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UHN, Toronto Rehab receive Board approval for integration

The Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (Toronto Rehab) and University Health Network (UHN) Boards of Directors today gave final approval to the integration of Toronto Rehab with UHN today which is the final step in a process that began in April, 2011.

17 Jun 2011

Most US counties are falling behind in life expectancy

While people in Japan, Canada, and other nations are enjoying significant gains in life expectancy every year, most counties within the United States are falling behind, according to a new study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.

17 Jun 2011

ASEAN members sign new action plan to fight dengue

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday as part of an event marking ASEAN Dengue Day signed a new action plan aimed at fighting dengue in the region, the Jakarta Post reports.

17 Jun 2011

Japan to evacuate pregnant women, children at risk of high radiation levels outside of evacuation zone

"Japan plans to ask pregnant women and children to move away from radiation 'hotspots' that were found far away from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the government said on Thursday, reflecting new anxieties about the spread of radioactivity," Reuters reports.

17 Jun 2011

Unprescribed methods to bring on labor may not be effective

More than half of the women in a recently published survey reported that near the end of their pregnancies, they took it upon themselves to try to induce labor, mostly by walking, having sex, eating spicy food or stimulating their nipples.

17 Jun 2011

Specific lipid mixtures can overcome lethal effects of multidrug-resistant bacteria

"Super bugs," which can cause wide-spread disease and may be resistant to most, if not all, conventional antibiotics, still have their weaknesses. A team of Canadian scientists discovered that specific mixtures of antimicrobial agents presented in lipid (fatty) mixtures can significantly boost the effectiveness of those agents to kill the resistant bacteria.

17 Jun 2011

Wireless intelligent sensor platform for emergency responders

When Hansel and Gretel ventured into the forest, they left a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way home. In today's world, cellular phones, Global Positioning System (GPS), WiFi, and Bluetooth are the digital signals that connect us to friends, family, and colleagues while helping us find our location and map our routes.

17 Jun 2011

Inaccurate number sense is one cause of math learning disabilities

A new study published today in the journal Child Development finds that having a poor "gut sense" of numbers can lead to a mathematical learning disability and difficulty in achieving basic math proficiency. This inaccurate number sense is just one cause of math learning disabilities, according to the research led by Dr. Michele Mazzocco of the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

17 Jun 2011

Obese, overweight and still healthy

It's become an axiom of health that overweight and obese people are not as healthy as their normal weight counterparts. In fact, obesity has been targeted as one of the country's most serious public health problems, with predictions of widespread heart disease, diabetes and cancer among the growing number of Americans who are overweight.

17 Jun 2011

AHRQ finds more rural emergency department visits among low-income adults

Low-income adults ages 18 to 64 accounted for 56 percent of the 8 million visits made to rural hospital emergency departments in 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

17 Jun 2011

Snack-based diet can increase risk of obesity

A high-fat diet can be bad for your health. However, a snack-based "cafeteria"-style diet of highly palatable, energy-dense foods is even worse, according to new research.

17 Jun 2011

G20 should examine larger food issues

"The inefficiencies in food production, transport and wastage are not only hazardous from a financial and environmental perspective; they are equally tragic on a moral level," independent consultant and writer Cynthia Schweer writes in a post on Foreign Policy Blogs.

17 Jun 2011

Biomedical engineers analyze and duplicate the neural mechanism of learning in rats

Scientists have developed a way to turn memories on and off-literally with the flip of a switch. Using an electronic system that duplicates the neural signals associated with memory, they managed to replicate the brain function in rats associated with long-term learned behavior, even when the rats had been drugged to forget.

17 Jun 2011

Canadian privacy experts issue new report that dispels myths of de-identification

Canadian privacy experts have issued a new report today that strongly backs the practice of de-identification as a key element in the protection of personal information.

17 Jun 2011

Functional vision restored after 55 years

After being hit in the eye by a stone, a detached retina left a man blind in his right eye. Despite surgery to remove a cataract when the man was 23, which temporarily restored light perception, the patient was completely blind in that eye.

17 Jun 2011

Men's flashy spending may work for the short term but not for marriage

New research by faculty at Rice University, the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) and the University of Minnesota finds that men's conspicuous spending is driven by the desire to have uncommitted romantic flings. And, gentlemen, women can see right through it.

17 Jun 2011

Food-based soy products safe for breast cancer survivors, expert says

There has been widespread concern about whether it is safe for women with breast cancer to eat soy. An excellent source of fiber, vitamin B6 and protein, soy is usually associated with a health-conscious diet, but research concerning its safety has been mixed.

17 Jun 2011

Instability and global food prices

In this report from the Center for Strategic & International Studies, part of its Global Forecast 2011, Johanna Nesseth Tuttle writes, "As food prices have risen - to a new, all-time high in 2011 - it is clear that, although we are not inevitably destined for instability as a result of declining food stocks, without serious commitment and focus we will be hard-pressed to manage the dramatic increase in food production that will be needed to meet global demand".

17 Jun 2011

UTHealth receives $1M FEMA grant to examine link between Ad-36 infection, obesity

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have been awarded nearly $1 million to investigate Adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) infection as a novel risk factor for obesity.

17 Jun 2011

More money needed to fight health issues

"I can't help worrying that, as donors slap themselves on the back over their generosity [shown through pledges to the GAVI Alliance] …, their feelgood factor will turn into a warm glow of satisfaction at having played out their part. Problem solved," Sarah Boseley writes on the Guardian's "Global Health Blog."

17 Jun 2011