Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Down's syndrome brain protein loss
The lack of a protein in Down's syndrome brains could be the cause of learning and memory problems, says a US study.
Nerve mapping technology improves surgery for compressed nerves
Nerve mapping technology allows surgeons to determine whether surgery has been effective for relieving pressure from compressed nerves, which often function poorly and cause sciatica or pain and weakness in...
Telehealth unlikely to be cost effective for patients with long term conditions, study finds
Telehealth does not seem to be a cost effective addition to standard support and treatment for patients with long term conditions, a new study finds
Common antibiotic linked to heart problems in patients with lung conditions
The antibiotic clarithromycin -- widely used for treating lower respiratory tract infections like pneumonia and acute exacerbations (sudden worsening) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease -- may be associated with an...
Serotonin Receptors Offer Clues to New Antidepressants
Researchers have deciphered the molecular structures of two of the brain's crucial lock-and-key mechanisms. The two molecules are receptors for the natural neurotransmitter serotonin -- which regulates activities such as...
Weird Way Lyme Disease Bugs Avoid Immune System
Nasty pathogen has a trick to avoid the immune system.
Sequestration will take big bite from medical research funding
The NIH, the world's largest supporter of biomedical research, will lose $1.6 billion of its $30-billion budget through the sequester.Research into cancer, Alzheimer's disease and influenza may lose crucial funding...
Hospital infection data will be released, Cleary says
Dr. Eilish Cleary, the chief medical officer of health, says New Brunswickers will soon be able to track the number of cases of infections, such as C. difficile, reported in...
Lululemon Says Yoga Pants Mishap Will Be Costly
As Lululemon counted its expected losses from a recall of pants that turned out to be too sheer, rivals hoped to capitalize on the mistake.
City Health Officials Warn Some Men on Lethal Strain of Meningitis
Over the last two years, it has appeared only in men, believed to be contracted through anonymous sexual encounters with other men. But health officials fear an outbreak.
Implantable Telescope Lens to Treat Macular Degeneration Available at Johns Hopkins
Approximately two million Americans who have the advanced form of AMD, which affects the region of the retina responsible for central, detailed vision, and is the leading cause of irreversible...
Prescription for double-dose algebra proves effective
Ninth-graders in Chicago Public Schools have significantly benefited from double-dose algebra (attending two consecutive periods of the subject) in ways that were not easily observable in the program's early years...
Low-cost 'cooling cure' would avert brain damage in oxygen-starved babies
When babies are deprived of oxygen before birth, brain damage can occur. Preventive treatment is not always available in developing nations. Students have invented a low-tech $40 unit to provide...
Energy drinks may increase blood pressure, disturb heart rhythm
Energy drinks may increase blood pressure and disturb the heart's rhythm. Researchers who analyzed seven previously published studies found an increase of 3.5 points in systolic blood pressure for those...
Eating too much salt led to 2.3 million heart-related deaths worldwide in 2010
Excessive sodium (salt) consumption caused 2.3 million heart-related deaths in the world in 2010. Nearly 1 million of these deaths occurred in people 69 years and younger.
Most pre-packaged meals, snacks for toddlers contain too much salt
Most pre-packaged meals and snacks for toddlers contain high amounts of sodium. Some toddler meals had as much as 630 mg of sodium per serving.
Road traffic pollution as serious as passive smoke in the development of childhood asthma
New research conducted in 10 European cities has estimated that 14 percent of chronic childhood asthma is due to exposure to traffic pollution near busy roads.
New way to discover HIV vaccine targets
Decades of research and three large-scale clinical trials have so far failed to yield an effective HIV vaccine, in large part because the virus evolves so rapidly that it can...
Primary care physicians missing early signs of serious mental illness
Primary care providers could help people with warning signs of psychosis get critical early treatment and potentially reduce the current burden on emergency departments and inpatient units, finds a new...
Multiple sclerosis research: Thalamus moves into the spotlight
A new study found that atrophy of the thalamus, determined with MRI, can help identify which patients with clinically isolated syndrome, a patient's first episode of MS, are at risk...
Northern health care trek surprises Sudbury geriatricians
Sudbury geriatricians were surprised to discover on a recent trip that there is a 108-year-old woman living on the James Bay Coast.
New method developed to expand blood stem cells for bone marrow transplant
More than 50,000 stem cell transplants are performed each year worldwide. Scientists may have solved a major issue of expanding adult hematopoietic stem cells outside the human body for clinical...
Pain reliever shows anti-viral activity against flu
The over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drug naproxen may also exhibit antiviral activity against influenza A virus, according to a team of scientists. The findings are the result of a structure-based investigation.
Data gaps in aid impact must be filled, urges review
Without new methods of assessing the impact of development aid on maternal health, its influence will remain unclear, says a review.
Well: Childhood: Norovirusis a Top Cause of Stomach Problems
Norovirus infection has become the leading cause of gastroenteritis in children under 5 in the United States.
Doctor and Patient: Doctors and Their Online Reputation
The Internet is quickly becoming patients’ resource of choice to learn more about their doctors. But doctors have been slow to embrace it for one reason: they aren’t sure how...
Discovery could increase efficacy of promising cystic fibrosis drug
Researchers believe they have found exactly how Kalydeco (Vx-770), the first drug of its kind to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis, works and how to improve its effectiveness...
French Jewish students take legal action against Twitter
A Jewish student group has announced it was taking further legal action against Twitter over the global networking site's failure to respond to a French court order to hand over...