ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• New mouthwash targeting harmful bacteria may render tooth decay a thing of the past
• Should doctors encourage people to donate a kidney to a stranger?
• Delayed cord clamping protects newborn babies from iron deficiency, research finds
• Engineered, drug-secreting blood vessels reverse anemia in mice
• Ionized plasmas as cheap sterilizers for developing world
• Mental illness: Early-life depression and anxiety changes structure of developing brain
• The leading edge of stress: New genomic, optogenetic and epigenetic findings
• Research provides clues to neurodevelopemental disorders
• Contrasting patterns of malaria drug resistance found between humans and mosquitoes
• Focus on testing hurts students in high school health classes
• New molecular mechanism in breast cancer development
• The serotonin system in women's brains is damaged more readily by alcohol than that in men’s brains
• Watching less TV, being more active and sleeping more is linked to a healthy body weight in young children
• Milk thistle extract stops lung cancer in mice, study shows
• Adolescent sex linked to adult body, mood troubles, in animal study
• New heart cells increase by 30 percent after stem cell infusion
• New biosensor benefits from melding of carbon nanotubes, DNA
• Niacin does not reduce heart attack, stroke risk in stable CV patients
• Uncovering a key player in metastasis
• Stem cell researchers uncover mechanism that regulates human pluripotent stem cell metabolism
• Predicting how individuals differ from their genome sequences
• Surgery on toy animals lessens anxiety of veterinary students
• Stop signal discovered for skin cancer

New mouthwash targeting harmful bacteria may render tooth decay a thing of the past Posted: 16 Nov 2011 01:56 AM PST A new mouthwash developed by a microbiologist is highly successful in targeting the harmful Streptococcus mutans bacteria that is the principal cause tooth decay and cavities, research shows.

Should doctors encourage people to donate a kidney to a stranger? Posted: 15 Nov 2011 04:12 PM PST With three people on the transplant list dying in the UK every day, should doctors encourage their patients to put themselves at risk for the benefit of others? Two experts debate the issue.

Delayed cord clamping protects newborn babies from iron deficiency, research finds Posted: 15 Nov 2011 04:12 PM PST Waiting for at least three minutes before clamping the umbilical cord in healthy newborns improves their iron levels at four months, according to new research.

Engineered, drug-secreting blood vessels reverse anemia in mice Posted: 15 Nov 2011 03:03 PM PST Patients who rely on recombinant, protein-based drugs must often endure frequent injections, often several times a week, or intravenous therapy. Researchers have demonstrated the possibility that blood vessels, made from genetically engineered cells, could secrete the drug on demand directly into the bloodstream. In a new study, they provide proof-of-concept, reversing anemia in mice with engineered vessels secreting erythropoietin (EPO).

Ionized plasmas as cheap sterilizers for developing world Posted: 15 Nov 2011 03:03 PM PST Devices that create ionized plasmas could be life-savers in the developing world or on the battlefield, providing an inexpensive way to sterilize water and medical instruments. Researchers have created low-temperature plasma devices that sterilize water and keep it antimicrobial for at least a week. A new report finds that the hydrogen peroxide and nitrites produced by the plasma discharge are not the source of long-term antimicrobial activity.

Mental illness: Early-life depression and anxiety changes structure of developing brain Posted: 15 Nov 2011 02:58 PM PST New research identifies the brain chemicals and circuits involved in mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, giving potential new directions to their treatment. In addition, research with children shows that early-life depression and anxiety changes the structure of the developing brain.

The leading edge of stress: New genomic, optogenetic and epigenetic findings Posted: 15 Nov 2011 02:58 PM PST New research uses the latest genetic tools to explore how stress alters brain function, leading to anxiety, depression, and other stress-related mood disorders.

Research provides clues to neurodevelopemental disorders Posted: 15 Nov 2011 02:58 PM PST Scientists are finding new tools to help understand neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and fragile X syndrome. Studies show in new detail how the brain's connections, chemicals, and genes interact to affect behavior.

Contrasting patterns of malaria drug resistance found between humans and mosquitoes Posted: 15 Nov 2011 02:58 PM PST A study detected contrasting patterns of drug resistance in malaria-causing parasites taken from both humans and mosquitoes. Parasites found in human blood samples showed a high prevalence for pyrimethamine-resistance, which was consistent with the class of drugs widely used to treat malaria. However, parasites taken from mosquitoes themselves had very low prevalence of pyrimethamine-resistance and a high prevalence of cycloguanil-resistant mutants indicating resistance to a newer class of antimalaria drug not widely used in Zambia.

Focus on testing hurts students in high school health classes Posted: 15 Nov 2011 02:56 PM PST High school health classes fail to help students refuse sexual advances or endorse safe sex habits when teachers focus primarily on testing knowledge, a new study reveals. But when teachers emphasized learning the material for its own sake, and to improve health, students had much better responses. In these kinds of classrooms, students had lower intentions of having sex and felt better able to navigate sexual situations.

New molecular mechanism in breast cancer development Posted: 15 Nov 2011 02:56 PM PST About 10 percent of breast cancers are due to mutations in genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2. However, the molecular mechanism by which alteration of these genes greatly increases the risk of cancer is not fully understood. In a new study, an international team has made an important step towards revealing the underlying pathways.

The serotonin system in women's brains is damaged more readily by alcohol than that in men’s brains Posted: 15 Nov 2011 02:53 PM PST After only four years of problem drinking, a significant decrease in the function of the serotonin system in women's brains can be seen. This is the system that regulates such functions as impulse control and mood. It takes 12 years before a corresponding decrease is seen in men.

Watching less TV, being more active and sleeping more is linked to a healthy body weight in young children Posted: 15 Nov 2011 02:53 PM PST Getting enough sleep can help children maintain a healthy weight, new research reveals. Similarly, the more time children spend in front of the TV or their computers (screen time), the higher their body weight.

Milk thistle extract stops lung cancer in mice, study shows Posted: 15 Nov 2011 11:52 AM PST A new study shows that the milk thistle extract, silibinin, interferes with cell signaling that otherwise leads to the production of tumor-causing enzymes COX2 and iNOS.

Adolescent sex linked to adult body, mood troubles, in animal study Posted: 15 Nov 2011 11:52 AM PST A new study suggests that sex during adolescence can have lasting negative effects on the body and mood well into adulthood, most likely because the activity occurs when the nervous system is still developing. While the research used laboratory animals, the findings provide information that may be applicable to understanding human sexual development.

New heart cells increase by 30 percent after stem cell infusion Posted: 15 Nov 2011 10:32 AM PST Researchers have demonstrated have new heart cells can be regenerated in a stem cell therapy potentially applicable to patients suffering from heart dysfunction arising from insufficient blood flow to the heart.

New biosensor benefits from melding of carbon nanotubes, DNA Posted: 15 Nov 2011 10:30 AM PST Scientists have developed a method for stacking synthetic DNA and carbon nanotubes onto a biosensor electrode, a development that may lead to more accurate measurements for research related to diabetes and other diseases.

Niacin does not reduce heart attack, stroke risk in stable CV patients Posted: 15 Nov 2011 10:30 AM PST In patients whose bad cholesterol is very well-controlled by statins for a long time period, the addition of high-dose, extended release niacin did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, according to new research.

Uncovering a key player in metastasis Posted: 15 Nov 2011 07:35 AM PST About 90 percent of cancer deaths are caused by secondary tumors, known as metastases, which spread from the original tumor site. Cancer biologists are determining how platelets in the bloodstream help cancer cells form new tumors.

Stem cell researchers uncover mechanism that regulates human pluripotent stem cell metabolism Posted: 15 Nov 2011 07:35 AM PST Human pluripotent stem cells, which can develop into any cell type in the body, rely heavily on glycolysis, or sugar fermentation, to drive their metabolic activities.

Predicting how individuals differ from their genome sequences Posted: 15 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PST Researchers have predicted how individuals vary from the complete sequences of their genomes, using yeast as a model. The study has important implications for personalized medicine. The authors show that when we have a good understanding of the genes important for a process, it is possible to make accurate predictions about the biology of individuals.

Surgery on toy animals lessens anxiety of veterinary students Posted: 15 Nov 2011 06:46 AM PST Training basic surgical techniques on toy animals before having to perform operations on living animals makes veterinary students much less anxious. At the same time, the use of laboratory animals is minimized, according to recent research in Denmark.

Stop signal discovered for skin cancer Posted: 15 Nov 2011 06:46 AM PST An extraordinary breakthrough in understanding what stops a common form of skin cancer from developing could make new cancer treatments and prevention available to the public in five years.

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