ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Preterm birth may be prevented with a few proven treatments, experts say
• Uncommon features of Einstein's brain might explain his remarkable cognitive abilities
• Class of RNA molecules protects germ cells from damage
• Probiotic worm treatment may improve symptoms of colitis by restoring gut bacteria to healthy state
• Vitamin D deficiency linked to type 1 diabetes
• New injectable gels toughen up after entering the body
• Arginine and proline enriched diet may speed wound healing in diabetes
• Neurons made from stem cells drive brain activity after transplantation in laboratory model
• Quick test speeds search for Alzheimer's drugs: Compound restores motor function and longevity to fruit flies
• Parkinson's disease protein causes disease spread and neuron death in healthy animals
• Cellphone bans associated with fewer urban accidents
• Potential new treatment to stop Alzheimer's disease: Molecular 'tweezers' break up toxic aggregations of proteins in mouse model
• Simplifying heart surgery with stretchable electronics devices
• Bone metastases treatment can improve overall survival
• Large-scale genomic testing feasible, impacts therapy
• How bacteria inactivate immune defenses
• Chronic fatigue syndrome: System under stress
• Umbilical cord cells outperform bone marrow cells in repairing damaged hearts
• Protein-making machinery can switch gears with a small structural change process; Implications for immunity and cancer therapy
• This is your brain on freestyle rap: Study reveals characteristic brain patterns of lyrical improvisation
• When the going gets tough, the tough get…more relief from a placebo?
• Electrical engineer turns brain implant research into products
• Molecular mechanisms underlying stem cell reprogramming decoded
• Hypothermia: Coming out of the cold
• High sperm DNA damage a leading cause of 'unexplained infertility', research finds
• 'Missing link' discovered in defense mechanism of tuberculosis pathogen

Preterm birth may be prevented with a few proven treatments, experts say Posted: 15 Nov 2012 06:06 PM PST Experts have set a target of lowering preterm birth rates by an average of 5 percent across 39 high-resource countries, including the United States, by 2015 to prevent prematurity for 58,000 babies a year.

Uncommon features of Einstein's brain might explain his remarkable cognitive abilities Posted: 15 Nov 2012 06:04 PM PST Portions of Albert Einstein's brain have been found to be unlike those of most people and could be related to his extraordinary cognitive abilities, according to a new study.

Class of RNA molecules protects germ cells from damage Posted: 15 Nov 2012 02:22 PM PST Passing one's genes on to the next generation is a mark of evolutionary success. So it makes sense that the body would work to ensure that the genes the next generation inherits are exact replicas of the originals. Biologists have now identified one way the body does exactly that.

Probiotic worm treatment may improve symptoms of colitis by restoring gut bacteria to healthy state Posted: 15 Nov 2012 02:20 PM PST A new study on monkeys with chronic diarrhea that were treated by microscopic parasite worm (helminth) eggs has provided insights on how this form of therapy may heal the intestine. This condition in monkeys is similar to the inflammatory bowel diseases that affects up to 1.4 million Americans.

Vitamin D deficiency linked to type 1 diabetes Posted: 15 Nov 2012 02:13 PM PST A study has found a correlation between vitamin D3 serum levels and subsequent incidence of Type 1 diabetes. The six-year study of blood levels of nearly 2,000 individuals suggests a preventive role for vitamin D3 in this disease.

New injectable gels toughen up after entering the body Posted: 15 Nov 2012 01:28 PM PST Chemical engineers have now designed an injectable gel that responds to the body's high temperature by forming a reinforcing network that makes the gel much more durable, allowing it to function over a longer period of time.

Arginine and proline enriched diet may speed wound healing in diabetes Posted: 15 Nov 2012 01:21 PM PST A diet enriched with arginine and proline could speed diabetes-related wound healing, a new study suggests.

Neurons made from stem cells drive brain activity after transplantation in laboratory model Posted: 15 Nov 2012 12:26 PM PST Scientists are able to make neurons and other brain cells from stem cells, but getting these neurons to properly function when transplanted to a host has proven more difficult. Now, researchers have found a way to stimulate stem cell-derived neurons to direct cognitive function after transplantation to an existing neural network.

Quick test speeds search for Alzheimer's drugs: Compound restores motor function and longevity to fruit flies Posted: 15 Nov 2012 12:26 PM PST Researchers report that an efficient, high-volume technique for testing potential drug treatments for Alzheimer's disease uncovered an organic compound that restored motor function and longevity to fruit flies with the disease.

Parkinson's disease protein causes disease spread and neuron death in healthy animals Posted: 15 Nov 2012 12:25 PM PST Understanding how any disease progresses is one of the first and most important steps towards finding treatments to stop it. This has been the case for such brain-degenerating conditions as Alzheimer's disease. Now, after several years of incremental study, researchers have been able to piece together important steps in how Parkinson's disease (PD) spreads from cell to cell and leads to nerve cell death.

Cellphone bans associated with fewer urban accidents Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:16 AM PST Cellphones and driving go together like knives and juggling. But when cellphone use is banned, are drivers any safer? It depends on where you're driving, a new study says. The study found that, long-term, enacting a cellphone ban was associated with a relative decrease in the accident rate in urban areas. However, in very rural areas, cellphone bans were associated with higher accident rates than would otherwise be expected.

Potential new treatment to stop Alzheimer's disease: Molecular 'tweezers' break up toxic aggregations of proteins in mouse model Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:16 AM PST Using a specific biological compound they call molecular "tweezers," researchers report that, for the first time in a living mouse model for Alzheimer's (AD), the compound cleared the existing amyloid ² and Tau aggregates, and proved protective to the neuron's synapses, another target common to AD.

Simplifying heart surgery with stretchable electronics devices Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:16 AM PST A catheter made from stretchable electronics can serve triple-duty during heart surgery, researchers have found. The findings could make cardiac ablation surgeries simpler and safer.

Bone metastases treatment can improve overall survival Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:16 AM PST One of the most frequent sites of metastases is the bone, with an estimated 30 to 40 percent of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer developing bone loss. A study shows that the bone metastases drug denosumab was associated with improved overall survival compared with zoledonic acid.

Large-scale genomic testing feasible, impacts therapy Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:16 AM PST Targeted cancer therapy has been transforming the care of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It is now standard practice for tumor specimens from NSCLC patients to be examined for EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangements to identify patients for therapy with EGFR and ALK inhibitors, respectively. Now, researchers say large-scale genomic testing is feasible within the clinical workflow, impacting therapeutic decisions.

How bacteria inactivate immune defenses Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:15 AM PST Scientists have identified a way in which Salmonella bacteria, which cause gastroenteritis and typhoid fever, counteract the defense mechanisms of human cells.

Chronic fatigue syndrome: System under stress Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:38 AM PST Evidence links autonomic functioning to cognitive impairment in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Umbilical cord cells outperform bone marrow cells in repairing damaged hearts Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:37 AM PST A new study has shown that cells derived from the umbilical cord are more effective in restoring heart function after an acute myocardial infarction (in common parlance, a heart attack) in a pre-clinical model than a similar cell population derived from bone marrow.

Protein-making machinery can switch gears with a small structural change process; Implications for immunity and cancer therapy Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:34 AM PST For the past several years, research has focused on the intricate actions of an ancient family of catalytic enzymes that play a key role in translation, the process of producing proteins. In a new study, scientists have shown that this enzyme can actually also work in another fundamental process in humans.

This is your brain on freestyle rap: Study reveals characteristic brain patterns of lyrical improvisation Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:31 AM PST Researchers have shown that freestyle rapping is associated with a unique functional reallocation of brain activity in the prefrontal cortex and proposes a novel neural network that appears to be intimately involved in improvisatory and creative endeavors.

When the going gets tough, the tough get…more relief from a placebo? Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:26 AM PST Are you good at coping when life gets tough? A straight-shooter? Will you help others without expecting anything in return? Those personality traits might do more than help you win a popularity contest. New neuroscience research suggests those qualities also might make you more likely to get pain relief from a placebo.

Electrical engineer turns brain implant research into products Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:23 AM PST An electrical engineering professor is developing products from technologies that assist in finding new approaches for treating nervous system disorders such as blindness, deafness, Parkinson's and epilepsy, while another set of clients is using them to control prosthetic limbs.

Molecular mechanisms underlying stem cell reprogramming decoded Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:23 AM PST Thanks to some careful detective work, scientist better understand just how iPS cells form – and why the Yamanaka process is inefficient, an important step to work out for regenerative medicine. The findings uncover cellular impediments to iPS cell development that, if overcome, could dramatically improve the efficiency and speed of iPS cell generation.

Hypothermia: Coming out of the cold Posted: 14 Nov 2012 04:26 PM PST New research provides clarity on the management and treatment of accidental hypothermia victims. The article reviews current knowledge of accidental hypothermia, along with a medical algorithm to help emergency medics make rapid on-site decisions.

High sperm DNA damage a leading cause of 'unexplained infertility', research finds Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:32 AM PST New research has uncovered the cause of infertility for 80 per cent of couples previously diagnosed with 'unexplained infertility': high sperm DNA damage.

'Missing link' discovered in defense mechanism of tuberculosis pathogen Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:38 AM PST Flemish biologists have discovered that Mycobacterium tuberculosis -- the bacterium that causes tuberculosis -- has an ingenious defense mechanism against oxygen. This knowledge is important in the search for a treatment for tuberculosis. Some 9.4 million people are infected with tuberculosis annually and 1.7 million people die as a result.

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