pH News and Research

RSS

pH comes from the term “power of Hydrogen”, or the hydrogen ion concentration present in a given solution. It helps to measure the acidity or alkalinity of a substance.

Scientists closer to solving epilepsy mystery

Scientists in the United States believe they are a step closer to understanding why some people suffer from epileptic fits.

9 Jun 2008

Sun and vitamin D levels may play a strong role in risk of type 1 diabetes in children

In this new study, the researchers found that populations living at or near the equator, where there is abundant sunshine (and ultraviolet B irradiance) have low incidence rates of type 1 diabetes. Conversely, populations at higher latitudes, where available sunlight is scarcer, have higher incidence rates.

5 Jun 2008

Drinking juice not associated with overweight and obesity in children

Children who drink 100-percent juice are no more likely to be overweight and may have a better overall nutrient intake than children who do not drink juice, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

2 Jun 2008

New type of wound dressing made of silica gel fibers

A new type of wound dressing made of silica gel fibers will soon help to heal difficult wounds caused by burns or diabetes. The dressing forms a supporting matrix for newly growing skin cells and is fully absorbed by the body during the healing process.

29 May 2008

Body's baking soda used to catch cancer early

A chemical commonly called baking soda which is found naturally in the body could be used to detect cancer with magnetic resonance imaging, reveals a Cancer Research UK study published in Nature.

29 May 2008

Discovery on how an Helicobacter pylori toxin gets into cells

Helicobacter pylori is one tough bug. It can survive in the human stomach, a zone with a pH somewhere between that of lemon juice and battery acid. Now researchers have discovered how an H. pylori toxin gets into cells, a feat that helps the bacterium live in one of the most inhospitable environments in the body

26 May 2008

Discovery of mechanism of action of antibiotic able to reduce neuronal cell death in brain

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have discovered how an antibiotic works to modulate the activity of a neurotransmitter that regulates brain functions, which eventually could lead to therapies to treat Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, epilepsy, stroke, dementia and malignant gliomas.

11 May 2008

Uninsured kids in middle class have same unmet needs as poor

Nationwide, uninsured children in families earning between $38,000 and $77,000 a year are just as likely to go without any health care as uninsured children in poorer families. More than 40 percent of children in those income brackets who are uninsured all year see no physicians and have no prescriptions all year, according to new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center.

5 May 2008

New SCHIP enrollees have unmet health care needs

Even with prior private health insurance, patients enrolling in the state children's health insurance program (SCHIP) had unmet health care needs. Instituting a waiting period would further prolong these children's need to address asthma and other chronic health conditions.

5 May 2008

Obesity and heart failure risk

Heart specialists at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere report what is believed to be the first wide-scale evidence linking severe overweight to prolonged inflammation of heart tissue and the subsequent damage leading to failure of the body's blood-pumping organ.

1 May 2008

Philippine lawmaker introduces bill to bolster HIV/AIDS prevention, services

Philippine Rep. Nerissa Corazon Soon Ruiz recently introduced a measure that would amend the country's 1998 AIDS Prevention and Control Act in an effort to strengthen prevention and care services, the Manila Standard reports.

30 Apr 2008

Children more vulnerable to harmful effects of lead at age 6 than as toddlers

Contrary to prevailing assumptions, children are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of lead exposure at the age of 6 than they are in early childhood, according to a Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study to be presented May 4 at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Honolulu.

30 Apr 2008

Protein-cross-linked polymeric materials through site-selective bioconjugation

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley (USA) have now developed a new strategy for the formation of hybrid materials from synthetic polymers and proteins. They have thus been able to fuse the specific biological functions of proteins with the advantageous bulk and processing properties of plastics.

18 Apr 2008

$2.9 million to reduce colorectal cancer screening disparities in Vietnamese Americans

The Vietnamese REACH for Health Initiative coalition, under the leadership of the Northern California Cancer Center was recently awarded a $2.9 million grant from the National Institute of Health to evaluate the effectiveness of a colorectal cancer lay health worker and media intervention in increasing colorectal cancer screening among Vietnamese Americans aged 50-74 in Santa Clara County, California.

7 Apr 2008

Stimulant treatment for ADHD does not contribute to substance abuse later in life

Treating children as early as age six or seven with stimulants for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not likely to increase risk of substance abuse as adults, according to two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

2 Apr 2008