ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Family dinners good for teens' mental health, could protect from cyberbullying
• Quality of US diet improves, gap widens for quality between rich and poor
• Viewers eat more while watching Hollywood action flick on TV
• Training your brain to prefer healthy foods
• Scientists call for investigation of mysterious cloud-like collections in cells
• New tuberculosis blood test in children: reliable, highly specific
• Invisible blood in urine may indicate bladder cancer
• Sniffing-out smell of disease in feces: 'Electronic nose' for rapid detection of clostridum difficile infection
• Carcinogenic role of protein in liver decoded
• Neurons in human skin perform advanced calculations
• Consequences of teen alcohol, marijuana use studied
• Inhibiting inflammatory enzyme after heart attack does not reduce risk of subsequent event
• Assortativity signatures of transcription factor networks contribute to robustness
• Youth who have used e-cigarettes report greater intent to try regular cigarettes
• Climate change puts endangered Devils Hole pupfish at risk of extinction
• Are cigarette substitutes safe alternative? Depends on user habits
• Genetic change in autism-related gene identified

Family dinners good for teens' mental health, could protect from cyberbullying Posted: 01 Sep 2014 06:15 PM PDT Cyberbullying was associated with mental health and substance use problems in adolescents, a new study shows, but family dinners may help protect teens from the consequences of cyberbullying and also be beneficial for their mental health.

Quality of US diet improves, gap widens for quality between rich and poor Posted: 01 Sep 2014 06:15 PM PDT The quality of the US diet showed some modest improvement in the last decade in large measure because of a reduction in the consumption of unhealthy trans fats, but the gap in overall diet quality widened between the rich and the poor.

Viewers eat more while watching Hollywood action flick on TV Posted: 01 Sep 2014 06:15 PM PDT Television shows filled with action and sound may be bad for your waistline. TV viewers ate more M&Ms, cookies, carrots and grapes while watching an excerpt from a Hollywood action film than those watching an interview program.

Training your brain to prefer healthy foods Posted: 01 Sep 2014 09:34 AM PDT It may be possible to train the brain to prefer healthy low-calorie foods over unhealthy higher-calorie foods, according to new research.

Scientists call for investigation of mysterious cloud-like collections in cells Posted: 01 Sep 2014 07:23 AM PDT About 50 years ago, electron microscopy revealed the presence of tiny blob-like structures that form inside cells, move around and disappear. But scientists still don't know what they do -- even though these shifting cloud-like collections of proteins are believed to be crucial to the cell, and therefore could offer a new approach to disease treatment. Now, researchers are issuing a call to investigators to focus their attention on the role of these formations.

New tuberculosis blood test in children: reliable, highly specific Posted: 01 Sep 2014 06:07 AM PDT A new blood test provides a fast and accurate tool to diagnose tuberculosis in children, a new proof-of-concept study shows. The newly developed test is the first reliable immunodiagnostic assay to detect active tuberculosis in children. The test features excellent specificity, a similar sensitivity as culture tests in combination with speed of a blood test. The promising findings are a major advance for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in children, particularly in tuberculosis-endemic regions.

Invisible blood in urine may indicate bladder cancer Posted: 01 Sep 2014 06:07 AM PDT One in 60 people over the age of 60 who had invisible blood in their urine -- identified by their GP testing their urine -- transpired to have bladder cancer, researchers report. The figure was around half of those who had visible blood in their urine -- the best known indicator of bladder cancer. However, it was still higher than figures for other potential symptoms of bladder cancer that warrant further investigation.

Sniffing-out smell of disease in feces: 'Electronic nose' for rapid detection of clostridum difficile infection Posted: 01 Sep 2014 06:03 AM PDT A fast-sensitive "electronic-nose" for sniffing the highly infectious bacteria C-diff, that causes diarrhea, temperature and stomach cramps, has been developed.

Carcinogenic role of protein in liver decoded Posted: 01 Sep 2014 06:03 AM PDT The human protein EGFR controls cell growth. It has mutated in case of many cancer cells or exists in excessive numbers. For this reason it serves as a point of attack for target-oriented therapies. A study group has now discovered that the risk of this protein does not -- as previously assumed -- depend on its presence within the tumor cell, but rather from its activity in the cells adjacent to the tumor.

Neurons in human skin perform advanced calculations Posted: 01 Sep 2014 06:03 AM PDT Neurons in human skin perform advanced calculations, previously believed that only the brain could perform. A characteristic of neurons that extend into the skin and record touch, is that they branch in the skin so that each neuron reports touch from many highly-sensitive zones on the skin. According to researchers, this branching allows first-order tactile neurons not only to send signals to the brain that something has touched the skin, but also process geometric data about the object touching the skin.

Consequences of teen alcohol, marijuana use studied Posted: 01 Sep 2014 05:58 AM PDT Alcohol use was more commonly reported to compromise relationships with friends and significant others (e.g., boyfriends), researchers studying its consequences report. It was also reported to lead to more regret, particularly among females. Marijuana use on the other hand was more commonly reported to compromise relationships with teachers or supervisors, result in less energy or interest, and result in lower school or job performance.

Inhibiting inflammatory enzyme after heart attack does not reduce risk of subsequent event Posted: 31 Aug 2014 12:04 PM PDT In patients who experienced an acute coronary syndrome event -- such as heart attack or unstable angina -- use of the drug darapladib to inhibit the enzyme lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 -- believed to play a role in the development of atherosclerosis -- did not reduce the risk of recurrent major coronary events, according to a study.

Assortativity signatures of transcription factor networks contribute to robustness Posted: 29 Aug 2014 07:32 AM PDT The type and number of connections in transcription factor networks (TFNs) have been studied to evaluate the role assortativity plays on robustness. The study found that the assortativity signature contributes to a network's resilience against mutations. Transcription factors (TFs) are proteins that initiate and regulate the expression of a gene. To achieve their genetic mission, TFs also regulate one another's expression.

Youth who have used e-cigarettes report greater intent to try regular cigarettes Posted: 28 Aug 2014 03:47 PM PDT Youth who have never even touched a regular tobacco cigarette -- but have ever used e-cigarettes -- are more likely to report that they may try conventional cigarettes. Researchers also report that exposure to pro-tobacco advertising was associated with the intention to smoke among U.S. middle and high school students who reported never smoking.

Climate change puts endangered Devils Hole pupfish at risk of extinction Posted: 28 Aug 2014 02:00 PM PDT Climate change is hurting reproduction of the endangered Devils Hole pupfish, threatening the survival of this rare species that has numbered as few as 35 individuals, new research by the University of Nevada, Reno and Desert Research Institute shows.

Are cigarette substitutes safe alternative? Depends on user habits Posted: 28 Aug 2014 02:00 PM PDT A recent literature review study suggests that small dosages of nicotine found in cigarette substitutes could be harmful to human musculoskeletal system, due to overuse. The researchers investigated and summarized the last five years of studies, on the effect of nicotine on wound and skeletal healing processes in humans.

Genetic change in autism-related gene identified Posted: 28 Aug 2014 02:00 PM PDT A genetic change in a recently identified autism-associated gene has been identified by researchers, which may provide further insight into the causes of autism. The study presents findings that likely represent a definitive clinical marker for some patients' developmental disabilities.

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