ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Young vs. old: Who performs more consistently?
• New way to dramatically raise RNA treatment potency: Proof-of-principle drug candidate powerfully neutralizes myotonic dystrophy defect
• Long-term use of some high blood pressure drugs associated with increased risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women
• Celiac disease patients with ongoing intestine damage at lymphoma risk
• Genes that drive brain cancer revealed
• Could discovery lead to end of sunburn pain?
• Insulin pills? More intestinal cells than thought can absorb larger particles
• Stem cells found in gum tissue can fight inflammatory disease
• Centers throughout the brain work together to make reading possible
• Close-up view of water pores needed in the eye's lens: Aquaporins could hold clues to cataract
• Great-grandmother's cigarette habit could be the cause of child's asthma
• Questions answered with the pupils of your eyes
• Putting the brakes on pain: Researchers protect GABA neurons from oxidative stress
• Feelings for fetus may vary smoking amount
• Breastfeeding may reduce Alzheimer's risk
• Depressed fish could help in the search for new drug treatments
• Immune system molecule promotes tumor resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy
• Not only bone density, but also quality of bone predicts fracture risk
• Do antioxidants improve a woman's chances of conceiving?
• Origin of inflammation-driven pancreatic cancer decoded
• Mechanism that allows bacteria to infect plants may inspire cure for eye disease
• Are we there yet? How the brain keeps eyes on the prize
• Practice makes the brain's motor cortex more efficient
• Researchers dismantle bacteria's war machinery
• Social status and power of action of speakers determine the way their statements are perceived
• Distinct brain disorders biologically linked: Disruption to the gene TOP3B increases susceptibility to schizophrenia and a learning disorder

Young vs. old: Who performs more consistently? Posted: 05 Aug 2013 07:34 PM PDT Older adults tend to exhibit less variability on cognitive tasks due to higher motivation, a balanced routine, and mood stability, according to new research.

New way to dramatically raise RNA treatment potency: Proof-of-principle drug candidate powerfully neutralizes myotonic dystrophy defect Posted: 05 Aug 2013 07:31 PM PDT Scientists have shown a novel way to dramatically raise the potency of drug candidates targeting RNA, resulting in a 2,500-fold improvement in potency and significantly increasing their potential as therapeutic agents.

Long-term use of some high blood pressure drugs associated with increased risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women Posted: 05 Aug 2013 07:26 PM PDT Older women who take certain types of medication to combat high blood pressure may be putting themselves at greater risk for developing breast cancer, according to a new study.

Celiac disease patients with ongoing intestine damage at lymphoma risk Posted: 05 Aug 2013 07:26 PM PDT Celiac disease patients with ongoing intestine damage have a greater than 2-fold increased risk of lymphoma vs. celiac patients whose intestines healed.

Genes that drive brain cancer revealed Posted: 05 Aug 2013 12:24 PM PDT Medical researchers have identified 18 new genes responsible for driving glioblastoma multiforme, the most common -- and most aggressive -- form of brain cancer in adults.

Could discovery lead to end of sunburn pain? Posted: 05 Aug 2013 12:24 PM PDT The painful, red skin that comes from too much time in the sun is caused by a molecule abundant in the skin's epidermis, a new study shows. Blocking this molecule, called TRPV4, greatly protects against the painful effects of sunburn. The research, which was conducted in mouse models and human skin samples, could yield a way to combat sunburn and possibly several other causes of pain.

Insulin pills? More intestinal cells than thought can absorb larger particles Posted: 05 Aug 2013 12:24 PM PDT A new study reports that the small intestine uses more cells than scientists had realized to absorb microspheres large enough to contain therapeutic protein drugs, such as insulin. The finding in rats is potentially good news for developing a means for oral delivery of such drugs.

Stem cells found in gum tissue can fight inflammatory disease Posted: 05 Aug 2013 11:33 AM PDT Stem cells found in mouth tissue can not only become other types of cells but can also relieve inflammatory disease, according to a new study. The study indicates that the stem cells in the gingiva -- obtained via a simple biopsy of the gums -- may have important medical applications in the future.

Centers throughout the brain work together to make reading possible Posted: 05 Aug 2013 10:37 AM PDT A combination of brain scans and reading tests has revealed that several regions in the brain are responsible for allowing humans to read.

Close-up view of water pores needed in the eye's lens: Aquaporins could hold clues to cataract Posted: 05 Aug 2013 10:11 AM PDT Researchers have achieved dynamic, atomic-scale views of a protein needed to maintain the transparency of the lens in the human eye. The work could lead to new insights and drugs for treating cataract and a variety of other health conditions.

Great-grandmother's cigarette habit could be the cause of child's asthma Posted: 05 Aug 2013 10:10 AM PDT A study finds for the first time that the third generation's asthma may be linked to maternal smoking.

Questions answered with the pupils of your eyes Posted: 05 Aug 2013 10:10 AM PDT Patients who are otherwise completely unable to communicate can answer yes or no questions within seconds with the help of a simple system -- consisting of just a laptop and camera -- that measures nothing but the size of their pupils. The tool takes advantage of changes in pupil size that naturally occur when people do mental arithmetic. It requires no specialized equipment or training at all.

Putting the brakes on pain: Researchers protect GABA neurons from oxidative stress Posted: 05 Aug 2013 08:34 AM PDT In a mouse model of neuropathic pain, researchers used antioxidants to preserve GABA neurons post-injury. The result: Less pain behavior.

Feelings for fetus may vary smoking amount Posted: 05 Aug 2013 08:34 AM PDT In a small new study, researchers report that pregnant smokers who felt less emotional attachment to their fetuses may have smoked more than women with greater feelings of attachment.

Breastfeeding may reduce Alzheimer's risk Posted: 05 Aug 2013 08:34 AM PDT Mothers who breastfeed their children may have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease, with longer periods of breastfeeding also lowering the overall risk, a new study suggests.

Depressed fish could help in the search for new drug treatments Posted: 05 Aug 2013 08:29 AM PDT Antidepressant normalizes the behavior of zebrafish with a defective stress hormone receptor.

Immune system molecule promotes tumor resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy Posted: 05 Aug 2013 08:28 AM PDT Scientists have shown for the first time that a signaling protein involved in inflammation also promotes tumor resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy.

Not only bone density, but also quality of bone predicts fracture risk Posted: 05 Aug 2013 06:26 AM PDT In a new study, bone histomorphometry and infrared spectroscopy revealed abnormal bone properties in children with vertebral fractures and in children after solid organ transplantation. Bone compositional changes in children with vertebral fractures and after different types of organ transplantation have not been reported previously.

Do antioxidants improve a woman's chances of conceiving? Posted: 05 Aug 2013 06:23 AM PDT There is no high quality evidence that antioxidant supplements help to increase a woman's chances of having a baby, according to the results of a new systematic review. The review found women were no more likely to conceive when taking oral antioxidants and that there was limited information about potential harms.

Origin of inflammation-driven pancreatic cancer decoded Posted: 05 Aug 2013 06:23 AM PDT Researchers have revealed the process by which chronic inflammation of the pancreas, pancreatitis, morphs into pancreatic cancer. They say their findings point to ways to identify pancreatitis patients at risk of pancreatic cancer and to potential drug therapies that might reverse the process.

Mechanism that allows bacteria to infect plants may inspire cure for eye disease Posted: 04 Aug 2013 11:45 AM PDT By borrowing a tool from bacteria that infect plants, scientists have developed a new approach to eliminate mutated DNA inside mitochondria -- the energy factories within cells. Doctors might someday use the approach to treat a variety of mitochondrial diseases, including the degenerative eye disease Leber hereditary optic neuropathy.

Are we there yet? How the brain keeps eyes on the prize Posted: 04 Aug 2013 11:45 AM PDT Researchers reveal how the brain remains focused on long-term goals. "Are we there yet?" As anyone who has traveled with young children knows, maintaining focus on distant goals can be a challenge. A new study suggests how the brain achieves this task, and indicates that the neurotransmitter dopamine may signal the value of long-term rewards. The findings may also explain why patients with Parkinson's disease -- in which dopamine signaling is impaired -- often have difficulty in sustaining motivation to finish tasks.

Practice makes the brain's motor cortex more efficient Posted: 04 Aug 2013 11:45 AM PDT Not only does practice make perfect, it also makes for more efficient generation of neuronal activity in the brain's primary motor cortex, say researchers. New findings have shown that practice leads to decreased metabolic activity for internally generated movements, but not for visually guided motor tasks, and suggest the motor cortex is "plastic" and a potential site for the storage of motor skills.

Researchers dismantle bacteria's war machinery Posted: 04 Aug 2013 11:44 AM PDT This is a veritable mechanics of aggression on the nanoscale. Certain bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, have the ability to deploy tiny darts. This biological weapon kills the host cell by piercing the membrane. Researchers at EPFL have dismantled, piece by piece, this intriguing little machine. This discovery offers new insight into the fight against pathogens that are increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

Social status and power of action of speakers determine the way their statements are perceived Posted: 04 Aug 2013 11:44 AM PDT The actual standing of speakers within a society's power structure determines how their statements are perceived.

Distinct brain disorders biologically linked: Disruption to the gene TOP3B increases susceptibility to schizophrenia and a learning disorder Posted: 04 Aug 2013 11:44 AM PDT Scientists have shown that schizophrenia and a disorder associated with autism and learning difficulties share a common biological pathway. This is one of the first times that researchers have uncovered genetic evidence for the underlying causes of schizophrenia.

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