ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Bacterial blockade: How gut microbes can inactivate cardiac drugs
• Researcher digs into the contested peanut-allergy epidemic
• Researchers develop system that uses a big data approach to personalized healthcare
• Broad-scale genome tinkering with help of an RNA guide: Biotechnology tool borrowed from pathogenic bacteria
• Novel mechanism in spinal cord injury discovered: 'See-saw' molecule may offer clues to potential therapies in the long-term
• Rapamycin: Limited anti-aging effects
• Women's height linked to cancer risk, study finds
• Potential new target to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma
• How brain cells change their tune
• Starring role discovered for supporting cells in inner ear
• Bad night's sleep? The moon could be to blame
• Silky brain implants may help stop spread of epilepsy
• Bipolar disorder takes different path in patients who binge eat, study suggests
• Study of veterans finds links between outdoor activities, improved mental health
• New techniques use lasers, LEDs, and optics to 'see' under the skin
• Novel nanometer scaffolds regulate the biological behaviors of neural stem cells
• Key target responsible for triggering detrimental effects in brain trauma identified
• Adenoviruses may pose risk for monkey-to-human leap
• Over 90 percent of dementia cases in China are undetected, study finds
• Flow restrictors may reduce young children's accidental ingestion of liquid medications
• 'Epilepsy in a dish': Stem cell research reveals clues to disease's origins and may aid search for better drugs
• Laser-controlled molecular switch turns blood clotting on, off on command
• 'Weightism' increases risk for becoming, staying obese
• Pocket-sized sensor gives instant fat burning updates
• Maternal smoking during pregnancy associated with offspring conduct problems, study suggests
• Stopping cholesterol drugs may be associated with increased risk of Parkinson's
• New genetic cause of pulmonary hypertension identified

Bacterial blockade: How gut microbes can inactivate cardiac drugs Posted: 25 Jul 2013 01:13 PM PDT Researchers have identified a pair of genes which appear to be responsible for allowing a specific strain of bacteria in the human gut to break down Lanoxin -- a widely prescribed cardiac drug -- into an inactive compound, as well as a possible way to turn the process off.

Researcher digs into the contested peanut-allergy epidemic Posted: 25 Jul 2013 01:13 PM PDT The path of the peanut from a snack staple to the object of bans at schools, day care centers and beyond offers important insights into how and why a rare, life-threatening food allergy can prompt far-reaching societal change, according to a researcher.

Researchers develop system that uses a big data approach to personalized healthcare Posted: 25 Jul 2013 12:21 PM PDT Researchers have developed a computer-aided method that uses electronic medical records to offer the promise of rapid advances toward personalized health care, disease management and wellness.

Broad-scale genome tinkering with help of an RNA guide: Biotechnology tool borrowed from pathogenic bacteria Posted: 25 Jul 2013 12:21 PM PDT Researchers have devised a way to quickly and easily target and tinker with any gene in the human genome. The new tool, which builds on an RNA-guided enzyme they borrowed from bacteria, is being made freely available to researchers who may now apply it to the next round of genome discovery.

Novel mechanism in spinal cord injury discovered: 'See-saw' molecule may offer clues to potential therapies in the long-term Posted: 25 Jul 2013 11:17 AM PDT More than 11,000 Americans suffer spinal cord injuries each year, and since over a quarter of those injuries are due to falls, the number is likely to rise as the population ages. The reason so many of those injuries are permanently disabling is that the human body lacks the capacity to regenerate nerve fibers. The best our bodies can do is route the surviving tissue around the injury site.

Rapamycin: Limited anti-aging effects Posted: 25 Jul 2013 11:17 AM PDT The drug rapamycin is known to increase lifespan in mice. Whether rapamycin slows down aging, however, remains unclear. Scientists have now found that rapamycin extends lifespan -- but its impact on aging itself is limited. The life-extending effect seems to be related to rapamycin's suppression of tumors, which represent the main causes of death in these mouse strains.

Women's height linked to cancer risk, study finds Posted: 25 Jul 2013 11:15 AM PDT The taller a postmenopausal woman is, the greater her risk for developing cancer, according to a new study.

Potential new target to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:54 AM PDT Researchers conclude that Ephrin B2 seems to play an important role in malignant pleural mesothelioma cell lines and tumors.

How brain cells change their tune Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:53 AM PDT Researchers may have answered a long-standing, fundamental question about how brain cells communicate by showing that brief bursts of chemical energy coming from rapidly moving power plants, called mitochondria, may tune synaptic transmission.

Starring role discovered for supporting cells in inner ear Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:53 AM PDT Researchers have found in mice that supporting cells in the inner ear, once thought to serve only a structural role, can actively help repair damaged sensory hair cells, the functional cells that turn vibrations into the electrical signals that the brain recognizes as sound.

Bad night's sleep? The moon could be to blame Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:53 AM PDT Many people complain about poor sleep around the full moon, and now a report offers some of the first convincing scientific evidence to suggest that this really is true. The findings add to evidence that humans -- despite the comforts of our civilized world -- still respond to the geophysical rhythms of the moon, driven by a circalunar clock.

Silky brain implants may help stop spread of epilepsy Posted: 25 Jul 2013 09:13 AM PDT Silk has walked straight off the runway and into the lab. According to a new study, silk implants placed in the brain of laboratory animals and designed to release a specific chemical, adenosine, may help stop the progression of epilepsy.

Bipolar disorder takes different path in patients who binge eat, study suggests Posted: 25 Jul 2013 08:27 AM PDT Bipolar disorder evolves differently in patients who also binge eat, a study has found.

Study of veterans finds links between outdoor activities, improved mental health Posted: 25 Jul 2013 08:27 AM PDT Veterans participating in extended outdoor group recreation show signs of improved mental health, suggesting a link between the activities and long-term psychological well-being, according to results of a new study.

New techniques use lasers, LEDs, and optics to 'see' under the skin Posted: 25 Jul 2013 07:49 AM PDT Scientists report on new non-invasive optical techniques using lasers, light-emitting diodes, and spectroscopic methods to probe and render images from beneath the surface of the skin. The technologies have a wide variety of medical and cosmetic applications such as treating burns, identifying cancer, and speeding the healing of wounds.

Novel nanometer scaffolds regulate the biological behaviors of neural stem cells Posted: 25 Jul 2013 07:49 AM PDT The surface characteristics of nanoscaffolds made by nanotechnology are more similar to the three-dimensional topological structure of the extracellular matrix and the effects on the biological behaviors of cells and tissue repair are more beneficial.

Key target responsible for triggering detrimental effects in brain trauma identified Posted: 25 Jul 2013 07:48 AM PDT Researchers studying a type of cell found in the trillions in our brain have made an important discovery as to how it responds to brain injury and disease such as stroke. Scientists have identified proteins which trigger the processes that underlie how astrocyte cells respond to neurological trauma.

Adenoviruses may pose risk for monkey-to-human leap Posted: 25 Jul 2013 06:12 AM PDT Adenoviruses commonly infect humans, causing colds, flu-like symptoms and sometimes even death, but now researchers have discovered that a new species of adenovirus can spread from primate to primate, and potentially from monkey to human.

Over 90 percent of dementia cases in China are undetected, study finds Posted: 25 Jul 2013 06:12 AM PDT An international team of researchers has found that over 90 percent of dementia cases in China go undetected, with a high level of undiagnosed dementia in rural areas.

Flow restrictors may reduce young children's accidental ingestion of liquid medications Posted: 25 Jul 2013 06:12 AM PDT Over 500,000 calls are made to poison control centers each year after accidental ingestion of medications by young children, and the number of emergency department visits for unsupervised medication ingestions is rising. In a new study, researchers studied whether adding flow restrictors to bottles can limit the amount of liquid medication a child could access even if child-resistant caps are missing or improperly closed.

'Epilepsy in a dish': Stem cell research reveals clues to disease's origins and may aid search for better drugs Posted: 25 Jul 2013 06:09 AM PDT A new stem cell-based approach to studying epilepsy has yielded a surprising discovery about what causes one form of the disease, and may help in the search for better medicines to treat all kinds of seizure disorders.

Laser-controlled molecular switch turns blood clotting on, off on command Posted: 24 Jul 2013 05:04 PM PDT Researchers have designed tiny, light-controlled gold particles that can release DNA controls to switch blood clotting off and on.

'Weightism' increases risk for becoming, staying obese Posted: 24 Jul 2013 05:04 PM PDT Weight discrimination may increase risk for obesity rather than motivating individuals to lose weight, according to new research.

Pocket-sized sensor gives instant fat burning updates Posted: 24 Jul 2013 05:02 PM PDT Fitness fanatics may soon be able to gauge if their hard work is paying  off without the need for weighing scales thanks to a new device that can  instantly tell if your body is burning fat. The portable, pocket-sized sensor, produced by a group of researchers in  Japan, works by measuring increased levels of acetone on the breath - a  good indicator of when the body has begun to break down fat.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy associated with offspring conduct problems, study suggests Posted: 24 Jul 2013 05:02 PM PDT New research examines relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring conduct problems among children.

Stopping cholesterol drugs may be associated with increased risk of Parkinson's Posted: 24 Jul 2013 04:59 PM PDT People who stop taking cholesterol drugs may be at an increased risk for developing Parkinson's disease, according to new research. Previous studies on the relationship between cholesterol drugs called statins and the risk of Parkinson's disease have had inconsistent results.

New genetic cause of pulmonary hypertension identified Posted: 24 Jul 2013 04:59 PM PDT Scientists have identified new genetic mutations that can cause pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a rare fatal disease characterized by high blood pressure in the lungs. The mutations, found in the gene KCNK3, appear to affect potassium channels in the pulmonary artery, a mechanism not previously linked to the condition. Cell culture studies showed that the mutations' effects could be reversed with a drug compound known as a phospholipase inhibitor.

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