ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Group B streptococcal meningitis has long-term effects on children's developmental outcomes
• Radiation exposure from medical imaging has increased even at HMOs
• Alzheimer's risk gene disrupts brain function in healthy older women, but not men
• When being scared twice is enough to remember
• Engineers conceive disc replacement to treat chronic low back pain
• Protein residues kiss, don't tell: Genomes reveal contacts, scientists refine methods for protein-folding prediction
• How brain performs 'motor chunking' tasks
• Illnesses in children's hospital prompts discovery of contaminated alcohol pads
• Community-acquired MRSA cases on the rise in New York City, study suggests
• Naturally occurring protein has role in chronic pain
• Tiny ‘speed bump’ device could sort cancer cells
• Mosquitoes bred to be incapable of transmitting malaria
• Powerful new method to analyze genetic data
• Avatars may help children with social anxiety overcome fears
• Early gut bacteria regulate happiness
• Research supports key element of football concussion lawsuit
• A century of learning about the physiological demands of Antarctica
• Groundbreaking discovery of the cellular origin of cervical cancer
• Alcohol abuse may be cause, rather than effect of social isolation, poor grades among teens
• Mosaicism in cancer: Genetic makeup of embryo may cause appearance of tumors in adult life
• Losing money, emotions and evolution
• Kill the messenger: Small molecule prevents cancer-causing message from entering cell nucleus
• A father's love is one of the greatest influences on personality development
• Nature or nurture? It may depend on where you live
• New studies show connection between sleepiness and pro-athlete careers
• Epigenomes of newborns and centenarians differ: New clues to increasing life span
• How infection can lead to cancer
• Offspring of older fathers may live longer
• Brain area identified that determines distance from which sound originates
• Health behavior examined in long-term relationships

Group B streptococcal meningitis has long-term effects on children's developmental outcomes Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:31 PM PDT Nearly one-half of infants with GBS meningitis experience developmental delays. According to the CDC, 25 percent of pregnant women carry GBS. It is routine for these women to receive antibiotics during labor to protect the baby from infection occurring in the first days of life. There is no way to prevent late-onset GBS infections in infants.

Radiation exposure from medical imaging has increased even at HMOs Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:31 PM PDT Concern about overexposure to radiation due to excessive use of medical imaging has come to the fore in recent years. Now, a new study shows that medical imaging is increasing even in health maintenance organization systems (HMOs), which don't have a financial incentive to conduct them.

Alzheimer's risk gene disrupts brain function in healthy older women, but not men Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:29 PM PDT Scientists have found that the most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease disrupts brain function in healthy older women but has little impact on brain function in healthy, older men.

When being scared twice is enough to remember Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:51 AM PDT One of the brain's jobs is to help us figure out what's important enough to be remembered. Scientists have achieved some insight into how fleeting experiences become memories in the brain.

Engineers conceive disc replacement to treat chronic low back pain Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:51 AM PDT A new biomedical device to surgically treat chronic back pain – an artificial spinal disc that duplicates the natural motion of the spine – has been developed.

Protein residues kiss, don't tell: Genomes reveal contacts, scientists refine methods for protein-folding prediction Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:51 AM PDT Researchers have created a computational tool to help predict how proteins fold by finding amino acid pairs that are distant in sequence but change together. Protein interactions offer clues to the treatment of disease, including cancer.

How brain performs 'motor chunking' tasks Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:48 AM PDT You pick up your cell phone and dial the new number of a friend. Ten numbers. One. Number. At. A. Time. Because you haven't actually typed the number before, your brain handles each button press separately, as a sequence of distinct movements.

Illnesses in children's hospital prompts discovery of contaminated alcohol pads Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:47 AM PDT A small cluster of unusual illnesses at a children's hospital prompted an investigation that swiftly identified alcohol prep pads contaminated with Bacillus cereus bacteria, according to a new report.

Community-acquired MRSA cases on the rise in New York City, study suggests Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:47 AM PDT Hospitalization rates in New York City for patients with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a potentially deadly bacterial infection that is resistant to antibiotic treatment, more than tripled between 1997 and 2006, according to a new report.

Naturally occurring protein has role in chronic pain Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:46 AM PDT Researchers have discovered how one of the body's own proteins is involved in generating chronic pain in rats. The results also suggest therapeutic interventions to alleviate long-lasting pain.

Tiny ‘speed bump’ device could sort cancer cells Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:46 AM PDT Engineers have found an easy way to sort microscopic particles and bits of biological matter, including circulating tumor cells.

Mosquitoes bred to be incapable of transmitting malaria Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT Mosquitoes bred to be unable to infect people with the malaria parasite are an attractive approach to helping curb one of the world's most pressing public health issues, according to scientists.

Powerful new method to analyze genetic data Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT Researchers have developed a powerful visual analytical approach to explore genetic data, enabling scientists to identify novel patterns of information that could be crucial to human health.

Avatars may help children with social anxiety overcome fears Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT Researchers want to find out if practice conversations with avatars help children overcome social anxiety as much as the "gold standard" -- real conversations with socially comfortable peers. If successful, the study could provide a much more feasible way for clinicians around the country to help children overcome their fears.

Early gut bacteria regulate happiness Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:58 AM PDT Scientists have shown that brain levels of serotonin -- the 'happy hormone' -- are regulated by the amount of bacteria in the gut during early life. The research shows that normal adult brain function depends on the presence of gut microbes during development. Serotonin, the major chemical involved in the regulation of mood and emotion, is altered in times of stress, anxiety and depression and most clinically effective antidepressant drugs work by targeting this neurochemical.

Research supports key element of football concussion lawsuit Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:54 AM PDT Ongoing research into football players' brains bolsters one element of a lawsuit by former NFL players against the league: Repetitive blows increase the risk of long-term brain damage and cognitive decline.

A century of learning about the physiological demands of Antarctica Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:54 AM PDT A century after British Naval Captain Robert F. Scott led a team of explorers on their quest to be the first to reach the South Pole, a new article examines what we have learned about the physiological stresses of severe exercise, malnutrition, hypothermia, high altitude, and sleep deprivation since then.

Groundbreaking discovery of the cellular origin of cervical cancer Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:16 AM PDT Scientists have identified a unique set of cells in the cervix that are the cause of human papillomavirus-related cervical cancers. Significantly, the team also showed that these cells do not regenerate when excised. These findings have immense clinical implications in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cervical cancer.

Alcohol abuse may be cause, rather than effect of social isolation, poor grades among teens Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT Rather than gaining "liquid courage" to let loose with friends, teenage drinkers are more likely to feel like social outcasts, according to a new sociological study.

Mosaicism in cancer: Genetic makeup of embryo may cause appearance of tumors in adult life Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT New evidence shows that the genetic makeup of the embryo may cause the appearance of tumors in adult life. These results bear out the growing theory that some tumors may have an extremely early origin, tracing to the individual's embryonic development, while offering new clues to understand the genetic causes of certain kinds of cancer, and their prevention and treatment.

Losing money, emotions and evolution Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT Mildly stressful situations can affect our perceptions in the same way as life-threatening ones.

Kill the messenger: Small molecule prevents cancer-causing message from entering cell nucleus Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT A small molecule prevents a cancer-causing message from entering the cell nucleus.

A father's love is one of the greatest influences on personality development Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT A father's love contributes as much -- and sometimes more -- to a child's development as does a mother's love. That is one of many findings in a new large-scale analysis of research about the power of parental rejection and acceptance in shaping our personalities as children and into adulthood.

Nature or nurture? It may depend on where you live Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT The extent to which our development is affected by nature or nurture -- our genetic make-up or our environment -- may differ depending on where we live, according to new research.

New studies show connection between sleepiness and pro-athlete careers Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT Two new studies have uncovered a link between a pro athlete's longevity and the degree of sleepiness that athlete experiences in the daytime. They show that less-sleepy football players remained with their drafting NFL teams after college, and that attrition rates for sleepier baseball players were higher than MLB averages. This information could be useful for managing player drafts or, if sleepiness causes are addressed, for managing player performance.

Epigenomes of newborns and centenarians differ: New clues to increasing life span Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT An international study sheds important new light on how epigenetic marks degrade over time. Since epigenetic lesions are reversible, it would be possible to develop drugs that increase the life span, the research suggests.

How infection can lead to cancer Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT One of the biggest risk factors for liver, colon or stomach cancer is chronic inflammation of those organs, often caused by viral or bacterial infections. A new study offers the most comprehensive look yet at how such infections provoke tissues into becoming cancerous.

Offspring of older fathers may live longer Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT If your father and grandfather waited until they were older before reproducing, you might experience life-extending benefits. Biologists assume that a slow pace of aging requires that the body invest more resources in repairing cells and tissues. A new study suggests that our bodies might increase these investments to slow the pace of aging if our father and grandfather waited until they were older before having children.

Brain area identified that determines distance from which sound originates Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT Researchers have identified a portion of the brain responsible for determining how far away a sound originates, a process that does not rely solely on how loud the sound is.

Health behavior examined in long-term relationships Posted: 11 Jun 2012 09:24 AM PDT Results of a new study are based on in-depth interviews with couples in heterosexual marriages as well as gay and lesbian partnerships.

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