ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• From slowdown to shutdown: US leadership in biomedical research takes a blow, experts say
• Women suffer most from urinary tract infections, men more likely to be hospitalized
• Postpartum depression spans generations, animal study suggests
• A slow, loving, 'affective' touch may be key to a healthy sense of self
• Weighed down by guilt: Research shows it's more than a metaphor
• New therapeutic target that prevents cell division
• Excessive nerve cell pruning leads to disease
• Something in the (expecting mother's) water: Contaminated water breeds low-weight babies, sometimes born prematurely
• 'Cyberchondria' from online health searches is worse for those who fear the unknown
• Non-specific, specific RNA binding proteins found to be fundamentally similar
• Primate brains follow predictable developmental pattern
• Sunscreen saves superhero gene
• Adherence to guidelines for severe traumatic brain injury saves lives
• No viral cause for breast cancer and brain tumors
• Malaria vaccine candidate reduces disease in children
• Babies learn to anticipate touch in the womb
• 'Brain training' may boost working memory, but not intelligence
• Liquorice alleviates troublesome symptoms following intubation
• Unexpected genomic change through 400 years of French-Canadian history
• New more effective antimicrobials might rise from old
• Smoking affects molecular mechanisms, children's immune systems
• Dietary intervention reduces stomach problems for diabetes patients

From slowdown to shutdown: US leadership in biomedical research takes a blow, experts say Posted: 08 Oct 2013 12:22 PM PDT The American Society for Cell Biology warns that temporary shutdown is inflicting long-term damage on American biomedicine.

Women suffer most from urinary tract infections, men more likely to be hospitalized Posted: 08 Oct 2013 11:22 AM PDT While women are far more likely to suffer urinary tract infections, men are more prone to be hospitalized for treatment. The first-of-its-kind research for the most common bacterial infection in the US is important in providing predictors of hospital admission at a time when the health care industry is searching for ways to reduce costs.

Postpartum depression spans generations, animal study suggests Posted: 08 Oct 2013 10:29 AM PDT A recently published study suggests that exposure to social stress not only impairs a mother's ability to care for her children but can also negatively impact her daughter's ability to provide maternal care to future offspring.

A slow, loving, 'affective' touch may be key to a healthy sense of self Posted: 08 Oct 2013 10:29 AM PDT Researchers found that a loving touch, characterized by a slow caress or stroke -- often an instinctive mother/child gesture or between romantic partners -- may boost the brain's sense of body ownership and, in turn, play a part in creating and sustaining a healthy sense of self.

Weighed down by guilt: Research shows it's more than a metaphor Posted: 08 Oct 2013 10:28 AM PDT Ever feel the weight of guilt? Lots of people say they do. They're "carrying guilt" or "weighed down by guilt." Are these just expressions, or is there something more to these metaphors? Researchers have now found evidence that the emotional experience of guilt can be grounded in subjective bodily sensation.

New therapeutic target that prevents cell division Posted: 08 Oct 2013 09:31 AM PDT Researchers have managed to decode a new mechanism that regulates cell division, in which the key molecule involved, Greatwall -- also known as Mastl -- could be a new therapeutic target for oncology treatments.

Excessive nerve cell pruning leads to disease Posted: 08 Oct 2013 09:31 AM PDT Scientists have made important discoveries about a cellular process that occurs during normal brain development and may play an important role in neurodegenerative diseases. The study's findings point to new pathways and targets for novel therapies for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases that affect millions of people world-wide.

Something in the (expecting mother's) water: Contaminated water breeds low-weight babies, sometimes born prematurely Posted: 08 Oct 2013 09:29 AM PDT Pregnant women living in areas with contaminated drinking water may be more likely to have babies that are premature or with low birth weights (considered less than 5.5 pounds), according to a new study.

'Cyberchondria' from online health searches is worse for those who fear the unknown Posted: 08 Oct 2013 09:29 AM PDT Turning to the Internet to find out what ails you is common, but for folks who have trouble handling uncertainty, "cyberchondria" -- the online counterpart to hypochondria -- worsens as they seek answers.

Non-specific, specific RNA binding proteins found to be fundamentally similar Posted: 08 Oct 2013 08:24 AM PDT Researchers have found unexpected similarities between proteins that were thought to be fundamentally different. The team published a new study showing that non-specific proteins actually have the ability to be specific about where they bind to RNA – seeking out and binding with particular sequences of nucleotides.

Primate brains follow predictable developmental pattern Posted: 08 Oct 2013 07:25 AM PDT In a breakthrough for understanding brain evolution, neuroscientists have shown that differences between primate brains -- from the tiny marmoset to human -- can be largely explained as consequences of the same genetic program.

Sunscreen saves superhero gene Posted: 08 Oct 2013 07:25 AM PDT Next time your kids complain about putting on sunscreen, tell them this: Sunscreen shields a superhero gene that protects them from getting cancer. Researchers have found sunscreen provides 100 percent protection against all three forms of skin cancer.

Adherence to guidelines for severe traumatic brain injury saves lives Posted: 08 Oct 2013 07:25 AM PDT Researchers found a significant reduction in the number of deaths of patients hospitalized in New York State with severe traumatic brain injury between 2001 and 2009. Data from 22 trauma centers in New York State were studied. The reduction in deaths at these centers corresponded to increased adherence to tenets of the "Guidelines for Management of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury."

No viral cause for breast cancer and brain tumors Posted: 08 Oct 2013 07:23 AM PDT A major study has now disproved theories of a viral cause for breast cancer and the brain tumour, glioblastoma. The study, which was based on over seven billion DNA sequences, found no genetic traces of viruses in these forms of cancer. It has been scientifically proven that about 15 per cent of all cancer cases are the result of viral infection, but many researchers believe that even more cancers could be caused by viruses.

Malaria vaccine candidate reduces disease in children Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:17 AM PDT Results from a large-scale Phase 3 trial show that the most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate, RTS,S, continued to protect young children and infants from clinical malaria up to 18 months after vaccination. Based on these data, scientists now intend to submit, in 2014, a regulatory application to the European Medicines Agency.

Babies learn to anticipate touch in the womb Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:17 AM PDT Babies learn how to anticipate touch while in the womb, according to new research. Using 4-D scans psychologists found, for the first time, that fetuses were able to predict, rather than react to, their own hand movements towards their mouths as they entered the later stages of gestation compared to earlier in a pregnancy.

'Brain training' may boost working memory, but not intelligence Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:17 AM PDT Brain training games, apps, and websites are popular and it's not hard to see why -- who wouldn't want to give their mental abilities a boost? New research suggests that brain training programs might strengthen your ability to hold information in mind, but they won't bring any benefits to the kind of intelligence that helps you reason and solve problems.

Liquorice alleviates troublesome symptoms following intubation Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:14 AM PDT In Traditional Chinese Medicine, liquorice is regarded as a "panacea". A recent study has now, for the first time, scientifically confirmed the healing properties of this natural substance. Researchers investigated patients who require a particularly thick tube (known as a double-lumen tube) following lung surgery and who consequently suffer frequent sore throats, hoarseness and coughs. The prescription of liquorice markedly reduced the frequency of post-operative symptoms. Even more importantly, patients were extremely happy and had less medical complaints following surgery.

Unexpected genomic change through 400 years of French-Canadian history Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:12 AM PDT Researchers have discovered that the genomic signature inherited by today's 6 million French Canadians from the first 8,500 French settlers who colonized New France some 400 years ago has gone through an unparalleled change in human history, in a remarkably short timescale. This unique signature could serve as an ideal model to study the effect of demographic processes on human genetic diversity, including the identification of possibly damaging mutations associated with population-specific diseases.

New more effective antimicrobials might rise from old Posted: 07 Oct 2013 12:16 PM PDT By tinkering with their chemical structures, researchers have essentially re-invented a class of popular antimicrobial drugs, restoring and in some cases, expanding or improving, their effectiveness against drug-resistant pathogens in animal models.

Smoking affects molecular mechanisms, children's immune systems Posted: 07 Oct 2013 06:43 AM PDT Researchers have gained new insights on the influence of tobacco smoke in utero. For the first time, it could be demonstrated with smoking pregnant women and their children how exposure to tobacco smoke affects the development of human immune system on molecular level. The focus was on microRNA – a short, single-stranded RNA molecule that is now recognized as playing an important role in gene regulation.

Dietary intervention reduces stomach problems for diabetes patients Posted: 07 Oct 2013 06:42 AM PDT Many diabetes patients suffer from symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and lack of appetite. A doctoral thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy shows that a diet consisting of foods that fall apart easily, for example boiled potatoes and fish gratin, can help alleviate the condition.

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