RefBan

Referral Banners

Thursday, December 20, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Occasional family meals enough to boost kids' fruit and veg intake

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 07:34 PM PST

Eating meals together as a family, even if only once or twice a week, increases children's daily fruit and vegetable intake to near the recommended five a day, according to researchers.

Pigs in southern China infected with avian flu

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 02:41 PM PST

Researchers report for the first time the seroprevalence of three strains of avian influenza viruses in pigs in southern China, but not the H5N1 avian influenza virus. Their research has implications for efforts to protect the public health from pandemics.

Why our backs can't read braille: Scientists map sensory nerves in mouse skin

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 02:39 PM PST

Scientists have created stunning images of the branching patterns of individual sensory nerve cells. Their report details the arrangement of these branches in skin from the backs of mice.

School shootings: What we know and what we can do

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 12:27 PM PST

School shootings at elementary, secondary and higher education institutions have been a painful reality for American society. But can anything realistically be done to prevent these horrific crimes? A new article attempts to parse out what we have learned from past events, and what we can do about stopping the next attack.

New compound reverses fatty liver disease

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 12:27 PM PST

Scientists have developed the first synthetic compound that can reverse the effects of a serious metabolic condition known as fatty liver disease.

Regular marijuana use by teens continues to be a concern

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 12:27 PM PST

Continued high use of marijuana by the United States' eighth, 10th and 12th graders combined with a drop in perceptions of its potential harms was revealed in this year's Monitoring the Future survey, an annual survey of eighth, 10th, and 12th-graders conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan. The survey was carried out in classrooms around the country earlier this year, under a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Pocket test measures fifty things in a drop of blood

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 12:26 PM PST

A new device about the size of a business card could allow health care providers to test for insulin and other blood proteins, cholesterol, and even signs of viral or bacterial infection all at the same time —- with one drop of blood.

Are bacteria making you hungry?

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 11:23 AM PST

Over the last half decade, it has become increasingly clear that the normal gastrointestinal (GI) bacteria play a variety of very important roles in the biology of human and animals. Now researchers propose yet another role for GI bacteria: that they exert some control over their hosts' appetites.

Scientists construct first detailed map of how the brain organizes everything we see

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 11:22 AM PST

Our eyes may be our window to the world, but how do we make sense of the thousands of images that flood our retinas each day? Scientists have found that the brain is wired to put in order all the categories of objects and actions that we see. They have created the first interactive map of how the brain organizes these groupings.

Transplanted neural stem cells treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in mouse model

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 11:22 AM PST

Transplanting neural stem cells into an ALS mouse model slows disease progression and prolongs survival. The transplanted neural stem cells changed the host environment for the better and protected endangered nerve cells. These findings demonstrate the potential neural stem cells hold for treating ALS.

First use of a gene therapy shows promise against fatal childhood disease

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 11:21 AM PST

There are promising results from the first-ever use of a virus-based gene therapy for a neurodegenerative/neurological disorder. The therapy was given to 19 young patients with Canavan disease, a devastating inherited childhood condition.

Protein creates paths for growing nerve cells

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 10:36 AM PST

Working with mice, scientists have discovered that a particular protein helps nerve cells extend themselves along the spinal cord during mammalian development. Their results shed light on the subset of muscular dystrophies that result from mutations in the gene that holds the code for the protein, called dystroglycan, and also show how the nerve and muscle failings of the degenerative diseases are related.

Experiencing discrimination increases risk-taking, anger, and vigilance

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 10:36 AM PST

Experiencing rejection not only affects how we think and feel -- over the long-term it can also influence our physical and mental health. New research suggests that when rejection comes in the form of discrimination, people respond with a pattern of thoughts, behaviors, and physiological responses that may contribute to overall health disparities.

Toward a pill to enable celiac patients to eat foods containing gluten

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 10:35 AM PST

Scientists are reporting an advance toward development of a pill that could become celiac disease's counterpart to the lactase pills that people with lactose intolerance can take to eat dairy products without risking digestive upsets. The approach involves an enzyme that breaks down the gluten that causes celiac symptoms.

Helping the nose know: 100-year-old question about how olfactory feedback mechanism works is answered

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 10:34 AM PST

More than 100 years after it was first identified, researchers have, for the first time, described how a feedback mechanism works in the brain's olfactory system by identifying where the signals go, and which type of neurons receive them.

Brake on nerve cell activity after seizures discovered; Gene expression initiates protective electrical response

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 10:33 AM PST

Selected genes get switched on during and after a seizure, sending signals to reduce uncontrolled firing of nerve cells. A medication that amplifies this response could prevent recurrent seizures and onset of epilepsy.

Scientists establish link between inflammatory process and progression of Alzheimer's disease

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 10:33 AM PST

Researchers have shown that a well-known inflammatory process plays an important role in Alzheimer's disease. This process, which results in the mature production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine called interleukin-1 beta and is involved in the body's defense against infection, has also been established as a clinical target for rheumatoid arthritis. The finding points to the possibility that drugs that disrupt IL-1B may also prove beneficial for patients with Alzheimer's.

Scientists debunk the IQ myth: Notion of measuring one's intelligence quotient by singular, standardized test is highly misleading

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 10:33 AM PST

After conducting the largest online intelligence study on record, scientists concluded that the notion of measuring one's intelligence quotient or IQ by a singular, standardized test is highly misleading.

High-throughput sequencing shows potentially hundreds of gene mutations related to autism

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 10:27 AM PST

Genomic technology has revolutionized gene discovery and disease understanding in autism, according to a new article. The paper highlights the impact of a genomic technology called high-throughput sequencing (HTS) in discovering numerous new genes that are associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Preventing inherited disorders in humans: New technology allows transfer of cell nuclei between human egg cells

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 10:27 AM PST

Scientists have developed a technique that may prevent the inheritance of mitochondrial diseases in children.

Malpractice study: Surgical 'never events' occur at least 4,000 times per year in U.S.

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 08:13 AM PST

After a cautious and rigorous analysis of national malpractice claims, patient safety researchers estimate that a surgeon in the United States leaves a foreign object such as a sponge or a towel inside a patient's body after an operation 39 times a week, performs the wrong procedure on a patient 20 times a week and operates on the wrong body site 20 times a week.

Drug tests in humans for methamphetamine addiction

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 06:27 AM PST

Scientists have successfully completed dosing in the first human safety study of a medication to help methamphetamine users fight their addictions.

How airway cells regenerate after chlorine gas injury

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 05:42 AM PST

Scientists have uncovered new clues in understanding how epithelial cells -- the cells that line the trachea, bronchi and other airways that carry air in and out of the lung -- repair themselves after chlorine gas exposure.

HIV patients in care lose more years of life to smoking than to HIV infection

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 05:42 AM PST

Among HIV patients receiving well-organized care with free access to antiretroviral therapy, those who smoke lose more years of life to smoking than to HIV, according to a new study. The findings highlight the importance of smoking cessation efforts in the long-term, integrated care of patients infected with HIV.

Robotic-assisted radical bladder surgery potentially benefits bladder cancer patients

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 05:41 AM PST

About 30 percent of the more than 70,000 bladder cancer cases expected in 2012 are muscle invasive. In such cases, radical cystectomy is the preferred treatment. In a pilot trial, a team of investigators assessed the efficacy of open radical cystectomy (ORC) vs. robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy (RARC). While there were no significant differences in treatment outcomes, RARC resulted in decreased estimated blood loss and shorter hospital stay compared to ORC.

Fast-acting enzymes with two fingers: Switch protein structurally and dynamically explained

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 05:40 AM PST

Researchers have uncovered the mechanism that switches off the cell transport regulating proteins. They were able to resolve in detail how the central switch protein Rab is down-regulated with two "protein fingers" by its interaction partners.

Better approach to treating deadly melanoma identified

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 05:28 AM PST

Scientists have identified a protein that appears to hold the key to creating more effective drug treatments for melanoma, one of the deadliest cancers.

Muscle-loss study sheds new light on ways to prevent muscle loss, obesity and diabetes

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 05:28 AM PST

A research study has yielded important breakthroughs on how the body loses muscle, paving the way for new treatments for aging, obesity and diabetes.

Genetic variation that could help predict mortality in patients suffering sepsis identified

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 05:20 AM PST

A new study offers evidence that variations in what is called the NFKB gene could play an important role in helping to determine the survival rate of patients who acquire sepsis.

Is childbirth linked to development of chronic pain?

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 05:20 AM PST

Chronic pain from childbirth is remarkably rare, according to a new study. Additionally, in a second study, researchers found the biologic changes after delivery may prevent the development of pain.

Critical need for iodine supplements during pregnancy and while nursing

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:18 PM PST

A new article discusses the issue of iodine deficiency in pregnant women in the U.S. and the potential negative health implications for both mothers and their children from this deficiency.

Intensive weight-loss intervention linked with increased chance of partial remission from diabetes

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:17 PM PST

Among overweight adults, participation in an intensive lifestyle intervention (that included counseling sessions and targets to reduce caloric intake and increase physical activity) was associated with a greater likelihood of partial remission of type 2 diabetes. However, the absolute remission rates were modest.

Regular aspirin use 10 or more years ago associated with increased risk of type of age-related macular degeneration

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:17 PM PST

Among nearly 5,000 study participants, regular aspirin use reported ten years prior was associated with a small but statistically significant increase in the risk of neovascular age-related macular degeneration

World Trade Center rescue, recovery workers have had increased incidence of certain types of cancer

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:17 PM PST

Among rescue and recovery workers exposed to the dust, debris, and fumes following the World Trade Center terrorist attack, there was an increased incidence of prostate and thyroid cancers and multiple myeloma, although it is not clear how big a factor medical screening and non-WTC risk factors contributed to these increases

No comments: