ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Temp-controlled 'nanopores' may allow detailed blood analysis
• Signaling molecule may help stem cells focus on making bone despite age, disease
• Virus and genes involved in causation of schizophrenia
• 'Switch' critical to wound healing identified
• Emotion-health connection not limited to industrialized nations
• BRAF inhibitor treatment causes melanoma cells to shift how they produce energy
• Celebrity endorsement encourages children to eat junk food
• Chewing gum helps you concentrate for longer, study suggests
• Maternal obesity increases the risk of frequent wheezing in offspring
• Outdoor heat increases respiratory hospitalization risk in elderly
• New light shed on role of climate in influenza transmission
• New drug shows promise in fighting inflammatory breast cancer
• Net advantage: Study finds use of bed nets by 75 percent of population could eradicate malaria
• Post-stroke walking program improves stroke survivors' lives
• Scientists catch evolving germs and cancer cells early
• Drugs targeting blood vessels may be candidates for treating Alzheimer's
• Illuminating fractures: X-ray imaging sheds new light on bone damage
• Star-shaped glial cells act as the brain's 'motherboard'
• Genomic screening for improved public health
• When food is scarce, a smaller brain will do
• Killing cancer cells with acid reflux
• 'Healthier hormones' through diet and exercise
• Even mild traumatic brain injuries can kill brain tissue

Temp-controlled 'nanopores' may allow detailed blood analysis Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:38 PM PST Tiny biomolecular chambers called nanopores that can be selectively heated may help doctors diagnose disease more effectively, according to a new research.

Signaling molecule may help stem cells focus on making bone despite age, disease Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:31 AM PST A signaling molecule that helps stem cells survive in the naturally low-oxygen environment inside the bone marrow may hold clues to helping the cells survive when the going gets worse with age and disease, researchers report.

Virus and genes involved in causation of schizophrenia Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:13 AM PST For the first time, researchers have found that a combination of a particular virus in the mother and a specific gene variant in the child increases the risk of the child developing schizophrenia.

'Switch' critical to wound healing identified Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:13 AM PST Patients with diseases such as diabetes suffer from painful wounds that take a long time to heal making them more susceptible to infections that could even lead to amputations. A new discovery paves the way for therapeutics to improve healing of such chronic wounds, which are a significant burden to patients.

Emotion-health connection not limited to industrialized nations Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:34 AM PST Positive emotions are known to play a role in physical well-being, and stress is strongly linked to poor health, but is this strictly a "First World" phenomenon? In developing nations, is the fulfillment of basic needs more critical to health than how one feels? A researcher has found that emotions do affect health around the world and may, in fact, be more important to wellness in low-income countries.

BRAF inhibitor treatment causes melanoma cells to shift how they produce energy Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:34 AM PST BRAF-positive metastatic malignant melanomas develop resistance to treatment with drugs targeting the BRAF/MEK growth pathway through a major change in metabolism, new research shows. The findings suggest a strategy to improve the effectiveness of currently available targeted therapies.

Celebrity endorsement encourages children to eat junk food Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:40 AM PST Celebrity endorsement of a food product encourages children to eat more of the endorsed product, new research shows. It also found that children were prompted to eat more of the endorsed product when they saw the celebrity on TV in a different context.

Chewing gum helps you concentrate for longer, study suggests Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:39 AM PST Chewing gum can help you stay focused for longer on tasks that require continuous monitoring. Previous research has shown that chewing gum can improve concentration in visual memory tasks. This study focused on the potential benefits of chewing gum during an audio memory task.

Maternal obesity increases the risk of frequent wheezing in offspring Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:38 AM PST Tobacco and excess weight are two factors linked to asthma in babies. The fact that excess weight during pregnancy has negative consequences is not new information. A new study now concludes that the children of mothers obese before falling pregnant are four times more likely to have frequent wheezing, which is one of the symptoms of asthma, compared to the children of mothers weighing a normal weight.

Outdoor heat increases respiratory hospitalization risk in elderly Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:34 AM PST Outdoor heat is associated with a significantly increased risk of emergency hospitalization for respiratory disorders in the elderly, according to a large epidemiological study of more than 12.5 million Medicare beneficiaries.

New light shed on role of climate in influenza transmission Posted: 07 Mar 2013 04:06 PM PST Two types of environmental conditions -- cold-dry and humid-rainy -- are associated with seasonal influenza epidemics, according to an epidemiological study. The article presents a simple climate-based model that maps influenza activity globally and accounts for the diverse range of seasonal patterns observed across temperate, subtropical and tropical regions.

New drug shows promise in fighting inflammatory breast cancer Posted: 07 Mar 2013 02:55 PM PST Researchers are investigating a new drug that has shown positive results in early tests of its ability to fight a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer.

Net advantage: Study finds use of bed nets by 75 percent of population could eradicate malaria Posted: 07 Mar 2013 01:16 PM PST Malaria, the leading cause of death among children in Africa, could be eliminated if three-fourths of the population used insecticide-treated bed nets, according to a new study.

Post-stroke walking program improves stroke survivors' lives Posted: 07 Mar 2013 01:16 PM PST Regular brisk walking after a stroke may improve physical fitness, mobility and quality of life. Walking with friends or family can help stroke survivors overcome a fear of falling.

Scientists catch evolving germs and cancer cells early Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:57 AM PST Scientists have developed a novel technique to precisely monitor and study the evolution of micro-organisms such as viruses and bacteria. This is an extremely important capability as it allows scientists to investigate if new drugs designed to kill them are working, and to catch the development of resistance early on.

Drugs targeting blood vessels may be candidates for treating Alzheimer's Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:54 AM PST Researchers have successfully normalized the production of blood vessels in the brain of mice with Alzheimer's disease by immunizing them with amyloid beta, a protein widely associated with the disease.

Illuminating fractures: X-ray imaging sheds new light on bone damage Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:51 AM PST Using cutting-edge X-ray techniques, researchers have uncovered cellular-level detail of what happens when bone bears repetitive stress over time, visualizing damage at smaller scales than previously observed. Their work could offer clues into how bone fractures could be prevented.

Star-shaped glial cells act as the brain's 'motherboard' Posted: 07 Mar 2013 09:47 AM PST Researchers have found that the star-shape glial cells that act as the brain's "motherboard" also connect different neuronal circuits in various regions of the brain. The research introduces a new framework for making sense of brain communications, aiding our understanding of the diseases and disorders that impact the brain.

Genomic screening for improved public health Posted: 07 Mar 2013 09:45 AM PST In 10 years' time, routine preventive health care for adults may include genetic testing. As genomic testing prepares to enter the realm of general medical care, an interdisciplinary team of researchers is suggesting that now is the time to explore genetic testing to identify people at high risk for carefully selected, preventable disease.

When food is scarce, a smaller brain will do Posted: 07 Mar 2013 09:39 AM PST A new study explains how young brains are protected when nutrition is poor. The findings reveal a coping strategy for producing a fully functional, if smaller, brain. The discovery, which was made in larval flies, shows the brain as an incredibly adaptable organ and may have implications for understanding the developing human brain as well, the researchers say.

Killing cancer cells with acid reflux Posted: 07 Mar 2013 08:07 AM PST A chemist has come up with a unique way to kill certain cancer cells -- give them acid reflux. Kevin Belfield used a special salt to make cancer cells more acidic -- similar to the way greasy foods cause acid reflux in some people. He used a light-activated, acid-generating molecule to make the cells more acidic when exposed to specific wavelengths of light, which in turn kills the bad cells. The surrounding healthy cells stay intact.

'Healthier hormones' through diet and exercise Posted: 07 Mar 2013 08:06 AM PST Weight loss -- by dietary changes alone or combined with physical exercise -- has a positive impact on the production of adipose tissue hormones: Adipose tissue produces less leptin but, instead, more adiponectin, which counteracts diabetes and cancer. This explains, at a molecular level, the health-promoting effect of physical exercise and dietary changes, according to researchers.

Even mild traumatic brain injuries can kill brain tissue Posted: 07 Mar 2013 08:05 AM PST Scientists have watched a mild traumatic brain injury play out in the living brain, prompting swelling that reduces blood flow and connections between neurons to die.

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