Research News and Research

RSS

Children's early reading experience critical to development of lifelong reading skills

The study addresses a 20-year riddle: When researchers investigate reading behaviour in children they find different patterns. Some researchers have found children's reading mimics that of adults, but others have seen a different pattern of reading behaviour.

6 May 2009

Swine flu: Action and response from the Cochrane Library

Fears about Swine Flu and notions of the best methods of preventing the spread are sweeping over the world like wild fire, with everyone voicing a different opinion. Is stocking Tamiflu the best option? Do facemasks work? Should we be constantly washing our hands, or never leaving the house?

6 May 2009

Social class exerts much influence on teenagers' diet and weight

Research just released by academics at the Universities of Hertfordshire and Edinburgh has revealed that differences in social class influence the eating habits, weight and health of young people.

6 May 2009

New influenza A (H1N1) having powerful impact on us

The new influenza A (H1N1), known as the swine flu, demonstrates the power of people's perceptions of risk. Sales of face masks are breaking all records not only in Mexico but also in Sweden. Hotel guests are being isolated at a hotel in Hong Kong, and people with the sniffles are being isolated in airports around the world. But before the outbreak of the flu, this was a risk that extremely few Swedes perceived as a serious threat to themselves.

6 May 2009

Unmanned mini helicopter for disaster rescue workers

The collapse of the Cologne city archive building triggered a race against time for the rescue workers.

6 May 2009

Teenage girl who wants to be a boy wins right to have breasts removed

Reports than a teenage Australian girl has won the right in court to have both breasts surgically removed, have made the headlines around the world and evoked some very strong criticism.

6 May 2009

Dengue fever may be more of a worry to Australians than swine flu

For the last week or so much of the world's media has been gripped by the new influenza A H1N1 (swine flu) virus which has dominated the headlines everywhere.

6 May 2009

University of Greenwich speeds drug research with ThalesNano H-Cube

A collaboration between groups led by Dr. John Spencer at Greenwich University and Professor Simon Mackay and Professor Alan Harvey at Strathclyde University has led to the discovery of a novel class of benzodiazepines with submicromolar activity against trypanosoma brucei spp., a parasitic species that causes African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness in humans.

6 May 2009

Understanding why non-smokers develop lung cancer among research projects funded by Canadian Cancer Society

A new BC-based study aimed at understanding the genetic basis of lung cancer in people who have never smoked is being funded for approximately $379,000 by the Canadian Cancer Society.

6 May 2009

Swine flu fear now a pandemic

The number of confirmed cases of Swine Flu Fear (SFF) in the United States may have surpassed 100 million amid increasing global anxiety over a menace that authorities around the world are struggling to contain. The increase is not surprising. SFF is highly contagious, and even a brief exposure to someone afflicted can produce the condition.

6 May 2009

Mushrooms may boost the body's natural immune system

The potential for mushrooms to fight influenza is being examined following United States research suggesting the body's natural immune response against viral infections and tumours is boosted through the consumption of white button mushrooms.

6 May 2009

IBM and University of Texas Medical Branch launch effort to find flu drug treatments

IBM and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) launched an effort using IBM's World Community Grid "virtual supercomputer" to allow laboratory tests on drug candidates for drug-resistant influenza strains and new strains, such as H1N1, in less than a month.

6 May 2009

New antidepressants might be no more effective than the best existing drugs

The reviews suggest that sertraline - sold under the brand name Zoloft since 1991- could be the best initial choice of antidepressant in people with acute major depression. The generic formulation produced the best balance of effectiveness, tolerability and purchase price, the authors say.

5 May 2009

Children's characteristics may determine response to inhaled corticosteroid therapy for asthma

In a study published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and five other sites nationwide found that children who showed the most improvement in days without wheezing using an inhaled corticosteroid drug were caucasian boys who had allergies and had a hospitalization or emergency department visit for asthma symptoms in the year prior to the trial.

5 May 2009

Blacks, Hispanics more concerned about Alzheimer's than whites, but less informed

Blacks and Hispanics are more concerned than whites about Alzheimer's disease but less knowledgeable about means to delay its onset, according to a new survey, United Press International reports.

5 May 2009

International community should ensure access to diagnostic, treatment services to control tuberculosis in Africa, blog entry says

Tuberculosis "remains the most common cause of adult death in some countries" even though the global health community knows "what causes" the disease, "how it spreads" and "how to treat it," Ruth McNerney of the TARGETS Consortium at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine writes in the Guardian's "Katine Chronicles" blog.

5 May 2009

Off-label uses of drugs should be approved for very ill patients, opinion piece states

FDA and Congress "should protect physicians' and patients' right" to use FDA-approved drugs for off-label uses "and for the first time allow drugmakers to promote off-label uses that prove beneficial," Richard Epstein, a law professor at the University of Chicago and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. He continues, "Right now these drugs provide immense lifesaving opportunities for many sick patients, particularly those threatened by cancer."

5 May 2009

United Auto Workers planning to sell Chrysler stock obtained from bankruptcy deal to fund VEBA

United Auto Workers will sell its 55% stake in the reorganized Chrysler as soon as possible to fund a trust that will cover retirees' health care costs, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said Monday, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

5 May 2009

Mental health prescriptions increased by 73% among adults, 50% among children from 1996-2006

From 1996 to 2006, prescriptions for mental health medications increased by 73% among U.S. adults and by 50% among children, according to a study published on Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs, the Wall Street Journal reports.

5 May 2009

AP/Miami Herald examines potential use of H1N1 vaccine

A strain-specific vaccine for the H1N1 flu virus, also known as the swine flu, that potentially could be developed by researchers might not be as beneficial as some might hope because uninsured U.S. residents are unlikely to purchase the vaccine, the AP/Miami Herald reports.

5 May 2009

Research News and Research

Children's early reading experience critical to development of lifelong reading skills

Swine flu: Action and response from the Cochrane Library

Social class exerts much influence on teenagers' diet and weight

New influenza A (H1N1) having powerful impact on us

Unmanned mini helicopter for disaster rescue workers

Teenage girl who wants to be a boy wins right to have breasts removed

Dengue fever may be more of a worry to Australians than swine flu

University of Greenwich speeds drug research with ThalesNano H-Cube

Understanding why non-smokers develop lung cancer among research projects funded by Canadian Cancer Society

Swine flu fear now a pandemic

Mushrooms may boost the body's natural immune system

IBM and University of Texas Medical Branch launch effort to find flu drug treatments

New antidepressants might be no more effective than the best existing drugs

Children's characteristics may determine response to inhaled corticosteroid therapy for asthma

Blacks, Hispanics more concerned about Alzheimer's than whites, but less informed

International community should ensure access to diagnostic, treatment services to control tuberculosis in Africa, blog entry says

Off-label uses of drugs should be approved for very ill patients, opinion piece states

United Auto Workers planning to sell Chrysler stock obtained from bankruptcy deal to fund VEBA

Mental health prescriptions increased by 73% among adults, 50% among children from 1996-2006

AP/Miami Herald examines potential use of H1N1 vaccine

Spectroscopy Applications in the Environment eBook eBook

Latest eBooks

Editorial Focus eBook - Spatial and single-cell omics (1st edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (3rd edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Microbiome (1st edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition)

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics