Πέμπτη 26 Απριλίου 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Anxiety increases cancer severity in mice, study shows

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 04:30 PM PDT

Worrywarts, fidgety folk and the naturally nervy may have a real cause for concern: accelerated cancer. In a new study, anxiety-prone mice developed more severe cancer then their calm counterparts.

Obesity epidemic fueling rise in rheumatoid arthritis among women

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 04:28 PM PDT

Obesity and the painful autoimmune disorder rheumatoid arthritis are each becoming more common, raising a logical question: Could one have something to do with the other? For women, it appears there is a link, researchers say.

Study finds twist to the story of the number line: Number line is learned, not innate human intuition

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 04:27 PM PDT

Tape measures. Rulers. Graphs. The gas gauge in your car, and the icon on your favorite digital device showing battery power. The number line and its cousins -- notations that map numbers onto space and often represent magnitude -- are everywhere. Most adults in industrialized societies are so fluent at using the concept, we hardly think about it. We don't stop to wonder: Is it "natural"? Is it cultural? Now, challenging a mainstream scholarly position that the number-line concept is innate, a study suggests it is learned.

Choosing the right hospital may save your baby's life

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 12:55 PM PDT

Choosing the right hospital may make the difference between life and death for very low birth weight infants, according to new research.

Facial defects shown to self-repair

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 12:54 PM PDT

A "self-repair" mechanism has been found by which developing organisms recognize and correct facial defects. A tadpole model showed organisms aren't genetically hard-wired with cell movements that result in normal facial features. Cell groups instead measure shape and position and move and remodel to fix abnormalities.

Your brain knows which ads are winners, better than you do: Study on smokers' brains may mark dawn of new age in advertising

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:36 AM PDT

Advertisers and public health officials may be able to access hidden wisdom in the brain to more effectively sell their products and promote public health and safety, neuroscientists report in the first study to use brain data to predict how large populations will respond to advertisements.

Agent reduces autism-like behaviors in mice: Boosts sociability, quells repetitiveness

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:36 AM PDT

Researchers have reversed behaviors in mice resembling two of the three core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders. An experimental agent increased social interactions and lessened repetitive self-grooming behavior in a strain of mice that normally display such autism-like behaviors. Since the same class of agents is being tested in patients with a related syndrome, the findings suggest a strategy for developing a single treatment that could target multiple diagnostic symptoms of ASDs.

New embryonic stem cell line will aid research on nerve condition

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:04 AM PDT

A new human embryonic stem cell line has just been placed on the US National Institutes of Health's registry, making the cells available for federally funded research.

Shedding light on southpaws: Sports data help confirm theory explaining left-handed minority in general population

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:04 AM PDT

Lefties (only ten percent of the general population) have always been a bit of a puzzle. Researchers have now developed a mathematical model that shows the low percentage of lefties is a result of the balance between cooperation and competition in human evolution. They are the first to use real-world data (from competitive sports, including baseball, boxing and hockey) to test and confirm the hypothesis that social behavior is related to population-level handedness.

A new 'Achilles' heel' in fungus that causes dandruff

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:04 AM PDT

Research on the fungus that ranks as one cause of dandruff -- the embarrassing nuisance that, by some accounts, afflicts half of humanity -- is pointing scientists toward a much-needed new treatment for the condition's flaking and itching.

A striking link is found between the Fragile-X gene and mutations that cause autism

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:03 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered a striking association between genes found disrupted in children with autism and genes that are targets of FMRP, the protein generated by the gene FMR1, whose dysfunction causes Fragile-X syndrome.

Growing up as a neural stem cell: The importance of clinging together and then letting go

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:03 AM PDT

Stem cell researchers at UCLA have identified new components of the genetic pathway that controls the adhesive properties and proliferation of neural stem cells and the formation of neurons.

Just a few cell clones can make heart muscle

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:03 AM PDT

Just a handful of cells in the embryo are all that's needed to form the outer layer of pumping heart muscle in an adult zebrafish. Researchers used zebrafish embryos and careful employment of a new technique that allows for up to 90 color labels on different cells to track individual cells and cell lines as the heart formed.

Bacteria beware: Researchers have a natural sidekick that may resolve the antibiotic-resistant bacteria dilemma

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:03 AM PDT

Researchers could change the playing field of human versus bacteria. Scientists have identified pathways of naturally occurring molecules in our bodies that can enhance antibiotic performance.

Top ten toxic chemicals suspected to cause autism and learning disabilities

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:01 AM PDT

Scientists have prepared a list of ten chemicals considered likely to contribute to autism, learning disabilities and related conditions.

How PCBs promote dendrite growth, may increase autism risk

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 08:54 AM PDT

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, launch a cellular chain of events that leads to an overabundance of dendrites -- the filament-like projections that conduct electrochemical signals between neurons -- and disrupts normal patterns of neuronal connections in the brain, new research shows.

Strong support for once-marginalized theory on Parkinson’s disease

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 08:53 AM PDT

Scientists have used powerful computational tools and laboratory tests to discover new support for a once-marginalized theory about the underlying cause of Parkinson's disease.

Anatomic existence of the elusive G-spot confirmed, study claims

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 06:47 AM PDT

For centuries, women have been reporting engorgement of the upper, anterior part of the vagina during the stage of sexual excitement, despite the fact the structure of this phenomenon had not been anatomically determined. A new study documents that this elusive structure does exist anatomically.

Evidence of a biological trigger for high blood pressure

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 06:44 AM PDT

Scientists have identified what could be a biological tipping point in the development of high blood pressure, in a discovery that could one day lead to new treatment.

Beyond apples: A serving a day of dark chocolate might keep the doctor away

Posted: 24 Apr 2012 05:51 PM PDT

Dark chocolate may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by improving glucose levels and lipid profiles.

Gene critical to development and spread of lung cancer identified

Posted: 24 Apr 2012 05:51 PM PDT

A single gene that promotes initial development of the most common form of lung cancer and its lethal metastases has been identified.

Mental stress may be harder on women's hearts

Posted: 24 Apr 2012 05:51 PM PDT

New findings could help explain why women are more likely than men to have coronary symptoms after emotional upsets.

Botox injections associated with only modest benefit for chronic migraine and daily headaches

Posted: 24 Apr 2012 01:23 PM PDT

Although botulinum toxin A ("Botox") injections are US Food and Drug Administration approved for preventive treatment for chronic migraines, a review and analysis of previous studies finds a small to modest benefit for patients with chronic migraine headaches and chronic daily headaches, although botox injections were not associated with greater benefit than placebo for preventing episodic migraine or chronic tension-type headaches, according to a new article.

Division of labor in neural stem cell maintenance

Posted: 24 Apr 2012 01:22 PM PDT

Sibling growth factors cooperate to maintain a pool of neuron-generating stem cells in the brain, according to a new study.

Bile – not acid – is bad guy in triggering precancerous condition associated with reflux disease

Posted: 24 Apr 2012 09:17 AM PDT

For many people with GERD, acid reflux drugs are the answer to their woes, curbing the chronic heartburn characteristic of the disorder. But when it comes to Barrett's esophagus, a condition commonly found in people with GERD, acid control may be less important than beating back another bodily fluid – bile. A new study shows that bile plays a critical and previously unrecognized role in the development of Barrett's – the only known cause of esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Bats: An unexpected virus reservoir

Posted: 24 Apr 2012 09:05 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered the probable cause of not just one, but several infectious agents at the same time. Paramyxoviruses originate from ubiquitous bats, from where the pathogens have spread to humans and other mammals. In total, this unique study tested 9,278 animals for viruses, among them 86 species of bats and 33 rodent species, leading to the discovery of an enormous number of new virus species. This could make eradicating many dangerous diseases significantly more difficult than had been thought. For bats provide a reservoir from which viruses could come back after vaccination campaigns.

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