ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Marijuana smoke not as damaging to lungs as cigarette smoke, study suggests
• Gut microbe networks differ from norm in obese people, systems biology approach reveals
• Cosmetic chemical hinders brain development in tadpoles
• Unexpected discovery opens up new opportunities for targeting cancer
• Early-stage breast cancer patients lack knowledge; may not receive treatment they prefer
• Diabetes study shines spotlight on lifestyle interventions
• Disruption of biological clocks causes neurodegeneration, early death, study suggests
• An apple a day isn't enough: Many people not eating enough fruits and vegetables
• Scientists paint new picture of dance between protein and binding partners
• Novel anti-viral immune pathway discovered in mosquito
• Swallow a pill and let your doctor tour your insides
• New hope for better treatment of psoriasis
• Increased risk of developing asthma by age of three after Cesarean
• Protein changes identified in early-onset Alzheimer's
• Brain activity linked to delusion-like experience
• Predicting which lung cancer drugs are most likely to work
• Cancer cells feed on sugar-free diet
• Stem cell therapy reverses diabetes: Stem cells from cord blood used to re-educate diabetic's own T cells
• Bacteria in the gut of autistic children different from non-autistic children
• New strategy in fight against infectious diseases
• Blood pressure control: Now or later?

Marijuana smoke not as damaging to lungs as cigarette smoke, study suggests Posted: 10 Jan 2012 01:34 PM PST Using marijuana carries legal risks, but the consequences of occasionally lighting up do not include long-term loss of lung function, according to a new study. In the study in which participants had repeated measurements of lung function over 20 years, occasional and low cumulative marijuana use was not associated with adverse effects on pulmonary function.

Gut microbe networks differ from norm in obese people, systems biology approach reveals Posted: 10 Jan 2012 12:17 PM PST People harbor more than 100 trillion microbes. These microbes live in various habitats on and within the human anatomy; the gut houses the densest population of all, containing hundreds of bacterial species. Scientists detected organizational shifts away from the normal lean state in the gut flora of people who were obese. The differences relate to how the microbial community interacts with the human gut environment, rather than variations in its core energy-use processes.

Cosmetic chemical hinders brain development in tadpoles Posted: 10 Jan 2012 12:17 PM PST A new study finds that low concentrations of the chemical methylisothiazolinone has subtle but measurable negative effects on the neural development of tadpoles. The chemical is found in some cosmetics, although the study does not provide any evidence that cosmetics are unsafe for humans.

Unexpected discovery opens up new opportunities for targeting cancer Posted: 10 Jan 2012 11:02 AM PST Scientists have opened up a whole new approach to the therapeutic intervention for a family of anti-cancer drug targets, thanks to a completely new and unexpected finding.

Early-stage breast cancer patients lack knowledge; may not receive treatment they prefer Posted: 10 Jan 2012 11:02 AM PST Many early-stage breast cancer survivors lacked knowledge about their disease and were not meaningfully involved in treatment discussions or asked their preferences regarding the approach to treatment, according to new research. As a result, the study's investigators determined that there is a need for improvements in the quality of the surgical decision-making process for these patients.

Diabetes study shines spotlight on lifestyle interventions Posted: 10 Jan 2012 11:02 AM PST A new study assesses real-world lifestyle interventions to help delay or prevent the costly chronic disease that affects nearly 26 million Americans.

Disruption of biological clocks causes neurodegeneration, early death, study suggests Posted: 10 Jan 2012 11:02 AM PST New research provides evidence for the first time that disruption of circadian rhythms -- the biological "clocks" found in many animals -- can clearly cause accelerated neurodegeneration, loss of motor function and premature death.

An apple a day isn't enough: Many people not eating enough fruits and vegetables Posted: 10 Jan 2012 11:02 AM PST Adults from 30 to 60 years old, especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, aren't consuming the daily recommended levels of fruits and vegetables.

Scientists paint new picture of dance between protein and binding partners Posted: 10 Jan 2012 11:02 AM PST Using a blend of technologies, scientists have painted a new picture of how biochemical information can be transmitted through the modification of a protein. Previously, scientists believed that during the pairing of proteins and their binding partners ("ligands"), proteins modified their shape while ligands remained stable. The new study shows this one-size-fits-all solution is not entirely accurate.

Novel anti-viral immune pathway discovered in mosquito Posted: 10 Jan 2012 08:45 AM PST Virginia Tech researchers have identified a novel anti-viral pathway in the immune system of culicine mosquitoes, the insect family to which mosquitoes that spread yellow fever, West Nile fever, dengue fever, and chikungunya fever belong.

Swallow a pill and let your doctor tour your insides Posted: 10 Jan 2012 08:44 AM PST Researchers have successfully tested a controllable endoscopic capsule, inspired by science fiction, that has the ability to "swim" through the body and could provide clinicians with unprecedented control when photographing the inside of the human body.

New hope for better treatment of psoriasis Posted: 10 Jan 2012 08:44 AM PST Researchers are developing a promising new treatment for psoriasis. The study focuses on the psoriasin protein.

Increased risk of developing asthma by age of three after Cesarean Posted: 10 Jan 2012 08:44 AM PST A new study supports previous findings that children delivered by Cesarean section have an increased risk of developing asthma.

Protein changes identified in early-onset Alzheimer's Posted: 10 Jan 2012 07:21 AM PST Researchers have identified chemical changes taking place in the brains of persons destined to develop Alzheimer's disease at least 10 years before symptoms or diagnosis occur. This knowledge will provide potential new targets for drug interventions, and possibly tailor treatments to individuals, depending on the "type" of Alzheimer's they have.

Brain activity linked to delusion-like experience Posted: 10 Jan 2012 07:20 AM PST People with schizophrenia showed greater brain activity during tests that induce a brief, mild form of delusional thinking. This effect wasn't seen in a comparison group without schizophrenia.

Predicting which lung cancer drugs are most likely to work Posted: 10 Jan 2012 07:18 AM PST Researchers have shown that DNA changes in a gene that drives the growth of a form of lung cancer can make the cancer's cells resistant to cancer drugs. The findings show that some classes of drugs won't work, and certain types of so-called kinase inhibitors like erlotinib—may be the most effective at treating non-small cell lung cancers with those DNA changes. Some kinase inhibitors block a protein known as EGFR from directing cells to multiply.

Cancer cells feed on sugar-free diet Posted: 10 Jan 2012 07:18 AM PST Cancer cells have been long known to have a "sweet tooth," using vast amounts of glucose for energy and for building blocks for cell replication. Now, a study shows that lymph gland cancer cells called B cells can use glutamine in the absence of glucose for cell replication and survival, particularly under low-oxygen conditions, which are common in tumors.

Stem cell therapy reverses diabetes: Stem cells from cord blood used to re-educate diabetic's own T cells Posted: 09 Jan 2012 06:18 PM PST Type 1 diabetes is caused by the body's own immune system attacking its pancreatic islet beta cells and requires daily injections of insulin to regulate the patient's blood glucose levels. A new method uses stem cells from cord blood to re-educate a diabetic's own T cells and consequently restart pancreatic function reducing the need for insulin.

Bacteria in the gut of autistic children different from non-autistic children Posted: 09 Jan 2012 06:18 PM PST The underlying reason autism is often associated with gastrointestinal problems is an unknown, but new results reveal that the guts of autistic children differ from other children in at least one important way: many children with autism harbor a type of bacteria in their guts that non-autistic children do not.

New strategy in fight against infectious diseases Posted: 09 Jan 2012 12:57 PM PST New research shows that infectious disease-fighting drugs could be designed to block a pathogen's entry into cells rather than to kill the bug itself. Historically, medications for infectious diseases have been designed to kill the offending pathogen. This new strategy is important, researchers say, because many parasites and bacteria can eventually mutate their way around drugs that target them, resulting in drug resistance.

Blood pressure control: Now or later? Posted: 09 Jan 2012 10:26 AM PST Confronted with a high blood pressure value in a diabetic patient, most doctors would treat aggressively with medications. According to new research, however, delaying drug treatment for up to a year is unlikely to be harmful. The delay allows doctors and their patients to focus on lifestyle changes. The level of harm depends on the duration of the delays in blood pressure control, with significant complications occurring after 10 years of non-treatment.

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