ScienceDaily: Top Health News

---

• New musical pacifier helps premature babies get healthy
• Pancreatic cancer may be detected with simple intestinal probe
• Activating genes that suppress tumors and inhibit cancer
• New discoveries about severe malaria
• Surgical removal of abdominal fat reduces skin cancer in mice
• Today's environment influences behavior generations later: Chemical exposure raises descendants' sensitivity to stress
• Physical properties predict stem cell outcome
• Hunter-gatherers and horticulturalist lifestyle linked to lower blood pressure increases, atherosclerosis risks
• Seventy-two percent of teenagers experienced reduced hearing ability after attending concert
• Antibiotic residues, some more than FDA limits, in seafood purchased at US grocery stores, experts say
• Don't like blood tests? New microscope uses rainbow of light to image the flow of individual blood cells
• Allergies? Some pollens are much more aggressive than others
• Cholesterol-lowering drugs may slow prostate growth
• Rare neurons linked to empathy and self-awareness discovered in monkey brains
• Newly discovered protein makes sure brain development isn't 'botched'
• Weight struggles? Blame new neurons in your hypothalamus
• Growth factor in stem cells may spur recovery from multiple sclerosis
• Folic acid may reduce some childhood cancers
• Obese adolescents have heart damage
• Stressed men are more social
• Anger in disputes is more about the climate of the marriage than the heat of the moment
• Distinct molecular subtype of prostate cancer discovered

New musical pacifier helps premature babies get healthy Posted: 21 May 2012 06:35 PM PDT The innovative PAL device uses musical lullabies to help infants quickly learn the muscle movements needed to suck, and ultimately feed.

Pancreatic cancer may be detected with simple intestinal probe Posted: 21 May 2012 06:35 PM PDT By simply shining a tiny light within the small intestine, close to that organ's junction with the pancreas, physicians have been able to detect pancreatic cancer 100 percent of the time in a small study. The light, attached to a probe, measures changes in cells and blood vessels in the small intestine produced by a growing cancer in the adjoining pancreas.

Activating genes that suppress tumors and inhibit cancer Posted: 21 May 2012 01:41 PM PDT A promising new strategy for "reactivating" genes that cause cancer tumors to shrink and die has now been developed. The discovery may aid the development of an innovative anti-cancer drug that effectively targets unhealthy, cancerous tissue without damaging healthy, non-cancerous tissue and vital organs.

New discoveries about severe malaria Posted: 21 May 2012 01:40 PM PDT Researchers have uncovered new knowledge related to host-parasite interaction in severe malaria, concerning how malaria parasites are able to bind to cells in the brain and cause cerebral malaria -- the most lethal form of the disease.

Surgical removal of abdominal fat reduces skin cancer in mice Posted: 21 May 2012 01:40 PM PDT In animal studies, Rutgers scientists have found that surgical removal of abdominal fat from mice fed a high-fat diet reduces the risk of ultraviolet-light induced skin cancer – the most prevalent cancer in the United States with more than two million new cases each year – by up to 80 percent.

Today's environment influences behavior generations later: Chemical exposure raises descendants' sensitivity to stress Posted: 21 May 2012 01:38 PM PDT Researchers have seen an increased reaction to stress in animals whose ancestors were exposed to an environmental compound generations earlier. The findings put a new twist on the notions of nature and nurture, with broad implications for how certain behavioral tendencies might be inherited.

Physical properties predict stem cell outcome Posted: 21 May 2012 01:37 PM PDT Tissue engineers can use mesenchymal stem cells derived from fat to make cartilage, bone, or more fat. The best cells to use are ones that are already likely to become the desired tissue. Researchers have discovered that the mechanical properties of the stem cells can foretell what they will become, leading to a potential method of concentrating them for use in healing.

Hunter-gatherers and horticulturalist lifestyle linked to lower blood pressure increases, atherosclerosis risks Posted: 21 May 2012 01:36 PM PDT Traditional "hunter-gatherer" and "horticulturalist" populations have significantly lower age-related increases in blood pressure and less risks of atherosclerosis than "modernized" populations. Lifestyle factors of these traditional populations -- high physical activity and high fruit and vegetable diets -- may protect against normal aging phenomena, high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries. Hunter-gatherers and forager-horticulturalists who live off the land and grow what they need to survive have lower age-related increases in blood pressure and less risks of atherosclerosis

Seventy-two percent of teenagers experienced reduced hearing ability after attending concert Posted: 21 May 2012 12:17 PM PDT Seventy-two percent of teenagers participating in a study experienced reduced hearing ability following exposure to a pop rock performance by a popular female singer.

Antibiotic residues, some more than FDA limits, in seafood purchased at US grocery stores, experts say Posted: 21 May 2012 11:18 AM PDT Scientists have found evidence of antibiotics – one a suspected human carcinogen – in seafood imported into the United States and purchased from grocery store shelves.

Don't like blood tests? New microscope uses rainbow of light to image the flow of individual blood cells Posted: 21 May 2012 08:56 AM PDT Blood tests convey vital medical information, but the sight of a needle often causes anxiety and results take time. A new device however, can reveal much the same information as a traditional blood test in real-time, simply by shining a light through the skin. This portable optical instrument is able to provide high-resolution images of blood coursing through veins without the need for harsh fluorescent dyes.

Allergies? Some pollens are much more aggressive than others Posted: 21 May 2012 08:55 AM PDT There are pollens -- and then there are pollens, as scientists from across Europe discovered while investigating the allergic potential of pollens from the three main triggers of hay fever in Europe: birch, grass and olive. Different people can have very different allergic reactions to a particular type of pollen.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs may slow prostate growth Posted: 21 May 2012 08:55 AM PDT Statins drugs prescribed to treat high cholesterol may also work to slow prostate growth in men who have elevated PSA levels, according to a new analysis.

Rare neurons linked to empathy and self-awareness discovered in monkey brains Posted: 21 May 2012 08:53 AM PDT Scientists have discovered brain cells in monkeys that may be linked to self-awareness and empathy in humans.

Newly discovered protein makes sure brain development isn't 'botched' Posted: 21 May 2012 08:53 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a protein that appears to play an important regulatory role in deciding whether stem cells differentiate into the cells that make up the brain, as well as countless other tissues. This finding could eventually shed light on developmental disorders as well as a variety of conditions that involve the generation of new neurons into adulthood, including depression, stroke, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Weight struggles? Blame new neurons in your hypothalamus Posted: 21 May 2012 08:53 AM PDT New nerve cells formed in a select part of the brain could hold considerable sway over how much you eat and consequently weigh, new animal research suggests.

Growth factor in stem cells may spur recovery from multiple sclerosis Posted: 21 May 2012 07:46 AM PDT A substance in human mesenchymal stem cells that promotes growth appears to spur restoration of nerves and their function in rodent models of multiple sclerosis, researchers have found.

Folic acid may reduce some childhood cancers Posted: 21 May 2012 07:42 AM PDT Folic acid fortification of foods may reduce the incidence of the most common type of kidney cancer and a type of brain tumors in children, finds a new study. Incidence reductions were found for Wilms' tumor, a type of kidney cancer, and primitive neuroectodermal tumors, a type of brain cancer.

Obese adolescents have heart damage Posted: 21 May 2012 07:42 AM PDT Obese adolescents with no symptoms of heart disease already have heart damage, according to new research.

Stressed men are more social Posted: 21 May 2012 07:40 AM PDT Researchers have refuted the common belief that stress always causes aggressive behavior.

Anger in disputes is more about the climate of the marriage than the heat of the moment Posted: 21 May 2012 07:35 AM PDT How good are married couples at recognizing each other's emotions during conflicts? In general, pretty good, according to a new study. But if your partner is angry, that might tell more about the overall climate of your marriage than about what your partner is feeling at the moment of the dispute.

Distinct molecular subtype of prostate cancer discovered Posted: 20 May 2012 10:39 AM PDT A collaborative expedition into the deep genetics of prostate cancer has uncovered a distinct subtype of the disease, one that appears to account for up to 15 percent of all cases, say researchers.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Health News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610