Posted: 03 Feb 2015 09:31 AM PST A device that measures movement and balance can effectively help assess and track the progression of Parkinson's disease, even when medications are used to reduce Parkinson's symptoms, researchers report.

Surgical metrics do not provide a clear path to improvement Posted: 03 Feb 2015 09:31 AM PST While surgical outcomes have improved nationally over time, surgical outcome reporting does not necessarily lead to better outcomes, according to a study. The study found no association between hospital-based participation in the NSQIP and improvements in postoperative outcomes over time, suggesting that a surgical outcomes reporting system does not provide a clear mechanism for quality improvement. According to the research team, the failure of these types of outcomes monitoring systems to produce measurable improvements in outcomes may be related to difficulties in identifying mechanisms that translate reports into changes in how surgical care is provided.

Study sheds new light on aggressive cancer in children Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:21 AM PST A new study has revealed how children with an aggressive cancer predisposition syndrome experience a never before seen flood of mutations in their disease in just six months. The syndrome, called 'biallelic mismatch repair deficiency' (bMMRD) causes multiple brain tumours, lymphomas and gastrointestinal cancers by the age of 10. As a result these children rarely survive into adulthood.

Protective brain protein reveals gender implications for autism, Alzheimer's research Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:21 AM PST Both autism and Alzheimer's disease can have tragic consequences for sufferers and their families. Now a new study may offer insight into the pathology of both autism and Alzheimer's by revealing that different activities of certain proteins in males and females cause gender-specific tendencies toward these diseases. The research may lead to new drugs for potential future therapeutics to treat both illnesses.

Customers who binge-consume are more valuable, says study Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:21 AM PST In contrast to traditional market segmentation, one based on 'binge consumption' brings a higher long-term return to business, a new article suggests.

Power psychs people up about... themselves Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:21 AM PST We all know the type -- people who can talk on and on about their latest adventures, seemingly unaware that those around them may not be interested. They also get really psyched up about their own experiences. A new paper suggests that what separates such people from the rest of us is their perceived sense of power: Powerful people, researchers found, draw inspiration from themselves rather than others.

Sparing hope for the future: Preserving fertility in cancer patients Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:21 AM PST While families around the world delay childbearing to later in life, cancer diagnoses are affecting people ever earlier in life. When these lifestyle trends collide, we see an increasing number of young women rendered infertile by cancer or cancer treatments. What can be done about it? What do doctors need to know? And does a cancer diagnosis mean that a patient can never have children?

How do 'graduation' ceremonies affect addiction treatment? Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:20 AM PST As 64 percent of Americans entering addiction treatment are repeat patients, many health care professionals have questioned the significance of addiction graduation ceremonies. In a new article, an addiction clinician explores this disconnect and its origins in the treatment context.

Artificial blood vessels: Tri-layered artificial blood vessels for first time Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:19 AM PST By combining micro-imprinting and electro-spinning techniques, researchers have developed a vascular graft composed of three layers for the first time. This tri-layered composite has allowed researchers to utilize separate materials that respectively possess mechanical strength and promote new cell growth - a significant problem for existing vascular grafts that have only consisted of a single or double layer.

Just knowing isn't enough: Issuing hospital 'report cards' had no impact on surgical outcomes Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:19 AM PST If you're an older person having a major operation these days, it is very likely that your hospital is receiving a "report card" on its performance. These reports are designed to prompt hospitals to improve in areas where they perform poorly. That's the good news. The not-so-good news: Those "report cards" do not seem to be making things better for patients.

Study compares effectiveness of different transfusion strategies for severe trauma Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:19 AM PST Among patients with severe trauma and major bleeding, those who received a transfusion of a balanced ratio of plasma, platelets, and red blood cells (RBCs) were more likely to have their bleeding stopped and less likely to die due to loss of blood by 24 hours compared to patients who received a transfusion with a higher ratio of RBCs, according to a study.

Care of patients prior to making a diagnosis rarely assessed by quality measures Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:19 AM PST An examination of process measures endorsed by the National Quality Forum finds that these measures focus predominantly on management of patients with established diagnoses, and that quality measures for patient presenting symptoms often do not reflect the most common reasons patients seek care, according to a study.

Hospital readmissions after surgery often related to complications from surgery Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:19 AM PST In a study that included readmission information from nearly 350 hospitals, readmissions the first 30 days after surgery were associated with new postdischarge complications related to the surgical procedure and not a worsening of any medical conditions the patient already had while hospitalized for surgery, according to a study.

Skin based immunity secrets revealed Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:41 AM PST A new mechanism by which immune cells in the skin function as the body's 'border control' has been discovered by researchers, revealing how these cells sense whether lipid or fat-like molecules might indicate the presence of foreign invaders.

Reducing hospital readmission rates will require community-focused efforts Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:41 AM PST Most of the variation in hospital readmission rates in the United States is related to geography and other factors over which hospitals have little or no control, researchers have concluded.

Non-invasive first trimester blood test reliably detects Down's syndrome Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:41 AM PST Cell-free fetal DNA testing, which measures the relative amount of free fetal DNA in a pregnant woman's blood, is a new screening test that indicates the risk of Down syndrome (trisomy 21), researchers report.

Research points to genes that may help us form memories Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:41 AM PST Gene expression within neurons is critical for the formation of memories, but it's difficult to identify genes whose expression is altered by learning. Now researchers have successfully monitored the expression of genes in neurons after rats were exposed to auditory fear conditioning, in which a neutral auditory tone is paired with electric shock.

Sleep problems may impact bone health Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:41 AM PST The daily rhythm of bone turnover is likely important for normal bone health, and recent research suggests that sleep apnea may be an unrecognized cause of some cases of osteoporosis. Sleep apnea's effects on sleep duration and quality, oxygen levels, inflammation, and other aspects of health may have a variety of impacts on bone metabolism, experts say.

Clarity needed in studies on gender, access to cardiac rehabilitation Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:41 AM PST Sex-based inequalities in life expectancy and quality due to heart disease are repeatedly described, but how gender and social structure play roles in this phenomenon are unclear. Women and men can equally benefit from secondary prevention/cardiac rehabilitation, and there is a need to understand gender barriers to uptake, researchers say.

Smoking linked to higher risk of death among colorectal cancer survivors Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:41 AM PST Colorectal cancer survivors who smoke cigarettes were at more than twice the risk of death than non-smoking survivors, according to a new study, one of the largest of its kind.

Birth method, gestation duration may alter infants' gut microbiota Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:40 AM PST Environmental factors like mode of delivery and duration of gestation may affect how infants' gut bacteria mature, and that rate could help predict later body fat, international researchers have found.

Primed memories tempt people into gambling more Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:39 AM PST When reminded, or primed, of past winning outcomes as part of a controlled test, people were over 15% more likely to gamble and select the risky option. Surprisingly, being reminded of past losing outcomes did not change their gambling behavior.

A few cells could prevent bone marrow transplant infections Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:29 AM PST Researchers have found clues for reducing infections after bone marrow transplantation for leukemia and lymphoma. Bone marrow transplantation is a life-saving therapy for patients with blood cancers like leukemia or lymphoma. However, the depletion of the patient's immune system prior to transplantation can put patients at risk of for an infection by a virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV) that can be life threatening in these immune-compromised individuals.

Early childhood programs found to significantly lower likelihood of special education placements in third grade Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:29 AM PST Access to state-supported early childhood programs significantly reduces the likelihood that children will be placed in special education in the third grade, academically benefiting students and resulting in considerable cost savings to school districts, according to new research.

Simple strategies used by parents lead to improvements in one-year-olds at risk for autism spectrum disorder Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:29 AM PST A collection of simple strategies used by parents can lead to significant improvements in one-year-olds at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), researchers have found. The study followed 18 families with a one-year-old child at risk for ASD. Researchers compared the effects of a parent-coaching, home-based intervention called "Adapted Responsive Teaching" (ART) versus referral to early intervention and monitoring.

Seeing the knee in a new light: Fluorescent probe tracks osteoarthritis development Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:29 AM PST A harmless fluorescent probe injected into a joint may make it easier to diagnose and monitor osteoarthritis, leading to better patient care. A new study led by biomedical researchers reports that such a probe successfully tracked the development of early to moderate osteoarthritis in male mice.

Smokers have strong support for many e-cigarette policies Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:29 AM PST As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is preparing to issue a final ruling on whether it will extend its tobacco regulatory authority to electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), researchers have identified strong support for a number of e-cigarette policies among smokers. Findings included strong support for advertising restrictions and placing warning labels for potential risks on the devices.

Precision medicine in action: Genomic test helps solve medical mystery Posted: 03 Feb 2015 06:56 AM PST Precision medicine is getting a jump-start from a new national initiative announced in President Obama's State of the Union message. One Georgia family has already experienced its benefits: genomic testing called whole exome sequencing helped a neurologist solve a medical mystery that had left a boy with painful, jerking spasms that at times prevented him from walking or talking. The doctor describes the case in a newly published article.

How is noise produced by wind power plants experienced? Posted: 03 Feb 2015 06:43 AM PST The disruptiveness of the noise generated by wind power plants in Finland is the focus of a new study that combines the measurement of the noise produced by wind power with the noise experienced by humans in relation to sound pressure levels and the time and frequency behavior of sound.

Magnetic sense for humans? Electronic skin with magneto-sensory system enables 'sixth sense' Posted: 03 Feb 2015 06:41 AM PST Scientists from Germany and Japan have developed a new magnetic sensor, which is thin, robust and pliable enough to be smoothly adapted to human skin, even to the most flexible part of the human palm. The achievement suggests it may be possible to equip humans with magnetic sense.

Prostate cancer: Optimized PSA screening program developed Posted: 03 Feb 2015 06:41 AM PST As an indicator of prostate cancer, the PSA test is regarded in urology as highly controversial since it is not always unequivocal. A team of researchers has now developed a program that compensates the shortfalls of PSA screening with methods from personalized medicine. As a result, prostate cancer screening is able to reach a new level of quality.

Decreases in short-term memory, IQ, and altered brain metabolic ratios in urban apolipoprotein ?4 children exposed to air pollution Posted: 03 Feb 2015 06:41 AM PST A new study heightens concerns over the detrimental impact of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ?4 allele -- the most prevalent genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease -- upon cognition, olfaction, and metabolic brain indices in healthy urban children and teens.

New study postulates the role of dietary advanced glycation end products in the risk of Alzheimer's disease Posted: 03 Feb 2015 06:41 AM PST Evidence that cooking foods at high temperatures increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease has been gained through a new study. This study looked at the content of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in national diets and clinical studies comparing and compared total AGEs to Alzheimer's disease rates.

microRNAs can limit cancer spread Posted: 03 Feb 2015 05:14 AM PST In cancer patients with limited spread, certain microRNAs suppress tumor cells' ability to adhere to other cell types, invade tissues and migrate to distant sites, the hallmarks of metastasis. This could predict how aggressively a tumor can spread and guide treatment, experts say.

Can we talk? Patients may avoid topic of work-related asthma for fear of losing jobs Posted: 03 Feb 2015 05:14 AM PST Only 15 percent of employed adults with asthma discussed with their doctor how work might affect their condition, a study has found. However, of the employed adults with asthma, 46 percent had asthma that was possibly work-related.

New mechanism of inheritance could advance study of evolution, disease treatment Posted: 02 Feb 2015 06:24 PM PST A specific mechanism by which a parent can pass silenced genes to its offspring has been uncovered by researchers for the first time. Importantly, the team found that this silencing could persist for multiple generations -- more than 25, in the case of this study.

Researchers determine how the brain controls robotic grasping tools Posted: 02 Feb 2015 06:24 PM PST Grasping an object involves a complex network of brain functions. First, visual cues are processed in specialized areas of the brain. Then, other areas of the brain use these signals to control the hands to reach for and manipulate the desired object. New findings suggest that the cerebellum, a region of the brain that has changed very little over time, may play a critical role. Findings could lead to advancements in assistive technologies benefiting the disabled.

Too many heart failure patients are treated with IV fluids, study finds Posted: 02 Feb 2015 01:06 PM PST Many patients hospitalized with severe heart failure are receiving potentially harmful treatment with intravenous fluids, a study has found. Heart failure patients are commonly treated with diuretics to avoid excess fluid buildup and to improve symptoms. However, many hospitalized patients also often receive IV fluids during early care in hospitals. Because the administration of IV fluids may worsen the congestive symptoms, researchers decided to investigate the use of IV fluids in patients with heart failure.

Which breast cancer patients need lymph nodes removed? Ultrasound narrows it down, study finds Posted: 02 Feb 2015 01:06 PM PST Which breast cancer patients need to have underarm lymph nodes removed? New research is narrowing it down: a study finds that not all women with lymph node-positive breast cancer treated with chemotherapy before surgery need to have all of their underarm nodes taken out. Ultrasound is a useful tool for judging before breast cancer surgery whether chemotherapy eliminated cancer from the underarm lymph nodes, the researchers found.

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