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Women with sedentary lifestyle more likely to develop pulmonary embolism

Women who sit for long periods of time everyday are two to three times more likely to develop a life-threatening blood clot in their lungs than more active women, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

5 Jul 2011

Massage therapy more effective for patients with chronic low back pain

Massage therapy helps ease chronic low back pain and improve function, according to a randomized controlled trial that the Annals of Internal Medicine will publish in its July 5 issue.

5 Jul 2011

NovaUCD honors leading cancer researcher with 2011 Innovation Award

Professor William Gallagher, a leading cancer biology researcher in UCD's School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, was today presented with the NovaUCD 2011 Innovation Award.

5 Jul 2011

Researchers discover crucial role of miR-206 in skeletal muscle development

Research led by the University of East Anglia has discovered the crucial role of a molecule in skeletal muscle development.

5 Jul 2011

Shared environment influences susceptibility to autism more than previously thought

The largest and most rigorous twin study of its kind to date has found that shared environment influences susceptibility to autism more than previously thought.

5 Jul 2011

Research addresses chromosomal imbalance in embryos

Joint research between the University of Kent's Professor Darren Griffin, London Bridge Fertility Centre and BlueGnome Ltd has addressed chromosomal imbalance in embryos, a condition that is currently the major cause of pregnancy loss in IVF.

4 Jul 2011

Primiparity, maternal smoking and BMI linked to risk of pre-term birth

In Sweden almost 40 000 children have now been born after IVF, around 3 500 each year, and IVF children constitute 3% of all newborns. "This represents a large number of children and any adverse outcomes related to IVF are therefore a major public health issue," said Dr. Antonina Sazonova, from Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden, who carried out the research with colleagues from the hospital and from Lund University.

4 Jul 2011

New model may help reduce multiple pregnancies in women

Dr Jan Holte told the annual meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, that if this model were to be applied in all fertility clinics, it had the potential to reduce the twin rates to the level of just under two percent seen in the normal population. Already, another four clinics have started to use the model.

4 Jul 2011

Amyloid peptide Aβ43 may serve as biomarker for diagnosis of Alzheimer's

Researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute (BSI) and their collaborators have shed light on the function of a little-studied amyloid peptide in promoting Alzheimer's disease.

4 Jul 2011

Study: Urban children more likely to use active school transportation

The children most likely to walk or cycle to school live in urban areas, with a single parent, and in an economically disadvantaged home, according to survey results that were published in Pediatrics today by Dr. Roman Pabayo of the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre and the university's Department of Social and preventive medicine.

4 Jul 2011

New GHI research examines conflicts between donor and recipient countries

In the early 2000s, the international aid community started to fund health programs through Global Health Initiatives (GHIs) which provide aid and support for tackling infectious diseases, and for implementing immunization programs against childhood diseases. However priorities set by GHIs and by governments are not always the same.

4 Jul 2011

New insight into oocyte chromosome abnormalities

Ovarian stimulation undertaken by women of advanced maternal age receiving fertility treatment may be disrupting the normal pattern of meiosis - a critical process of chromosome duplication followed by two specialised cell divisions in the production of oocytes and sperm - and leading to abnormalities of chromosome copy numbers that result in IVF failure, pregnancy loss or, more rarely, the birth of affected children with conditions such as Down's syndrome, which is caused by the inheritance of three copies of chromosome 21.

4 Jul 2011

Simple blood test for melanoma-inhibitory activity could detect neurofibromas

Neurofibromatosis (NF1) is a genetic condition which affects one in every 3,000 people. The severity of symptoms can range from benign 'café au lait' patches on the skin, through small tumors under the skin and deep plexiform neurofibromas, to malignant tumors of the nerve sheath.

4 Jul 2011

New fish study focuses on prevalence of plastic ingestion

The first scientific results from an ambitious voyage led by a group of graduate students from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego offer a stark view of human pollution and its infiltration of an area of the ocean that has been labeled as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch."

2 Jul 2011

Virus-tested sweetpotato foundation seeds proven to increase yields

Sweetpotato is gaining popularity in the United States, where health-conscious consumers have created increased demand for the tasty, versatile food. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, per capita consumption of the crop increased over 24% from 1998-2008 and the value of the U.S. sweetpotato crop in 2009 exceeded $400 million.

2 Jul 2011

Increasing total sleep time may help improve athletic performance

Young basketball players spend hours dribbling up and down the court aspiring to NBA stardom. Now, new Stanford University School of Medicine research suggests another tactic to achieving their hoop dreams: sleep.

2 Jul 2011

Science should inform global AIDS policy

Thirty years have passed since the first reported case of AIDS, and "we now have an unprecedented opportunity, based on solid scientific data, to control and ultimately end the AIDS pandemic," after decades of the idea being "a distant aspiration because we lacked sufficient evidence-based tools to convert the hope to reality," Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, writes in a Science editorial.

2 Jul 2011

We must do more to monitor aid spending abroad

In a Washington Times opinion piece, Rep. Jason Chaffetz points to recent developments and experiences that have led him to conclude that "vast amounts of U.S. aid money is being spent with little documentation or verification of quantifiable results."

2 Jul 2011

Scientists use statistical approach to assess order of genetic abnormalities in cancers

Zeroing in on the early cell mutations that enable a cancer to grow is one of the best ways to find a personalized therapy to stop it. Scientists were able to use a statistical approach for the first time to map out the order in which these abnormalities form to analyze the pattern of DNA changes in advanced skin and ovarian tumors.

2 Jul 2011

Patients to get satisfaction survey when they leave hospitals

A provision of the 2010 health care law that seeks patient feedback on hospital stays goes into effect today. Also, federal officials issued a new rule designed to streamline paperwork requirements for the health care industry.

2 Jul 2011