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SmartTots announces recipients of inaugural round of research grants

SmartTots announced Robert Block, PhD and Caleb Ing, MD as the recipients of its inaugural round of research grants today. The research grants are intended to support investigations into the existence of a clinical signal suggesting poor neurocognitive outcomes as the result of early exposure to anesthesia. Drs. Block and Ing will be conducting separate studies both centered around determining the effects of anesthetics on early brain development. Both recipients will receive $100,000 to fund their studies.

26 Jun 2012

“Swine flu” deaths may be fifteen times higher than previously reported

The number of deaths from the 2009 H1N1 (“swine flu”) pandemic may be fifteen times higher than the number of laboratory-confirmed deaths previously reported by countries to the World Health Organization (WHO), according to an Article published Online First in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. While estimates of 2009 H1N1-associated deaths have been derived for some countries such as the United States, these are the first estimates of the worldwide number of deaths caused by the pandemic.

26 Jun 2012

Exposure to BBzP during pregnancy can increase risk of eczema in children

Prenatal exposure to a ubiquitous household chemical called butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP) can increase a child's risk for developing eczema, according to research conducted at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health.

26 Jun 2012

Study: 40 million Americans ages 12 and older have addiction disease

Forty million Americans ages 12 and older have addiction involving nicotine, alcohol or other drugs, a disease affecting more Americans than heart conditions, diabetes or cancer according to a five-year national study released today by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia).

26 Jun 2012

More evidence of link between low vitamin D levels and increased risk of metabolic syndrome

Comprehensive, automated infection outbreak detection system for the Olympics

The world's first comprehensive, automated outbreak detection system which will monitor over 3,000 infections and is ready to run during Olympics 2012, was developed by a researcher at The Open University.

25 Jun 2012

Suicide leading cause of death among young people in India

Suicide has become the second-leading cause of death of young people in India, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, according to an Article published as part of the Lancet Series on suicide.

25 Jun 2012

High suicide rates in specific regions or ethnic groups may be masked by falls in national rates for young men

In the second Series paper, Suicide in young men, a group of researchers led by Dr Alexandra Pitman of UCL (University College London) Mental Health Sciences Unit, UK, examine another under-investigated area of suicide research. After reviewing research published over the last decade, they found strikingly few studies distinguishing the factors which identify those young men (aged 19 – 30) at greatest risk of suicide.

25 Jun 2012

Studies look at how computer and mobile phone use affects mental health of young adults

Young adults who make particularly heavy use of mobile phones and computers run a greater risk of sleep disturbances, stress and symptoms of mental health. "Public health advice should therefore include information on the healthy use of this technology," says researcher Sara Thomée from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

25 Jun 2012

Diabetic Neuropathy: An interview with Dr Brian Callaghan

Diabetes is the number 1 cause of neuropathy, which is a very common condition in itself. In fact, up to half of all neuropathy is caused by diabetes, although other people can get the condition as well.

25 Jun 2012

Physical activity linked with reduced risk of breast cancer

A new analysis done by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers has found that physical activity - either mild or intense and before or after menopause - may reduce breast cancer risk, but substantial weight gain may negate these benefits.

25 Jun 2012

Study reveals decline in number of babies born with birth defects across Europe

The number of babies born with birth defects (major congenital anomalies) across Europe has fallen over the decade (2000-2009), University of Ulster research has revealed.

23 Jun 2012

Stanford Woods Institute awards five new EVP grants for interdisciplinary research

The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment has awarded five new Environmental Venture Projects (EVP) grants for interdisciplinary research aimed at finding practical solutions to major environmental and sustainability challenges.

23 Jun 2012

Parental employment may affect family food environments

In a tight economy, with fewer jobs, many people end up working harder and sacrificing more to stay employed. A new study finds that one of those sacrifices is sometimes their own and their family's nutrition.

23 Jun 2012

Growing number of countries adopting flexible IP regulations after India issues country's first compulsory license

"A growing number of countries are adopting India's intellectual property regulations, which give enough flexibility to local companies to produce generic versions of popular drugs to safeguard public health," India's Economic Times reports, noting, "In March, India issued the country's first compulsory license, allowing Natco Pharma to legally manufacture and sell a low-cost version of German drugmaker Bayer AG's patented cancer drug, Nexavar, at 3 percent of the original medicine's price on the grounds that Bayer's drug was not meeting public health requirement."

23 Jun 2012

NAPH honors Harris County Hospital District with 2012 Gage Award

The Harris County Hospital District has won the 2012 Gage Award for Improving Population Health for its Healthy Harvest, a program that coordinates farmers markets in healthcare centers to encourage patients to eat more fruits and vegetables.

23 Jun 2012

$Hip fracture type may determine regional anesthesia benefits$

Hip fracture type may determine regional anesthesia benefits

Use of regional anesthesia may reduce the risk for mortality and pulmonary complications among patients undergoing surgery for hip fracture, research shows.

22 Jun 2012

Parents play a major role in children's TV time

Researchers at Oregon State University have confirmed what we knew all along - children in this country are increasingly sedentary, spending too much time sitting and looking at electronic screens.

22 Jun 2012

Research funding in sub-Saharan Africa needs to 'reflect true disease burden'

With the disease burden of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria expected to make up less than 15 percent of the total disease burden in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by 2030, and non-communicable diseases to account for nearly 40 percent of the total in the region, "[a] revision of the approach to research and health care in SSA is therefore urgently needed, but international donors and health communities have generally been slow to respond to the changing environment."

22 Jun 2012

Parents must be considered during expansion of genetic screening programs for newborns

Parents must be considered when states decide to expand genetic screening programs for newborns, according to a new study that looked at mandatory testing panels and political pressure by advocacy groups.

22 Jun 2012