ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Sleep apnea in obese pregnancy women linked to poor maternal and neonatal outcomes
• 'Half-match' bone marrow transplants wipe out sickle cell disease in selected patients
• Global economic pressures trickle down to local landscape change, altering disease risk
• Moving targets: Biologists gain new insight into migrating cells
• Taming physical forces that block cancer treatment
• Environmental exposures unlikely to alter thyroid function of pregnant women, fetuses
• Fear can be erased from the brain, research shows
• Many proteins exist in a state of 'disorder' and yet are functional
• Walking to the beat could help patients with Parkinson's disease
• Epigenetics: Mother's nutrition -- before pregnancy -- may alter function of her children's genes
• Nutrient in eggs and meat may influence gene expression from infancy to adulthood
• Playground peers can predict adult personalities
• Manipulating hormone receptors may help in the fight against obesity
• Cause of diabetes may be linked to iron transport
• Brain study reveals the roots of chocolate temptations
• Battles between steroid receptors to regulate fat accumulation
• Study shows ancient relations between language families
• In obesity, a micro-RNA causes metabolic problems
• Two bionic ears are better than the sum of their parts
• In heterosexuals, transmitted HIV strains often resemble original infecting virus
• 'Psychopaths' have an impaired sense of smell, study suggests
• Sudden cardiac death is associated with a thin placenta at birth, researchers find
• Antibiotic use aids MRSA spread in hospital and infection control measures do little to prevent it, says hospital study
• Obese children have less sensitive taste-buds than those of normal weight

Sleep apnea in obese pregnancy women linked to poor maternal and neonatal outcomes Posted: 20 Sep 2012 04:46 PM PDT A new study reports that newborns of obese pregnant women suffering from obstructive sleep apnea are more likely to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit than those born to obese mothers without the sleep-disordered breathing. The sleep disorder was also associated with higher rates of preeclampsia in the severely overweight pregnant women.

'Half-match' bone marrow transplants wipe out sickle cell disease in selected patients Posted: 20 Sep 2012 01:46 PM PDT In a preliminary clinical trial, investigators have shown that even partially-matched bone marrow transplants can eliminate sickle cell disease in some patients, ridding them of painful and debilitating symptoms, and the need for a lifetime of pain medications and blood transfusions. The researchers say the use of such marrow could potentially help make bone marrow transplants accessible to a majority of sickle cell patients who need them.

Global economic pressures trickle down to local landscape change, altering disease risk Posted: 20 Sep 2012 01:46 PM PDT The pressures of global trade may heighten disease incidence by dictating changes in land use. A boom in disease-carrying ticks and chiggers has followed the abandonment of rice cultivation in Taiwanese paddies, say ecologists, demonstrating the potential for global commodities pricing to drive the spread of infections.

Moving targets: Biologists gain new insight into migrating cells Posted: 20 Sep 2012 12:33 PM PDT At any given moment, millions of cells are on the move in the human body, typically on their way to provide a benefit to the structures around them. When the migration process goes wrong, however, the results can include tumor formation and metastatic cancer. Little has been known about how cell migration actually works, but now, researchers have gained new insight into this highly complex task.

Taming physical forces that block cancer treatment Posted: 20 Sep 2012 12:33 PM PDT A research team has identified factors that contribute to solid stress within tumors, suggesting possible ways to alleviate it, and has developed a simple way to measure such pressures.

Environmental exposures unlikely to alter thyroid function of pregnant women, fetuses Posted: 20 Sep 2012 12:31 PM PDT Exposures to perchlorate (ClO4), a compound found at low levels in the environment, and thiocyanate (SCN), a compound found in cigarette smoke and some foods, is unlikely to alter thyroid function in pregnant women and fetuses, according to new data.

Fear can be erased from the brain, research shows Posted: 20 Sep 2012 11:11 AM PDT Newly formed emotional memories can be erased from the human brain, according to new research. The findings may represent a breakthrough in research on memory and fear.

Many proteins exist in a state of 'disorder' and yet are functional Posted: 20 Sep 2012 11:11 AM PDT For 100 years, the dogma has been that amino acid sequence determines protein folding and that the folded structure determines function. But researchers explain in a new study, a large class of proteins doesn't adhere to the structure-function paradigm. Called intrinsically disordered proteins, these proteins fail fold either in whole or in part and yet they are functional.

Walking to the beat could help patients with Parkinson's disease Posted: 20 Sep 2012 11:02 AM PDT Walking to a beat could be useful for patients needing rehabilitation, according to a new study. The findings demonstrate that researchers should further investigate the potential of auditory, visual, and tactile cues in the rehabilitation of patients suffering from illnesses like Parkinson's disease -- a brain disorder leading to shaking (tremors) and difficulty walking.

Epigenetics: Mother's nutrition -- before pregnancy -- may alter function of her children's genes Posted: 20 Sep 2012 11:01 AM PDT A pregnant mom's diet affects her child's health. Now, new research in mice suggests that what mom ate before pregnancy is also important. The diets of female mice before pregnancy chemically altered their DNA, with these changes passed to their offspring. These alterations affected the pups' metabolism of many essential fatty acids. These results may profoundly impact future research for diabetes, obesity, cancer, and immune disorders.

Nutrient in eggs and meat may influence gene expression from infancy to adulthood Posted: 20 Sep 2012 11:01 AM PDT Consuming greater amounts of choline -- a nutrient found in eggs and meat -- during pregnancy may lower an infant's vulnerability to stress-related illnesses, such as mental health disturbances, and chronic conditions, like hypertension, later in life.

Playground peers can predict adult personalities Posted: 20 Sep 2012 11:01 AM PDT Even on the playground, our friends know us better than we know ourselves. New research has revealed that your childhood peers from grade school may be able to best predict your success as an adult.

Manipulating hormone receptors may help in the fight against obesity Posted: 20 Sep 2012 10:56 AM PDT In the body's ongoing effort to maintain a healthy weight, an arsenal of cellular proteins called androgen receptors is critical for blocking fat accumulation. Now researchers have discovered that naturally occurring steroids called glucocorticoids can thwart the receptors' activity, ultimately encouraging fat buildup.

Cause of diabetes may be linked to iron transport Posted: 20 Sep 2012 10:56 AM PDT Scientists have been trying to explain the causes of diabetes for many years. Researchers have now shown that the increased activity of one particular iron-transport protein destroys insulin-producing beta cells. In addition, the new research shows that mice without this iron transporter are protected against developing diabetes.

Brain study reveals the roots of chocolate temptations Posted: 20 Sep 2012 10:56 AM PDT Researchers have new evidence in rats to explain how it is that chocolate candies can be so completely irresistible. The urge to overeat such deliciously sweet and fatty treats traces to an unexpected part of the brain and its production of a natural, opium-like chemical, according to a new report.

Battles between steroid receptors to regulate fat accumulation Posted: 20 Sep 2012 10:56 AM PDT The androgen receptor in human cells inhibits fat accumulation, but its activity can be sabotaged by glucocorticoids, steroids that regulate fat deposition and are known drivers of obesity and insulin resistance.

Study shows ancient relations between language families Posted: 20 Sep 2012 10:53 AM PDT How do language families evolve over many thousands of years? How stable over time are structural features of languages? Researchers introduced a new method using Bayesian phylogenetic approaches to analyse the evolution of structural features in more than 50 language families.

In obesity, a micro-RNA causes metabolic problems Posted: 20 Sep 2012 09:05 AM PDT Scientists have identified a key molecular player in a chain of events in the body that can lead to fatty liver disease, Type II diabetes and other metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity. By blocking this molecule, the researchers were able to reverse some of the pathology it caused in obese mice.

Two bionic ears are better than the sum of their parts Posted: 20 Sep 2012 09:04 AM PDT Researchers have discovered that children who had lost their hearing at a young age and were later provided with bilateral cochlear implants exhibited hearing similar to that of their normal hearing peers. The study adds important information to the body of research on how brain function is impacted by both deafness and rehabilitation.

In heterosexuals, transmitted HIV strains often resemble original infecting virus Posted: 20 Sep 2012 09:04 AM PDT A new study has found that even though HIV diversifies widely within infected individuals over time, the virus strains that ultimately are passed on through heterosexual transmission often resemble the strain of virus that originally infected the transmitting partner. Learning the characteristics of these preferentially transmitted HIV strains may help advance HIV prevention efforts, particularly with regard to an HIV vaccine, according to the scientists who conducted the study.

'Psychopaths' have an impaired sense of smell, study suggests Posted: 20 Sep 2012 08:57 AM PDT A new study suggests that a poor sense of smell may be a marker for psychopathic traits.

Sudden cardiac death is associated with a thin placenta at birth, researchers find Posted: 20 Sep 2012 05:27 AM PDT Researchers studying the origins of sudden cardiac death have found that in both men and women a thin placenta at birth was associated with sudden cardiac death. A thin placenta may result in a reduced flow of nutrients from the mother to the fetus. The authors suggest that sudden cardiac death may be initiated by impaired development of the autonomic nervous system in the womb, as a result of fetal malnutrition.

Antibiotic use aids MRSA spread in hospital and infection control measures do little to prevent it, says hospital study Posted: 20 Sep 2012 05:25 AM PDT The use of a commonly prescribed antibiotic is a major contributor to the spread of infection in hospitals by the 'superbug' MRSA, according to new research. The study also found that increasing measures to prevent infection – such as improved hygiene and hand washing – appeared to have only a small effect on reducing MRSA infection rates during the period studied.

Obese children have less sensitive taste-buds than those of normal weight Posted: 19 Sep 2012 04:09 PM PDT Obese kids have less sensitive taste-buds than kids of normal weight, new research indicates.

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