ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

---

• Gaming your brain to treat depression
• Stuttering linked to reduced blood flow in area of brain associated with language
• Research on sweat glands suggests a route to better skin grafts
• Vaccine shows promising results for early-stage breast cancer patients
• Deeper than obesity: A majority of people is now overfat
• Inflammation halts fat-burning
• Common antioxidant may guard against liver disease
• Ticks that carry Lyme disease found in Eastern US national parks
• Using immune cells to deliver anti-cancer drugs
• Chemically modified insulin is available more quickly
• The beating heart of solar energy
• The enzyme that makes physical activity healthy: AMPK
• Infant's prolonged infection reveals mutation that helps bacteria tolerate antibiotics
• Why odds are against a large Zika outbreak in the US
• Zinc eaten at levels found in biofortified crops reduces 'wear and tear' on DNA
• Genes affecting our communication skills relate to genes for schizophrenia and autism
• Sex hormone-sensitive gene complex linked to premenstrual mood disorder
• Maternal depression across the first years of life impacts children’s neural basis of empathy
• From photosynthesis to new compounds for eye diseases
• A closer look at the eye: New retinal imaging technique

Gaming your brain to treat depression Posted: 03 Jan 2017 07:27 PM PST Researchers have found promising results for treating depression with a video game interface that targets underlying cognitive issues associated with depression rather than just managing the symptoms.

Stuttering linked to reduced blood flow in area of brain associated with language Posted: 03 Jan 2017 01:23 PM PST A new study demonstrates that regional cerebral blood flow is reduced in the Broca's area -- the region in the frontal lobe of the brain linked to speech production -- in persons who stutter. More severe stuttering is associated with even greater reductions in blood flow to this region.

Research on sweat glands suggests a route to better skin grafts Posted: 03 Jan 2017 01:23 PM PST Scientists have discovered the signaling pathways that help hair follicles and sweat glands form during development, and identified the mechanism that allows both of these features to coexist in human skin. The findings may improve the methods used to grow tissue used in grafting procedures.

Vaccine shows promising results for early-stage breast cancer patients Posted: 03 Jan 2017 09:23 AM PST Immunotherapy is a fast growing area of cancer research. It involves developing therapies that use a patient's own immune system to fight and kill cancer. Medical researchers are working on a new vaccine that would help early-stage breast cancer patients who have HER2 positive disease.

Deeper than obesity: A majority of people is now overfat Posted: 03 Jan 2017 09:23 AM PST Researchers put forth the notion of overfat, a condition of having sufficient excess body fat to impair health. After review of current data and scientific studies they argue how, in addition to most of those who are overweight and obese, others falling into the overfat category include normal-weight people with characteristic risk factors for chronic and metabolic disease. This is the first effort to globally quantify those who are overfat versus overweight or obese.

Inflammation halts fat-burning Posted: 03 Jan 2017 09:23 AM PST Scientists have shown in mice that excess pounds can simply be melted away by converting unwanted white fat cells into energy-consuming brown slimming cells. In a recent study, the university researchers show why the inflammatory responses that often occur in overweight people block this kind of fat cell conversion.

Common antioxidant may guard against liver disease Posted: 03 Jan 2017 09:23 AM PST A common antioxidant found in human breast milk and foods like kiwi fruit can protect against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the offspring of obese mice.

Ticks that carry Lyme disease found in Eastern US national parks Posted: 03 Jan 2017 09:22 AM PST Lyme disease has been spreading across the United States over the past several decades, and a new study has confirmed that ticks carrying the disease are present in eastern national parks.

Using immune cells to deliver anti-cancer drugs Posted: 03 Jan 2017 09:22 AM PST Biomedical engineers have created a smart, targeted drug delivery system using immune cells to attack cancers.

Chemically modified insulin is available more quickly Posted: 03 Jan 2017 07:18 AM PST Replacing a hydrogen atom by an iodine atom in insulin, the hormone retains its efficacy but is available more rapidly to the organism. Researchers were able to predict this effect based on computer simulations and then confirm it with experiments.

The beating heart of solar energy Posted: 03 Jan 2017 07:17 AM PST Using solar cells placed under the skin to continuously recharge implanted electronic medical devices is a viable one. Swiss researchers have done the math, and found that a 3.6 square centimeter solar cell is all that is needed to generate enough power during winter and summer to power a typical pacemaker.

The enzyme that makes physical activity healthy: AMPK Posted: 03 Jan 2017 06:20 AM PST Physical activity benefits diabetics and others with insulin resistance. One of the reasons is that a single bout of physical activity increases the effectiveness of insulin. Thus, physical activity helps to reduce the risk of developing diabetes, while also reducing the effects of diabetes if it does set in. Until now, no one has understood the underlying mechanism of this phenomenon.

Infant's prolonged infection reveals mutation that helps bacteria tolerate antibiotics Posted: 03 Jan 2017 06:19 AM PST A life-threatening infection in an infant with leukemia led to a discovery of how prolonged infection sets the stage for bacterial persistence despite antibiotic susceptibility.

Why odds are against a large Zika outbreak in the US Posted: 03 Jan 2017 05:46 AM PST Is the United States at risk for a large-scale outbreak of Zika or other mosquito-borne disease? While climate conditions in the US are increasingly favorable to mosquitos, socioeconomic factors such as access to clean water and air conditioning make large-scale outbreaks unlikely, according to new analysis of existing research -- but small-scale, localized outbreaks are an ongoing concern.

Zinc eaten at levels found in biofortified crops reduces 'wear and tear' on DNA Posted: 03 Jan 2017 05:46 AM PST A new study shows that a modest 4 milligrams of extra zinc a day in the diet can have a profound, positive impact on cellular health that helps fight infections and diseases. This amount of zinc is equivalent to what biofortified crops like zinc rice and zinc wheat can add to the diet of vulnerable, nutrient deficient populations.

Genes affecting our communication skills relate to genes for schizophrenia and autism Posted: 03 Jan 2017 05:46 AM PST By screening thousands of individuals, an international team led by researchers has provided new insights into the relationship between genes that confer risk for autism or schizophrenia and genes that influence our ability to communicate during the course of development.

Sex hormone-sensitive gene complex linked to premenstrual mood disorder Posted: 03 Jan 2017 05:46 AM PST Researchers have discovered molecular mechanisms that may underlie a woman's susceptibility to disabling irritability, sadness, and anxiety in the days leading up to her menstrual period. In women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), they found dysregulated expression in a sex hormone-responsive gene complex which adds to evidence that PMDD is a disorder of cellular response to estrogen and progesterone.

Maternal depression across the first years of life impacts children’s neural basis of empathy Posted: 03 Jan 2017 05:43 AM PST Exposure to early and chronic maternal depression markedly increases a child's susceptibility to psychopathology and social-emotional problems, including social withdrawal, poor emotion regulation, and reduced empathy to others. Since 15-18% of women in industrial societies and up to 30% in developing countries suffer from maternal depression, it is of clinical and public health concern to understand the effects of maternal depression on children's development.

From photosynthesis to new compounds for eye diseases Posted: 03 Jan 2017 05:42 AM PST Researchers have succeeded in using X-rays to minutely observe a photosynthesis reaction and produce a movie of the event. The findings will aid understanding of similar processes in the human eye.

A closer look at the eye: New retinal imaging technique Posted: 02 Jan 2017 12:50 PM PST Researchers have developed a new imaging technique that allowed the first glimpse of individual cells in the retina, a layer of tissue at the back of the eye. The new technique could allow earlier diagnosis and treatment for diseases like glaucoma and prevent vision loss caused by death of these retinal cells.

You are subscribed to email updates from Health & Medicine News -- ScienceDaily. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States