ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Communication about female condom vital to young adults, researchers say
• Epigenetic tie to neuropsychiatric disorders found
• Try, try again? Study says no: Trying harder makes it more difficult to learn some aspects of language, neuroscientists find
• Parents rank their obese children as 'very healthy'
• Stem cells aid muscle repair, strengthening after resistance exercise
• Mental health issues in children with relatives who participated in manhunt after Boston Marathon
• More than glitter: How gold nanoparticles easily penetrate cells, making them useful for delivering drugs
• New research links bad diet to loss of smell
• Process to purify water using seed extracts now simplified
• Genes that contribute to radiation resistance identified
• Philosopher uses game theory to understand how words, actions acquire meaning
• Described novel regulator of protein inactive in over 50 percent of human tumors
• Diagnostic criteria for Christianson Syndrome
• Missing sleep may hurt your memory
• Brain waves show learning to read does not end in 4th grade, contrary to popular theory
• Human platelets successfully generated using next-generation bioreactor
• New drug against malaria effective: Uses synchrotron light
• Age-related macular degeneration occurs much earlier than previously assumed
• First study worldwide to show higher concentration of trace elements in bone cancer
• Children as young as three recognize 'cuteness' in faces of people, animals
• Study examines incentives to increase medical male circumcision to help reduce risk of HIV in Kenya
• Circumcision does not promote risky behavior by African men, study finds
• Large twin study suggests that language delay due more to nature than nurture
• Enzyme linked to Alzheimer’s disease
• Healing the heart with fat? 18-HEPE might help, study suggests

Communication about female condom vital to young adults, researchers say Posted: 21 Jul 2014 11:22 AM PDT Communication researchers examine sexual health messages aimed at young college adults about the female condom. The first female condom was introduced in the U.S. in 1993, but drew little interest due to several reasons including mixed or negative portrayals in the media. The Food and Drug Administration approved the second version of the female condom in 2009.

Epigenetic tie to neuropsychiatric disorders found Posted: 21 Jul 2014 11:22 AM PDT Dysfunction in dopamine signaling profoundly changes the activity level of about 2,000 genes in the brain's prefrontal cortex and may be an underlying cause of certain complex neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, according to scientists. This epigenetic alteration of gene activity in brain cells that receive this neurotransmitter showed for the first time that dopamine deficiencies can affect a variety of behavioral and physiological functions regulated in the prefrontal cortex.

Try, try again? Study says no: Trying harder makes it more difficult to learn some aspects of language, neuroscientists find Posted: 21 Jul 2014 11:22 AM PDT Neuroscientists find that trying harder makes it more difficult to learn some aspects of language. When it comes to learning languages, adults and children have different strengths. Adults excel at absorbing the vocabulary needed to navigate a grocery store or order food in a restaurant, but children have an uncanny ability to pick up on subtle nuances of language, sometimes speaking a second language like a native speaker within months. Brain structure plays an important role in this "sensitive period" for learning language, which is believed to end around adolescence.

Parents rank their obese children as 'very healthy' Posted: 21 Jul 2014 11:21 AM PDT Parents of obese children often do not recognize the potentially serious health consequences of childhood weight gain or the importance of daily physical activity in helping their child reach a healthy weight, a study shows. "Parents have a hard time changing their child's dietary and physical activity behaviors," said the study's lead author. "Our study tells us what factors may be associated with a parent's motivation to help their child become more healthy."

Stem cells aid muscle repair, strengthening after resistance exercise Posted: 21 Jul 2014 09:40 AM PDT By injecting mesenchymal stem cells into mouse leg muscles prior to several bouts of eccentric exercise (similar to the lengthening contractions performed during resistance training in humans), researchers were able to increase the rate of repair and enhance the growth and strength of those muscles in the exercising mice.

Mental health issues in children with relatives who participated in manhunt after Boston Marathon Posted: 21 Jul 2014 09:39 AM PDT Children with relatives who were called upon to participate in the interagency manhunt following the Boston Marathon attack carried a particularly heavy mental health burden, according to a study that included surveys of Boston-area parents and other caretakers.

More than glitter: How gold nanoparticles easily penetrate cells, making them useful for delivering drugs Posted: 21 Jul 2014 09:39 AM PDT A special class of tiny gold particles can easily slip through cell membranes, making them good candidates to deliver drugs directly to target cells. Scientists can now explain how gold nanoparticles easily penetrate cells, making them useful for delivering drugs.

New research links bad diet to loss of smell Posted: 21 Jul 2014 09:39 AM PDT Could stuffing yourself full of high-fat foods cause you to lose your sense of smell? A new study by neuroscientists says so, and it has researchers taking a closer look at how our diets could impact a whole range of human functions that were not traditionally considered when examining the impact of obesity.

Process to purify water using seed extracts now simplified Posted: 21 Jul 2014 09:38 AM PDT Researchers have streamlined and simplified a process that uses extracts from seeds of Moringa oleifa trees to purify water, reducing levels of harmful bacteria by 90 percent to 99 percent. The hardy trees that are drought resistant are cultivated widely throughout many countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Genes that contribute to radiation resistance identified Posted: 21 Jul 2014 09:38 AM PDT Forty-six genes in Escherichia coli have been discovered that are necessary for its survival at exceptionally high levels of radiation, researchers report in a new article. "The research has revealed new pathways of cellular self-repair, including DNA pathways that in humans that may help protect us from cancer," says a corresponding author.

Philosopher uses game theory to understand how words, actions acquire meaning Posted: 21 Jul 2014 09:37 AM PDT Why does the word "dog" have meaning? If you say "dog" to a friend, why does your friend understand you? A philosopher aims to address these types of questions in his latest research, which focuses on long-standing philosophical questions about semantic meaning. Philosophers and a mathematician are collaborating to use game theory to analyze communication and how it acquires meaning.

Described novel regulator of protein inactive in over 50 percent of human tumors Posted: 21 Jul 2014 07:57 AM PDT The interaction between HERC2 proteins with another protein called p53 is inactivated in more than half of human tumors, researchers have discovered. The study suggests that mutations in HERC2 also may be associated with cancer in humans. "In the laboratory we have observed that without HERC2 cells increases proliferation. It's the same effect as if they inactivated p53" says the lead author.

Diagnostic criteria for Christianson Syndrome Posted: 21 Jul 2014 07:04 AM PDT A new study provides the most definitive characterization of the autism-like intellectual disability disorder Christianson Syndrome and provides the first diagnostic criteria to help doctors and families identify and understand the condition. Initial evidence suggests CS could affect tens of thousands of boys worldwide.

Missing sleep may hurt your memory Posted: 21 Jul 2014 07:04 AM PDT Lack of sleep, already considered a public health epidemic, can also lead to errors in memory, finds a new study that found participants deprived of a night's sleep were more likely to flub the details of a simulated burglary they were shown in a series of images. "People who repeatedly get low amounts of sleep every night could be more prone in the long run to develop these forms of memory distortion," one researcher said. "It's not just a full night of sleep deprivation that puts them at risk."

Brain waves show learning to read does not end in 4th grade, contrary to popular theory Posted: 21 Jul 2014 07:03 AM PDT Teachers-in-training have long been taught that fourth grade is when students stop learning to read and start reading to learn. But a new study tested the theory by analyzing brain waves and found that fourth-graders do not experience a change in automatic word processing, a crucial component of the reading shift theory. Instead, some types of word processing become automatic before fourth grade, while others don't switch until after fifth.

Human platelets successfully generated using next-generation bioreactor Posted: 21 Jul 2014 07:03 AM PDT A scalable, next-generation platelet bioreactor has been created to generate fully functional human platelets in vitro. The work is a major biomedical advancement that will help address blood transfusion needs worldwide.

New drug against malaria effective: Uses synchrotron light Posted: 21 Jul 2014 07:01 AM PDT The CD27 drug is a true alternative against malaria, researchers now report. They have analyzed the crystalline structure of the DNA with the drug by performing X-ray diffraction experiments at the ALBA synchrotron.

Age-related macular degeneration occurs much earlier than previously assumed Posted: 21 Jul 2014 07:01 AM PDT Even individuals under the age of 50 years can suffer early forms of age-related macular degeneration, researchers say. With the help of their findings, the researchers were also able to gain insights into how frequently the various forms of age-related macular degeneration occur. On average, about 12 percent of the examined 35- to 74-year-olds had early stage AMD, but only 0.2 percent of the study participants exhibited symptoms of late stage AMD, which is often associated with severe visual impairment.

First study worldwide to show higher concentration of trace elements in bone cancer Posted: 21 Jul 2014 07:01 AM PDT In a study that is the only one of its kind worldwide, researchers have investigated the distribution of trace elements in the tissue of bone tumors. The result: tumor tissue contains higher concentrations of trace elements. This could represent a starting point for the development of targeted therapies for bone cancer.

Children as young as three recognize 'cuteness' in faces of people, animals Posted: 21 Jul 2014 07:01 AM PDT Children as young as three are able to recognize the same 'cute' infantile facial features in humans and animals which encourage caregiving behavior in adults, new research has shown. A study investigating whether youngsters can identify baby-like characteristics – a set of traits known as the 'baby schema' – across different species has revealed for the first time that even pre-school children rate puppies, kittens and babies as cuter than their adult counterparts.

Study examines incentives to increase medical male circumcision to help reduce risk of HIV in Kenya Posted: 21 Jul 2014 07:00 AM PDT Among uncircumcised men in Kenya, compensation in the form of food vouchers worth approximately U.S. $9 or $15, compared with lesser or no compensation, resulted in a modest increase in the prevalence of circumcision after 2 months, according to a study. "There was a significant increase in uptake among married and older participants, groups that have been harder to reach previously. The interventions also significantly increased the likelihood of circumcision uptake among participants at higher risk of acquiring HIV," the authors write.

Circumcision does not promote risky behavior by African men, study finds Posted: 21 Jul 2014 06:59 AM PDT Men do not engage in riskier behaviors after they are circumcised, according to a study in Kenya. Three clinical trials have shown that male circumcision significantly reduces the risk of acquiring HIV in young African men. However, some experts have suggested that circumcision, if promoted as an HIV preventive, may increase promiscuity or decrease condom use. This 'risk compensation' could diminish the effectiveness of medical male circumcision programs.

Large twin study suggests that language delay due more to nature than nurture Posted: 21 Jul 2014 06:59 AM PDT A study of 473 sets of twins followed since birth found twins have twice the rate of language delay as do single-born children. Moreover, identical twins have greater rates of language delay than do non-identical twins, strengthening the case for the heritability of language.

Enzyme linked to Alzheimer’s disease Posted: 21 Jul 2014 06:59 AM PDT Unclogging the body's protein disposal system may improve memory in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers.

Healing the heart with fat? 18-HEPE might help, study suggests Posted: 21 Jul 2014 06:59 AM PDT Too much dietary fat is bad for the heart, but the right kind of fat keeps the heart healthy, according to a new paper. Scientists in Japan have shown that mice engineered to produce their own EPA are protected against heart disease and have improved cardiac function. One particular EPA metabolite, called 18-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid (18-HEPE), was required for this protection.

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