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Vampire bats can smell blood-rich prey: Study

In the labs of University of California, San Francisco and from the wilds of Venezuela scientists have discovered how vampire bats have evolved over the years with a unique weapon that enables them to zero in for a ravenous feed on the warmest blood vessels of their prey.

4 Aug 2011

New approach reduces cyanogen, enhances nutritional value in root crop

Researchers working at The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have made an another advancement in their efforts to improve the root crop cassava which is a major source of calories to 700 million people worldwide, primarily living in the developing world.

3 Aug 2011

Editorials dissect debt deal, contraception, HSAs, long-term care

The long-term challenge for the federal budget is in benefit programs. Rising healthcare costs and the aging population are driving the budgets for Medicaid and Medicare through the roof, causing those programs to consume an ever-larger percentage of the budget.

3 Aug 2011

VIB researchers develop mouse model for Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy

VIB researchers have developed a mouse model for Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) neuropathy, a hereditary disease of the peripheral nervous system.

3 Aug 2011

Illinois EPA declares August 1 as air pollution action day for Chicago

In addition to the "Monday back-to-work blues" trouble breathing, fatigue, headaches and congestion may be what many Chicagoans experience today due to toxic air quality. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has declared an air pollution action day for today, August 1, for the greater Chicago metropolitan area.

2 Aug 2011

New liquid material shows promise for people with facial deformities

Biomedical engineers at Johns Hopkins have developed a new liquid material that in early experiments in rats and humans shows promise in restoring damaged soft tissue relatively safely and durably.

2 Aug 2011

Prohibitive costs prevent elders from sticking to prescribed medication

As many as one in ten elderly people in the US, registered with Medicare, do not stick to their prescribed medication because it is too expensive, according to Dr. Larissa Nekhlyudov and colleagues from Harvard Medical School.

1 Aug 2011

National campaign to eradicate child heat stroke deaths in vehicles

Safe Kids USA today called on government, advocacy groups, automakers and car seat manufacturers to combine efforts to eliminate child heat stroke deaths in vehicles by 2013.

30 Jul 2011

Cancer patients should stick to basic sun-protection guidelines, experts say

Summer often brings with it fun in the sun, but for cancer patients it also presents new challenges and the need for additional protection.

30 Jul 2011

Expert offers air quality control tips

A mold count of more than 50,000 has triggered an alert for dangerous air quality throughout the Midwest . The Midwest experienced a record-breaking winter for snow, and is again setting new records for heat and rain.

29 Jul 2011

GE's Innova imaging systems maintain quality at lower dose rates under live fluoroscopy

As the number of interventional procedures to diagnose and treat patients increases worldwide, and the procedures grow in complexity and length, exposure to radiation is a growing concern for both clinicians and patients.

28 Jul 2011

Arterial spin labeling shows areas of brain activity in chronic low back pain patients

Research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) uses a new imaging technique, arterial spin labeling, to show the areas of the brain that are activated when patients with low back pain have a worsening of their usual, chronic pain.

28 Jul 2011

Social media may improve public health system's ability to prepare, recover from disasters

Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare may be an important key to improving the public health system's ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, according to a New England Journal of Medicine "Perspective" article from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania to be published this week.

28 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Chambliss on reviving Gang of Six proposal; WSJ on Medicare Part D; Friedman on 'doing this right'

I joined five other senators to identify the difficult issues and make the hard, necessary decisions to address the twin challenges of our deficit and debt. ... Among other provisions, our proposal reduces the debt by $3.7 trillion over the next 10 years, stabilizes our publicly held debt by 2014, and imposes tough and honest budget enforcement.

28 Jul 2011

Athletic trainers and coaches bear major responsibility for preventing deaths

Colleges and high schools must follow an active strategy to preventing deaths among student athletes from exertional heat stroke (EHS) and other causes, according to an editorial in a recent issue of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

27 Jul 2011

Extreme heat and rain lead to higher mold count in the Midwest

A record 7 inches of rain combined with the spate of 100-plus-degree days has spawned the highest mold count recorded for the year, just short of an air pollution warning.

27 Jul 2011

Foot care tips for diabetes patients

With the peak of summer now upon us, many of us will take time to kick off the shoes and take a walk on the beach or maybe on a grassy field in the local park. Some may even hop into a river or creek to cool off. No worries, right? Well, for some people, relaxing barefoot comes with some concern. Specifically, those with diabetes need to pay close attention to their feet.

26 Jul 2011

National Institute of General Medical Sciences now offers range of online products

As the heat index rises, one thing remains at zero—the cost of the engaging and informative educational materials produced by the National Institutes of Health.

25 Jul 2011

Specific yeast protein can promote spontaneous prion formation

It's a chicken and egg question. Where do the infectious protein particles called prions come from? Essentially clumps of misfolded proteins, prions cause neurodegenerative disorders, such as mad cow/Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, in humans and animals.

25 Jul 2011

DNA test reveals unlisted ingredients in herbal brews, teas

Take a second look at your iced or steaming tea. Guided by scientific experts, three New York City high school students using tabletop DNA technologies found several herbal brews and a few brands of tea contain ingredients unlisted on the manufacturers' package.

22 Jul 2011