ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• World's smallest propeller could be used for microscopic medicine
• Vision-correcting display makes reading glasses so yesterday
• Brand-specific television alcohol ads a significant predictor of brand consumption among underage youth
• Do your stem cells sound like cancer? While-you-wait, non-invasive cancer diagnosis by converting stem cell data into sound
• Social origins of intelligence in the brain
• Diet affects males' and females' gut microbes differently
• Autistic brain less flexible at taking on tasks
• Help your infant or toddler cope with stressful events
• Preterm children's brains can catch up years later
• When it comes to gluten-free diets, unfounded beliefs abound
• Mortality rates increase due to extreme heat and cold
• Healthy lifestyle may buffer against stress-related cell aging
• Stem cell advance may increase efficiency of tissue regeneration
• Forced mutations doom HIV: How potential HIV drug exacts its toll on viral populations
• Dementia patients more likely to get implanted pacemakers, says study
• Electronic screening tool to triage teenagers and risk of substance misuse
• Endurance runners more likely to die of heat stroke than heart condition
• Running reduces risk of death regardless of duration, speed
• Glucose 'control switch' in the brain key to both types of diabetes
• Cell's recycling center implicated in division decisions
• Irreversible inhibitor for KRAS gene mutation involved in lung, colon, and pancreatic cancers
• Parents need to talk to their children about school bus safety at the start of the school year
• Genetic mutations linked to salivary gland tumors
• Researchers produce record-length mirror-image protein
• Disruptive effects of anesthesia on brain cell connections are temporary, study suggests
• Green spaces found to increase birth weight
• Booming mobile health app market needs more FDA oversight for consumer safety, confidence
• The role of dairy in maintaining adult bone and skeletal muscle health
• Fist bumping beats germ-spreading handshake
• New protein structure could help treat Alzheimer's, related diseases
• Children with disabilities benefit from classroom inclusion
• Wearable device for early detection of common diabetes-related neurological condition
• Burnout impacts transplant surgeons
• Motivation explains disconnect between testing, real-life functioning for seniors
• Potential 'universal' blood test for cancer discovered
• Mutations from Venus, mutations from Mars: Why genetic fertility problems can persist in a population
• HIV treatment: Interfering with interferon
• Drug may aid multiple myeloma patients who suffer from low platelet counts
• One in 3,000 blood donors in England infected with hepatitis E: HEV containing blood components transfused

World's smallest propeller could be used for microscopic medicine Posted: 29 Jul 2014 01:47 PM PDT Scientists have created robots that are only nanometers in length, small enough to maneuver inside the human body and possibly inside human cells.

Vision-correcting display makes reading glasses so yesterday Posted: 29 Jul 2014 12:29 PM PDT Researchers are developing vision-correcting displays that can compensate for a viewer's visual impairments to create sharp images without the need for glasses or contact lenses. The technology could potentially help those who currently need corrective lenses to use their smartphones, tablets and computers, and could one day aid people with more complex visual problems.

Brand-specific television alcohol ads a significant predictor of brand consumption among underage youth Posted: 29 Jul 2014 11:19 AM PDT Underage drinkers are three times more likely to drink alcohol brands that advertise on television programs they watch compared to other alcohol brands, providing new and compelling evidence of a strong association between alcohol advertising and youth drinking behavior.

Do your stem cells sound like cancer? While-you-wait, non-invasive cancer diagnosis by converting stem cell data into sound Posted: 29 Jul 2014 09:38 AM PDT Converting stem cell data into sounds could enable GPs to make instant, non-invasive cancer diagnoses during a routine check-up. A recent study shows how data sonification (where data is conveyed as audio signals as opposed to visual illustrations such as graphs) can improve standard techniques currently used in spectroscopy stem cell analysis. What could this mean for cancer diagnostics?

Social origins of intelligence in the brain Posted: 29 Jul 2014 08:54 AM PDT By studying the injuries and aptitudes of Vietnam War veterans who suffered penetrating head wounds during the war, scientists are tackling -- and beginning to answer -- longstanding questions about how the brain works. The researchers found that brain regions that contribute to optimal social functioning also are vital to general intelligence and to emotional intelligence. This finding bolsters the view that general intelligence emerges from the emotional and social context of one's life.

Diet affects males' and females' gut microbes differently Posted: 29 Jul 2014 08:54 AM PDT The microbes living in the guts of males and females react differently to diet, even when the diets are identical, according to a new study. These results suggest that therapies designed to improve human health and treat diseases through nutrition might need to be tailored for each sex.

Autistic brain less flexible at taking on tasks Posted: 29 Jul 2014 08:54 AM PDT The brains of children with autism are relatively inflexible at switching from rest to task performance, according to a new brain-imaging study.

Help your infant or toddler cope with stressful events Posted: 29 Jul 2014 08:51 AM PDT 18-month-old "Karla" was playing on the slide at the park in her neighborhood, her mother sitting on a nearby bench chatting with her friend. A loud screech was followed by a crash and the sound of car alarms going off. In a flash, Karla was swept into her mother's arms and both were shaking as they saw people running and heard sirens coming toward the scene of a car crash in the street next to the park.

Preterm children's brains can catch up years later Posted: 29 Jul 2014 06:31 AM PDT There's some good news for parents of preterm babies -- latest research shows that by the time they become teenagers, the brains of many preterm children can perform almost as well as those born at term.

When it comes to gluten-free diets, unfounded beliefs abound Posted: 29 Jul 2014 06:26 AM PDT Lots of people are eating gluten-free diets, but perhaps for the wrong reasons, a UF/IFAS researcher says. Such diets, while necessary for those with celiac disease, may lack nutrients essential to good health.

Mortality rates increase due to extreme heat and cold Posted: 29 Jul 2014 04:36 AM PDT When temperatures are extremely high or low, there is a significant increase in the number of deaths caused by heart failure or stroke. This has been confirmed by epidemiological studies.

Healthy lifestyle may buffer against stress-related cell aging Posted: 29 Jul 2014 04:35 AM PDT A new study shows that while the impact of life's stressors accumulate overtime and accelerate cellular aging, these negative effects may be reduced by maintaining a healthy diet, exercising and sleeping well.

Stem cell advance may increase efficiency of tissue regeneration Posted: 28 Jul 2014 06:18 PM PDT A new stem-cell discovery might one day lead to a more streamlined process for obtaining stem cells, which in turn could be used in the development of replacement tissue for failing body parts, according to scientists.

Forced mutations doom HIV: How potential HIV drug exacts its toll on viral populations Posted: 28 Jul 2014 01:23 PM PDT Fifteen years ago, medical researchers had a novel idea for an HIV drug. They thought if they could induce the virus to mutate uncontrollably, they could force it to weaken and eventually die out -- a strategy that our immune system uses against many viruses.

Dementia patients more likely to get implanted pacemakers, says study Posted: 28 Jul 2014 01:23 PM PDT People with dementia are more likely to get implanted pacemakers for heart rhythm irregularities, such as atrial fibrillation, than people who don't have cognitive difficulties, according to researchers. The researchers noted the finding runs counter to expectations that less aggressive interventions are the norm for patients with the incurable and disabling illness.

Electronic screening tool to triage teenagers and risk of substance misuse Posted: 28 Jul 2014 01:23 PM PDT An electronic screening tool that starts with a single question to assess the frequency of substance misuse appears to be an easy way to screen teenagers who visited a physician for routine medical care.

Endurance runners more likely to die of heat stroke than heart condition Posted: 28 Jul 2014 01:23 PM PDT Heat stroke is 10 times more likely than cardiac events to be life-threatening for runners during endurance races in warm climates, according to a new study. The authors noted the findings may play a role in the ongoing debate over pre-participation ECG screenings for preventing sudden death in athletes by offering a new perspective on the greatest health risk for runners.

Running reduces risk of death regardless of duration, speed Posted: 28 Jul 2014 01:23 PM PDT Running for only a few minutes a day or at slow speeds may significantly reduce a person's risk of death from cardiovascular disease compared to someone who does not run, according to a new study.

Glucose 'control switch' in the brain key to both types of diabetes Posted: 28 Jul 2014 12:39 PM PDT Researchers have pinpointed a mechanism in part of the brain that is key to sensing glucose levels in the blood, linking it to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Cell's recycling center implicated in division decisions Posted: 28 Jul 2014 12:39 PM PDT Most cells do not divide unless there is enough oxygen present to support their offspring, but certain cancer cells and other cell types circumvent this rule. Researchers have now identified a mechanism that overrides the cells' warning signals, enabling cancers to continue to divide even without a robust blood supply. In the process, the researchers found that lysosomes -- the cell's protein 'recycling centers' -- help govern cell division decisions.

Irreversible inhibitor for KRAS gene mutation involved in lung, colon, and pancreatic cancers Posted: 28 Jul 2014 12:36 PM PDT Cancer researchers have found a molecule that selectively and irreversibly interferes with the activity of a mutated cancer gene common in 30 percent of tumors.

Parents need to talk to their children about school bus safety at the start of the school year Posted: 28 Jul 2014 12:36 PM PDT According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, from 2001 through 2010, 1,368 people died in school transportation-related crashes—an average of 137 fatalities per year.

Genetic mutations linked to salivary gland tumors Posted: 28 Jul 2014 12:36 PM PDT Research conducted at the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has discovered links between a set of genes known to promote tumor growth and mucoepidermoid carcinoma, an oral cancer that affects the salivary glands.

Researchers produce record-length mirror-image protein Posted: 28 Jul 2014 12:36 PM PDT Biochemists have reported an advance in the production of functional mirror-image proteins. In a new study, they have chemically synthesized a record-length mirror-image protein and used this protein to demonstrate that a cellular chaperone, which helps "fold" large or complex proteins into their functional state, has a previously unappreciated talent -- the ability to fold mirror-image proteins. These findings will greatly facilitate mirror-image protein production for applications in drug discovery and synthetic biology.

Disruptive effects of anesthesia on brain cell connections are temporary, study suggests Posted: 28 Jul 2014 11:15 AM PDT A study of juvenile rat brain cells suggests that the effects of a commonly used anesthetic drug on the connections between brain cells are temporary.

Green spaces found to increase birth weight Posted: 28 Jul 2014 10:09 AM PDT Mothers who live near green spaces deliver babies with significantly higher birth weights, according to a new study.

Booming mobile health app market needs more FDA oversight for consumer safety, confidence Posted: 28 Jul 2014 09:38 AM PDT While the mobile health apps market offers tremendous potential, several health law experts say that more oversight is needed by the US Food and Drug Administration to ensure consumer confidence and safety. Out of 100,000 mHealth apps on the market, only about 100 have been cleared by the FDA, which opponents see as a deterrent to innovation and profit. But it doesn't have to be.

The role of dairy in maintaining adult bone and skeletal muscle health Posted: 28 Jul 2014 09:37 AM PDT Understanding that diets are often built around food groups rather than specific nutrients, researchers from Switzerland, France, and North America decided to examine interactions between four nutrients found in dairy products and their role in preserving bone and skeletal muscle.

Fist bumping beats germ-spreading handshake Posted: 28 Jul 2014 09:37 AM PDT "Fist bumping" transmits significantly fewer bacteria than either handshaking or high-fiving, while still addressing the cultural expectation of hand-to-hand contact between patients and clinicians, according to a new study.

New protein structure could help treat Alzheimer's, related diseases Posted: 28 Jul 2014 09:37 AM PDT Bioengineers have a designed a peptide structure that can stop the harmful changes of the body's normal proteins into a state that's linked to widespread diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and Lou Gehrig's disease.

Children with disabilities benefit from classroom inclusion Posted: 28 Jul 2014 07:45 AM PDT The secret to boosting the language skills of preschoolers with disabilities may be to put them in classrooms with typically developing peers, a new study finds.

Wearable device for early detection of common diabetes-related neurological condition Posted: 28 Jul 2014 06:44 AM PDT Thanks to a small, wearable device that can hang on a pair of eyeglasses, a common complication of diabetes may get caught sooner. Researchers have developed a pupillometer that scans the patient's eyes for early signs of diabetic autonomic neuropathy -- a condition that progressively affects the autonomic nerves controlling vital organs. This kind of early detection enables early treatment, leading to far better health outcomes for the patient.

Burnout impacts transplant surgeons Posted: 28 Jul 2014 06:44 AM PDT Despite saving thousands of lives yearly, nearly half of organ transplant surgeons report a low sense of personal accomplishment and 40 percent feel emotionally exhausted, according to a new American study on transplant surgeon burnout. Burnout is characterized by high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization and low levels of personal accomplishment, one expert says, explaining people with burnout often feel emotionally drained, overextended and distant or having a lack of feelings toward patients.

Motivation explains disconnect between testing, real-life functioning for seniors Posted: 28 Jul 2014 06:44 AM PDT A psychology researcher is proposing a new theory to explain why older adults show declining cognitive ability with age, but don't necessarily show declines in the workplace or daily life. One key appears to be how motivated older adults are to maintain focus on cognitive tasks.

Potential 'universal' blood test for cancer discovered Posted: 28 Jul 2014 06:44 AM PDT A simple blood test that can be used to diagnose whether people have cancer or not has been devised by researchers. The test will enable doctors to rule out cancer in patients presenting with certain symptoms, saving time and preventing costly and unnecessary invasive procedures such as colonoscopies and biopsies being carried out. Alternatively, it could be a useful aid for investigating patients who are suspected of having a cancer that is currently hard to diagnose.

Mutations from Venus, mutations from Mars: Why genetic fertility problems can persist in a population Posted: 28 Jul 2014 06:44 AM PDT Researchers explain why genetic fertility problems can persist in a population. Some 15% of adults suffer from fertility problems, many of these due to genetic factors. This is something of a paradox: We might expect such genes, which reduce an individual's ability to reproduce, to disappear from the population. Research may now have solved this riddle. Not only can it explain the high rates of male fertility problems, it may open new avenues in understanding the causes of genetic diseases and their treatment.

HIV treatment: Interfering with interferon Posted: 28 Jul 2014 06:44 AM PDT Using the body's natural virus killers to prevent and treat HIV infection has been problematic until now because of the strong inflammatory response these molecules can arouse as they get rid of the invaders. Now, research has demonstrated how suppressing the activity of these molecules -- interferons -- around the time of infection could have long-term implications for the course of the disease.

Drug may aid multiple myeloma patients who suffer from low platelet counts Posted: 28 Jul 2014 06:43 AM PDT A previously unknown but crucial component in the process to make platelets has been identified by researchers, a discovery that could help spare multiple myeloma patients from a dangerous side effect of the primary drug (bortezomib) used to treat their cancer. Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that develops in bone marrow and affects plasma cells, which produce antibodies to help protect against infection.

One in 3,000 blood donors in England infected with hepatitis E: HEV containing blood components transfused Posted: 28 Jul 2014 05:04 AM PDT The first systematic analysis of hepatitis E virus (HEV) transmission by blood components indicates that about 1 in 3,000 donors in England have HEV in their plasma. The findings suggest that around 1200 HEV-containing blood components (eg, red cells, platelets, and fresh frozen plasma) are likely to be transfused every year in England.

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