ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Like cling wrap, new biomaterial can coat tricky burn wounds, block out infection

• Pregnant women, fetuses exposed to antibacterial compounds face potential health risks 

• On the frontiers of cyborg science: Development of electronic-brain relationship
• Hospitals could face penalties for missing electronic health record deadline
• Lead linked to obesity in mice exposed by mothers
• Natural light in office boosts health
• Pinpointing genes that protect against frailty
• Can probiotics reduce severity of C. difficile infections?
• Boston Marathon bombing caregivers still grappling with tragedy one year later
• Fruit flies used to unlock mysteries of human diabetes
• Biomarker for early detection of esophageal cancer developed
• Physical Fitness Can Help Prevent Young Adolescents' Depression, Study Finds
• Cheese still laden with salt, despite many products meeting reduction targets

Like cling wrap, new biomaterial can coat tricky burn wounds, block out infection Posted: 10 Aug 2014 09:42 AM PDT Wrapping wound dressings around fingers and toes can be tricky, but for burn victims, guarding them against infection is critical. Today, scientists are reporting the development of novel, ultrathin coatings called nanosheets that can cling to the body's most difficult-to-protect contours and keep bacteria at bay. The materials has to date been tested on mice.

Pregnant women, fetuses exposed to antibacterial compounds face potential health risks Posted: 10 Aug 2014 09:41 AM PDT As the Food and Drug Administration mulls over whether to rein in the use of common antibacterial compounds that are causing growing concern among environmental health experts, scientists are reporting that many pregnant women and their fetuses are being exposed to these substances. The compounds are used in more than 2,000 everyday products marketed as antimicrobial, including toothpastes, soaps, detergents, carpets, paints, school supplies and toys, the researchers say.

On the frontiers of cyborg science: Development of electronic-brain relationship Posted: 10 Aug 2014 09:41 AM PDT Cyborg technology is bringing us real-life electronic skin, prosthetics and ultra-flexible circuits. Now taking this human-machine concept to an unprecedented level, pioneering scientists are working on the seamless marriage between electronics and brain signaling with the potential to transform our understanding of how the brain works — and how to treat its most devastating diseases.

Hospitals could face penalties for missing electronic health record deadline Posted: 08 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT Many of the nation's hospitals in the U.S. struggled to meet a federally mandated electronic health records deadline, and as a result could collectively face millions of dollars in reduced Medicare payments this year, a study shows.

Lead linked to obesity in mice exposed by mothers Posted: 08 Aug 2014 01:33 PM PDT When we think of ill effects from lead exposure various neurologic problems usually come to mind. Now researchers say another health impact can be added to the list: obesity. Even at low levels, lead is associated with obesity in mice whose mothers were exposed to the chemical, researchers found. Specifically male mice exposed to lead had an 8-10 percent increase in weight.

Natural light in office boosts health Posted: 08 Aug 2014 09:40 AM PDT Office workers with more natural light exposure at the office had longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, more physical activity and better quality of life compared to office workers with less light exposure in the workplace, a study shows. "There is increasing evidence that exposure to light, during the day, particularly in the morning, is beneficial to your health via its effects on mood, alertness and metabolism," said the senior study author.

Pinpointing genes that protect against frailty Posted: 08 Aug 2014 09:39 AM PDT Frailty is a common condition associated with old age, characterized by weight loss, weakness, decreased activity level and reduced mobility, which together increase the risk of injury and death. Yet, not all elderly people become frail; some remain vigorous and robust well into old-age. The question remains: why?

Can probiotics reduce severity of C. difficile infections? Posted: 07 Aug 2014 06:55 PM PDT Probiotics have shown promise for treating patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infections. However, their safety and quality control requires further study – especially in immunocompromised patients, concludes a review paper. Probiotics – beneficial microorganisms deliberately introduced into the body – have been used in some patients as an adjunct treatment with some success. However, a detailed investigation on the use of probiotics for infected patients is still needed to determine their real efficacy.

Boston Marathon bombing caregivers still grappling with tragedy one year later Posted: 07 Aug 2014 03:05 PM PDT Nearly a year after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, hospital staff, first responders and medical volunteers who cared for the injured and dying were still struggling to put the experience behind them, according to a Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare report that describes eight confidential sessions held to help caregivers process their emotions and feelings in the aftermath of this horrific event.

Fruit flies used to unlock mysteries of human diabetes Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:57 AM PDT The tiny fruit fly can be used to study how mutations associated with the development of diabetes affect the production and secretion of the vital hormone insulin, researchers report for the first time. The advance is due to a new technique that allows scientists to measure insulin levels in the insects with extremely high sensitivity and reproducibility.

Biomarker for early detection of esophageal cancer developed Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:54 AM PDT A four-protein serum biomarker panel that holds significant promise for early detection of esophageal cancer, a relatively rare but often deadly disease that has grown in incidence over the past several decades, has been developed and validated by a team of researchers. The four-protein panel, called B-AMP (biglycan, myeloperoxidase, annexin-A6 and protein S100-A9), is a simple, non-invasive, low-cost blood test, that identified esophageal cancer with a high classification accuracy of 87 percent in the study.

Physical Fitness Can Help Prevent Young Adolescents' Depression, Study Finds Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:14 AM PDT Physically fit sixth-graders –- especially girls -– are less likely to report feeling depressed when they reach seventh grade, according to a study. Even when researchers considered existing symptoms of depression and weight, sixth-grade girls who performed better on a cardiorespiratory fitness test were less likely to feel depressed when they were surveyed again in seventh grade. There was a smaller but similar effect on boys' depression.

Cheese still laden with salt, despite many products meeting reduction targets Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:56 AM PDT The salt content of cheese sold in British supermarkets remains high, despite many products meeting the recommended government targets on salt reduction, finds research. And salt content varies widely, even within the same type of cheese, the findings show, prompting the researchers to call for much tougher targets on salt lowering.

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