ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Honey could be effective at treating and preventing wound infections
• Pairing masks and hand washing could drastically slow spread of a pandemic flu
• Gene mutation in autism found to cause hyperconnectivity in brain's hearing center
• Scientists decode brain waves to eavesdrop on what we hear
• New genetic subtype of lung cancer defined
• Exposure to common environmental bacteria may be source of some allergic inflammation
• Norovirus is the leading cause of infection outbreaks in U.S. hospitals
• Protein study gives fresh impetus in fight against superbugs
• Sharp rise in use of bone growth factor for spinal fusion surgery
• Surprise finding redraws 'map' of blood cell production
• Stimulation of brain hormone action may improve pneumonia survival
• Researchers visualize the development of Parkinson's cells
• Surprisingly high number of adults with severe learning disabilities also have autism
• Are diet soft drinks bad for you?
• Researchers identify cell-permeable peptide that inhibits hepatitis C
• Overweight mothers who smoke while pregnant can damage baby's heart, study finds
• Skin cells turned into neural precusors, bypassing stem-cell stage
• Mom's love good for child's brain
• Twilight learning: Looking back and forward to the possibilities of subliminal messages

Honey could be effective at treating and preventing wound infections Posted: 31 Jan 2012 05:59 PM PST Manuka honey could help clear chronic wound infections and even prevent them from developing in the first place, according to a new study. The findings provide further evidence for the clinical use of manuka honey to treat bacterial infections in the face of growing antibiotic resistance.

Pairing masks and hand washing could drastically slow spread of a pandemic flu Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:57 PM PST Masks and hand hygiene could cut the spread of flu-like symptoms up to 75 percent, a new study found.

Gene mutation in autism found to cause hyperconnectivity in brain's hearing center Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:56 PM PST New research might help explain how a gene mutation found in some autistic individuals leads to difficulties in processing auditory cues and paying spatial attention to sound.

Scientists decode brain waves to eavesdrop on what we hear Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:51 PM PST Neuroscientists and surgeons have recorded electrical activity in the temporal lobe -- the seat of the auditory system -- to discover how the brain encodes sound. Their model allows them to predict what a person heard based solely on temporal lobe activity. If, as studies suggest, internal "imagined" conversations activate similar areas of the temporal lobe, it may be possible to hear the internal verbalizations of people who cannot talk because of paralysis or stroke.

New genetic subtype of lung cancer defined Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:25 AM PST Investigators have defined the role of a recently identified gene abnormality – rearrangements in the ROS1 gene – in a deadly form of lung cancer. ROS1-rearranged tumors represent one to two percent of non-small-cell lung cancers, the leading cause of cancer death in the US. The researchers also show that ROS1-driven tumors can be treated with crizotinib and describe the remarkable response of one patient to crizotinib treatment.

Exposure to common environmental bacteria may be source of some allergic inflammation Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:18 AM PST Could some cases of asthma actually be caused by an allergic reaction to a common environmental bacteria? New research findings suggests that this idea may not be as far-fetched as it seems.

Norovirus is the leading cause of infection outbreaks in U.S. hospitals Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:14 AM PST Norovirus, a pathogen that often causes food poisoning and gastroenteritis, was responsible for 18.2 percent of all infection outbreaks and 65 percent of ward closures in U.S. hospitals during a two-year period.

Protein study gives fresh impetus in fight against superbugs Posted: 31 Jan 2012 07:25 AM PST Scientists have shed new light on the way superbugs such as MRSA are able to become resistant to treatment with antibiotics.

Sharp rise in use of bone growth factor for spinal fusion surgery Posted: 31 Jan 2012 07:16 AM PST The use of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) for spinal fusion surgery has risen sharply over the past decade, increasing costs with no evidence of improved outcomes, reports a new study.

Surprise finding redraws 'map' of blood cell production Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:31 AM PST A study of the cells that respond to crises in the blood system has yielded a few surprises, redrawing the 'map' of how blood cells are made in the body. The finding could have wide-ranging implications for understanding blood diseases such as myeloproliferative disorders as well as used to develop new ways of controlling how blood and clotting cells are produced.

Stimulation of brain hormone action may improve pneumonia survival Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:30 AM PST An international research team may have found a way to block a second wave of death that can result from pneumonia treatment.

Researchers visualize the development of Parkinson's cells Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:30 AM PST In the US alone, at least 500,000 people suffer from Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder that affects a person's ability to control his or her movement. New technology lets researchers observe the development of the brain cells responsible for the disease.

Surprisingly high number of adults with severe learning disabilities also have autism Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:28 AM PST New research on autism in adults has shown that adults with a more severe learning disability have a greater likelihood of having autism. This group, mostly living in private households, was previously 'invisible' in estimates of autism.

Are diet soft drinks bad for you? Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:27 AM PST A new study finds a potential link between daily consumption of diet soft drinks and the risk of vascular events.

Researchers identify cell-permeable peptide that inhibits hepatitis C Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:24 AM PST Researchers have identified a cell-permeable peptide that inhibits a hepatitis C virus protein and blocks viral replication, which can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis.

Overweight mothers who smoke while pregnant can damage baby's heart, study finds Posted: 30 Jan 2012 03:45 PM PST Mothers-to-be who are both overweight and smoke during their pregnancy risk damaging their baby's developing heart, according to new research.

Skin cells turned into neural precusors, bypassing stem-cell stage Posted: 30 Jan 2012 02:19 PM PST Mouse skin cells can be converted directly into cells that become the three main parts of the nervous system, according to researchers. The finding is an extension of a previous study by the same group showing that mouse and human skin cells can be directly converted into functional neurons.

Mom's love good for child's brain Posted: 30 Jan 2012 02:01 PM PST School-age children whose mothers nurtured them early in life have brains with a larger hippocampus, a key structure important to learning, memory and response to stress. The new research, by child psychiatrists and neuroscientists, is the first to show that changes in this critical region of children's brain anatomy are linked to a mother's nurturing.

Twilight learning: Looking back and forward to the possibilities of subliminal messages Posted: 27 Jan 2012 10:57 AM PST The concept of the subliminal message is now familiar. A subconscious suggestion can help a person bring about positive change, such as smoking cessation, or otherwise influence one's actions. The science behind reaching this suggestive state and how to successfully present a message of change has its own journey.

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