ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Immunity: A secret to making macrophages
• Good vibrations: Mediating mood through brain ultrasound
• Cellular channels vital for hearing identified
• Gene mutation linked to obesity: Mice gain weight even when fed normal amounts of food
• Marriage rate lowest in a century
• Microbes can influence evolution of their hosts
• How mice teach us about disease: Open access resource reveals new genes and pathways linked to human disease
• Endoplasmic reticulum: Scientists image 'parking garage' helix structure in protein-making factory
• How smoking increases vulnerability to alcohol abuse
• Simple way to reduce healthcare costs identified
• Complete description of gene expression in the human retina
• Exercise can reduce stroke risk
• New approach to protecting prion protein from altering shape, becoming infectious
• Obesity and asthma: Study finds a link in the genes
• Electronic Health Records help fight vaccine-preventable diseases
• New way to measure cumulative effect of head hits in football
• No benefit found from oxytocin treatment for autism
• New approach to treat the most common heart valve disease in Western countries
• Social media, DNA typing help identify source of foodborne strep outbreak
• Long-distance relationships can form stronger bonds than face-to-face ones
• Reclassification of cannabis linked to cannabis psychosis
• Singing helps students tune into a foreign language
• Successful restoration of hearing and balance

Immunity: A secret to making macrophages Posted: 18 Jul 2013 01:15 PM PDT Biologists have worked out the details of a mechanism that leads undifferentiated blood stem cells to become macrophages -- immune cells that attack bacteria and other foreign pathogens. The process involves an unexpected cycle in which cell division slows, leading to an increased accumulation of a particular regulatory protein that in turn slows cell division further. The finding provides new insight into how stem cells are guided to generate one cell type as opposed to another.

Good vibrations: Mediating mood through brain ultrasound Posted: 18 Jul 2013 01:15 PM PDT Researchers have developed a novel technique to affect mood through ultrasound vibrations applied to the brain. Their findings could potentially lead to new treatments for psychological and psychiatric disorders.

Cellular channels vital for hearing identified Posted: 18 Jul 2013 11:28 AM PDT Researchers identified two proteins in the inner ear, critical for hearing that cause hearing loss when damaged by genetic mutations. The findings from 30 years' research shows that the proteins encoded by the genes form channels that turn mechanical sound waves into electrical signals that talk to the brain. A tiny point mutation -- a change in one base or "letter" in the genetic sequence -- is enough to cause deafness.

Gene mutation linked to obesity: Mice gain weight even when fed normal amounts of food Posted: 18 Jul 2013 11:28 AM PDT Researchers have identified a genetic cause of severe obesity that, though rare, raises new questions about weight gain and energy use in the general obese population. The research involved genetic surveys of several groups of obese humans and experiments in mice.

Marriage rate lowest in a century Posted: 18 Jul 2013 11:24 AM PDT Fewer women are getting married and they're waiting longer to tie the knot when they do decide to walk down the aisle.

Microbes can influence evolution of their hosts Posted: 18 Jul 2013 11:24 AM PDT Contrary to current scientific understanding, it appears that our microbial companions play an important role in their hosts' evolution. A new study provides the first direct evidence that these microbes can contribute to the origin of new species by reducing the viability of hybrids produced between males and females of different species.

How mice teach us about disease: Open access resource reveals new genes and pathways linked to human disease Posted: 18 Jul 2013 10:06 AM PDT To power research into a wide range of diseases, more than 900 genes in mice have been individually switched off. Using this resource, the team has already identified new disease-related genes and revealed new functions for known genes. This new resource, known as the Mouse Genetics Project, provides researchers and clinicians with a wealth of freely available information that will help find new treatment strategies and options for a wide range of diseases.

Endoplasmic reticulum: Scientists image 'parking garage' helix structure in protein-making factory Posted: 18 Jul 2013 10:06 AM PDT The endoplasmic reticulum is the protein-making factory within cells consisting of tightly stacked sheets of membrane studded with the molecules that make proteins. Now, researchers have refined a new microscopy imaging method to visualize exactly how the ER sheets are stacked, revealing that the 3D structure of the sheets resembles a parking garage. This structure allows for the dense packing of ER sheets, maximizing the amount of space available for protein synthesis.

How smoking increases vulnerability to alcohol abuse Posted: 18 Jul 2013 10:06 AM PDT Smoking is a well-known risk factor for subsequent alcohol abuse, but the mechanisms underlying this link are unknown. Now researchers show in a study conducted in rats that even a single exposure to nicotine temporarily changes how the brain's reward system responds to alcohol and increases the reinforcing properties of alcohol via stress hormones.

Simple way to reduce healthcare costs identified Posted: 18 Jul 2013 10:05 AM PDT A new study provides a case study of a simple action that can reduce healthcare costs, without compromising care.

Complete description of gene expression in the human retina Posted: 18 Jul 2013 10:04 AM PDT Investigators have published the most thorough description of gene expression in the human retina reported to date.

Exercise can reduce stroke risk Posted: 18 Jul 2013 10:04 AM PDT A new study is one of the first to study the relationship of exercise and stroke in a large biracial cohort of men and women in the U.S.

New approach to protecting prion protein from altering shape, becoming infectious Posted: 18 Jul 2013 10:04 AM PDT Scientists have identified a mechanism that can prevent the normal prion protein from changing its molecular shape into the abnormal form responsible for neurodegenerative diseases.

Obesity and asthma: Study finds a link in the genes Posted: 18 Jul 2013 10:04 AM PDT Genes linked to chronic inflammation in asthma may be more active in people who are obese, according to new research that uncovers several biological ties between obesity and asthma.

Electronic Health Records help fight vaccine-preventable diseases Posted: 18 Jul 2013 08:13 AM PDT Using an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system to automate the immunization data shared between health providers and public health agencies enables physicians to assist individual patients faster and more effectively, while also providing more immediate, cohesive community data to the agencies tasked with promoting public health.

New way to measure cumulative effect of head hits in football Posted: 18 Jul 2013 08:13 AM PDT A new way to measure the cumulative effect of impacts to the head incurred by football players has been developed.

No benefit found from oxytocin treatment for autism Posted: 18 Jul 2013 07:14 AM PDT The so-called trust hormone, oxytocin, may not improve the symptoms of children with autism, a new study has found. In a randomized controlled clinical trial of 38 boys with autism, half were given a nasal spray of oxytocin on four consecutive days. Compared to a placebo, oxytocin did not significantly improve emotion recognition, social interaction skills, repetitive behaviors, or general behavioral adjustment.

New approach to treat the most common heart valve disease in Western countries Posted: 18 Jul 2013 07:12 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new approach to treat aortic valve stenosis through the administration of a compound that prevents valve deterioration and can even reverse the progression of the disease. It is the most common type of heart valve disease in Western countries.

Social media, DNA typing help identify source of foodborne strep outbreak Posted: 18 Jul 2013 07:12 AM PDT Facebook posts helped alert public health officials to a strep throat outbreak among a high school dance team in 2012, and DNA fingerprinting led investigators to pasta prepared by a previously ill parent as the likely source. Although strep throat, or Group A Streptococcus pharyngitis, usually spreads from person to person by droplets, foodborne transmission is possible.

Long-distance relationships can form stronger bonds than face-to-face ones Posted: 18 Jul 2013 07:12 AM PDT The long-distance relationship has plagued college students and people relocated for work for ages. These relationships are seen as destined to fail, but are they actually creating stronger bonds than a geographically closer relationship? A recent article found that people in long-distance relationships often have stronger bonds from more constant, and deeper, communication than normal relationships.

Reclassification of cannabis linked to cannabis psychosis Posted: 18 Jul 2013 07:11 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated that the change in cannabis declassification in 2009 has coincided with a significant increase in hospital admissions for cannabis psychosis - rather than the decrease it was intended to produce.

Singing helps students tune into a foreign language Posted: 18 Jul 2013 07:10 AM PDT A new study provides the first experimental evidence that a listen-and-repeat singing method can support foreign language learning. Singing in a foreign language can significantly improve learning how to speak it, according to a new study. Adults who listened to short Hungarian phrases and then sang them back performed better than those who spoke the phrases, researchers found. People who sang the phrases back also fared better than those who repeated the phrases by speaking them rhythmically.

Successful restoration of hearing and balance Posted: 18 Jul 2013 07:07 AM PDT The sounds of success are ringing due to a research project that has the potential to treat human deafness and loss of balance.

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