ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Higher vitamin D levels in pregnancy could help babies become stronger
• 25 years of DNA on computers
• Fear of childbirth predicts postpartum depression
• Shingles linked to increased risk of stroke in young adults
• Doctors experienced with using EHRs say they add value for patients
• Genetically identical bacteria can behave in radically different ways
• Molecule discovered that protects brain from cannabis intoxication
• New cell mechanism discovery key to stopping breast cancer metastasis
• Solution found to problem limiting development of human stem cell therapies
• Study finds patients give 'broad endorsement' to stem cell research
• More evidence suggests type 2 diabetes is inflammatory disease
• Scientists explain age-related obesity: Brown fat fails
• High blood pressure potentially more dangerous for women than men
• Tripling tobacco taxes worldwide would avoid 200 million tobacco deaths
• Study: High mortality in Central Southern states most likely due to smoking
• Surgery beats chemotherapy for tongue cancer
• Toys, books, cribs harbor bacteria for long periods
• International team completes systematic, genomic study of cervical cancer

Higher vitamin D levels in pregnancy could help babies become stronger Posted: 03 Jan 2014 05:52 AM PST Children are likely to have stronger muscles if their mothers had a higher level of vitamin D in their body during pregnancy, according to new research. Low vitamin D status has been linked to reduced muscle strength in adults and children, but little is known about how variation in a mother's status during pregnancy affects her child.

25 years of DNA on computers Posted: 03 Jan 2014 05:52 AM PST DNA carries out its activities "diluted" in the cell nucleus. In this state, it synthesizes proteins and, even though it looks like a messy tangle of thread, in actual fact its structure is governed by precise rules that are important for it to carry out its functions. Biologists have studied DNA by observing it experimentally with a variety of techniques, which have only recently been supplemented by research in silico, that is to say, the study of DNA by means of computer simulations.

Fear of childbirth predicts postpartum depression Posted: 03 Jan 2014 05:52 AM PST Expectant women with prenatally diagnosed fear of childbirth are at an increased risk of postpartum depression, according to a study of over 500,000 mothers in Finland. Women with a history of depression are at the highest risk of postpartum depression. The fact that fear of childbirth puts women without a history of depression at an approximately three times higher risk of postpartum depression is a new observation which may help health care professionals in recognising postpartum depression.

Shingles linked to increased risk of stroke in young adults Posted: 02 Jan 2014 01:56 PM PST Having shingles may increase the risk of having a stroke years later, according to research.

Doctors experienced with using EHRs say they add value for patients Posted: 02 Jan 2014 12:23 PM PST A majority of surveyed physicians said they were alerted to a potential medication error or critical lab value by an electronic health record, finds a new study.

Genetically identical bacteria can behave in radically different ways Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:20 AM PST When a bacterial cell divides into two daughter cells there can be an uneven distribution of certain survival mechanisms. The resulting cells can behave differently from each other, depending on which parts they received in the split. This is another way that cells within a population can diversify and enhance the odds that some members of a population of bacteria can avoid threats, such as antibiotics.

Molecule discovered that protects brain from cannabis intoxication Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:20 AM PST Two INSERM research teams recently discovered that pregnenolone, a molecule produced by the brain, acts as a natural defense mechanism against the harmful effects of cannabis in animals. Pregnenolone prevents THC, the main active principle in cannabis, from fully activating its brain receptor, the CB1 receptor, that when overstimulated by THC causes the intoxicating effects of cannabis. By identifying this mechanism, the INSERM teams are already developing new approaches for the treatment of cannabis addiction.

New cell mechanism discovery key to stopping breast cancer metastasis Posted: 02 Jan 2014 10:36 AM PST Researchers have discovered a cellular mechanism that drives the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body (metastasis), as well as a therapy which blocks that mechanism.

Solution found to problem limiting development of human stem cell therapies Posted: 02 Jan 2014 10:30 AM PST Biologists have discovered an effective strategy that could prevent the human immune system from rejecting the grafts derived from human embryonic stem cells, a major problem now limiting the development of human stem cell therapies. Their discovery may also provide scientists with a better understanding of how tumors evade the human immune system when they spread throughout the body.

Study finds patients give 'broad endorsement' to stem cell research Posted: 02 Jan 2014 10:30 AM PST In an early indication of lay opinions on research with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a new study by bioethicists indicates that despite some ethical concerns, patients give the research "broad endorsement".

More evidence suggests type 2 diabetes is inflammatory disease Posted: 02 Jan 2014 09:34 AM PST As people's waistlines increase, so does the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Now scientists have a better understanding of exactly what happens in the body that leads up to type 2 diabetes, and what likely causes some of the complications related to the disease. Specifically, scientists have found that in mice, macrophages, a specific type of immune cell, invade the diabetic pancreatic tissue during the early stages of the disease.

Scientists explain age-related obesity: Brown fat fails Posted: 02 Jan 2014 08:23 AM PST As most people resolve themselves to lose weight this New Year, here's why it seems to get easier and easier to pack on unwanted pounds: New research shows that as we age, the thermogenic activity of brown fat is reduced. Brown fat is a "good" fat located in the backs of our necks that helps burn "bad" white fat around our bellies.

High blood pressure potentially more dangerous for women than men Posted: 02 Jan 2014 08:20 AM PST Doctors may need to treat high blood pressure in women earlier and more aggressively than they do in men, according to scientists.

Tripling tobacco taxes worldwide would avoid 200 million tobacco deaths Posted: 01 Jan 2014 02:58 PM PST Tripling taxes on cigarettes around the world would reduce the number of smokers by one-third and prevent 200 million premature deaths from lung cancer and other diseases this century, according to a review published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Study: High mortality in Central Southern states most likely due to smoking Posted: 27 Dec 2013 07:04 AM PST A new study suggests that smoking accounts for high mortality in the Central South of the United States. US mortality data from vital statistics on cause of death for the period 1965-2004 show that by 2004, the gap in mortality attributable to smoking between the Central Southern states and other states was exceptionally large: among men, smoking explained as much as 75 percent of the difference.

Surgery beats chemotherapy for tongue cancer Posted: 26 Dec 2013 03:16 PM PST Patients with tongue cancer who started their treatment with a course of chemotherapy fared significantly worse than patients who received surgery first, according to a new study.

Toys, books, cribs harbor bacteria for long periods Posted: 26 Dec 2013 11:30 AM PST Research published shows that Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes persist on surfaces for far longer than has been appreciated.

International team completes systematic, genomic study of cervical cancer Posted: 26 Dec 2013 08:53 AM PST Researchers from the Boston area, Mexico, and Norway have completed a comprehensive genomic analysis of cervical cancer in two patient populations. The study identified recurrent genetic mutations not previously found in cervical cancer, including at least one for which targeted treatments have been approved for other forms of cancer. The findings also shed light on the role human papillomavirus plays in the development of cervical cancer.

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