Latest science news in Health & Medicine
News in Brief: Body & Brain
Knights’ bodily burden, go-to-sleep nerve cells, rat empathy and more in this week’s news
Aerosol technique 'could transform measles vaccination'
New vaccines normally take years to reach developing countries, but the WHO hopes it can shorten the time drastically for dengue vaccine.
Smart Phone Making Your Eyes Tired? New Study Finds Images Placed in Front of the Screen Increase Visual Discomfort
Several reports indicate that prolonged viewing of mobile devices and other stereo 3D devices leads to visual discomfort, fatigue and even headaches. According to a new Journal of Vision study,...
Small amounts of antibiotics generate big problems
New research conducted at Uppsala University shows that extremely low concentrations of antibiotics can enrich for antibiotic resistant bacteria. The research suggests that antibiotic residue introduced to the environment via...
F.D.A. Issues Alerts on the Heart Drug Multaq
The F.D.A. cautioned against using Multaq for a long-term form of atrial fibrillation.
Blue collar workers work longer and in worse health than their white collar bosses, study finds
Researchers looked at aging, social class and labor force participation rates to illustrate the challenges that lower income workers face in the global marketplace using the burden of arthritis to...
One in four gay/lesbian high school students are homeless
Roughly 1 in 4 lesbian or gay teens and 15 percent of bisexual teens are homeless, versus 3 percent of exclusively heterosexual teens, finds a Children’s Hospital Boston study of...
Vascular changes linked to dementia, experts say
High blood pressure is related to the development of age-related vascular cognitive impairment, according to a new American Heart Association/American Stroke Association scientific statement. Maintaining a healthy heart may also...
Optimism associated with lower risk of having stroke
A large-scale observational study shows that optimism is associated with lower risk of stroke. On a 16-point scale, each point increase in optimism correlated with a 9 percent reduction in...
Adolescent boys among those most affected by Washington state parental military deployment, study suggests
In 2007, nearly two million children in the United States had at least one parent serving in the military. Military families and children, in particular, suffer from mental health problems...
Key to help women fight infections during pregnancy
Researchers have identified the underlying mechanisms for this physiologic immune suppression that may lead to new therapies to help ward off infections during pregnancy.
Stopping a daily aspirin routine increases heart attack risk
(Medical Xpress) -- A new study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that people who have been diagnosed with heart disease and placed on a daily aspirin dose are...
Lessons of miraculous dolphin healing powers
What miracles is Mother Nature hiding from us? Look no further than the bottlenose dolphin for a little bit of inspiration. At least that's what a researcher at the Georgetown...
Hepatitis C is transmitted by unprotected sex between HIV-infected men
Sexual transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is considered rare. But a new study by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, working with the Centers for Disease Control and...
Ontario doctors calls for more clinic procedures
Moving some diagnostic and surgical procedures out of hospitals and into specialized clinics would save money, improve access to services and lift the burden on hospitals, the Ontario Medical Association...
Hepatitis B vaccination for health care students lags behind recommendations
A study in the August issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), suggests that documentation of hepatitis B vaccination...
Hospital bacteria outbreak linked to nasal spray
Infection control researchers investigating a rare bacterial outbreak of Burholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) identified contaminated nasal spray as the root cause of the infections, leading to a national recall of...
Skin sentry cells promote distinct immune responses
A new study reveals that just as different soldiers in the field have different jobs, subsets of a type of immune cell that polices the barriers of the body can...
'Freaky' mouse is immune to deadly poison
Mice from different countries have likely interbred, producing what researchers call a “freaky” and “superior” house mouse that is resistant to a common rodent poison.
Good and bad news for L.A.C. on the Millennium Goals
Latin America and the Caribbean have reduced hunger and infant deaths but face delays reaching goals on education, deforestation and HIV.
Minority participants crucial to effective aging studies
A new article urges aging researchers to include representative samples of ethnically diverse populations in their work. The publication also identifies research priorities for moving the science of recruitment and...
Consults: Expert Answers on Stargardt's Disease
Dr. Stephen Rose of the Foundation Fighting Blindness responds to reader questions about Stargardt's disease.
Stronger social safety net leads to decrease in stress, childhood obesity
Social safety net programs that reduce psychosocial stressors for low-income families also ultimately lead to a reduction in childhood obesity, according to new research.
Is anesthesia dangerous?
In pure numerical terms, anesthesia-associated mortality has risen again. The reasons for this are the disproportionate increase in the numbers of older and multimorbid patients and surgical procedures that would...
Newborn Test May Point to Teenage School Trouble
However, mothers of babies with low Apgar scores need not be overly concerned, experts said.
Want to Lose Weight? Eat the Same Food Every Day
Similar to the way that drug addicts develop a need to increase their dose to feel the same effects, we become habituated to the foods that we eat often.
Diabetes Drug at Age 8 Could Shield Girls from Infertility
Polycystic ovary syndrome is the leading cause of infertility in U.S. women.
Detrimental weight loss: Scientists discover link between fat-cleaving enzymes and cancer-associated cachexia
Scientists in Austria have now directly linked lipid metabolism and cancer-associated cachexia. The researchers report that mice deficient in the lipid degrading enzyme adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) are fully protected...