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Johns Hopkins researchers detect sweet cacophany while listening to cellular cross-talk

Johns Hopkins scientists were dubious in the early 1980s when they stumbled on small sugar molecules lurking in the centers of cells; not only were they not supposed to be there, but they certainly weren't supposed to be repeatedly attaching to and detaching from proteins, effectively switching them on and off.

20 Oct 2008

Birth control has long term effect on hormone exposure

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine may be one step closer to understanding why past oral contraceptive use dramatically lowers the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers later in life.

20 Oct 2008

New guides to preventing and treating osteoporosis

Dr Maria Fiatarone Singh, geriatrician and Professor of Medicine and Exercise and Sport Science at the University of Sydney has written a series of exercise guides.

20 Oct 2008

Better TB vaccine in the pipeline

Scientists in the U.S. believe they have a vaccine in the pipeline that offers better protection from tuberculosis (TB).

20 Oct 2008

New atlas maps geographical pattern of mortality in Great Britain

Researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Sheffield have created an 'atlas of death' which charts the geographical pattern of mortality in Great Britain. The full-colour atlas shows the wide variation in death rates from a variety of different causes, from heart attacks and cancer to suicide and murder, for over 1,000 neighbourhoods.

20 Oct 2008

Junior doctors in Australia struggling to cope

A new study by the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has found close to half of Australia's junior doctors think their heavy workload could compromise patient care.

20 Oct 2008

Polio could be wiped out in Nigeria thanks to improved vaccine

A recently introduced polio vaccine is four times more effective at protecting children than previous vaccines and has the potential to eradicate type 1 polio in Nigeria if it reaches enough children, according to a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

19 Oct 2008

Depression and suicidal thoughts among police officers differ based on gender and work shift

A quarter of female police officers and nearly as many male officers assigned to shift work had thought about taking their own lives, a new study of police work patterns and stress headed by a University at Buffalo researcher has shown.

19 Oct 2008

Historical accounts of lovesickness

Modern lovers could learn a thing or two from their Elizabethan counterparts about the pains and pleasures of frustrated passion, according to a new book by Dr Lesel Dawson, Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Bristol.

19 Oct 2008

Waste from gut bacteria helps host control weight

A single molecule in the intestinal wall, activated by the waste products from gut bacteria, plays a large role in controlling whether the host animals are lean or fatty, a research team, including scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center, has found in a mouse study.

19 Oct 2008

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor may predict schizophrenia relapse

A factor that helps optimize brain formation and function may also provide clues about whether patients suffering with schizophrenia are headed toward relapse, researchers say.

16 Oct 2008

Citywide electronic health information exchange

Across the nation concerns about health-care quality and costs are growing. For the first time, both candidates aspiring to the nation's highest office are looking to greater reliance on electronic medical records as critical to any remedy.

15 Oct 2008

Women need to be aware of changes, breast expert says

Every day, women face a barrage of headlines about breast cancer. What should they do with all of that information?

15 Oct 2008

Prolonging the withdrawal of life support in the ICU affects family satisfaction with care

Clinicians in the intensive care unit (ICU) often care for patients who are on several life support measures at once. When such a patient is dying and the decision is reached to withdraw life support, these clinicians may make an imperfect compromise in seeking to balance the complex needs of the patient and the patient's family - they may remove the life support measures one at a time over a period of days, rather than withdrawing all at once.

15 Oct 2008

People with severe obstructive sleep apnea often have poor diets

A study in the October 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that unrelated to obesity, people with severe SDBs consume a more unhealthy diet, which may be a factor contributing to greater cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. These findings were most evident among women.

15 Oct 2008

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia is a significant predictor of insomnia in women with breast cancer

A study in the October 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a significant predictor of insomnia in women with breast cancer and confirmed that longer nocturnal wake episodes were associated with a flatter diurnal cortisol slope.

15 Oct 2008

Study reveals too many people have faecal bacteria on their hands

According to a preliminary study conducted by the research team, the further north you go in Britain, the more likely you are to have faecal bacteria on your hands, and men were the worse offenders.

14 Oct 2008

Combo of sunlight and low antioxidant levels leave seniors at risk of eye disease

European research has revealed that blue light exposure from the sun combined with low plasma levels of antioxidants may contribute to certain forms of the eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

14 Oct 2008

High-dose vitamin B supplements do not slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer's

A clinical trial led by Paul S. Aisen, M.D., professor of neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, showed that high-dose vitamin B supplements did not slow the rate of cognitive decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease.

14 Oct 2008

Black patients with chronic pain less likely to have obesity measured

At the intersection of two U.S. health epidemics - obesity and chronic pain - researchers from the University of Michigan Health System found black patients with chronic pain were less likely to have their weight or body mass index (BMI) recorded, even though they are at higher risk for having obesity when compared with their white counterparts.

14 Oct 2008