Παρασκευή 31 Αυγούστου 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

ScienceDaily: Top Health News


Healthy living into old age can add up to six years to your life: Keeping physically active shows strongest association with survival

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:10 PM PDT

Living a healthy lifestyle into old age can add five years to women's lives and six years to men's, finds a new study.

Domestic coal use linked to substantial lifetime risk of lung cancer in Xuanwei, China

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:10 PM PDT

The use of "smoky coal" for household cooking and heating is associated with a substantial increase in the lifetime risk of developing lung cancer, finds a study from China.

Antibody prevents hepatitis C infection in animal model

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 02:31 PM PDT

A monoclonal antibody tested in an animal model prevents infection by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Urinary protein excretion -- even in the normal range -- raises diabetics' heart risks, study finds

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 02:31 PM PDT

For patients with type 2 diabetes, any degree of measurable urinary protein excretion —- even in what is considered the normal range —- increases their risk of experiencing heart problems, according to a new study. More than 300 million people worldwide have type 2 diabetes.

Moving toward regeneration

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 12:23 PM PDT

Scientists have shown how pluripotent stem cells mobilize in wounded planarian worms, to better understand stem cell behavior in regeneration and disease.

Monogamy and the immune system: Differences in sexual behavior impact bacteria hosted and genes that control immunity

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 11:14 AM PDT

Researchers examined the differences between two species of mice -- one monogamous and one promiscuous -- on a microscopic and molecular level. They discovered that the lifestyles of the two mice had a direct impact on the bacterial communities that reside within the female reproductive tract. These differences correlate with enhanced diversifying selection on genes related to immunity against bacterial diseases.

Human and soil bacteria swap antibiotic-resistance genes

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 11:13 AM PDT

Soil bacteria and bacteria that cause human diseases have recently swapped at least seven antibiotic-resistance genes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report Aug. 31 in Science.

Cancer gene family member functions key to cell adhesion and migration

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 11:13 AM PDT

Scientists have used sophisticated technologies to identify and describe the protein interactions that distinguish each member of the WTX family. They found that unlike WTX and FAM123C, FAM123A interacts with a specific set of proteins that regulates cell adhesion and migration, processes essential to normal cell functioning and which, when mutated, contribute to human diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer's.

Chemical exposure in the womb from household items may contribute to obesity

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:53 AM PDT

Pregnant women who are highly exposed to common environmental chemicals -- polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) -- have babies that are smaller at birth and larger at 20 months of age, according to a new study. PFCs are used in the production of fluoropolymers and are found widely in protective coatings of packaging products, clothes, furniture and non-stick cookware. They are persistent compounds found abundantly in the environment and human exposure is common. PFCs have been detected in human sera, breast milk and cord blood.

Lyme retreatment guidance may be flawed

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:53 AM PDT

A new statistical review calls into question studies that have been taken as proof that antibiotic retreatment for chronic Lyme disease is futile. That misunderstanding has led to medical guidance that discourages retreatment and insurance coverage for it. Instead, the authors of the review suggest, the proper reading of the studies and their data is that they prove nothing.

Studying everyday eye movements could aid in diagnosis of neurological disorders

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:53 AM PDT

Researchers have devised a method for detecting certain neurological disorders through the study of eye movements.

Early activation of immune response could lead to better vaccines

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:51 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered a new "first response" mechanism that the immune system uses to respond to infection. The findings challenge the current understanding of immunity and could lead to new strategies for boosting effectiveness of all vaccines.

Potential new approach for improving quality of life for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:51 AM PDT

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease or ALS, is a devastating, rapidly advancing disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. But researchers have identified a new target for slowing the deterioration of physical function for which the disease is so well known.

Potential treatment for cognitive effects of stress-related disorders, including PTSD

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:51 AM PDT

Researchers have identified a potential medical treatment for the cognitive effects of stress-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study, conducted in a PTSD mouse model, shows that an experimental drug called S107, one of a new class of small-molecule compounds called Rycals, prevented learning and memory deficits associated with stress-related disorders.

Diverse metabolic roles for PML tumor suppressor gene

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:04 AM PDT

Two articles shed new light on the genetic mechanisms underlying cellular energy and metabolism and, at the same time, highlight both the challenges and opportunities of genetic approaches to cancer treatment.

New flexible electronics technology may lead to new medical uses

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:04 AM PDT

Researchers have developed technology that opens new possibilities for health care and medical applications of electronic devices.

Growing strong muscles without working out? 'Hulk' protein, Grb10, controls muscle growth

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:04 AM PDT

Scientists may soon help people grow strong muscles without needing to hit the weight room. Researchers discovered that by blocking the function of the protein Grb10 in mice in the womb, they developed as more muscular than their normal counterparts. This presents important implications for a range of conditions that are worsened by, or cause muscle wasting, such as injury, muscular dystrophy, and Type 2 diabetes.

Does wisdom really come with age? It depends on the culture

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:04 AM PDT

It's certainly comforting to think that aging benefits the mind, if not the body. But do we really get wiser with age? Research suggests that having wisdom means includes being good at resolving conflict, but conflict is not handled the same way across cultures. A new study examines how the resolution of conflict and, by extension, wisdom differ between Japanese and American cultures.

Shedding new light on one of diabetes' most dangerous complications

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:00 AM PDT

For many diabetics, monitoring their condition involves much more than adhering to a routine of glucose sensing and insulin injections. It also entails carefully monitoring the ongoing toll this disease takes on their body. An innovative new optical diagnostic tool may soon make it easier to diagnose and monitor one of the most serious complications of diabetes, peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Bitter tastes quickly turn milk chocolate fans sour

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:00 AM PDT

Dark chocolate lovers can handle a wider range of bitter tastes before rejection compared to milk chocolate fans, according to food scientists.

Malaria: Protein impedes microcirculation of malaria-infected red blood cells

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 07:54 AM PDT

A certain protein significantly reduces the malaria-infected cells' ability to squeeze through tiny channels compared to healthy cells.

Water pipe smoking has the same respiratory effects as smoking cigarettes

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 07:28 AM PDT

Water pipe smoking, such as hookah or bong smoking, affects lung function and respiratory symptoms as much as cigarette smoking, new research shows.

What babies eat after birth likely determines lifetime risk of metabolic mischief and obesity, rat studies suggest

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 07:27 AM PDT

Rats born to mothers fed high-fat diets but who get normal levels of fat in their diets right after birth avoid obesity and its related disorders as adults, according to new research. Meanwhile, rat babies exposed to a normal-fat diet in the womb but nursed by rat mothers on high-fat diets become obese by the time they are weaned.

Calorie Restriction Does Not Affect Survival: Study Of Monkeys Also Suggests Some Health Benefits

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 05:51 AM PDT

Scientists have found that calorie restriction -- a diet composed of approximately 30 percent fewer calories but with the same nutrients of a standard diet -- does not extend years of life or reduce age-related deaths in a 23-year study of rhesus monkeys. However, calorie restriction did extend certain aspects of health.

Mechanism leading from trichomoniasis to prostate cancer identified

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 03:58 AM PDT

Researchers have identified a way in which men can develop prostate cancer after contracting trichomoniasis, a curable but often overlooked sexually transmitted disease. Previous studies have teased out a casual, epidemiological correlation between the two diseases, but this latest study suggests a more tangible biological mechanism.

Medical exemptions from school vaccination requirements across states explored

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 03:58 AM PDT

In states where medical exemptions from vaccination requirements for kindergarten students are easier to get, exemption rates are higher, potentially compromising herd immunity and posing a threat to children and others who truly should not be immunized because of underlying conditions, according to a new study.

Bacterium transforms into weapon against sleeping sickness

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 03:57 AM PDT

Scientists have opened a new front against the cause of sleeping sickness. This parasite is transmitted between humans by tsetse flies. The researchers learned a bacterium living in those flies how to produce antibodies against the parasite. Application in the field is still a long way of, but the technique shows quite some promise.

Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:

Δημοσίευση σχολίου