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Study evaluates humor and laughter in patients with COPD

Having a sense of humor is associated with improved emotional functioning and an enhanced quality of life among patients with a chronic lung illness, but the actual act of laughing out loud can reduce lung function, at least in the short term, research suggests.

3 Aug 2011

British scientists find seven new gene variants linked to prostate cancer

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have taken a further step to identifying men at a greater risk of prostate cancer with the discovery of seven new variants in the human genome that increase the chances of developing the disease. The research is published in Nature Genetics.

3 Aug 2011

Bear bile compound may help treat heart attack: Study

The compound, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), is already used to lower cholesterol and help dissolve gallstones, and it's a key ingredient in many traditional Chinese medicines, which use bear bile. According to the latest research from Imperial College London it might also be able to treat abnormal heart rhythm, or arrhythmia, in fetuses and heart attack victims.

3 Aug 2011

JDR paper shows no link between fluoride bone levels and osteosarcoma

A paper in the Journal of Dental Research by dentist Chester Douglass and colleagues, "An Assessment of Bone Fluoride and Osteosarcoma," claims to show no association between fluoride bone levels and osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer.

3 Aug 2011

Smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes in middle age linked to brain damage

A new study suggests smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and being overweight in middle age may cause brain shrinkage and lead to cognitive problems up to a decade later.

2 Aug 2011

Research: 7 Tesla MRI can accurately detect brain scarring linked with epilepsy

Using state-of-the-art, 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology, University of Minnesota Medical School researchers may have uncovered a better approach to diagnosing epilepsy.

2 Aug 2011

Lack of TLR1 surface expression linked with increased susceptibility to tuberculosis

Are you genetically predisposed to tuberculosis? Scientists may now be able to answer this question and doctors may be able to adjust their therapeutic approach based on what they learn. That's because new research presented in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that two frequent mutations in an immune system gene called TLR1 are responsible for cellular changes that ultimately make us less likely to resist the disease.

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

Methamphetamine use can fuel HIV infection risk among young MSM

A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center and elsewhere shows that methamphetamine use can fuel HIV infection risk among teenage boys and young men who have sex with men (MSM), a group that includes openly gay and bisexual men, as well as those who have sex with men but do not identify themselves as gay or bisexual.

2 Aug 2011

Manual of Clinical Microbiology now available as a digital edition

ASM Press announces the availability of the newest edition of its authoritative reference for clinical laboratory professionals. The Manual of Clinical Microbiology, 10th edition, is available in both print and, for the first time, a digital edition.

2 Aug 2011

Ursodeoxycholic acid could help prevent disturbances in heart's normal rhythm

A synthesised compound which is also found in bear bile could help prevent disturbances in the heart's normal rhythm, according to research published today in the journal Hepatology by a team from Imperial College London.

2 Aug 2011

Pregnancy and electromagnetic fields linked to asthma in kids

According to American researchers, children whose mothers had high exposure to electromagnetic fields while pregnant may have an increased risk of developing asthma. Many prior studies have failed to consistently show that chronic exposure to electromagnetic fields - from power lines and appliances such as microwaves ovens, hair dryers and vacuum cleaners - are harmful to human health.

1 Aug 2011

Mon General Hospital to install Merge cardiology and information solutions

Merge Healthcare, a leading provider of enterprise imaging and interoperability solutions, announced today that Mon General Hospital, one of West Virginia's leading acute-care community hospitals, located in Morgantown, is installing its full suite of enterprise-level cardiology solutions.

1 Aug 2011

Researchers identify new plasma membrane sculpting protein

The research group of Professor Pekka Lappalainen at the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, has identified a previously unknown mechanism which modifies the structure of plasma membranes in intestinal epithelial cells.

1 Aug 2011

Scientists reveal genetic region that increases risk of meningioma

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have conducted the first whole-genome scan of the brain tumour meningioma and revealed a genetic region that increases the risk of developing the disease, according to research published in Nature Genetics today.

1 Aug 2011

Three new loci linked to asthma susceptibility in Japanese population

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Genomic Medicine (CGM), together with colleagues at Kyoto University, Tsukuba University, Harvard University, and other medical institutions have identified three new loci associated with susceptibility to adult asthma in the Japanese population.

1 Aug 2011

Researchers reveal novel gene linked with asthma in African-Americans

A new national collaboration of asthma genetics researchers has revealed a novel gene associated with the disease in African-Americans, according to a new scientific report.

1 Aug 2011

Chronic fatigue researchers bullied, intimidated by protesters

British researchers who were focusing on psychological and mental issues linked to chronic fatigue syndrome have received death threats from protesters angry at their research area. The condition termed myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) has been studied for many years now with unclear reasoning into its causation and pathology.

31 Jul 2011

One in four British women at risk of cancer

A cancer charity revealed figures that show that British women are nearly a fifth more likely to develop cancer at some point during their lives than their European counterparts. Most of it is blamed on lifestyle factors such as obesity and alcohol consumption.

31 Jul 2011

8 out of ten Australians would use genetic depression susceptibility test results to reduce risky behaviour, survey shows

Eight out of ten Australians would radically change their behaviour if tests showed they had a genetic susceptibility to depression, a national study has found.

31 Jul 2011