Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Genes That Drive You To Drink (But Don't Make You An Alcoholic)
Your genetic make up may predispose you to drink more but may not increase your genetic risk for alcoholism. New research pinpoints genetic pathways and genes associated with levels of...
Physically active have reduced risk of prostate cancer
(PhysOrg.com) -- Lifetime physically active men have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. The effect was observable in those who...
Alcohol activates cellular changes that make tumour cells spread
Alcohol consumption has long been linked to cancer and its spread, but the underlying mechanism has never been clear...
Changing behaviour helps patients take medication as prescribed
Taking medication as the doctor prescribes is crucial to improving health. However, 26 to 59 percent of older adults do not adhere to instructions, according to a 2003 study published...
Vast majority of physicians satisfied with hospital chaplain services
A national survey of physicians' experience with hospital chaplains found that the vast majority of doctors were satisfied with the spiritual services provided. Physicians in the Northeast and those with...
Rethinking the antibody-dependent enhancement dengue haemorrhagic fever model
Research published this week in PLoS Medicine challenges the dogma of the antibody-dependent enhancement model (ADE) for the development of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF)...
Location Of Body Fat Affects Risk Of Blood Clots In Men, Women
The risk of life-threatening blood clots increases with obesity, but may also depend on the location of excess body fat and gender. Women are at higher risk when they carry...
High Death Rates And Short Life Expectancy Among Homeless And Marginally Housed
Homeless and marginally housed people have much higher mortality and shorter life expectancy than could be expected on the basis of low income alone, concludes a study from Canada.
Weekly And Biweekly Vitamin D2 Prevents Vitamin D Deficiency
Researchers have found that 50,000 International Units of vitamin D2, given weekly for eight weeks, effectively treats vitamin D deficiency.
That '4 hour erection': new discovery may help prevent a complication of priapism
For men coping with painful erections lasting for long periods of time, or priapism, new research published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) offers hope. That's because researchers from the...
Fitness levels decline with age, especially after 45
Men and women become gradually less fit with age, with declines accelerating after age 45, according to a report in the 26 October issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one...
Do drug therapies raise risk of bladder cancer?
In her most recent study of possible triggers of cancer among northern New England residents, Dartmouth epidemiologist Margaret R. Karagas, Ph.D., and her team identified an enhanced risk to the...
Modified crops reveal hidden cost of resistance
Genetically modified squash plants that are resistant to a debilitating viral disease become more vulnerable to a fatal bacterial infection, according to biologists...
Advances in screening have offset an increase in Down syndrome
The number of diagnoses of Down's syndrome has increased by almost three quarters (71%) from 1989/90 to 2007/08, largely due to the considerable increase in the number of older mothers...
Vital Signs: Regimens: Omega-3 Fats Fail to Lift Depression in Heart Patients
Though low levels of omega-3 fats have been linked to depression, supplements of omega-3 fats did not alleviate symptoms of the illness in heart patients, a new study found.
Books: The Tools of Doctors, and a Price for Patients
Two adventures into areas of medicine that aren’t necessarily about the doctors or the diseases.
For jumping spiders, blood perfume is sexy
Dining on bloodsucking mosquitoes, the jumping spiders are in a roundabout way feeding on blood. It now turns out this vampire-by-proxy diet is sexy for the arachnids.
Naked Mole Rat Wins the War on Cancer
Novel mechanism could point to new therapies for humans [Read more]
Health-care workers rally at legislature
About 300 unionized health-care workers rallied at the Saskatchewan legislature Monday to protest the pace and substance of contract negotiations with the group representing health regions in the province.
Eastern Ont. child dies after H1N1 diagnosis
A previously healthy pre-teen girl has died at an Ottawa hospital after being diagnosed with swine flu.
Personal Health: In Treatment, You May Need an Advocate
Nearly all patients need an advocate to negotiate with medical professionals, insurers and others to ensure that they are receiving optimal care.
Global Update: Tropical Disease: Neglected Tropical Ills Extract Steep Toll in Islamic World, a Journal Article Says
Muslim nations shoulder many cases of intestinal worms, leprosy and blinding trachoma, according to a combination of analysis and editorial.
Examining genetic variations among the Huichol population of Mexico
Mexican researchers examined the polymorphisms of three enzymes -- alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH1B), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) and cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1) -- in the Mestizo and Huichol groups.The Huichols, an indigenous group,...
Observatory: The Alluring Power of Blood in Spiders
What drives a jumping spider wild? A fragrance among members of the opposite sex, apparently, that is acquired by eating blood.
Cancers Can Vanish Without Treatment, but How?
Data from screening lead doctors to reconsider that the disease is bound only to grow worse.
Fighting H.I.V., a Community at a Time
Federal health officials are planning to study a “test and treat” strategy to stop the spread of the AIDS virus in the District of Columbia and the Bronx.
Rockefellers of Research
I was at the annual Society of Neuroscience conference last week in Chicago, and noticed something unusual in one of the poster sessions.
AI program diagnoses abuse
A new artificial intelligence program can identify abuse victims up to six years before these cases would otherwise be found and could eventually be used to diagnose disease or injury.