ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Childhood trauma linked to adult smoking for girls
• Obese kids as bright as thinner peers
• Controlling your computer with your eyes
• Large, medically important class of proteins starts to yield its secrets
• Discovery of chemical that affects biological clock offers new way to treat diabetes
• Attacking biofilms that cause chronic infections
• Highest resolution ever for human protein
• Does becoming a doctor pay off for women?
• Stimulant marketed as 'natural' in sports supplement actually of synthetic origin, study suggests
• Finished heart switches stem cells off
• Saliva and pupil size differences in autism show system in overdrive
• Newly isolated 'beige fat' cells could help fight obesity
• Controlling inflammatory and immune responses
• Why hypertension increases damage to eyes of diabetic patients
• Blue-fluorescent molecular nanocapsules created by simple mixing 'green-environmentally friendly' metal ions and bent organic blocks
• Why the human body cannot fight HIV infection
• Multiple sclerosis: New marker could improve diagnosis
• Mutations in autism susceptibility gene increase risk in boys
• Researchers work to create hypoallergenic wines and sequence the genome of Chardonnay
• Nocebo effect, not placebo effect: Induced illness studied
• Galaxy-exploring camera to be used in the operating room
• Concussions affect college players at high rates too
• Alzheimer's plaques in PET brain scans identify future cognitive decline
• Measuring HDL particles as opposed to HDL cholesterol is a a better indicator of coronary heart disease, study suggests
• Stress management training may help reduce disease activity in multiple sclerosis
• Timeline maps brain's descent into Alzheimer's
• Oxycontin formula change has many abusers switching to heroin

Childhood trauma linked to adult smoking for girls Posted: 12 Jul 2012 07:46 PM PDT Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can stay with us for life. New research explains how these events can be tied up with adult smoking patterns, especially for women, and suggests that treatment and strategies to stop smoking need to take into account the psychological effects of childhood trauma.

Obese kids as bright as thinner peers Posted: 12 Jul 2012 07:46 PM PDT Obesity is not to blame for poor educational performance, according to early findings from new research. In a study that combines statistical methods with genetic information, researchers dispel the false idea that being overweight has damaging educational consequences.

Controlling your computer with your eyes Posted: 12 Jul 2012 07:46 PM PDT Millions of people suffering from multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries or amputees could soon interact with their computers and surroundings using just their eyes, thanks to a new device that costs less than £40. Composed from off-the-shelf materials, the new device can work out exactly where a person is looking by tracking their eye movements, allowing them to control a cursor on a screen just like a normal computer mouse.

Large, medically important class of proteins starts to yield its secrets Posted: 12 Jul 2012 01:27 PM PDT New research illuminates a large and medically important family of proteins called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

Discovery of chemical that affects biological clock offers new way to treat diabetes Posted: 12 Jul 2012 11:47 AM PDT Biologists have discovered a chemical that offers a completely new and promising direction for the development of drugs to treat metabolic disorders such as Type 2 diabetes. Their discovery initially came as a surprise because the chemical they isolated does not directly control glucose production in the liver, but instead affects the activity of a key protein that regulates the internal mechanisms of our daily night and day activities, which scientists call our circadian rhythm or biological clock.

Attacking biofilms that cause chronic infections Posted: 12 Jul 2012 11:47 AM PDT Using super-resolution microscopy and continuous fluorescent imaging, scientists have for the first time revealed the structure of bacterial biofilms, which are responsible for the tenacious nature of bacterial diseases such as cholera, chronic sinusitis and lung infections in CF patients. The picture of bacterial apartment buildings provides new targets for the development of drugs that can tear down these structures and expose them to antibiotics.

Highest resolution ever for human protein Posted: 12 Jul 2012 11:18 AM PDT Never has a crystal structure of a human protein molecule in a cell wall been so crystal clear. Researchers have achieved the most detailed crystal structure ever of a target protein for medicines.

Does becoming a doctor pay off for women? Posted: 12 Jul 2012 10:17 AM PDT Women who go to medical school just for the financial rewards of being a doctor could be making a mistake, according to a new study.

Stimulant marketed as 'natural' in sports supplement actually of synthetic origin, study suggests Posted: 12 Jul 2012 10:17 AM PDT A new study found that DMAA, a stimulant often found in many nutritional and sports supplements, does not originate from natural substances and is actually composed of synthetic compounds.

Finished heart switches stem cells off Posted: 12 Jul 2012 10:16 AM PDT Transcription factor Ajuba regulates stem cell activity in the heart during embryonic development. It is not unusual for babies to be born with congenital heart defects. This is because the development of the heart in the embryo is a process which is not only extremely complex, but also error-prone. Scientists have now identified a key molecule that plays a central role in regulating the function of stem cells in the heart. As a result, not only could congenital heart defects be avoided in future, but new ways of stimulating the regeneration of damaged hearts in adults may be opened up.

Saliva and pupil size differences in autism show system in overdrive Posted: 12 Jul 2012 10:15 AM PDT Researchers have found potential biomarkers of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) that include pupil size and a salivary enzyme. These findings have the potential to significantly impact screening and detection of ASD, as they can be non-invasively measured in infancy, and may hold key to neural pathology of the disorder within the autonomic nervous system.

Newly isolated 'beige fat' cells could help fight obesity Posted: 12 Jul 2012 10:15 AM PDT Scientists have isolated a new type of energy-burning fat cell in adult humans which they say may have therapeutic potential for treating obesity.

Controlling inflammatory and immune responses Posted: 12 Jul 2012 08:17 AM PDT Researchers recently defined the interaction between two essential proteins that control inflammation.

Why hypertension increases damage to eyes of diabetic patients Posted: 12 Jul 2012 08:17 AM PDT Hypertension frequently coexists in patients with diabetes. A new study shows why the co-morbid conditions can result in impaired vision.

Blue-fluorescent molecular nanocapsules created by simple mixing 'green-environmentally friendly' metal ions and bent organic blocks Posted: 12 Jul 2012 08:16 AM PDT New fluorescent molecular nanocapsules have potential applications as sensors, displays, and drug delivery systems (DDS).

Why the human body cannot fight HIV infection Posted: 12 Jul 2012 07:15 AM PDT Researchers have made a discovery that sheds light on why the human body is unable to adequately fight off HIV infection. The researchers discovered that the viral protein vpu, which is created by HIV during infection, directly interferes with the immune response protein IRF3 to dampen the ability of the immune system to protect against virus infection.

Multiple sclerosis: New marker could improve diagnosis Posted: 12 Jul 2012 07:15 AM PDT Diagnosing multiple sclerosis is a challenge even for experienced neurologists. This autoimmune disease has many symptoms and rarely presents a uniform clinical picture. New findings on the immune response involved in MS could help improve the diagnosis of this illness. Scientists analyzing the blood of MS patients have discovered antibodies that attack a specific potassium channel in the cell membrane.

Mutations in autism susceptibility gene increase risk in boys Posted: 12 Jul 2012 06:26 AM PDT Researchers have identified five rare mutations in a single gene that appear to increase the chances that a boy will develop an autism spectrum disorder. Mutations in the AFF2 gene, and other genes like it on the X chromosome, may explain why autism spectrum disorders affect four times as many boys as girls.

Researchers work to create hypoallergenic wines and sequence the genome of Chardonnay Posted: 12 Jul 2012 06:26 AM PDT Have you ever gotten a headache or a rash from a single glass of wine? Has one glass of Merlot or Shiraz resulted in a painful hangover? If yes, you may be one of the 30 percent of people who are allergic to (or intolerant of) compounds that are in some of the world's most popular wines.

Nocebo effect, not placebo effect: Induced illness studied Posted: 12 Jul 2012 06:25 AM PDT Negative suggestion can induce symptoms of illness. Nocebo effects are the adverse events that occur during sham treatment and/or as a result of negative expectations. While the positive counterpart —- the placebo effect -— has been intensively studied in recent years, the scientific literature contains few studies on nocebo phenomena. Researchers now present the underlying neurobiological mechanisms and highlight the relevance of the nocebo effect in everyday clinical practice.

Galaxy-exploring camera to be used in the operating room Posted: 12 Jul 2012 06:22 AM PDT Neurosurgeons are adapting an ultraviolet camera to possibly bring planet-exploring technology into the operating room. If the system works when focused on brain tissue, it could give surgeons a real-time view of changes invisible to the naked eye and unapparent even with magnification of current medical imaging technologies.

Concussions affect college players at high rates too Posted: 12 Jul 2012 06:22 AM PDT As interest in concussion rates and prevention strategies at all levels continues to grow, one population that appears to have increasing head injury rates is collegiate football players. New research shows that the concussion rate in three college football programs has doubled in recent years.

Alzheimer's plaques in PET brain scans identify future cognitive decline Posted: 11 Jul 2012 06:01 PM PDT Among patients with mild or no cognitive impairment, brain scans using a new radioactive dye can detect early evidence of Alzheimer's disease that may predict future decline, according to new research.

Measuring HDL particles as opposed to HDL cholesterol is a a better indicator of coronary heart disease, study suggests Posted: 11 Jul 2012 06:00 PM PDT Researchers have discovered that measuring HDL particles as opposed to HDL cholesterol is a much better indicator of coronary heart disease.

Stress management training may help reduce disease activity in multiple sclerosis Posted: 11 Jul 2012 05:59 PM PDT A new study shows that taking part in a stress management program may help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) prevent new disease activity.

Timeline maps brain's descent into Alzheimer's Posted: 11 Jul 2012 05:58 PM PDT Scientists have assembled the most detailed chronology to date of the human brain's long, slow slide into full-blown Alzheimer's disease.

Oxycontin formula change has many abusers switching to heroin Posted: 11 Jul 2012 05:58 PM PDT A change in the formula of the frequently abused prescription painkiller OxyContin has many abusers switching to a drug that is potentially more dangerous, according to researchers. The formula change makes inhaling or injecting the opioid drug more difficult, so many users are switching to heroin.

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