Health & Medicine - Jul 15, 2011 10:55 - 0 Comments

Pay cash to win junk food war

CORNELL (US) — Pain of payment can curb impulsive buying, but only when purchasing vice foods like cookies and chips, not virtuous ones like milk and bread. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 14, 2011 15:03 - 0 Comments

Blood may have short shelf life

U. PITTSBURGH (US) — Transfused blood may need to be stored in a different way to prevent the breakdown of red blood cells that can lead to complications, including infection, organ failure, and even death. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 14, 2011 13:42 - 0 Comments

Molecules illuminate Alzheimer’s roots

RICE U. (US) — A breakthrough in sensing technology could make finding signs of Alzheimer’s disease nearly as simple as switching on a light. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 13, 2011 11:16 - 1 Comment

Cough med drug may ease MS symptoms

UC DAVIS (US) — A drug commonly found in over-the-counter cough medicine may pave the way for a new and inexpensive therapy for multiple sclerosis. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 12, 2011 16:33 - 0 Comments

Kids in China get heavy on ‘healthy’ diets

USC (US) — American teens who eat their veggies and get lots of exercise are less likely to be obese. The opposite is true in China, particularly for teen boys from affluent families. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 12, 2011 15:09 - 0 Comments

Protein tail crucial to membrane fusion

RICE U. (US) — New findings shed light on the role that a protein plays in a group of hereditary neurological disorders that affects 20,000 people in the U.S. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 12, 2011 12:34 - 3 Comments

Hawk or dove? How kids react to stress

U. ROCHESTER (US) — Whether a child confronts new situations in a cautious and submissive way or a bold and assertive one is linked to a hormonal response to stress. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 12, 2011 10:47 - 3 Comments

Oxygen in eyes may raise glaucoma risk

WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US) — Higher oxygen levels in the eyes may explain why African Americans have a higher risk of glaucoma than Caucasians. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 12, 2011 10:41 - 0 Comments

Zinc safety net missing in diabetes

U. MICHIGAN (US) — A protein that normally pitches in to help with blood sugar regulation shows its dark side in people with type 2 diabetes, forming dense clumps that shut down insulin-producing cells. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 11, 2011 16:09 - 1 Comment

Severity ‘score’ for cardiac arrest

U. PITTSBURGH (US) — Classifying patients after they have suffered cardiac arrest may lead to a more effective way to predict outcomes. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 11, 2011 15:54 - 1 Comment

Software mines Twitter for ‘sick’ trends

JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — Sift through 2 billion tweets and you can find a lot of useful public health intelligence on where people are sick, what ails them, and what they’re doing about it. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 11, 2011 12:51 - 3 Comments

Obesity up, life expectancy down

UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) —The obesity epidemic in the U.S. may end the nearly century-long steady climb in life expectancy, according to new research. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 11, 2011 11:36 - 0 Comments

Shield eases antibiotic’s toxicity

CARDIFF U. (UK) — New research is expected to expand the use of the antibiotic colistin, effective in fighting infection, but underused because it is toxic to kidneys and nerves. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 8, 2011 10:57 - 0 Comments

Early cells in deadly brain cancer found

U. OREGON (US) — Biologists have isolated the earliest cells to show abnormal growth in the fatal brain cancer glioma—the same cancer that killed U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy in 2009. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 7, 2011 15:25 - 0 Comments

Structure of DNA transcription ‘machine’

INDIANA U. (US) — Scientists have deciphered the structure of an essential part of Mediator, a complex molecular machine that plays a vital role in regulating the transcription of DNA. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 6, 2011 16:53 - 1 Comment

In 20s, hypertension risk for low earners

DUKE (US) — Young adults with lower income and less education face the greatest risk of having high blood pressure, new data shows. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 6, 2011 16:40 - 1 Comment

Sunburn relief may ease chronic pain

KING’S COLLEGE LONDON (UK) — Discovery of a molecule that controls sensitivity to pain from UV rays may lead to medicines that cool a sunburn’s sting and control other inflammatory conditions like arthritis. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 6, 2011 14:57 - 0 Comments

To treat brain cancer, just add water

JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — Freeze-dried nanoparticles can deliver gene therapy into human brain cancer cells—and may one day offer an alternative to brain surgery. (more…)

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