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New link between obesity, SDB and cognition among elementary school children

Researchers at the University of Chicago have found important new relationships between obesity, sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and cognitive processing among elementary school children.

4 Nov 2011

Scientists discover alternative mechanism for extension of telomeres

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center have discovered an alternative mechanism for the extension of the telomere repeat sequence by DNA repair enzymes.

4 Nov 2011

Longer looks: A doctor's dilemma on C-sections; apology for a death sparked a hospital's change

I was the obstetrician on hospital duty that Sunday morning, so I introduced myself and learned that the patient, pregnant with her first child, wished to have as few interventions as possible. Respecting her desire, we decided to reevaluate her in a few hours to see how her labor had progressed. But would she get her wish? ... the odds were greater than 1 in 4 that this woman would end up not with the natural delivery she wanted, but with a surgical delivery in one of the two operating rooms down the hall.

4 Nov 2011

Scientists identify mechanism by which GBM promotes neurodegeneration

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine have discovered a mechanism by which glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common form of brain cancer, promotes the loss of function or death of neurons, a process known as neurodegeneration.

4 Nov 2011

Mental health intervention can help prevent suicides among youth

Roughly 1 million people die by suicide each year. In the U.S., where nearly 36,000 people take their own lives annually, more than 4,600 victims are between the ages of 10 and 24, making suicide the third leading cause of death in this age group.

4 Nov 2011

PlusNews reports on importance of cost-effectiveness of ZAMSTAR study for policymakers, donors amid economic downturn

PlusNews reports on the results of the Zambia-South Africa TB and AIDS Reduction (ZAMSTAR) study released on Monday at the International Lung Health Conference in Lille, France, which show that "home-based tuberculosis (TB) education and testing reduced community TB prevalence by about 20 percent."

4 Nov 2011

Penn research group receives NCI grant to establish BETRNet

A research group at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, led by John Lynch, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, has received a National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant to establish a Barrett's esophagus translational research network (BETRNet) with Columbia University and the Mayo Clinic.

4 Nov 2011

Climate change, environmental destruction threaten improvements among world's poorest, UNDP report warns

"Unchecked environmental destruction will halt -- or even reverse -- the huge improvements seen in the living conditions of the world's poorest people in recent decades," the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warns in its 2011 Human Development report, which was released on Wednesday, the Guardian reports.

4 Nov 2011

Cancer cells maintain rapid proliferation due to PK-M2 enzyme

Cancer cells maintain their life-style of extremely rapid growth and proliferation thanks to an enzyme called PK-M2 (pyruvate kinase M2) that alters the cells' ability to metabolize glucose - a phenomenon known as the Warburg effect.

3 Nov 2011

Savient third quarter net loss decreases to $27.4 million

Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, which reflect the Company's continuing investment in the U.S. launch of KRYSTEXXA (pegloticase). Savient ended the quarter with $202.7 million in cash and short-term investments, a decrease of $37.6 million for the quarter.

3 Nov 2011

Gene therapy and stem cell transplantation successfully reverse hemophilia A

For the first time, researchers have combined gene therapy and stem cell transplantation to successfully reverse the severe, crippling bleeding disorder hemophilia A in large animals, opening the door to the development of new therapies for human patients.

3 Nov 2011

USC Professor receives NSF's new Innovation Corps award

Last month, for the first time in 11 years, USC Associate Professor Ellis Meng found herself raising her hand and asking questions in the classroom - not answering them.

3 Nov 2011

Measles virus develops a strategy of diabolic elegance

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered why measles, perhaps the most contagious viral disease in the world, spreads so quickly. The virus emerges in the trachea of its host, provoking a cough that fills the air with particles ready to infect the next host. The findings may also help in the fight against ovarian, breast and lung cancers.

3 Nov 2011

Medtronic launches MIDLF procedure at 26th North American Spine Society meeting

Medtronic, Inc. the world leader in spinal technology, announced today a pioneering approach to minimally invasive spinal fusion at the 26th annual meeting of the North American Spine Society in Chicago, IL.

From Medtronic 3 Nov 2011

Link between poverty, fast food and obesity

A new national study of eating out and income shows that fast-food dining becomes more common as earnings increase from low to middle incomes, weakening the popular notion that fast food should be blamed for higher rates of obesity among the poor.

3 Nov 2011

Study: Melanoma survivors more likely to have new cancers

Melanoma skin cancer survivors are much more likely than the general population to have future new cases of invasive melanomas and other cancers, says a national study led by UAMS' Appathurai Balamurugan, M.D., M.P.H.

3 Nov 2011

Eliminating senescent cells could prevent or delay onset of age-related disorders

Researchers at Mayo Clinic have shown that eliminating cells that accumulate with age could prevent or delay the onset of age-related disorders and disabilities. The study, performed in mouse models, provides the first evidence that these "deadbeat" cells could contribute to aging and suggests a way to help people stay healthier as they age.

3 Nov 2011

Allergy shots are cost-effective and deliver relief in weeks

Allergy shots, an age-old treatment for allergy sufferers, are getting a shot in the arm from new research. This proven therapy saves money; accelerated schedules deliver relief in weeks, rather than months; and alternative methods are on the horizon, according to allergists at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Boston, Nov 3-8.

3 Nov 2011

Novel indirect screener can identify women at risk for illicit drug use

A team of researchers at Wayne State University's Parent Health Lab in the School of Medicine have developed a novel indirect screener that identifies women at risk for drug use by evaluating correlates of illicit drug use rather than drug use itself. In phase I testing, this new screener proved to be more sensitive than any alternative approach at detecting recent drug use.

3 Nov 2011

Study highlights profound impact of maternal separation on infants

A woman goes into labor, and gives birth. The newborn is swaddled and placed to sleep in a nearby bassinet, or taken to the hospital nursery so that the mother can rest. Despite this common practice, new research published in Biological Psychiatry provides new evidence that separating infants from their mothers is stressful to the baby.

3 Nov 2011