ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Dreams, déjà vu and delusions caused by faulty 'reality testing'
• Family problems experienced in childhood and adolescence affect brain development
• Zebrafish neurons may lead to understanding of birth defects like spina bifida
• Regenerating orthopedic tissues within the human body
• Almost 13 million smoking deaths could be prevented in China by 2050
• The number of tumor cells spread to sentinel lymph nodes affects melanoma prognosis
• A brain circuit for recognizing change
• Unusual new HIV drug resistance mechanism revealed
• Baby hearts need rhythm to develop correctly
• Can you boost your brain power through video?
• Gene test developed to accurately classify brain tumors
• Researchers home in on Alzheimer's disease: Supercomputer helps guide new drug designs
• Studies of cow antibodies help scientists understand how our own bodies work
• Smartphone app aids college-age women in abusive relationships, study shows
• The secret of fertile sperm: Novel diagnostic tests and treatments for male infertility?
• Medicare beneficiaries return to emergency rooms after nursing home discharge

Dreams, déjà vu and delusions caused by faulty 'reality testing' Posted: 19 Feb 2014 06:53 AM PST New research has delved into the reasons why some people are unable to break free of their delusions, despite overwhelming evidence explaining the delusion isn't real.

Family problems experienced in childhood and adolescence affect brain development Posted: 19 Feb 2014 04:52 AM PST New research has revealed that exposure to common family problems during childhood and early adolescence affects brain development, which could lead to mental health issues in later life. The study used brain imaging technology to scan teenagers aged 17-19. It found that those who experienced mild to moderate family difficulties between birth and 11 years of age had developed a smaller cerebellum, an area of the brain associated with skill learning, stress regulation and sensory-motor control. The researchers also suggest that a smaller cerebellum may be a risk indicator of psychiatric disease later in life, as it is consistently found to be smaller in virtually all psychiatric illnesses.

Zebrafish neurons may lead to understanding of birth defects like spina bifida Posted: 18 Feb 2014 03:51 PM PST Using zebrafish, scientists can determine how individual neurons develop, mature and support basic functions like breathing, swallowing and jaw movement. Researchers say that learning about neuronal development and maturation in zebrafish could lead to a better understanding of birth defects such as spina bifida in humans. The zebrafish, a tropical freshwater fish similar to a minnow and native to the southeastern Himalayan region, is well established as a key tool for researchers studying human diseases, including brain disorders.

Regenerating orthopedic tissues within the human body Posted: 18 Feb 2014 03:51 PM PST Performing tissue repair with stem cells typically requires applying copious amounts of growth factor proteins -- a task that is very expensive and becomes challenging once the developing material is implanted within a body. A team of biomedical engineers has developed a polymer scaffold for growing cartilage that includes gene therapy vectors to induce stem cells to produce the growth factors they need. The new technique -- biomaterial-mediated gene delivery -- is shown to produce cartilage at least as good biochemically and biomechanically as if the growth factors were introduced in the laboratory.

Almost 13 million smoking deaths could be prevented in China by 2050 Posted: 18 Feb 2014 03:51 PM PST China is home to about one third of the world's smokers and reducing smoking in China could have an enormous public health impact, even on a global scale. Complete implementation of World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control recommended policies in China would prevent almost 13 million smoking related deaths by 2050, suggests a new article.

The number of tumor cells spread to sentinel lymph nodes affects melanoma prognosis Posted: 18 Feb 2014 03:50 PM PST Cancer cell spread to the sentinel node -- the lymph node to which cancer cells are most likely to spread from a primary tumor -- is a risk factor for melanoma death. The prognosis of a patient largely depends on the number of disseminated cancer cells per million lymphocytes in the sentinel node. Even very low numbers were found to be predictive for reduced survival.

A brain circuit for recognizing change Posted: 18 Feb 2014 03:48 PM PST To answer the seemingly simple question "Have I been here before?" we must use our memories of previous experiences to determine if our current location is familiar or novel. Scientists have now identified a region of the hippocampus, called CA2, which is sensitive to even small changes in a familiar context. The results provide the first clue to the contributions of CA2 to memory and may help shed light on why this area is often found to be abnormal in the schizophrenic brain.

Unusual new HIV drug resistance mechanism revealed Posted: 18 Feb 2014 03:48 PM PST For the millions of people living with HIV/AIDS, antiretroviral drugs can be a lifeline, slowing the progress of viral infection. Unfortunately, studies have shown that these benefits can be short-lived: therapy can lead to mutations in the HIV genetic code, which can make the virus resistant to drugs. However, researchers have made some new insight into how the therapy functions and how therapy-induced point mutations actually confer drug resistance.

Baby hearts need rhythm to develop correctly Posted: 18 Feb 2014 01:30 PM PST Researchers report that they have taken an important step toward the goal of growing replacement heart valves from a patient's own cells by determining that the mechanical forces generated by the rhythmic expansion and contraction of cardiac muscle cells play an active role in the initial stage of heart valve formation.

Can you boost your brain power through video? Posted: 18 Feb 2014 01:30 PM PST Watching video of simple tasks before carrying them out may boost the brain's structure, or plasticity, and increase motor skills, according to a new study. Brain plasticity is the brain's ability to flex and adapt, allowing for better learning. The brain loses plasticity as it ages.

Gene test developed to accurately classify brain tumors Posted: 18 Feb 2014 12:38 PM PST Scientists have developed a mathematical method for classifying forms of glioblastoma, an aggressive and deadly type of brain cancer, through variations in the way these tumor cells 'read' genes. Their system was capable of predicting the subclasses of glioblastoma tumors with 92 percent accuracy. With further testing, this system could enable physicians to accurately predict which forms of therapy would benefit their patients the most.

Researchers home in on Alzheimer's disease: Supercomputer helps guide new drug designs Posted: 18 Feb 2014 12:37 PM PST Researchers studying peptides using a supercomputer have found new ways to elucidate the creation of the toxic oligomers associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Studies of cow antibodies help scientists understand how our own bodies work Posted: 18 Feb 2014 12:37 PM PST Understanding how antibodies work is important for designing new vaccines to fight infectious diseases and certain types of cancer and for treating disorders of the immune system in animals and humans. The immune systems of cows can be used to understand the diversity of antibodies and this knowledge could improve the health of both people and livestock.

Smartphone app aids college-age women in abusive relationships, study shows Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:34 AM PST In an effort to connect more young women with safety information, researchers have developed the 'One Love My Plan' smartphone application, an interactive tool that helps college-age women in abusive relationships clarify their priorities and customize personal safety plans. The app is aimed at younger women who are most likely to be in abusive relationships, and are less likely than older adults to seek formal safety resources, instead looking to peers or technology for help and advice.

The secret of fertile sperm: Novel diagnostic tests and treatments for male infertility? Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:22 AM PST To better understand the causes of male infertility, scientists are exploring the factors, both physiological and biochemical, that differentiate fertile sperm from infertile sperm. Scientists have characterized proteins known as ion channels, which are crucial for sperm fertility and expressed within a sperm cell's plasma membrane.

Medicare beneficiaries return to emergency rooms after nursing home discharge Posted: 18 Feb 2014 09:48 AM PST Nursing homes are widely used by Medicare beneficiaries who require rehabilitation after hospital stays. But according to a recent study, a high percentage of Medicare patients who are discharged from nursing homes will return to the hospital or the emergency room within 30 days. The study included more than 50,000 Medicare beneficiaries who were treated at skilled nursing facilities in North and South Carolina, and revealed that approximately 22 percent of beneficiaries required emergency care within 30 days of discharge and 37.5 percent required acute care within 90 days.

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