Science News SciGuru.com

Device is effective in managing incontinence after surgery
From the mouths of monkeys: New technique detects TB
Astronomers spy two planets in tight quarters as they orbit a distant star
Remote Siberian Lake Holds Clues to Arctic--and Antarctic--Climate Change
Preventing or Better Managing Diabetes May Prevent Cognitive Decline, According to UCSF Study
Common Blood Pressure Drug Olmesartan Linked to Severe GI Problems
Lab-Engineered Kidney Project Reaches Early Milestone
Tracking stem cells in the body
Eating disorder behaviors and weight concerns are common in women over 50

Device is effective in managing incontinence after surgery

Posted: 22 Jun 2012 07:00 AM PDT

A device used to prevent incontinence in women who undergo a common pelvic-floor surgery reduces symptoms but increases side effects in these patients. These findings were published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

From the mouths of monkeys: New technique detects TB

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 01:33 PM PDT

Tuberculosis can be a serious threat to monkeys and apes. A new technique for detecting the tuberculosis -causing bacteria could help in protecting the health of primate populations. The method can spot TB even among infected primates that show no outward sign of disease, but are still capable of spreading infection to others of their kind.

Existing tests for TB in primates are difficult to apply and give unreliable results, often failing to detect infections.

Astronomers spy two planets in tight quarters as they orbit a distant star

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 01:26 PM PDT

A research team led by astronomers at the University of Washington and Harvard University has discovered a bigger version of Earth locked in an orbital tug-of-war with a much larger, Neptune-sized planet as they orbit very close to each other around the same star about 1,200 light years from Earth.

The planets occupy nearly the same orbital plane and on their closest approach come within about 1.2 million miles of each other – just five times the Earth-moon distance and about 20 times closer to one another than any two planets in our solar system.

Remote Siberian Lake Holds Clues to Arctic--and Antarctic--Climate Change

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 01:13 PM PDT

Intense warm climate intervals--warmer than scientists thought possible--have occurred in the Arctic over the past 2.8 million years. That result comes from the first analyses of the longest sediment cores ever retrieved on land. They were obtained from beneath remote, ice-covered Lake El'gygytgyn (pronounced El'gee-git-gin) ("Lake E") in the northeastern Russian Arctic.

The journal Science published the findings this week.

Preventing or Better Managing Diabetes May Prevent Cognitive Decline, According to UCSF Study

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 01:06 PM PDT

Preventing diabetes or delaying its onset has been thought to stave off cognitive decline — a connection strongly supported by the results of a 9-year study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

Common Blood Pressure Drug Olmesartan Linked to Severe GI Problems

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 09:56 AM PDT

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered an association between a commonly prescribed blood pressure drug, Olmesartan, and severe gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and electrolyte abnormalities — symptoms common among those who have celiac disease. The findings are published online today in the medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Lab-Engineered Kidney Project Reaches Early Milestone

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 09:51 AM PDT

Regenerative medicine researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have reached an early milestone in a long-term project that aims to build replacement kidneys in the lab to help solve the shortage of donor organs.

Tracking stem cells in the body

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 07:27 AM PDT

Researchers at the University have developed new methods to track stem cells and further understanding of what happens to them after they have been in the body for a significant period of time.

Stem cells are used to treat conditions such as leukaemia and have the potential to treat many more diseases and disorders where patient survival is reliant on organ and tissue donation. Currently, however, it is difficult for medics to establish whether stem cells have survived following transplantation in the body and if they reach their target site or migrate elsewhere.

Eating disorder behaviors and weight concerns are common in women over 50

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 07:20 AM PDT

Eating disorders are commonly seen as an issue faced by teenagers and young women, but a new study reveals that age is no barrier to disordered eating. In women aged 50 and over, 3.5% report binge eating, nearly 8% report purging, and more than 70% are trying to lose weight. The study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders revealed that 62% of women claimed that their weight or shape negatively impacted on their life.