Puberty News and Research

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Puberty is the maturation stage a person goes through when they develop secondary sexual characteristics. Usually, puberty occurs between the ages of 8 and 12 years in girls and between 9 and 14 years in boys.

Cosmetics may contain chemicals that raise risk of obesity and diabetes

Scientists found that those who were exposed to phthalates, colourless man-made substances included in a variety of common consumer products, were more prone to weight gain. And subjects with even 'modest' levels of the substance in their bloodstream were twice as likely to develop diabetes.

16 Apr 2012

New technique could restore fertility of boys undergoing cancer treatment

Treatments for childhood cancers are increasingly successful with cure rates approaching 80%, but success often comes with a downside for the surviving men: the cancer treatments they received as boys can leave them sterile as adults. Now, a research team led by Ralph Brinster of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has completed a 14-year experiment that gives hope for a technique that could restore their fertility.

29 Mar 2012

World's tallest man appears to have stopped growing after treatment at UVA

The world's tallest man appears to have stopped growing following treatment at the University of Virginia Medical Center, earning the medical center a mention in the 2012 Guinness World Records.

13 Mar 2012

Negative effects of environmental toxicants can pass across generations

A Washington State University researcher has demonstrated that a variety of environmental toxicants can have negative effects on not just an exposed animal but the next three generations of its offspring.

3 Mar 2012

Similar mechanisms drive changes in puberty

It's one of life's special moments: a child finds a fat caterpillar, puts it in a jar with a twig and a few leaves, and awakens one day to find the caterpillar has disappeared and an elegant but apparently lifeless case now hangs from the twig.

1 Mar 2012

Anorexia on the rise among kids and anti-obesity campaigns blamed

According to Dr Jane Morris, chairwoman of the Scottish Eating Disorder Interest Group, healthy eating drives are causing anorexia in children. She said children were obsessing about their diet because of drives to combat obesity.

27 Feb 2012

Gender nonconformity in childhood leads to increased risk of abuse: Study

According to researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and Children's Hospital Boston, children who do not conform to their gender-expected behaviors and interests are at a higher risk of being abused and facing subsequent traumas. Their work is published in the journal Pediatrics.

21 Feb 2012

Gender identity disorder linked with mental health risk in children

The first study to characterize a cohort of U.S. children with diagnosed gender identity disorder, led by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, documents significant mental health risks as children struggle with strong feelings of being born "in the wrong body."

20 Feb 2012

$Physical exercise in early 20's aids bone growth, reduces risk of fractures$

Physical exercise in early 20's aids bone growth, reduces risk of fractures

Physical exercise in the early twenties improves bone development and may reduce the risk of fractures later in life, reveals a study of more than 800 Swedish men carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

14 Feb 2012

Sexuality changes throughout life but US policy and research fail to keep up

Americans will spend more than $17 billion on Valentine's Day, but far less on programs like sex education for adolescents. The editors of the new book, Sex for Life, From Virginity to Viagra, How Sexuality Changes Throughout Our Lives, argue that not only do our public policies on sex education need to be reevaluated, our entire concept of human sexuality needs to be broadened.

13 Feb 2012

Women with higher mammographic density more likely to develop breast cancer

A new study analyses the influence that certain birth and infancy characteristics have on mammographic density - an important indicator of breast cancer risk. The results reveal that women born to mothers aged over 39 years and women who were taller and thinner than the average girl prior to puberty have a higher breast density. This brings with it an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

7 Feb 2012

Breathalyzer distinguishes normal and disease-state glucose metabolism

The future of disease diagnosis may lie in a "breathalyzer"-like technology currently under development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

7 Feb 2012

Scientists uncover genes that govern male and female behaviors

Hormones shape our bodies, make us fertile, excite our most basic urges, and as scientists have known for years, they govern the behaviors that separate men from women. But how? Now a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has uncovered many genes influenced by the male and female sex hormones testosterone and estrogen that, in turn, govern several specific types of male and female behaviors in mice.

3 Feb 2012

Young female cancer survivors concerned about their future fertility

Young female cancer survivors are concerned about their future fertility and parenthood options and want better information and guidance early on, according to a new study by Jessica Gorman and her team from the University of California in the US.

10 Jan 2012

Bed bugs deterred by body hair: Study

According to Sheffield, UK researchers hairy skin may be the key to avoiding being bitten by bed bugs. The study was reported in the journal Biology Letters. Researchers say the hair slows down the bed bugs and warns the victim.

18 Dec 2011

Study highlights need for greater recognition of sexual and reproductive healthcare needs of teen boys

Two newly published reports by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center highlight the need for greater recognition of the sexual and reproductive healthcare needs of teen boys and enumerate the essential services this traditionally overlooked group should receive at least once a year.

9 Dec 2011

The contraceptive pill could reduce risk of ovarian and uterine cancer in nuns

Professor Roger Short, from the University of Melbourne, and Dr Kara Britt, from Monash University, argue in a comment piece in The Lancet, that since the contraceptive pill reduces overall mortality and mortality specifically linked to ovarian and uterine cancer, nuns should be given the pill for health, rather than contraceptive, reasons.

9 Dec 2011

ZEN bust-enhancing supplements may increase risk of breast cancer

Women who use bust-enhancing dietary supplements containing the mycoestrogen zearalenone (ZEN), a naturally occurring toxin that widely contaminates agricultural products, could be increasing their risk of breast cancer. That is the warning from breast health experts in a paper published online ahead of print publication in the January issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

9 Dec 2011

Epilepsy patients can benefit from gamma knife radiosurgery

Neurosurgeons continue to explore minimally invasive surgery with gamma radiation (gamma knife surgery / GKS) in the treatment of brain lesions causing seizures and epilepsy. Studies of the procedure are showing it to be an effective alternative to invasive microsurgery for hypothalamic hamartomas and other lesions that lie deep within the brain.

5 Dec 2011

Hypothalamus may be involved in generating laughter

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the hypothalamus, a structure lying deep within the brain may be involved in generating laughter. Gelastic epilepsy, a rare condition characterized by laughing seizures, is commonly the result of a congenital brain lesion within the hypothalamus.

5 Dec 2011