Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Predicting risk of arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death: There's a computer model for that
A new computer model of the heart predicted risk of arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in patients with an inherited heart rhythm disorder. Though computer models of the human heart...
Concussions May Affect Kids for Months
Brain scans revealed that structural changes persisted three months after children experienced a brain injury.
The current state of lung cancer treatment
A new review outlines the current state of lung cancer treatment. It points out that in the lung cancer varieties whose driver oncogenes can be matched with targeted therapy, tend...
Alzheimer's breakthrough? Drug intended for diabetes appears to restore memory in Alzheimer’s brain cells
Medical researchers have discovered a drug intended for diabetes appears to restore memory in Alzheimer's brain cells.
What causes hot flushes during menopause?
Medical researchers have identified a region in the brain that may trigger the uncomfortable surges of heat most women experience in the first few years of menopause. Although the results...
Capturing circulating cancer cells could provide insights into how disease spreads
A glass plate with a nanoscale roughness could be a simple way for scientists to capture and study the circulating tumor cells that carry cancer around the body through the...
Prevalence of visual impairment in US increases
The prevalence of nonrefractive visual impairment (not due to need for glasses) in the U.S. has increased significantly in recent years, which may be partly related to a higher prevalence...
Industry sponsorship leads to bias in reported findings of clinical trials
Studies reporting the results of industry sponsored clinical trials present a more favorable picture of the effects of drugs and medical devices than those reporting on non-industry sponsored trials, according...
Just a spoonful: Sweet taste comforts babies during injections
The sweet taste of sugar may provide some comfort for babies during immunizations, according to a new review. Researchers found babies did not cry for as long if they were...
Previously unknown mechanism identified in oncogene-induced senescence
Cell aging, or cellular senescence, has an important role in the natural physiological response to tumor development. Activated oncogenes are able to induce senescence, and recent findings have suggested that...
Could ending your fatty food habit cause withdrawal symptoms and depression?
Even before obesity occurs, eating fatty and sugary foods causes chemical changes in the brain, meaning that going on a diet might feel similar to going through drug withdrawal, according...
Long-term public health support needed to tackle infectious disease outbreaks
Outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as swine flu (H1N1) threaten global health and should be considered by funding agencies and humanitarian organizations as development issues rather than emergency situations, requiring...
Employer health insurance premiums rose 62% from 2003-11
Average premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance plans rose 62 percent between 2003 and 2011, from $9,249 to $15,022 per [...]
If You Pay Less For Medicine, Do You Worry More?
Why do people think that a $25 flu shot is more likely to still have them getting the flu than a $125 flu shot? It isn't that they think a $25...
Health Centers Find Opportunity in Brownfields
Contaminated sites, often in poor neighborhoods, make good starting points for collaborative efforts with government, health care organizations have discovered.
Drug Executive Faces Manslaughter Charges
Jacques Servier and six companies of the Servier group were charged in a case involving a diabetes and weight-loss drug that caused cardiovascular damage.
Bits Blog: A Start-Up Sees an Opportunity in Diabetes Prevention
Omada Health, a San Francisco start-up, is offering a prevention program that could benefit an estimated 79 million Americans who are at high risk of developing diabetes.
Colic treatment? Manipulative therapies may be beneficial treatment for infantile colic
Infantile colic is a distressing problem, characterized by excessive crying of infants and it is the most common complaint seen by physicians in the first 16 weeks of a child's...
Fear of falling may cause social isolation in older adults with vision problems
A new study found that between 40 to 50 percent of older adults with visually impairing eye disease limit their activities due to a fear of falling. Vision scientists warn...
Blood Vessel Glue Is Like Mussel Goo
A gel similar to the amino acid that enables mussels to resist the power of churning water can be painted onto the walls of blood vessels and stay put, forming a...
7 Ways to Stay Healthy After 40
The risk of many health conditions increases after age 40. Here are seven tips for changes to look out for, and ways to stay healthy.
Broccoli Battles Brittle Bones
The little-understood protein osteocalcin plays a significant role in the strength of our bones, says a new paper, and the findings could lead to new strategies for fighting osteoporosis and...
This Foam Can Be Shot Into The Body To Stop Major Bleeding
The new DARPA-developed technology is aimed at buying soldiers enough time to get medical care. Following the debut of an amazing new shapeshifting material that could improve drug delivery, military-tech wing DARPA has...
Meditation for pain relief gains respect from doctors
Meditation is gaining more favour in medicine for relieving pain, Canadian and U.S. doctors say.
Scientists rethink risks after quake convictions
After six Italian scientists were sentenced to six years in prison for failing to warn the public of a devastating 2009 earthquake, experts are rethinking how they communicate risk.
Who are you calling old? How elderly consumers negotiate their identities
Caregivers view elderly consumers as "old" when they can no longer perform everyday consumption activities on their own regardless of their actual age, according to a new study in the...
Cash injection set to revive Swiss drug site
Merck Serono facility could become biotech research hub.Nature 492 168 doi: 10.1038/492168a
Clusters of coronavirus cases put scientists on alert
Surveillance ramped up after novel virus is identified in three Middle Eastern countries.Nature 492 166 doi: 10.1038/492166a