Latest science news in Health & Medicine
More states cleared to run own health insurance exchanges
The Obama administration has given conditional approval to D.C. and a total of 17 states, including California, to operate exchanges to allow consumers to shop for health coverage. The Obama...
Death risk drops for overweight people, rises for extremely obese
A common New Year's resolution is to get in shape and drop a few pounds, but a new review of published studies suggests that people who are carrying a few...
Sleep apnea may offer unusual protection for heart attack patients
Researchers at the Technion have found that heart attack patients with breathing disorders such as sleep apnea may benefit from mild-moderate sleep-disordered breathing. The findings could suggest ways to rebuild...
'Itching' study could help in drug design
BALTIMORE, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say studying nerve cells associated with itching could result in treatments for chronic itching, sometimes caused by life-saving medications.
Molecule that polices TB lung infection discovered: Could lead to vaccine
The presence of a certain molecule allows the immune system to effectively police tuberculosis of the lungs and prevent it from turning into an active and deadly infection, according to...
Nature-inspired advance for treating sensitive teeth
Taking inspiration from Mother Nature, scientists are reporting an advance toward preventing the tooth sensitivity that affects millions of people around the world. The substance is similar to the adhesive...
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation: How Electricity Helps Release Opiate-Like Painkiller
A radiotracer has shown that researchers who used electricity on certain regions in the brain of a patient with chronic, severe facial pain led to release of an opiate-like substance...
The effect of stress on Atlantic salmon's congenital immunity to IPN
Stress affects the congenital immune defence system. New doctoral research has revealed how stress can lower the immunity of salmon and increase its susceptibility to viral infection.
Newborns know their native tongue, study finds
Babies are able to tell differences between sounds in their native tongue and foreign ones mere hours after birth
Ron Hynes recovering from throat cancer treatment
A longtime friend of Ron Hynes says the singer-songwriter has been declared cancer free by his doctor, but he still needs months of recovery.
Science 338: 1352-1353 (12-7-12)
Science 338: 1352-1353 Developmental progression to infectivity in Trypanosoma brucei triggered by an RNA-binding protein Nikolay G. Kolev, Kiantra Ramey-Butler, George A. M. Cross, Elisabetta Ullu and Christian Tschudi
‘Protecting’ psychiatric medical records puts patients at risk of hospitalization
Medical centers that elect to keep psychiatric files private and separate from the rest of a person’s medical record may [...]
If baby's crawling you'll probably be up more at night
Infants who have started crawling wake up more often at night compared to the period before the crawling, reveals a new study.
Improving the accuracy of cancer diagnoses
Tiny calcium deposits can be a telltale sign of breast cancer. However, in the majority of cases these microcalcifications signal a benign condition. A new diagnostic procedure developed at MIT and Case Western...
Battling a bacterial threat
In 2002, a new kind of bacterial infection was detected in the United States. It was caused by a common bug, Staphylococcus aureus, but with a troubling new twist. It was resistant...
Norovirus cases exceed 1m this winter
Number of reported cases of winter vomiting disease 72% up on last year and will rise further, say health officialsMore than 1.1 million people in Britain have succumbed to the norovirus vomiting disease...
Smoking affects heart surgery outcome even a year after quitting
Smoking cessation even a year prior to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery does not fully normalize the changes smoking has made to the saphenous (leg) veins used for the...
Early predictor for glaucoma identified
A new study finds that certain changes in retinal blood vessels provide an early warning of increased glaucoma risk. Using Blue Mountains Eye Study data, the researchers showed that patients...
Infectious disease: TB's revenge
The world is starting to win the war against tuberculosis, but drug-resistant forms pose a new threat.Nature 493 14 doi: 10.1038/493014a
Real-world patient survival with defibrillators matches trial expectations
Patients who received an implantable heart defibrillator in everyday practice had survival benefits on par with those who received the [...]
Ground Zero Volunteers Face Obstacles to Compensation
Volunteers who are ill after working in the exposure zone after the Sept. 11 attacks find it is difficult to file claims for compensation from a $2.8 billion fund created...
Scant Proof Is Found to Back Up Claims by Energy Drinks
Most of the ingredients in energy drinks have no or little benefit for consumers, research shows.
Anti-depressants in pregnancy not tied to stillbirth, infant death
In a study that included nearly 30,000 women from Nordic countries who had filled a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) [...]
Fructose has different effect than glucose on brain regions that regulate appetite
In a study examining possible factors regarding the associations between fructose consumption and weight gain, brain magnetic resonance imaging of study participants indicated that ingestion of glucose but not fructose...
Second impact syndrome: A devastating injury to the young brain
Physicians at Indiana University School of Medicine and the Northwest Radiology Network (Indianapolis, Indiana) report the case of a 17-year-old [...]
The science of neurosurgical practice: Experts discuss importance of quality improvement, clinical research, patient care
Neurosurgical practitioners discuss specialty's commitment to quality improvement and improving long-term patient health, as well as the need for more data collection and "real-time" information to develop databases of medical...
Pakistan child measles deaths surge in 2012
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) -- Measles cases surged in Pakistan in 2012, and hundreds of children died from the disease, an international health body said Tuesday....
Brazil ages the stuff of caipirinhas with radiation
Excuse me, waiter, but why is my caipirinha glowing? Researchers in Brazil say they've found a faster way to age the liquor used to make the country's signature cocktail—zap it...