ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Common bias known as 'endowment effect' not present in hunter-gatherer societies
• Moderate exercise not only treats, but prevents depression
• One, two, buckle my shoe: Importance of language to learning math
• Nurturing may protect kids from brain changes linked to poverty
• Train your body
• Yoga practice beneficial to patients with COPD
• X-rays overused in ICU: Ultrasound safer, just as effective
• New imaging research shows increased iron in the brain in early stages of MS
• Problems with Alzheimer’s protein can jam up traffic in the brain
• First hospital in the world to offer patients new device for severely calcified arteries
• Electronic intensive care units effective in providing remote care
• Exhaled breath biomarker may detect lung cancer
• Your pain, my gain: Feeling pleasure over the misfortune of those you envy is biological
• Virtually numbed: Immersive video gaming alters real-life experience
• Regular cocaine, cannabis use may trigger addictive behaviors
• Cafe toxins have decreased by 90% since the smoking ban
• HPV strains affecting African-American women differ from vaccines
• Early skin-to-skin contact linked to higher breastfeeding rates
• New technology optimizes ear infection diagnosis, management
• Can the 'right' helmet prevent concussions?
• New protein fold with a transport tunnel discovered
• Pain processes in tennis elbow illuminated by PET scanning
• Study with totally blind people shows how light helps activate the brain
• New study examines link between pregnancy weight gain, autism spectrum disorders
• Flawed health care system causes doctors to 'bend' ethical norms to best serve patients
• Young people report worse fibromyalgia than older patients
• Dangerous connection between rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease
• Copious community-associated MRSA in nursing homes

Common bias known as 'endowment effect' not present in hunter-gatherer societies Posted: 28 Oct 2013 01:30 PM PDT Psychology and behavioral economics have experimentally identified a laundry list of common biases that cause people to act against their own apparent interests. One of these biases -- the mere fact of possessing something raises its value to its owner -- is known as the "endowment effect." A new interdisciplinary study has delved into whether this bias is truly universal, and whether it might have been present in humanity's evolutionary past.

Moderate exercise not only treats, but prevents depression Posted: 28 Oct 2013 01:30 PM PDT Physical activity is being increasingly recognized as an effective tool to treat depression. New research has taken the connection one step further, finding that moderate exercise can actually prevent episodes of depression in the long term. This is the first longitudinal review to focus exclusively on the role that exercise plays in maintaining good mental health and preventing the onset of depression later in life.

One, two, buckle my shoe: Importance of language to learning math Posted: 28 Oct 2013 01:20 PM PDT The language a child speaks affects the rate at which they learn number words, and hearing number words in natural conversation – not just in counting routines – is a critical part of learning the meaning of numbers.

Nurturing may protect kids from brain changes linked to poverty Posted: 28 Oct 2013 01:20 PM PDT Researchers have identified changes in the brains of children growing up in poverty. Those changes can lead to lifelong problems like depression, learning difficulties and limitations in the ability to cope with stress. But the study showed that the extent of those changes was influenced strongly by whether parents were attentive and nurturing.

Train your body Posted: 28 Oct 2013 10:47 AM PDT For avid runners, training for the next marathon never stops. While it's important to focus on running faster or farther, physicians encourage runners to expand their training regimen and are providing the following tips for training and protecting the entire body.

Yoga practice beneficial to patients with COPD Posted: 28 Oct 2013 08:48 AM PDT Patients with COPD who practice yoga can improve their lung function, according to a study. Researchers found that lung function, shortness of breath, and inflammation all showed significant improvement after patients completed 12 weeks of training.

X-rays overused in ICU: Ultrasound safer, just as effective Posted: 28 Oct 2013 08:48 AM PDT A new study shows that the use of ultrasound testing, rather than x-rays or CT scans, in the ICU reduces patient radiation exposure and lowers costs of care.

New imaging research shows increased iron in the brain in early stages of MS Posted: 28 Oct 2013 08:48 AM PDT While it's been known for over a century that iron deposits in the brain play a role in the pathology of Multiple Sclerosis, imaging research now helps to answer the question of whether these accumulations are a cause or consequence of the disease. Iron deposits in deep gray matter suggest that the accumulation occurs very early in the disease course.

Problems with Alzheimer’s protein can jam up traffic in the brain Posted: 28 Oct 2013 08:44 AM PDT Scientists have known for some time that a protein called presenilin plays a role in Alzheimer's disease, and a new study reveals one intriguing way this happens. It has to do with how important materials travel up and down brain cells.

First hospital in the world to offer patients new device for severely calcified arteries Posted: 28 Oct 2013 08:44 AM PDT Leading interventional cardiologists in New York are the first in the world to use a newly U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved device for the treatment of severely calcified coronary arteries before the placement of a cardiac stent to open a blocked artery.

Electronic intensive care units effective in providing remote care Posted: 28 Oct 2013 07:12 AM PDT A new study of electronic intensive care units shows them to be an effective way to provide 24-hour intensive care to patients in remote locations.

Exhaled breath biomarker may detect lung cancer Posted: 28 Oct 2013 07:12 AM PDT Researchers recently discovered that lung cancer may be detected in patients by testing their exhaled breath. Preliminary studies suggest that an accurate exhaled breath biomarker could be developed for use as a clinical test.

Your pain, my gain: Feeling pleasure over the misfortune of those you envy is biological Posted: 28 Oct 2013 07:11 AM PDT By measuring the electrical activity of cheek muscles and associated neural responses, researchers show that people are actually biologically responsive to taking pleasure in the pain of others, a reaction known as "Schadenfreude."

Virtually numbed: Immersive video gaming alters real-life experience Posted: 28 Oct 2013 07:09 AM PDT Role-playing video games can alter our experience of reality and numb us to important real-life experiences, a new study finds. Spending time immersed as a virtual character or avatar in a role-playing video game can numb you to realizing important body signals in real life.

Regular cocaine, cannabis use may trigger addictive behaviors Posted: 28 Oct 2013 07:09 AM PDT New cocaine and cannabis research reveals that regular cannabis users have increased levels of impulsive behavior. It had previously been argued that this increased impulsivity after cannabis administration was only experienced by occasional users, but that regular users were no longer affected in this way. The results provide evidence for how drug use may trigger addictive behaviors.

Cafe toxins have decreased by 90% since the smoking ban Posted: 28 Oct 2013 07:09 AM PDT Researchers, for a study on effects of the indoor smoking ban, measured the concentration of harmful compounds in a café in Barcelona before and after the anti-smoking law. The results show that toxic and carcinogenic substances dropped 90%, a finding that corroborates that of the Spanish Ministry of Health's latest report.

HPV strains affecting African-American women differ from vaccines Posted: 28 Oct 2013 07:08 AM PDT Two subtypes of human papillomavirus (HPV) prevented by vaccines are half as likely to be found in African-American women as in white women with precancerous cervical lesions, according to researchers.

Early skin-to-skin contact linked to higher breastfeeding rates Posted: 28 Oct 2013 06:06 AM PDT Skin-to-skin contact between mother and infant in the delivery room is associated with an increased likelihood for exclusive breastfeeding. When combined with a mother's intent to breastfeed, the likelihood was even greater.

New technology optimizes ear infection diagnosis, management Posted: 28 Oct 2013 06:05 AM PDT A new, smartphone-enabled otoscope provides clear, transmittable images of the ear drum, or tympanic membrane, which someday may allow for ear infection diagnosis without a visit to the doctor's office.

Can the 'right' helmet prevent concussions? Posted: 28 Oct 2013 06:05 AM PDT While many football helmet and mouth guard manufacturers claim that their equipment will lessen impact forces and reduce concussion risk, neither a specific brand nor a higher cost were associated with fewer concussions in adolescent athletes.

New protein fold with a transport tunnel discovered Posted: 28 Oct 2013 06:04 AM PDT The protein LIMP-2 is vital for both humans and animals. If it is absent – due, for example, to a hereditary disease – substances of an unknown nature, probably lipids, accumulate in the organism. Up to now, scientists were unsure what the protein looks like and how exactly it functions.

Pain processes in tennis elbow illuminated by PET scanning Posted: 28 Oct 2013 06:04 AM PDT Physiological processes in soft tissue pain, such as chronic tennis elbow, can be explored using diagnostic imaging methods. A new use of positron emission tomography (PET) and a tracer for the signal receptor NK1 for visualising a physiological process is associated with pain imaging.

Study with totally blind people shows how light helps activate the brain Posted: 28 Oct 2013 06:04 AM PDT Light enhances brain activity during a cognitive task even in some people who are totally blind, according to a new study. The findings contribute to scientists' understanding of everyone's brains, as they also revealed how quickly light impacts on cognition. "We were stunned to discover  that the brain still respond significantly to light in these rare three completely blind patients  despite having absolutely no conscious vision at all," said one of the authors

New study examines link between pregnancy weight gain, autism spectrum disorders Posted: 28 Oct 2013 06:02 AM PDT Previous studies have identified links between women's prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and pregnancy weight gain to an increased risk for the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children. But in a new study, researchers build on prior research by identifying an association between autism spectrum disorder risk and prenatal weight gain, after accounting for important related factors such as a woman's prepregnancy BMI.

Flawed health care system causes doctors to 'bend' ethical norms to best serve patients Posted: 28 Oct 2013 06:02 AM PDT A survey among rheumatologists finds many face moral dilemmas when trying to do what's best for their patients in the current health care environment.

Young people report worse fibromyalgia than older patients Posted: 27 Oct 2013 09:31 AM PDT It may seem counterintuitive, but young and middle-aged fibromyalgia patients report worse symptoms and poorer quality of life than older patients, a study shows.

Dangerous connection between rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease Posted: 27 Oct 2013 09:31 AM PDT People with rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic inflammatory conditions are at higher risk of heart disease. Who is in the most danger, why and how best to prevent and detect cardiovascular complications are important questions for physicians and researchers.

Copious community-associated MRSA in nursing homes Posted: 24 Oct 2013 09:18 AM PDT More than one quarter of residents of 26 nursing homes in Orange County, California carry community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which spread more easily, and may cause more severe infection than MRSA traditionally associated with healthcare facilities.

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