ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Tuesday, October 5, 2010
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Why fat thighs are not as bad as a fat abdomen (October 5, 2010) -- Using ice cream, candy bars and energy drinks to help volunteers gain weight, researchers have discovered the mechanisms of how body fat grows. ... > full story
Microbes engineered for low-cost production of anti-cancer drug, Taxol (October 5, 2010) -- Researchers have now engineered E. coli bacteria to produce large quantities of a critical compound that is a precursor to the cancer drug Taxol, originally isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew tree. The tree's bacteria can produce 1,000 times more of the precursor, known as taxadiene, than any other engineered microbial strain. ... > full story
Biomarkers for personalizing radiation cancer treatment identified (October 5, 2010) -- Radiation therapy is used to treat more than half of all cancer cases, but patient response to therapy can vary greatly. Genetics is increasingly recognized as a significant contributor to inter-individual radiation response, but the biology underlying response remains poorly understood. Researchers have now employed a pharmacogenomics approach to find biomarkers associated with radiation response that could help to more effectively tailor individual cancer treatments in the future. ... > full story
Mental health courts appear to shorten jail time, reduce re-arrest for those with psychiatric illness (October 5, 2010) -- Special mental health courts appear to be associated with lower post-treatment arrest rates and reduced number of days of incarceration for individuals with serious psychiatric illnesses, according to a new report. ... > full story
New clues on why some people with Parkinson's die sooner (October 5, 2010) -- New research shows how old people are when they first develop Parkinson's disease is one of many clues in how long they'll survive with the disease. ... > full story
New method for genome analysis identifies the genetic effect of a rare form of mental retardation (October 5, 2010) -- The majority of rare diseases are hereditary. But despite significant progress in genome research, in most cases their exact cause remains unclear. The discovery of the underlying genetic defect is, however, a prerequisite for their definitive diagnosis and the development of innovative approaches to their treatment. Scientists have now succeeded in using a new process with which all of the genes in the human genome can be analysed simultaneously. The process was used for the first time on three children in a family who suffer from a rare form of mental retardation (Mabry Syndrome). ... > full story
Loss of nutrients following gastric bypass surgery in adolescent girls (October 5, 2010) -- An increasing number of obese adolescents, particularly females, are undergoing gastric bypass surgery. Yet a recent case study highlights the possible link between gastric bypass surgery in adolescent girls and an increased risk for neural tube defects. ... > full story
Child maltreatment investigations not associated with improvements in household risk factors (October 5, 2010) -- Household investigations for suspected child maltreatment by Child Protective Services may not be associated with improvements in common, modifiable risk factors including social support, family functioning, poverty and others, according to a new report. ... > full story
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2010 was awarded to Robert G. Edwards for IVF fertilization (October 4, 2010) -- Robert Edwards has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for the development of human in vitro fertilization (IVF) therapy. His achievements have made it possible to treat infertility, a medical condition afflicting a large proportion of humanity including more than 10% of all couples worldwide. ... > full story
Mechanism involved in addictions and some forms of obesity discovered (October 4, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered a mechanism underlying some forms of obesity and addictions which could lead to a treatment for both diseases. ... > full story
Walnuts, walnut oil, improve reaction to stress (October 4, 2010) -- A diet rich in walnuts and walnut oil may prepare the body to deal better with stress, according to a researchers who looked at how these foods, which contain polyunsaturated fats, influence blood pressure at rest and under stress. ... > full story
Possible biomarker to identify seizure-related stress (October 4, 2010) -- New research found that reduced levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein in the brain that encourages growth of neurons, may be a trait marker for individuals with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (seizures that are psychological in origin). ... > full story
Children with ADHD at increased risk for depression and suicidal thoughts as adolescents (October 4, 2010) -- Greater numbers of depression, anxiety, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder symptoms at ages 4 to 6 among children with ADHD robustly predicted risk for depression during adolescence. ... > full story
Vaccine extends survival for patients with deadly brain cancers (October 4, 2010) -- A new vaccine added to standard therapy appears to offer a survival advantage for patients suffering from glioblastoma, the most deadly form of brain cancer, according to a new study. ... > full story
The secret life of Ireland's smooth-hound sharks (October 4, 2010) -- They grow to over a meter in length, can weigh up to twelve kilos and each summer they swarm into the shallow waters of the Irish east coast. Despite this, the starry smooth-hound has remained Ireland's least well known shark species. However, thanks to researchers this may be about to change. ... > full story
Substance that plays key role in bone density could lead to new osteoporosis treatments (October 4, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered a group of substances in the body that play a key role in controlling bone density, and on this basis they have begun development of a drug for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and other bone disorders. ... > full story
Mimicking other's language style shows a happy relationship, study suggests (October 4, 2010) -- People match each other's language styles more during happier periods of their relationship than at other times, according to new research. ... > full story
Discovery of a cell that suppresses the immune system (October 4, 2010) -- Researchers have identified a new type of cell in mice that dampens the immune system and protects the animal's own cells from immune system attack. ... > full story
Life threatening breathing disorder of Rett syndrome prevented (October 4, 2010) -- Researchers have sequestered the potentially fatal breath holding episodes associated with the autistic-spectrum disorder Rett syndrome. ... > full story
It's time to phase out codeine, researchers urge (October 4, 2010) -- It is time to phase out the use of codeine as a pain reliever because of its significant risks and ineffectiveness as an analgesic, states a new editorial. ... > full story
Elasticity found to stretch stem cell growth to higher levels (October 4, 2010) -- New research has found the physical forces created by elasticity can increase the number of blood-forming stem cells grown outside of the body by two or three times than using current hormone-based methods alone. ... > full story
New target to improve pain management identified (October 4, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered a major mechanism underlying the development of tolerance to chronic morphine treatment. ... > full story
What makes us age? Ticking of cellular clock promotes seismic changes in chromatin landscape associated with aging (October 4, 2010) -- Like cats, human cells have a finite number of lives: once they divide a certain number of times (thankfully, more than nine) they change shape, slow their pace, and eventually stop dividing -- a phenomenon called "cellular senescence." Biologists know that a cellular clock composed of structures at the chromosome end known as telomeres records how many "lives" a cell has expended. Up to now, investigators have not yet defined how the clock's ticking signals the approach of cellular oblivion. ... > full story
Light used to make the heart stumble (October 4, 2010) -- Scientists have altered cardiac muscle cells to make them controllable with light. They were thus able to use directed light to cause conditions such as arrhythmia in genetically modified mice. The method opens up completely new possibilities for researching the development of such arrhythmias. ... > full story
Tennis grunting: Study reveals surprising effects (October 4, 2010) -- You've heard them at tennis matches -- a loud, emphatic grunt with each player's stroke. A researcher has studied the impact of these grunts and come up with some surprising findings. ... > full story
Morning sickness: Still no relief, review finds (October 4, 2010) -- There are currently no reliably safe and effective treatments for morning sickness, according to researchers who conducted a systematic review of the available evidence. There was very limited evidence for all pharmaceutical and alternative medicines tested. ... > full story
Children as young as 12 months can reach a countertop; Puts them at risk for severe burns (October 4, 2010) -- Most toddlers can reach as high as a kitchen countertop, putting them at risk for severe burns from hot liquids, according to new research. ... > full story
Which fertilized eggs will become healthy human fetuses? Researchers predict with 93% accuracy (October 4, 2010) -- Two-thirds of all human embryos fail to develop successfully. Now, in a new study, researchers have shown that they can predict with 93 percent certainty which fertilized eggs will make it to a critical developmental milestone and which will stall and die. The findings are important to the understanding of the fundamentals of human development at the earliest stages, which have largely remained a mystery despite the attention given to human embryonic stem cell research. ... > full story
Possible method for boosting the immune system to protect infants against HIV (October 4, 2010) -- Researchers may have uncovered a new weapon for combating HIV as it is passed from mother to newborn child. Scientists boosted HIV-specific neutralizing antibodies that are passed across the placenta at birth. These animals developed higher levels of neutralizing antibodies and had lower levels of disease in their blood. ... > full story
How salmonella bacteria spread in humans (October 4, 2010) -- New findings could explain how Salmonella bacteria, a common cause of food poisoning, efficiently spread in people. Researchers describe finding a reservoir of rapidly replicating Salmonella inside epithelial cells. These bacteria are primed to infect other cells and are pushed from the epithelial layer by a new mechanism that frees the Salmonella to infect other cells or be shed into the intestine. ... > full story
Genomic study of malaria parasite in Peru reveals evidence of antibiotic resistance (October 4, 2010) -- Malaria remains a serious global health problem, killing more than one million people per year. Treatment of the mosquito-borne illness relies on antibiotics, and the emergence of drug-resistant malaria is of growing concern. In a new report, scientists analyzed the genomic features of a Peruvian parasite population, identifying the genetic basis for resistance to a common antibiotic, gaining new insights that could improve diagnosis and treatment strategies. ... > full story
Lack of private health insurance impacts cancer survival, research finds (October 4, 2010) -- Lack of private health insurance and its consequent lack of access to care appears to affect mortality among patients with uterine cancer and may partly explain the mortality disparity between African-Americans and other racial groups, according to new research. ... > full story
Parkinson's: Excess of protein suggests new target for treatment with widely used anti-cancer drug imatinib (October 4, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered that the over-activation of a single protein may shut down the brain-protecting effects of a molecule and facilitate the most common form of Parkinson's disease. The finding of this mechanism could lead to important new targets for drugs already known to inhibit it, thus controlling symptoms of the disorder, which affects about 1 million older Americans. ... > full story
Experts urge making cigarettes non-addictive a research priority (October 4, 2010) -- After a major review of scientific information, six leading tobacco research and policy experts have concluded that a nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority because of its potential to profoundly reduce the death and disease from tobacco use. ... > full story
In pregnancy, a large waistline and high triglycerides: Early screen for gestational diabetes (October 4, 2010) -- A large waistline and high triglyceride levels in pregnant women could be an early screening tool for gestational diabetes, according to a new study. ... > full story
Are pre-teen babysitters able to deal with emergencies? (October 4, 2010) -- Nearly all of 11- to 13-year-old babysitters know who to contact in the event of an intruder or if a child is sick or injured (96 percent) or poisoned (85 percent), according to new research. ... > full story
Gene variations that alter key enzyme linked to prostate cancer (October 4, 2010) -- Researchers have found that variations in a gene for an enzyme involved in cell energy metabolism appear to increase the risk for prostate cancer. The genetic variations all impair the enzyme phosphodiesterase 11A, which helps regulate a cell's responses to hormones and other signals. ... > full story
Noise and chemicals: Workers are losing their hearing, Spanish study finds (October 4, 2010) -- A study carried out by Spanish researchers has shown that the presence of chemical contaminants can interact with noise and modify, for good or for bad, the way in which work-related "deafness" -- which is increasingly common among young people -- manifests itself. Noise-related hearing loss is the most common occupational disease in Europe. ... > full story
'Hi-JAK-ing' cancer by inhibiting Jak2 (October 4, 2010) -- Myeloproliferative neoplasms are a family of blood cancers that if left untreated can progress to bone marrow failure and acute myeloid leukemia. Inhibition of the protein JAK2 has emerged as potential therapy. However, this approach has thus far had limited success and been accompanied by significant toxicity. New research in mice suggests that JAK2 activity can be reduced by pharmacological targeting of the protein HSP90, which stabilizes JAK2. ... > full story
Launch of Germ Genie to kill keyboard germs (October 4, 2010) -- Scientists in the UK have helped prove the effectiveness of Germ Genie, a tool to prevent infections from keyboards. ... > full story
Memory impairment common in people with a history of cancer (October 4, 2010) -- People with a history of cancer have a 40 percent greater likelihood of experiencing memory problems that interfere with daily functioning, compared with those who have not had cancer, according to results of a new, large study. ... > full story
Researchers call for a price cap on cigarette profits (October 4, 2010) -- An independent regulatory agency is needed to cap the excessive profits made by cigarette manufacturers, urge researchers. ... > full story
Black mothers cite lack of desire as top reasons for not breastfeeding (October 4, 2010) -- While more American mothers are breastfeeding today, non-Hispanic black/African-American women are less likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding, primarily due to a lack of desire and lack of self-efficacy, according to new research. ... > full story
Individual mutations are very slow to promote tumor growth, mathematical modeling shows (October 3, 2010) -- Individual cancer-causing mutations have a minute effect on tumor growth, increasing the rate of cell division by just 0.4 percent on average, according to new mathematical modeling. The research reinforces that cancer is the culmination of many accumulated mutations, and highlights the fundamental heterogeneity and randomness of many cancers. ... > full story
Gene associated with aggressive skin cancer found (October 3, 2010) -- The loss of a gene known as INPP5A could predict the onset, and track the progression, of an aggressive type of skin cancer, according to a new study. ... > full story
Unlocking the secret of beauty: Scientists discover the complexities of attractive female bodies (October 3, 2010) -- Scientists have conducted a comprehensive study to discover how different body measurements correspond with ratings of female attractiveness. The study found that across cultural divides young, tall and long armed women were considered the most attractive. ... > full story
How injured nerves grow themselves back (October 3, 2010) -- Unlike nerves of the spinal cord, the peripheral nerves that connect our limbs and organs to the central nervous system have an astonishing ability to regenerate themselves after injury. Now, a new report offers new insight into how that healing process works. ... > full story
Tracking down pathogenic yeasts (October 3, 2010) -- If the human immunological system is weakened, yeast fungi that are normally harmless can be transformed into a lethal danger. This is why researchers in Germany are using next-generation sequencing to track down one of the most frequent pathogens for fungal infections among humans. ... > full story
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