Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Off-label Use Often Not Evidence-Based: Physicians Lack Knowledge Of Off-label Drug Use And FDA Approval Status, Study Finds
In a recent national survey, a substantial minority of physicians erroneously believed that certain off-label uses of prescription drugs were FDA approved. This mistaken belief encourages them to prescribe these...
Parasites Persuade Immune Cells To Invite Them In For Dinner
The parasites that cause leishmaniasis use a quirky trick to convince the immune system to effectively invite them into cells for dinner, according to a new study. The researchers say...
Chronic Kidney Disease Linked To Malfunctioning Mitochondria
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been linked to oxidative stress caused by dysregulation of the genes that control mitochondria. A study has revealed alterations in respiration gene expression in the...
Young Women Consistently Exercise Less Than Young Men, Study Finds
Despite mounting public health concerns about obesity and persistent social pressures dictating that slim is beautiful, young women in their 20s consistently exercise less than young men.
More Daylight, Less Obesity
New research led by Michael Symonds, Professor of Developmental Physiology in the School of Clincal Sciences at The University of Nottingham, says Brown adipose tissue (BAT), the brown fat found...
Robot's gentle touch aids delicate cancer surgery
New, delicate surgery techniques to hunt for tumours could benefit from a lighter touch - but from a robot, rather than from a human hand. Canadian researchers have created a...
Impaired transport in neurones triggers prion disease
A new study shows that nervous system integrity and axonal properties may play a key role in prion diseases. The findings, from researchers at the Rudolf Virchow Centre and the...
New treatments offer better survival and fresh challenges in colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world. Fortunately physicians today have an abundance of drug therapies available to improve survival length for...
Artwork at hospitals can help in the healing process
For most people, a word-association game starting with "hospital" would yield few positive adjectives. Bland. Drab. Depressing. Institutional. And studies have found that these aesthetic unpleasantries can affect patients' health.
Reserve swine flu drugs for sickest: WHO
Healthy people with uncomplicated illness from swine flu do not need to be treated with antiviral drugs, the World Health Organization said in new guidelines issued on Friday.
Cambodians unsure tribunals will heal wounds of mass killings, study suggests
(PhysOrg.com) -- Lessons learned from research into the societal effects of post-Apartheid "truth and reconciliation" hearings in South Africa are now being applied to a U.S. National Institute of Peace-sponsored...
California Acts to Control Chromium in Drinking Water
In a long-awaited move designed to protect people from cancer, California on Thursday proposed a new health goal for chromium 6 in drinking water that is thousands of times lower than the...
Swine flu detected in Chilean turkeys: vets
An outbreak of swine flu has been detected in two turkey farms in Chile, government veterinary services in the country said.
New discovery points the way towards malaria 'vaccine'
Malaria kills anywhere from one to three million people around the world annually and affects the lives of up to 500 million more. Yet until now, scientists did not fully...
Hello wearable kidney, goodbye dialysis machine
Researchers are developing a Wearable Artificial Kidney for dialysis patients, reports an upcoming paper in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). 'Our vision of a technological...
Neural Networks Mapped In Dementia Patients
Different types of dementia show dissimilar changes in brain activity. A network mapping technique has been applied to EEG data obtained from patients with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration.
Evolution of the appendix: A biological 'remnant' no more
The lowly appendix, long-regarded as a useless evolutionary artefact, won newfound respect two years ago when researchers at Duke University Medical Centre proposed that it actually serves a critical function....
College students with flu advised to avoid others
(AP) -- Health officials are offering some basic advice for college students with flu symptoms: Avoid other people until 24 hours after a fever is gone.
Yale researcher questions federal guidelines for seasonal and swine flu vaccines
With the seasonal flu season approaching and uncertainty over whether swine flu will become more severe, new research published by Yale School of Public Health has found that more people...
Type of polio 'resurrected' in Nigeria
The only form of poliovirus eradicated is causing an outbreak in Nigeria, leading to fears that vaccination efforts will never succeed.
Need For Improved Toy Safety, New Research Shows
Toy makers need to urgently review their safety tests, say scientists, after showing that children as young as three can have the bite force of the average dog. Findings from...
Corticosteroid Injections May Be Helpful To Manage Vocal Fold Polyps Without Surgery
Corticosteroid injections appear to offer an alternative to surgery for treating polyps on the vocal cords, according to a new study.
Post-treatment Pain In Head And Neck Cancer Patients Linked To Recurrence, Lower Survival Rate
Patients with head and neck cancer who experience a higher level of post-treatment pain appear to have a lower survival rate than those who experience little or no post-treatment pain,...
Research Supports Calls To Study Health Benefits Of Nitrate, Nitrite
Researchers are challenging health standards that consider nitrates and nitrites in food to be harmful. New research suggests that although there are negative health effects associated with the use of...
Genetically Engineered Bacteria Are Sweet Success Against Inflammatory Bowel Disease
For the first time, scientists have used a genetically engineered "friendly" bacterium to deliver a therapy. The treatment is for bowel disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease for which there...
Cornell makes cancer vaccine for clinical use
The Bioproduction Facility at Cornell University has produced the first batch of NY-ESO-1 recombinant protein -a cancer vaccine -that will be used in clinical trials for patients facing either ovarian...
CDC: Lead dust in cars source of kids' poisoning
(AP) -- Some childhood lead poisonings in Maine last year came from an unusual source - lead dust tracked into the family car.
Proton Cancer Therapy Accelerates
Technological Advances Make Once-Rare, Highly Targeted Treatment More Widely Available