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Saturday, November 24, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Better blood transfusions for preterm babies

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 10:26 AM PST

Results of new research are a promising step forward in helping to improve the quality of life-saving blood transfusions for preterm babies, by reducing the likelihood of adverse inflammatory responses to the blood.

New test may improve cervical cancer detection

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 06:27 AM PST

Routine smear tests have considerably reduced the number of cases of cervical cancer, but despite intensive screening women still die from the disease every year. Researchers have developed new methods of minimizing the number of missed cases and making diagnosis more reliable.

New insights into virus proteome: Unknown proteins of the herpesvirus discovered

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 06:21 AM PST

The genome encodes the complete information needed by an organism, including that required for protein production. Viruses, which are up to a thousand times smaller than human cells, have considerably smaller genomes. Using a type of herpesvirus as a model system scientists have shown that the genome of this virus contains much more information than previously assumed. The researchers identified several hundred novel proteins, many of which were surprisingly small.

Adults with ADHD commit fewer crimes when on medication

Posted: 22 Nov 2012 06:51 AM PST

Criminal behaviour in people with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) dropped sharply during periods when they were on medication, according to a new extensive registry study.

Stem cells develop best in 3-D

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 12:33 PM PST

Scientists are discovering the best way to make stem cells develop into insulin-producing cells. In the long term this new knowledge can improve diabetes treatment with cell therapy.

Daily steps add up for midlife women's health

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 10:08 AM PST

Moving 6,000 or more steps a day -- no matter how -- adds up to a healthier life for midlife women. That level of physical activity decreases the risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome (a diabetes precursor and a risk for cardiovascular disease), showed a new study.

Drug resistance biomarker could improve cancer treatment

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 10:08 AM PST

Cancer therapies often have short-lived benefits due to the emergence of genetic mutations that cause drug resistance. A key gene that determines resistance to a range of cancer drugs has been reported in a new study. The study reveals a biomarker that can predict responses to cancer drugs and offers a strategy to treat drug-resistant tumors based on their genetic signature.

Uncovering complexity in simple worm: Sensory input to motor output in one worm neuron

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 10:08 AM PST

C. elegans, with just 302 neurons, has long been considered an ideal model system for the study of the nervous system. New research, however, is suggesting that the worms' "simple" nervous system may be much more complex than originally thought. In a new study of worm locomotion, researchers show that a single type of motor neuron harbors an entire sensorimotor loop.

Genome packaging: Key to breast cancer developement

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 10:07 AM PST

Two recent studies delve into the role of chromatin modifying enzymes and transcription factors in tumour cells. In one, it was found that the PARP1 enzyme activated by kinase CDK2 is necessary to induce the genes responsible for the proliferation of breast cancer cells in response to progesterone. In another, extensive work has been undertaken to identify those genes activated by the administration of progesterone in breast cancer, the sequences that can be recognized and how these genes are induced.

Short DNA strands in genome may be key to understanding human cognition and diseases

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 10:06 AM PST

Previously discarded, human-specific "junk" DNA represents untapped resource in the study of diseases like Alzheimer's and autism.

Biomarking time: Methylome modifications offer new measure of our 'biological' age

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 10:06 AM PST

In a new study, researchers describe markers and a model that quantify how aging occurs at the level of genes and molecules, providing not just a more precise way to determine how old someone is, but also perhaps anticipate or treat ailments and diseases that come with the passage of time.

Surprise origin for coronary arteries could speed advances in regenerative medicine

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 10:06 AM PST

During embryonic development, the all-important coronary arteries arise from cells previously considered incapable of producing them, according to scientists. The research may speed development of regenerative therapies for heart disease.

Potential drug target for inflammatory diseases including cancers

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 07:45 AM PST

Scientists have identified the enzyme, telomerase, as a cause of chronic inflammation in human cancers. Chronic inflammation is now recognized as a key underlying cause for the development of many human cancers, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes. This enzyme, which is known to be responsible for providing cancer cells the endless ability to divide, is now found to also jumpstart and maintain chronic inflammation in cancers.

Mechanism to repair clumped proteins explained

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 07:44 AM PST

Clumped proteins can be dissolved with the aid of cellular repair systems -- a process of critical importance for cell survival especially under conditions of stress. Researchers have now decrypted the fundamental mechanism for dissolving protein aggregates that involves specific molecular chaperones.

Six steps to reduce dementia's most troubling symptoms

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 07:44 AM PST

Many of dementia's behavioral symptoms can be managed well without medications, experts say.

MRI shows brain disruption in patients with post-concussion syndrome

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 04:58 AM PST

MRI shows changes in the brains of people with post-concussion syndrome, according to a new study. Researchers hope the results point the way to improved detection and treatment for the disorder.

New test for tuberculosis could improve treatment, prevent deaths in Southern Africa

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:49 PM PST

A new rapid test for tuberculosis (TB) could substantially and cost-effectively reduce TB deaths and improve treatment in southern Africa -- a region where both HIV and tuberculosis are common.

More work needed on models to predict risk of chronic kidney disease

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:49 PM PST

Models used for predicting the likelihood of individuals developing chronic kidney disease and for predicting disease progression in people who already have the condition are useful tools but not yet robust enough to help inform clinical guidelines, according to a new study.

Nearly 90 percent of clinical trialists think data should be more easily shared

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:35 PM PST

Nearly nine out of 10 clinicians carrying out biomedical research trials believe that trial data should be shared more easily, even though they do express some practical concerns, a new study reveals.

Trial results 'do not support the use of general health checks,' warn experts

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:35 PM PST

Researchers have found that routine general health checks, which have become common practice in some countries, do not reduce the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease or cancer. They do, however, increase the number of new diagnoses.

Low muscle strength in adolescence linked to increased risk of early death

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:35 PM PST

Low muscle strength in adolescence is strongly associated with a greater risk of early death from several major causes, suggests a large study.

IUDs don't cause pelvic inflammatory disease in women, experts say

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 04:33 PM PST

The risk of developing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) following insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD) is very low, whether or not women have been screened beforehand for gonorrhea and chlamydia, according to a study of nearly 60,000 women.

Adenotonsillectomy may help resolve obstructive sleep apnea in children with Prader-Willi syndrome

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:09 PM PST

Children with Prader-Willi syndrome may receive relief from sleep disorders after undergoing an adenotonsillectomy, suggests a new study.

Citicoline does not improve functional, cognitive status in patients with traumatic brain injury

Posted: 20 Nov 2012 01:09 PM PST

Although approved for use for treating traumatic brain injury (TBI) in nearly 60 countries, use of citicoline in a randomized trial that included more than 1,200 participants with TBI did not result in improvement in functional and cognitive status.

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