ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Breast milk kills HIV and blocks its oral transmission in humanized mouse
• Virtual colonoscopy without laxative equals standard OC in identifying clinically significant polyps
• How aging normal cells fuel tumor growth and metastasis
• A toothy grin or angry snarl makes it easy to stand out in a crowd: Visible teeth are key
• Soft drink consumption not the major contributor to childhood obesity, study says
• Environmental factors spread obesity, study shows
• Tense film scenes trigger brain activity
• Atomic-resolution view of a receptor reveals how stomach bacterium avoids acid
• Lessons learned from the 'ethical odyssey' of an HIV trial
• Quirky fruit fly gene could point way to new cancer drugs
• Fragile X gene's prevalence suggests broader health risk
• Link between metabolic disorders and Alzheimer's disease examined
• New action for ancient heart drug
• Bodybuilding myth debunked: Growth-promoting hormones don't stimulate strength
• Gene may link diabetes and Alzheimer's
• Theory on metastasis goes beyond metaphor to mathematics
• Folic acid intake during early pregnancy associated with reduced risk of autism in offspring
• Mindful multitasking: Meditation first can calm stress, aid concentration
• Most older pedestrians are unable to cross the road in time
• Genetic discovery will help fight diarrhea outbreaks
• Childhood obesity linked to math performance, researcher says
• Could roseola virus be behind epilepsy? Childhood virus infection linked to prolonged seizures with fever
• Regenerated cells may restore vision after corneal dysfunction
• Training character strengths makes you happy
• Putting parasites on the world map: Methods developed to enable large-scale analysis of malaria parasite genomes from patient blood samples
• Western diet changes gut bacteria and triggers colitis in those at risk
• Battle history between bacteria, viruses in human body

Breast milk kills HIV and blocks its oral transmission in humanized mouse Posted: 14 Jun 2012 03:27 PM PDT Although breastfeeding is attributed to a significant number of HIV infections in infants, most breastfed babies are not infected with HIV, despite prolonged and repeated exposure. HIV researchers have been left with a conundrum: does breast milk transmit the virus or protect against it? New research explores this paradox in a humanized mouse model, demonstrating that breast milk has a strong virus killing effect and protects against oral transmission of HIV.

Virtual colonoscopy without laxative equals standard OC in identifying clinically significant polyps Posted: 14 Jun 2012 03:26 PM PDT Computed tomographic colonography (CTC), also known as virtual colonoscopy, administered without laxatives is as accurate as conventional colonoscopy in detecting clinically significant, potentially cancerous polyps, according to a new study.

How aging normal cells fuel tumor growth and metastasis Posted: 14 Jun 2012 03:25 PM PDT Researchers have shown that senescence (aging cells which lose their ability to divide) and autophagy (self-eating or self-cannibalism) in the surrounding normal cells of a tumor are essentially two sides of the same coin, acting as "food" to fuel cancer cell growth and metastasis.

A toothy grin or angry snarl makes it easy to stand out in a crowd: Visible teeth are key Posted: 14 Jun 2012 03:25 PM PDT Scientists have found new evidence that people spot a face in the crowd more quickly when teeth are visible — whether smiling or grimacing — than a face with a particular facial expression. The new findings counters the long held "face-in -the-crowd" effect that suggests only angry looking faces are detected more readily in a crowd.

Soft drink consumption not the major contributor to childhood obesity, study says Posted: 14 Jun 2012 12:22 PM PDT Most children and youth who consume soft drinks and other sweetened beverages, such as fruit punch and lemonade, are not at any higher risk for obesity than their peers who drink healthy beverages, says a new study.

Environmental factors spread obesity, study shows Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:12 AM PDT A new study of the spatial patterns of the spread of obesity suggests America's bulging waistlines may have more to do with collective behavior than genetics or individual choices. The team found correlations between the epidemic's geography and food marketing and distribution patterns.

Tense film scenes trigger brain activity Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:12 AM PDT Visual and auditory stimuli that elicit high levels of engagement and emotional response can be linked to reliable patterns of brain activity, a team of researchers reports. Their findings could lead to new ways for producers of films, television programs and commercials to predict what kinds of scenes their audiences will respond to.

Atomic-resolution view of a receptor reveals how stomach bacterium avoids acid Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:12 AM PDT Scientists have discovered how the bacterium Helicobacter pylori navigates through the acidic stomach, opening up new possibilities to inactivate its disease-causing ability without using current strategies that often fail or are discontinued because of side effects.

Lessons learned from the 'ethical odyssey' of an HIV trial Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:11 AM PDT HIV Prevention Trials Network 052 established that antiretroviral treatment in people who are HIV positive decreases the likelihood of transmitting HIV to their sexual partners. It serves as a case study of ethical challenges faced at every stage of the research trial process.

Quirky fruit fly gene could point way to new cancer drugs Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:11 AM PDT Researchers are taking advantage of a quirk in the evolution of fruit fly genes to help develop new weapons against cancer.

Fragile X gene's prevalence suggests broader health risk Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:11 AM PDT The first US population prevalence study of mutations in the gene that causes fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited form of intellectual disability, suggests the mutation in the gene -- and its associated health risks -- may be more common than previously believed.

Link between metabolic disorders and Alzheimer's disease examined Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:11 AM PDT No effective treatments are currently available for the prevention or cure of Alzheimer's disease, the most frequent form of dementia in the elderly. Increasingly, scientists are looking toward other risk factors to identify preventive and therapeutic strategies. Much attention recently has focused on the metabolic syndrom, with a strong and growing body of research suggesting that metabolic disorders and obesity may play a role in the development of dementia.

New action for ancient heart drug Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:11 AM PDT Researchers have revealed that digoxin, the active ingredient in the poisonous plant Foxglove, can enhance the body's own protective mechanism against high blood pressure and heart failure.

Bodybuilding myth debunked: Growth-promoting hormones don't stimulate strength Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:09 AM PDT New research reveals exercise-related testosterone and growth hormone do not play an influential role in building muscle after weightlifting, despite conventional wisdom suggesting otherwise. The findings indicate that bodybuilders who look to manipulate those hormones through exercise routines are wasting their time.

Gene may link diabetes and Alzheimer's Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:09 AM PDT In recent years it became clear that people with diabetes face an ominous prospect -- a far greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Now researchers have shed light on one reason why. Biologists have discovered that a single gene forms a common link between the two diseases.

Theory on metastasis goes beyond metaphor to mathematics Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:06 AM PDT A unifying theory on the causes of cancer metastases has been proposed. Using the metaphorical hypothesis of "seed" and "soil" -- that cancer is the seed and the soil is the site of metastasis -- researchers fault the metaphor's utility by saying that just how the seeds are "sown" in the soil is still a big question to which there have been no metaphorical or practical answers.

Folic acid intake during early pregnancy associated with reduced risk of autism in offspring Posted: 14 Jun 2012 06:41 AM PDT Women who consume the recommended daily dosage of folic acid, the synthetic form of folate or vitamin B-9, during the first month of pregnancy may have a reduced risk of having a child with autism.

Mindful multitasking: Meditation first can calm stress, aid concentration Posted: 14 Jun 2012 06:41 AM PDT Need to do some serious multitasking? Some training in meditation beforehand could make the work smoother and less stressful, new research shows.

Most older pedestrians are unable to cross the road in time Posted: 14 Jun 2012 05:27 AM PDT Researchers have compared the walking speed of the older population in the UK with the speed required to use a pedestrian crossing. It found that the mean walking speed of participants in the Health Survey for England was 0.9 meters per second for older men and 0.8 meters per second for older women, which is much below the speed required to use a pedestrian crossing in the UK.

Genetic discovery will help fight diarrhea outbreaks Posted: 14 Jun 2012 05:27 AM PDT Researchers have discovered unexpectedly large genetic differences between two similar species of the pathogenic Cryptosporidium parasite.

Childhood obesity linked to math performance, researcher says Posted: 14 Jun 2012 05:26 AM PDT Children's weight is associated with their math performance, a new study shows. When compared with children who were never obese, boys and girls whose obesity persisted from the start of kindergarten through fifth grade performed worse on the math tests, starting in first grade. Their lower performance continued through fifth grade.

Could roseola virus be behind epilepsy? Childhood virus infection linked to prolonged seizures with fever Posted: 14 Jun 2012 05:26 AM PDT New research shows that human herpesviruses (HHV)-6B and HHV-7, commonly know as roseola virus), account for one third of febrile status epilepticus cases. Results suggest that HHV-6B may be involved in the development of epilepsy and further research is urgently needed.

Regenerated cells may restore vision after corneal dysfunction Posted: 14 Jun 2012 05:26 AM PDT Efforts to treat disorders of the corneal endothelium, a single cell layer on the inner surface of the cornea, with regenerative techniques have been less effective. Now, a group of scientists has developed a method that enhances the adhesion of injected corneal endothelial cells, allowing for successful corneal transplantation to repair pathological dysfunctions.

Training character strengths makes you happy Posted: 14 Jun 2012 04:49 AM PDT Anyone who trains character strengths increases their sense of wellbeing, a large-scale study conducted by a team of psychologists from the University of Zurich has concluded. It proved for the first time that this kind of training works. The largest impact was evident in training the strengths "curiosity", "gratitude", "optimism", "humor" and "enthusiasm".

Putting parasites on the world map: Methods developed to enable large-scale analysis of malaria parasite genomes from patient blood samples Posted: 13 Jun 2012 11:52 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new technique to identify hotspots of malaria parasite evolution and track the rise of malarial drug resistance, faster and more efficiently than ever before.

Western diet changes gut bacteria and triggers colitis in those at risk Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:30 AM PDT Certain saturated fats that are common in the modern Western diet can initiate a chain of events leading to complex immune disorders in those with a genetic predisposition. This study provides the first plausible mechanism showing step-by-step how Western-style diets contribute to the rapid and ongoing increase in the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease.

Battle history between bacteria, viruses in human body Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:29 AM PDT Researchers have conducted the most in-depth and diverse genetic analysis of the defense systems that trillions of micro-organisms in the human body use to fend off viruses. The work is among a collection of 16 research papers just released by the Human Microbiome Project Consortium, an effort to map the normal microbial make-up of healthy humans.

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