السبت، 9 مارس 2013

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

Temp-controlled 'nanopores' may allow detailed blood analysis

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:38 PM PST

Tiny biomolecular chambers called nanopores that can be selectively heated may help doctors diagnose disease more effectively, according to a new research.

3-D printer, 'bio-ink' to create human organs

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:37 PM PST

Engineers are working on 3D printing technology with a long-term goal of printing a human pancreas.

Weight loss may prevent, treat osteoarthritis in obese patients

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 11:38 AM PST

Weight loss may prevent and significantly alleviate the symptoms of osteoarthritis, a progressive disease of the joints known as "wear and tear."

Signaling molecule may help stem cells focus on making bone despite age, disease

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:31 AM PST

A signaling molecule that helps stem cells survive in the naturally low-oxygen environment inside the bone marrow may hold clues to helping the cells survive when the going gets worse with age and disease, researchers report.

Virus and genes involved in causation of schizophrenia

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:13 AM PST

For the first time, researchers have found that a combination of a particular virus in the mother and a specific gene variant in the child increases the risk of the child developing schizophrenia.

Anti-aging drug breakthrough

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:13 AM PST

Drugs that combat aging may be available within five years, following landmark work. The work finally demonstrates that a single anti-aging enzyme in the body can be targeted, with the potential to prevent age-related diseases and extend lifespans. Four thousand synthetic activators, which are 100 times as potent as a single glass of red wine, have been developed -- the best three are in human trials.

'Switch' critical to wound healing identified

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:13 AM PST

Patients with diseases such as diabetes suffer from painful wounds that take a long time to heal making them more susceptible to infections that could even lead to amputations. A new discovery paves the way for therapeutics to improve healing of such chronic wounds, which are a significant burden to patients.

Emotion-health connection not limited to industrialized nations

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:34 AM PST

Positive emotions are known to play a role in physical well-being, and stress is strongly linked to poor health, but is this strictly a "First World" phenomenon? In developing nations, is the fulfillment of basic needs more critical to health than how one feels? A researcher has found that emotions do affect health around the world and may, in fact, be more important to wellness in low-income countries.

BRAF inhibitor treatment causes melanoma cells to shift how they produce energy

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:34 AM PST

BRAF-positive metastatic malignant melanomas develop resistance to treatment with drugs targeting the BRAF/MEK growth pathway through a major change in metabolism, new research shows. The findings suggest a strategy to improve the effectiveness of currently available targeted therapies.

Mom's sensitivity helps language development in children with hearing loss

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:34 AM PST

Psychologists demonstrate the impact sensitive parenting has on language growth for children who receive cochlear implants.

Celebrity endorsement encourages children to eat junk food

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:40 AM PST

Celebrity endorsement of a food product encourages children to eat more of the endorsed product, new research shows. It also found that children were prompted to eat more of the endorsed product when they saw the celebrity on TV in a different context.

Maternal obesity increases the risk of frequent wheezing in offspring

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:38 AM PST

Tobacco and excess weight are two factors linked to asthma in babies. The fact that excess weight during pregnancy has negative consequences is not new information. A new study now concludes that the children of mothers obese before falling pregnant are four times more likely to have frequent wheezing, which is one of the symptoms of asthma, compared to the children of mothers weighing a normal weight.

Outdoor heat increases respiratory hospitalization risk in elderly

Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:34 AM PST

Outdoor heat is associated with a significantly increased risk of emergency hospitalization for respiratory disorders in the elderly, according to a large epidemiological study of more than 12.5 million Medicare beneficiaries.

New light shed on role of climate in influenza transmission

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 04:06 PM PST

Two types of environmental conditions -- cold-dry and humid-rainy -- are associated with seasonal influenza epidemics, according to an epidemiological study. The article presents a simple climate-based model that maps influenza activity globally and accounts for the diverse range of seasonal patterns observed across temperate, subtropical and tropical regions.

Key to TB cure could lie underwater

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 04:05 PM PST

Researchers are collecting actinomycete bacteria from water throughout the world in a hunt for new antibiotics.

New drug shows promise in fighting inflammatory breast cancer

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 02:55 PM PST

Researchers are investigating a new drug that has shown positive results in early tests of its ability to fight a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer.

Net advantage: Study finds use of bed nets by 75 percent of population could eradicate malaria

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 01:16 PM PST

Malaria, the leading cause of death among children in Africa, could be eliminated if three-fourths of the population used insecticide-treated bed nets, according to a new study.

Post-stroke walking program improves stroke survivors' lives

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 01:16 PM PST

Regular brisk walking after a stroke may improve physical fitness, mobility and quality of life. Walking with friends or family can help stroke survivors overcome a fear of falling.

Scientists catch evolving germs and cancer cells early

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:57 AM PST

Scientists have developed a novel technique to precisely monitor and study the evolution of micro-organisms such as viruses and bacteria. This is an extremely important capability as it allows scientists to investigate if new drugs designed to kill them are working, and to catch the development of resistance early on.

Drugs targeting blood vessels may be candidates for treating Alzheimer's

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:54 AM PST

Researchers have successfully normalized the production of blood vessels in the brain of mice with Alzheimer's disease by immunizing them with amyloid beta, a protein widely associated with the disease.

'Gateway' in nucleus has second important job no one noticed before

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:54 AM PST

Medical researchers have discovered that the "gateway" known to control the movement of molecules in and out of a cell's nucleus appears to play another critically important role -- one no one had noticed until now.

Illuminating fractures: X-ray imaging sheds new light on bone damage

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:51 AM PST

Using cutting-edge X-ray techniques, researchers have uncovered cellular-level detail of what happens when bone bears repetitive stress over time, visualizing damage at smaller scales than previously observed. Their work could offer clues into how bone fractures could be prevented.

Star-shaped glial cells act as the brain's 'motherboard'

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 09:47 AM PST

Researchers have found that the star-shape glial cells that act as the brain's "motherboard" also connect different neuronal circuits in various regions of the brain. The research introduces a new framework for making sense of brain communications, aiding our understanding of the diseases and disorders that impact the brain.

Genomic screening for improved public health

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 09:45 AM PST

In 10 years' time, routine preventive health care for adults may include genetic testing. As genomic testing prepares to enter the realm of general medical care, an interdisciplinary team of researchers is suggesting that now is the time to explore genetic testing to identify people at high risk for carefully selected, preventable disease.

When food is scarce, a smaller brain will do

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 09:39 AM PST

A new study explains how young brains are protected when nutrition is poor. The findings reveal a coping strategy for producing a fully functional, if smaller, brain. The discovery, which was made in larval flies, shows the brain as an incredibly adaptable organ and may have implications for understanding the developing human brain as well, the researchers say.

Killing cancer cells with acid reflux

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 08:07 AM PST

A chemist has come up with a unique way to kill certain cancer cells -- give them acid reflux. Kevin Belfield used a special salt to make cancer cells more acidic -- similar to the way greasy foods cause acid reflux in some people. He used a light-activated, acid-generating molecule to make the cells more acidic when exposed to specific wavelengths of light, which in turn kills the bad cells. The surrounding healthy cells stay intact.

'Healthier hormones' through diet and exercise

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 08:06 AM PST

Weight loss -- by dietary changes alone or combined with physical exercise -- has a positive impact on the production of adipose tissue hormones: Adipose tissue produces less leptin but, instead, more adiponectin, which counteracts diabetes and cancer. This explains, at a molecular level, the health-promoting effect of physical exercise and dietary changes, according to researchers.

Even mild traumatic brain injuries can kill brain tissue

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 08:05 AM PST

Scientists have watched a mild traumatic brain injury play out in the living brain, prompting swelling that reduces blood flow and connections between neurons to die.

Mind-controlled exoskeleton to help disabled people walk again

Posted: 07 Mar 2013 08:03 AM PST

Every year thousands of people are paralyzed by a spinal cord injury. Many are young adults, facing the rest of their lives confined to a wheelchair. Although no medical cure currently exists, in the future they could be able to walk again thanks to a mind-controlled robotic exoskeleton being developed by EU-funded researchers.
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