ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Breakthrough for IVF? Selecting the most promising embryos
• Brain makes call on which ear is used for cell phone
• Gene involved in neurodegeneration keeps clock running: Scientists identify another gene important to morning wake-up call
• Researchers shocked by new statistics on head injuries among people who are homeless
• Returning genetic incidental findings without patient consent violates basic rights, experts say
• Accelerated aging in children: Promising treatment for progeria within reach
• Scientific insurgents say 'Journal Impact Factors' distort science
• Security risks found in sensors for heart devices, consumer electronics
• Fishing for memories: How long-term memories are processed to guide behavior
• Faulty energy production in brain cells leads to disorders ranging from Parkinson's to intellectual disability
• Stem-cell-based strategy boosts immune system in mice
• Engineers monitor heart health using paper-thin flexible 'skin'
• Resistance to visceral Leishmaniasis: New mechanisms involved
• Vitamin C does not lower uric acid levels in gout patients, study finds
• Skin cancer may be linked to lower risk of Alzheimer's disease

Breakthrough for IVF? Selecting the most promising embryos Posted: 16 May 2013 06:54 PM PDT A recent study on 5-day old human blastocysts shows that those with an abnormal chromosomal composition can be identified by the rate at which they have developed to blastocysts, thereby classifying the risk of genetic abnormality without a biopsy. Now, researchers have undertaken a retrospective study, using their predictive model to assess the likelihood of any embryo transferred resulting in a successful pregnancy, with very encouraging outcomes.

Brain makes call on which ear is used for cell phone Posted: 16 May 2013 01:16 PM PDT If you're a left-brain thinker, chances are you use your right hand to hold your cell phone up to your right ear, according to a newly published study. The study shows a strong correlation between brain dominance and the ear used to listen to a cell phone.

Gene involved in neurodegeneration keeps clock running: Scientists identify another gene important to morning wake-up call Posted: 16 May 2013 11:26 AM PDT Scientists have shown a gene involved in neurodegenerative disease also plays a critical role in the proper function of the circadian clock. In a study of the common fruit fly, the researchers found the gene, called Ataxin-2, keeps the clock responsible for sleeping and waking on a 24-hour rhythm. Without the gene, the rhythm of the fruit fly's sleep-wake cycle is disturbed, making waking up on a regular schedule difficult for the fly.

Researchers shocked by new statistics on head injuries among people who are homeless Posted: 16 May 2013 11:26 AM PDT Men who are heavy drinkers and homeless for long periods of time have 400 times the number of head injuries as the general population, according to a new study by researchers who said they were shocked by their findings.

Returning genetic incidental findings without patient consent violates basic rights, experts say Posted: 16 May 2013 11:25 AM PDT Scientists push back against recent American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics recommendations, and offer compelling reasons why patient autonomy must remain firmly in place as science advances.

Accelerated aging in children: Promising treatment for progeria within reach Posted: 16 May 2013 11:25 AM PDT Pharmaceuticals that inhibit a specific enzyme may be useful in treating progeria, or accelerated aging in children. A new study indicates that the development of progeria in mice was inhibited upon reducing the production of this enzyme.

Scientific insurgents say 'Journal Impact Factors' distort science Posted: 16 May 2013 11:25 AM PDT An ad hoc coalition of unlikely insurgents -- scientists, journal editors and publishers, scholarly societies, and research funders across many scientific disciplines -- today posted an international declaration calling on the world scientific community to eliminate the role of the journal impact factor in evaluating research for funding, hiring, promotion, or institutional effectiveness.

Security risks found in sensors for heart devices, consumer electronics Posted: 16 May 2013 09:39 AM PDT The type of sensors that pick up the rhythm of a beating heart in implanted cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers are vulnerable to tampering, according to a new study conducted in controlled laboratory conditions.

Fishing for memories: How long-term memories are processed to guide behavior Posted: 16 May 2013 09:39 AM PDT In our interaction with our environment we constantly refer to past experiences stored as memories to guide behavioral decisions. But how memories are formed, stored and then retrieved to assist decision-making remains a mystery. By observing whole-brain activity in live zebrafish, researchers have visualized for the first time how information stored as long-term memory in the cerebral cortex is processed to guide behavioral choices.

Faulty energy production in brain cells leads to disorders ranging from Parkinson's to intellectual disability Posted: 16 May 2013 09:38 AM PDT Neuroscientists have shown for the first time that dysfunctional mitochondria in brain cells can lead to learning disabilities. The link between dysfunctional mitochondria and Parkinson's disease is known, but this new research shows that it is also present in other brain disorders.

Stem-cell-based strategy boosts immune system in mice Posted: 16 May 2013 09:36 AM PDT Raising hopes for cell-based therapies, researchers have created the first functioning human thymus tissue from embryonic stem cells in the laboratory. The researchers showed that, in mice, the tissue can be used to foster the development of white blood cells the body needs to mount healthy immune responses and to prevent harmful autoimmune reactions.

Engineers monitor heart health using paper-thin flexible 'skin' Posted: 16 May 2013 07:57 AM PDT Engineers combine layers of flexible materials into pressure sensors to create a wearable heart monitor thinner than a dollar bill. The skin-like device could one day provide doctors with a safer way to check the condition of a patient's heart.

Resistance to visceral Leishmaniasis: New mechanisms involved Posted: 16 May 2013 03:38 AM PDT Researchers have elucidated new molecular mechanisms involved in resistance to visceral leishmaniasis, a serious parasitic infection. They have shown that dectin-1 and mannose receptors participate in the protection against the parasite responsible for this infection, by triggering an inflammatory response, while the DC-SIGN receptor facilitates the penetration of the pathogen and its proliferation in macrophages.

Vitamin C does not lower uric acid levels in gout patients, study finds Posted: 16 May 2013 03:37 AM PDT Despite previous studies touting its benefit in moderating gout risk, new research reveals that vitamin C, also known ascorbic acid, does not reduce uric acid (urate) levels to a clinically significant degree in patients with established gout. Vitamin C supplementation, alone or in combination with allopurinol, appears to have a weak effect on lowering uric acid levels in gout patients, according to the results of a new study.

Skin cancer may be linked to lower risk of Alzheimer's disease Posted: 15 May 2013 01:39 PM PDT People who have skin cancer may be less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, according to new research. The link does not apply to melanoma, a less common but more aggressive type of skin cancer.

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