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Organic diet for children means less exposure to pesticides

In a new study researchers in the U.S. have shown that organic diets meant that children had less exposure to two common pesticides.

21 Feb 2006

Comprehensive schooling is neither less nor more effective at promoting social mobility than a selective system

Current debate about the UK government's proposed education reforms may be based on a false premise. Recent research suggests that education policy by itself contributes little to the rate at which people move between social classes, according to a new study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

20 Feb 2006

Organic diets lower children's exposure to pesticides

Organic diets lower children's dietary exposure to two common pesticides used in U.S. agricultural production, according to a study by Emory University researcher Chensheng "Alex" Lu, PhD. The substitution of organic food items for children's normal diets substantially decreased the pesticide concentration to non-detectable levels.

19 Feb 2006

Saw Palmetto not effective at relieving prostate problems

The herbal remedy saw palmetto is no more effective than a placebo at treating symptoms related to enlargement of the prostate gland, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

13 Feb 2006

More training needed to ensure accuracy of urine drug tests

In a survey of primary care physicians, most reported not using proper techniques when collecting urine samples for drug tests on adolescents and were often unaware of the tests' limitations, according to an article in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

9 Feb 2006

Teens' healthy food choices foiled by early lunch

Penn State researchers have identified three previously unreported factors that foil the efforts of high school students to make healthy food choices - early lunch, school income from soft drink incentives, and parents who bring fast food to the cafeteria for their kids.

7 Feb 2006

Mechanism of torpor - hibernation-like state

If doctors could put people in hibernation and pull them out at will, scientists think they could minimize damage from strokes, help recipients' bodies accept transplanted organs, perhaps even enable astronauts to travel in suspended animation until reaching distant destinations.

7 Feb 2006

Abortion-rights and anti-abortion groups share some values

People with strong views on abortion and other controversial issues tend to exaggerate differences of opinion they have with their opponents, a new University of Florida study finds.

7 Feb 2006

Alternative method to produce heparin

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered an alternative way to produce heparin, a drug commonly used to stop or prevent blood from clotting.

7 Feb 2006

"Freshman Fifteen" phenomenon is exaggerated

A common, but often undocumented, truism among college students is that they are likely to gain 15 pounds during their freshman year. But now a new study at Rutgers' Cook College has found that the "Freshman Fifteen" phenomenon is exaggerated.

7 Feb 2006

Researchers gain new insights into when human maturity sets in

Two Dartmouth researchers are one step closer to defining exactly when human maturity sets in. In a study aimed at identifying how and when a person's brain reaches adulthood, the scientists have learned that, anatomically, significant changes in brain structure continue after age 18.

7 Feb 2006

Are dancers genetically different than the rest of us?

What makes dancers different than the rest of us? Genetic variants, says a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

2 Feb 2006

Scientists more likely to have autistic children

According to an expert in the UK, highly analytical couples such as scientists, engineers, physicists and mathematicians, are more likely to produce children with autism.

31 Jan 2006

Student doctors call for ban on drug company bribes

Medical students in the U.S. are applauding a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which calls for a ban on gifts to doctors from drug companies.

26 Jan 2006

Boy with rare swallowing disorder has robotic surgery at UIC

Surgeons at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago performed robotic-assisted surgery on a 12-year-old Chicago boy with a rare swallowing disorder called achalasia.

24 Jan 2006

Robot designed to shoot X-ray video of sufferers of orthopedic injuries as they walk

The MRI and CT scan may one day have a robotic cousin capable of following and peering into patients as they move around.

23 Jan 2006

UIC surgeons first to use robot for living-donor kidney-pancreas transplant

Surgeons at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago are the first in the world to use robotic surgery to successfully remove a kidney and pancreas from a living-donor as part of a successful transplantation.

19 Jan 2006

The sweet answer to a poor memory

Sweet tooth types out there will be delighted to learn that those sweet and sugary drinks may improve the memory.

16 Jan 2006

Fish oil may improve behaviour of children with special educational needs

Students at a school for children with special educational needs in the UK are taking part in a study to see if taking fish oil supplements can improve their behaviour.

10 Jan 2006

Fuel for Living - Government dishes up recipes for health

Almost a third (33 per cent) of 16-24 year olds admit they have passed off a ready meal as their own creation when they wanted to impress someone according to a Department of Health.

10 Jan 2006