ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Pesticide linked to three generations of disease: Methoxychlor causes epigenetic changes
• Linking microbial, immune environment in semen to HIV viral load, transmission
• DNA mostly 'junk?' Only 8.2 percent of human DNA is 'functional', study finds
• Atomic structure of key muscle component revealed
• Protein couple controls flow of information into brain's memory center
• Joblessness could kill you, but recessions could be good for your health
• Cancer: Treatment that prevents tumor metastasis identified in animal study
• High school students in some schools smoking at same rate as adults
• Teens pay high psychiatric toll when raised in conditions of political conflict
• Metastatic brain tumor treatment could be on the horizon with use of SapC-DOPS
• Annual financial cost of COPD $36 billion in U.S.: CDC report
• Seeing same GP at every visit will reduce emergency department attendance
• Mechanism that clears excess of protein linked with Type 2 diabetes
• Natural products from plants protect skin during cancer radiotherapy
• Background TV can be bad for kids
• Voice for radio? New research reveals it's in the cords
• Experiments prove 'stemness' of individual immune memory cells
• Paracetamol no better than placebo for lower back pain
• New drugs to combat asthma, similar illnesses
• Detecting Salmonella in pork meat processing: New methods
• One route to malaria drug resistance found
• Why don't genetically identical cells behave identically? Cellular noise
• New York law offers nurses more recognition, responsibility
• Medical student perceptions of health policy education improving, but 40% are still not satisfied, study shows
• Greater odds of adverse childhood experiences in those with military service, study finds
• Unsuspected characteristics of new cystic fibrosis drugs found, offering potential paths to more effective therapies
• Gene inhibitor, salmon fibrin restore function lost in spinal cord injury in rodents
• Sapronoses: Diseases of another kind, caused by pathogenic microorganisms
• Dead body feeding larvae useful in forensic investigations
• Protein evolution follows modular principle
• Brown fat protects against diabetes, obesity in humans
• Ketamine can be a wonder drug for ER patients, physicians
• Researchers unlock protein puzzle using brightly hued dyes
• Statin use decreases risk of Barrett's esophagus, study shows
• Controlling childbirth pain tied to lower depression risk
• Human parasite Leishmania is a probiotic for the fly that carries it
• Physical work environment in hospitals affects nurses' job satisfaction, with implications for patient outcomes, health care costs
• Number of people susceptible to painful mosquito-borne virus increasing, says leading researcher
• Caffeine intake may worsen menopausal hot flashes, night sweats
• In asthma, it's not just what you smell, but what you think you smell

Pesticide linked to three generations of disease: Methoxychlor causes epigenetic changes Posted: 24 Jul 2014 11:42 AM PDT Researchers say ancestral exposures to the pesticide methoxychlor may lead to adult onset kidney disease, ovarian disease and obesity in future generations.

Linking microbial, immune environment in semen to HIV viral load, transmission Posted: 24 Jul 2014 11:42 AM PDT HIV infection re-shapes the relationship between semen bacteria and immune factors which in turn affects viral load, suggesting that the semen microbiome plays a role in sexual transmission of HIV, researchers report. While HIV is found in many body fluids, sexual transmission through semen is the most common route of infection.

DNA mostly 'junk?' Only 8.2 percent of human DNA is 'functional', study finds Posted: 24 Jul 2014 11:16 AM PDT Only 8.2 percent of human DNA is likely to be doing something important -- is 'functional' -- say researchers. This figure is very different from one given in 2012, when some scientists involved in the ENCODE (Encyclopedia of DNA Elements) project stated that 80% of our genome has some biochemical function.

Atomic structure of key muscle component revealed Posted: 24 Jul 2014 11:16 AM PDT Adding to the growing fundamental understanding of the machinery of muscle cells, a group of biophysicists describe -- in minute detail -- how actin filaments are stabilized at one of their ends to form a basic muscle structure called the sarcomere. With the help of many other proteins, actin molecules polymerize to form filaments that give rise to structures of many different shapes. The actin filaments have a polarity, with a plus and minus end, reflecting their natural tendency to gain or lose subunits when not stabilized.

Protein couple controls flow of information into brain's memory center Posted: 24 Jul 2014 10:40 AM PDT Neuroscientists have succeeded in providing new insights into how the brain works by analyzing tissue samples from mice to identify how two specific proteins, 'CKAMP44' and 'TARP Gamma-8', act upon the brain's memory center. Brain function depends on the active communication between nerve cells, known as neurons. For this purpose, neurons are woven together into a dense network where they constantly relay signals to one another.

Joblessness could kill you, but recessions could be good for your health Posted: 24 Jul 2014 09:45 AM PDT While previous studies of individuals have shown that employees who lose their jobs have a higher mortality rate, more comprehensive studies have shown, unexpectedly, that population mortality actually declines as unemployment rates increase. Researchers set out to better understand these seemingly contradictory findings.

Cancer: Treatment that prevents tumor metastasis identified in animal study Posted: 24 Jul 2014 09:42 AM PDT Metastasis, the strategy adopted by tumor cells to transform into an aggressive form of cancer, are often associated with a gloomy prognosis. Managing to block the metastasis or, even better, prevent their formation would be a giant step towards the fight against cancer. Researchers successfully performed this on models of human tumors in mice.

High school students in some schools smoking at same rate as adults Posted: 24 Jul 2014 09:36 AM PDT Cuyahoga County high school students are smoking tobacco products at the same rate as adults in the county, according to new data. In 2013, more than 22 percent, or one in five high school students, report use of any tobacco product within the prior 30 days.

Teens pay high psychiatric toll when raised in conditions of political conflict Posted: 24 Jul 2014 08:25 AM PDT Israeli youths exposed to protracted conflict suffer far higher levels of anxiety, phobia, fear, depression, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and paranoia than their counterparts in the US. The largest cross-sectional empirical study of its kind, the research assessed youths exposed to terrorism, missile attacks, war, forced residential relocations, and military operations.

Metastatic brain tumor treatment could be on the horizon with use of SapC-DOPS Posted: 24 Jul 2014 08:25 AM PDT A new study has provided hope that previously studied SapC-DOPS could be used for treatment of brain cancer that has spread. "These results support the potential of SapC-DOPS for the diagnosis and therapy of primary and metastatic brain tumors which is critically needed to increase survival rates of patients with this illness," one researcher said.

Annual financial cost of COPD $36 billion in U.S.: CDC report Posted: 24 Jul 2014 08:25 AM PDT A new report outlines the total and state-specific medical and absenteeism costs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among adults in the United States, and lays out some projections to 2020. Chronic lower respiratory diseases, including COPD, are the third-leading cause of death in the United States. Close to 24 million US adults have evidence of impaired lung function, indicating an underdiagnosis of COPD. Smoking is a primary risk factor of COPD, and approximately 80% of COPD deaths can be attributed to smoking.

Seeing same GP at every visit will reduce emergency department attendance Posted: 24 Jul 2014 08:25 AM PDT Attendances at emergency departments can be reduced by enabling patients to see the same GP every time they visit their doctor's surgery. This is just one of several recommendations made in a report published. Other factors that also affect admission and attendances at emergency departments are: how easy it is for patients to access GP surgeries and primary care providers; the distance the patients live away from the emergency department; and the number of confusing options patients had for accessing emergency care.

Mechanism that clears excess of protein linked with Type 2 diabetes Posted: 24 Jul 2014 07:42 AM PDT In people who do not have Type 2 diabetes, autophagy prevents the accumulation of toxic forms of IAPP, researchers have found. In people with Type 2 diabetes, the process appears to not work properly, contributing to the destruction of beta cells. As the body's insulin producers, beta cells play a key role in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels.

Natural products from plants protect skin during cancer radiotherapy Posted: 24 Jul 2014 07:42 AM PDT Plant-derived natural product chemicals could offer protection to the skin from the harmful effects of gamma radiation during cancer radiotherapy, suggests research.

Background TV can be bad for kids Posted: 24 Jul 2014 07:41 AM PDT Leaving the television on can be detrimental to children's learning and development, according to a new study. Researchers found that background television can divert a child's attention from play and learning. Regardless of family demographics, parenting can act as a buffer against the impacts of background TV, the research team found.

Voice for radio? New research reveals it's in the cords Posted: 24 Jul 2014 06:43 AM PDT Unique vocal cord vibration patterns might be the secret behind a good radio voice, new research reveals. The world-first study filmed the vocal folds of 16 male radio performers, including announcers, broadcasters, newsreaders and voice-over artists and found their vocal folds move and close faster than non-broadcasters.

Experiments prove 'stemness' of individual immune memory cells Posted: 24 Jul 2014 06:43 AM PDT Specific individual immune cells, termed 'central memory T cells,' have all the essential characteristics of adult tissue stem cells, researchers have proven for the first time. Such cells can perpetuate themselves indefinitely and generate diverse offspring that can reconstitute "tissue" function. These findings indicate that it should be possible to fully restore specific immunity to pathogens in immunocompromised patients by substitution of small numbers of these T cells.

Paracetamol no better than placebo for lower back pain Posted: 24 Jul 2014 06:40 AM PDT Paracetamol is no better than placebo at speeding recovery from acute episodes of lower back pain or improving pain levels, function, sleep, or quality of life, according to the first large randomized trial to compare the effectiveness of paracetamol with placebo for low-back pain. The findings question the universal endorsement of paracetamol as the first choice painkiller for low-back pain, say the authors.

New drugs to combat asthma, similar illnesses Posted: 24 Jul 2014 06:40 AM PDT Science and industry are collaborating to develop future pharmaceuticals for treating chronic inflammatory diseases. The medicines will combat immunological processes that have gone wrong. Statistics indicate that there are 300 million asthma sufferers worldwide, a further 600 million people living with chronic pneumonia and up to 30% of the global population contending with allergic rhinitis (allergic inflammation of the nasal airways).

Detecting Salmonella in pork meat processing: New methods Posted: 24 Jul 2014 06:37 AM PDT Infections caused by foodborne microorganisms are an increasing public health burden. In a PhD project, new methods of characterizing and dectecting foodborne illness-causing Salmonella in pork meat processing and in bacteria in water, feed and food samples were studied.

One route to malaria drug resistance found Posted: 24 Jul 2014 06:33 AM PDT Researchers have uncovered a way the malaria parasite becomes resistant to an investigational drug. The discovery also is relevant for other infectious diseases including bacterial infections and tuberculosis. Fosmidomycin, an antibiotic, is being evaluated against malaria in phase 3 clinical trials in combination with other antimalarial drugs.

Why don't genetically identical cells behave identically? Cellular noise Posted: 24 Jul 2014 06:28 AM PDT One researcher is like a mechanic for cells: he takes them apart to see how they function. He can tell you what part is like a gas pedal and which part is like the brakes. Now he's can show us why these brakes don't work the same even in cells that are genetically identical.

New York law offers nurses more recognition, responsibility Posted: 23 Jul 2014 03:08 PM PDT If past experience is anything to go by, nurse practitioners in New York State are about to get a lot more recognition for their contributions to primary care. To improve the practice environment, managers should make efforts to establish a clear NP role within their organization and promote the visibility of NPs, an author says. Managers should also focus on improving the relationship between NPs and administrators and opening the channels of communications.

Medical student perceptions of health policy education improving, but 40% are still not satisfied, study shows Posted: 23 Jul 2014 03:07 PM PDT Students graduating from U.S. medical schools in 2012 feel they've received a better education in health policy issues than graduates surveyed in 2008, according to a multi-center study. The study applied a new framework for teaching and evaluating perceptions of training in health policy, first proposed by the authors in a 2011 perspective.

Greater odds of adverse childhood experiences in those with military service, study finds Posted: 23 Jul 2014 01:20 PM PDT Men and women who have served in the military have a higher prevalence of adverse childhood events (ACEs), suggesting that enlistment may be a way to escape adversity for some. ACEs can result in severe adult health consequences such as posttraumatic stress disorder, substance use and attempted suicide.

Unsuspected characteristics of new cystic fibrosis drugs found, offering potential paths to more effective therapies Posted: 23 Jul 2014 12:20 PM PDT A large phase 3 clinical trial for cystic fibrosis patients has concluded, showing that a combination of two new cystic fibrosis drugs modestly improved lung function and offered better health outcomes for some patients. Now, scientists have shown that one of these drugs counteracts the intended beneficial molecular effect of the other.

Gene inhibitor, salmon fibrin restore function lost in spinal cord injury in rodents Posted: 23 Jul 2014 11:18 AM PDT A therapy combining salmon fibrin injections into the spinal cord and injections of a gene inhibitor into the brain restored voluntary motor function impaired by spinal cord injury, scientists have found. In a study on rodents, researchers achieved this breakthrough by turning back the developmental clock in a molecular pathway critical to the formation of corticospinal tract nerve connections and providing a scaffold so that neuronal axons at the injury site could grow and link up again.

Sapronoses: Diseases of another kind, caused by pathogenic microorganisms Posted: 23 Jul 2014 11:18 AM PDT The drought that has the entire country in its grip is affecting more than the color of people's lawns. It may also be responsible for the proliferation of a heat-loving amoeba commonly found in warm freshwater bodies, such as lakes, rivers and hot springs, which the drought has made warmer than usual this year. Sapronoses are infectious diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms that inhabit aquatic ecosystems and/or soil rather than a living host.

Dead body feeding larvae useful in forensic investigations Posted: 23 Jul 2014 09:39 AM PDT Non-biting blow fly Chrysomya megacephala is commonly found in dead bodies and is used in forensic investigations to determine the time of death, referred to as the post mortem interval. A report of synanthropic derived form of C. megacephala from Tamil Nadu is provided for the first time based on morphological features and molecular characterization through generation of DNA barcoding.

Protein evolution follows modular principle Posted: 23 Jul 2014 09:39 AM PDT Similarities between proteins reveal that their great diversity has arisen from smaller building blocks. Proteins consist of long chains of 20 different amino acid building blocks that fold into a characteristic three-dimensional structure. It is noteworthy that some modules, known as protein domains, occur more frequently than others. Scientists suspect that many of these domains share a common evolutionary origin.

Brown fat protects against diabetes, obesity in humans Posted: 23 Jul 2014 09:39 AM PDT People with higher levels of brown fat, or brown adipose tissue, in their bodies have better blood sugar control, higher insulin sensitivity and a better metabolism for burning fat stores, researchers have shown for the first time. The findings suggest that, because of the brown fat's ability to better regulate blood sugar, this could be a potential medical weapon against diabetes.

Ketamine can be a wonder drug for ER patients, physicians Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:41 AM PDT For critically ill patients arriving at the emergency department, the drug ketamine can safely provide analgesia, sedation and amnesia for rapid, life-saving intubation, despite decades-old studies that suggested it raised intracranial pressure. A systematic review of 10 recent studies of what many emergency physicians regard as a 'wonder drug' has been recently published for review.

Researchers unlock protein puzzle using brightly hued dyes Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:12 AM PDT By using brightly hued dyes, researchers discovered an innovative way to reveal where proteins touch each other, possibly leading to new treatments for cancer, arthritis, heart disease and even lung disease.

Statin use decreases risk of Barrett's esophagus, study shows Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:11 AM PDT Statins, a class of drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol levels, significantly reduce a patient's risk of developing Barrett's esophagus, according to a new study. The protective effect of statins was especially significant among patients who were obese. Those with a body mass index greater than or equal to 30 had a 74 percent reduction in Barrett's esophagus.

Controlling childbirth pain tied to lower depression risk Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:09 AM PDT Controlling pain during childbirth and post delivery is linked to reduced risk of postpartum depression, says a perinatal psychiatrist, based on a new study. The study showed postpartum depression rates doubled for women without pain control. Significant numbers of women have acute and chronic pain related to childbirth and need to consult with their physician if pain continues for several months.

Human parasite Leishmania is a probiotic for the fly that carries it Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:06 AM PDT The Leishmania parasite, which causes the human disease leishmaniasis, acts as a probiotic in the insect that transmits it to humans, protecting them from bacterial disease, research shows. Around 12 million people are currently infected with Leishmaniasis worldwide, mostly in South America, Africa and Asia. It is estimated to kill 20-50,000 people per year. Sandflies transmit the parasite by feeding on an infected mammal and, if they survive long enough, feeding on another mammal, and passing the parasite on to them.

Physical work environment in hospitals affects nurses' job satisfaction, with implications for patient outcomes, health care costs Posted: 23 Jul 2014 08:01 AM PDT Architecture, interior design, and other physical aspects of their work environments can enhance early-career nurses' job satisfaction, a study has shown. The research team conducted a nationwide survey of RNs to examine the relationship between RNs' physical work environment and job satisfaction. They found that RNs who gave their physical work environments higher ratings were also more likely to report better workgroup cohesion, nurse-physician relations, workload, and other factors associated with job satisfaction.

Number of people susceptible to painful mosquito-borne virus increasing, says leading researcher Posted: 23 Jul 2014 07:59 AM PDT A leading researcher in chikungunya virus says many more people are at risk of getting infected now that mosquitoes in the U.S. are carrying the virus. At least 243 travel-related cases of chikungunya have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 31 states, with the number expected to grow. The first case acquired in the United States was reported in Florida, seven months after the mosquito-borne virus was recognized in the Western Hemisphere.

Caffeine intake may worsen menopausal hot flashes, night sweats Posted: 23 Jul 2014 07:59 AM PDT An association between caffeine intake and more bothersome hot flashes and night sweats in postmenopausal women has been made by researchers. Approximately 85 percent of the U.S. population consumes some form of caffeine-containing beverage daily. Vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes and night sweats) are the most commonly reported menopausal symptoms, occurring in 79 percent of perimenopausal women and 65 percent of postmenopausal women.

In asthma, it's not just what you smell, but what you think you smell Posted: 22 Jul 2014 01:41 PM PDT Simply believing that an odor is potentially harmful can increase airway inflammation in asthmatics for at least 24 hours following exposure, research shows. The findings highlight the role that expectations can play in health-related outcomes.

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