ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Suppressing brain's 'filter' can improve performance in creative tasks
• Key step in manufacture of red blood cells decoded: Subtle regulatory chords direct the birth of blood cells
• Researchers divide enzyme to conquer genetic puzzle
• Postpartum depression: Surprising rate of women depressed after baby
• Olive oil makes you feel full
• New cancer diagnostic technique debuts
• Knowing how brown fat cells develop may help fight obesity
• Fluorescent neural cells from monkey skin mature into several types of brain cells in monkeys
• New sensor developed for methylated DNA
• Probiotics reduce stress-induced intestinal flare-ups, study finds
• Children of divorced parents more likely to start smoking, study finds
• New early warning system for the brain development of babies
• Rapid hearing loss may be a symptom of rare Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
• Series of studies first to examine acupuncture's mechanisms of action
• The mysterious GRIN3A and the cause of schizophrenia
• How chronic stress accelerates Alzheimer’s disease
• Garbled text messages may be the only symptoms of stroke

Suppressing brain's 'filter' can improve performance in creative tasks Posted: 14 Mar 2013 11:43 AM PDT The brain's prefrontal cortex is thought to be the seat of cognitive control, working as a kind of filter that keeps irrelevant thoughts, perceptions and memories from interfering with a task at hand. Now, researchers have shown that inhibiting this filter can boost performance for tasks in which unfiltered, creative thoughts present an advantage.

Key step in manufacture of red blood cells decoded: Subtle regulatory chords direct the birth of blood cells Posted: 14 Mar 2013 11:43 AM PDT Researchers have identified a key step in the process by which red blood cells are born. The discovery could not only shed light on the causes of blood disorders such as anemia, it could also bring closer the medics' dream of being able to manufacture red blood cells in the lab.

Researchers divide enzyme to conquer genetic puzzle Posted: 14 Mar 2013 11:11 AM PDT Researchers have found a way to divide and modify enzymes to create what amounts to a genetic logic gate. Biochemists have now created a library of 'AND gates' by mutating a protein from a bacterial virus. The well-understood protein known as T7 RNA polymerase is a strong driver of transcription in cells.

Postpartum depression: Surprising rate of women depressed after baby Posted: 14 Mar 2013 09:46 AM PDT A surprisingly high number of women have postpartum depression, reports a new, large-scale study of 10,000 women. A high rate of women had considered harming themselves. The study's screening likely saved several lives. Most postpartum women with depression are not identified or treated even though they are at a higher risk for psychiatric disorders. It's a major public health problem because a woman's mental health affects her child's physical and emotional development.

Olive oil makes you feel full Posted: 14 Mar 2013 09:46 AM PDT Reduced-fat food products are gaining in popularity. But whether these products are effective or not is a matter of dispute: While it is true that they contain fewer calories, people tend to overcompensate by eating more. Now a study has shown how oils and fats regulate the sensation of feeling full after eating, with olive oil leading the way. So what makes this oil so effective?

New cancer diagnostic technique debuts Posted: 14 Mar 2013 09:46 AM PDT Cancer cells break down sugars and produce the metabolic acid lactate at a much higher rate than normal cells. This phenomenon provides a telltale sign that cancer is present, via diagnostics such as PET scans, and possibly offers an avenue for novel cancer therapies. Now medical researchers have devised a molecular sensor that can detect levels of lactate in individual cells in real time.

Knowing how brown fat cells develop may help fight obesity Posted: 14 Mar 2013 09:46 AM PDT Brown fat cells are the professional heat-producing cells of the body. Because of this they are protective against obesity as well as diabetes. A protein switch called early B cell factor-2 determines which developmental path fat precursor cells take -- the brown vs. white cell trajectory.

Fluorescent neural cells from monkey skin mature into several types of brain cells in monkeys Posted: 14 Mar 2013 09:46 AM PDT For the first time, scientists have transplanted neural cells derived from a monkey's skin into its brain and watched the cells develop into several types of mature brain cells, according to a new study. After six months, the cells looked entirely normal, and were only detectable because they initially were tagged with a fluorescent protein.

New sensor developed for methylated DNA Posted: 14 Mar 2013 09:43 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new, single molecule test for detecting methylated DNA. Methylation -- the addition of a methyl group of molecules to a DNA strand -- is one of the ways gene expression is regulated.

Probiotics reduce stress-induced intestinal flare-ups, study finds Posted: 14 Mar 2013 08:02 AM PDT Stress has a way of significantly altering the composition of gut bacteria, which leads to inflammation and often times, belly pain for those with irritable bowel syndrome. But a new study shows how probiotics can reverse the effect of stress.

Children of divorced parents more likely to start smoking, study finds Posted: 14 Mar 2013 08:02 AM PDT Both daughters and sons from divorced families are significantly more likely to initiate smoking in comparison to their peers from intact families, shows a new analysis of 19,000 Americans. The study shows that men who experienced parental divorce before they turned 18 had 48-per-cent higher odds of ever smoking 100 or more cigarettes than men whose parents did not divorce. Women from divorced families were also at risk, with 39-per-cent higher odds of smoking in comparison to women from intact families.

New early warning system for the brain development of babies Posted: 14 Mar 2013 08:02 AM PDT Researchers have developed a non-invasive optical measurement system to monitor neonatal brain activity via cerebral metabolism and blood flow.

Rapid hearing loss may be a symptom of rare Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:55 AM PDT Rapid hearing loss in both ears may be a symptom of the rare but always-fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and should be considered a reason for clinicians to test for the disorder.

Series of studies first to examine acupuncture's mechanisms of action Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:55 AM PDT While acupuncture is used widely to treat chronic stress, the mechanism of action leading to reported health benefits are not understood. In a series of studies, researchers are demonstrating how acupuncture can significantly reduce the stress hormone response in an animal model of chronic stress.

The mysterious GRIN3A and the cause of schizophrenia Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:51 AM PDT Since the 1960s, psychiatrists have been hunting for substances made by the body that might accumulate in abnormally high levels to produce the symptoms associated with schizophrenia. In particular, there was a search for chemicals that might be related to the hallucinogens phencyclidine (PCP) or lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which could explain the emergence of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. This "auto-intoxication" hypothesis led investigators on a wild goose chase where substances, including the "Pink Spot" and the "Frohman Factor", were isolated from people with schizophrenia and implicated in their illness, but these findings were later discredited. The mysterious GRIN3A is a new version of the hunt for an intrinsic mechanism that produces schizophrenia-like symptoms.

How chronic stress accelerates Alzheimer’s disease Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:50 AM PDT Why does chronic stress lead to increased risk for dementia? The answer may lie in the elevation of stress steroids that is seen in the brain during stress, a researcher suggests.

Garbled text messages may be the only symptoms of stroke Posted: 14 Mar 2013 05:49 AM PDT Difficulty or inability to write a coherent text message, even in patients who have no problem speaking, may become a "vital" tool in diagnosing a type of crippling stroke, according to new research.

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