Research News and Research

RSS

Why people like horror movies?

A bedrock assumption in theories that explain and predict human behavior is people's motivation to pursue pleasure and avoid pain.

26 Jul 2007

White blood cell booster may help cancer patients avoid deadly complications

Cancer patients who receive a drug that stimulates the growth of infection-fighting white blood cells may be significantly less likely to die from a chemotherapy-related complication characterized by fever and low white blood cell levels, according to a multi-institutional study led by researchers from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

26 Jul 2007

Children with HIV early antiretroviral therapy study

Hundreds of thousands of babies around the world are born each year with HIV--more than half a million in 2006 alone.

26 Jul 2007

Electronics that interface with biological systems

Imagine a chip, strategically placed in the brain, that could prevent epileptic seizures or allow someone who has lost a limb to control an artificial arm just by thinking about it.

26 Jul 2007

Critical for Congress to vote for health care for children and seniors

In a letter to leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce committees, the president of the American College of Physicians (ACP) expressed support for the Children's Health and Medicare Preotection (CHAMP) Act of 2007 (H.R. 3162).

26 Jul 2007

New hope for aortic dissection survivors

Each year, 10,000 Americans suffer a sudden tear in the lining of their body's largest blood vessel, the aorta.

26 Jul 2007

Short CPR course just as effective as long

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that a user-friendly, 30-minute, video-based cardiopulmonary resuscitation training session is just as effective as the traditional three- to four-hour course in teaching basic life-saving techniques to laypersons.

26 Jul 2007

Steroid medications don't work in treating lower respiratory infections in children

The use of steroid medication to treat bronchiolitis, a common viral lower respiratory infection in infants , does not prevent hospitalization or improve their respiratory symptoms, according to a study published in the July 26 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

26 Jul 2007

Itchy and scratchy gene discovered

Itching for a better anti-itch remedy? Your wish may soon be granted now that scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified the first gene for the itch sensation in the central nervous system.

26 Jul 2007

Resisting peer pressure all in the brain

The capacity to resist peer pressure in early adolescence may depend on the strength of connections between certain areas of the brain, according to a study carried out by University of Nottingham researchers.

26 Jul 2007

Metformin gets top grade for diabetes

A type 2 diabetes drug taken orally and in widespread use for more than a decade has been found to have distinct advantages over nine other, mostly newer medications used to control the chronic disease, according to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins.

26 Jul 2007

Are your friends making you fat? Or keeping you slender?

According to new research from Harvard and the University of California, San Diego, the short answer on both counts is "yes."

26 Jul 2007

Jury out on high fructose corn syrup and obesity

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has been singled out as having special properties that make Americans fatter than sugar and other energy sources with identical calorie contents.

26 Jul 2007

Obesity spreads within social networks

People wondering about excessive weight gain might look to their relationships with family and friends for one clue, suggests new research reported July 26, 2007, in The New England Journal of Medicine.

26 Jul 2007

Implantable contraceptives are extremely effective

Although the devices are barely used in developed countries and only a bit more popular elsewhere, a new review of research suggests that implantable contraceptives are extremely effective.

25 Jul 2007

Research sheds light on synesthesia

In the psychological phenomenon known as 'synesthesia', individuals sensory systems are a bit more intertwined than usual.

25 Jul 2007

Radiation therapy combined with microsurgery shows promise for curing injured spinal cord

Research on rats with crushed spinal cords, similar to human injury, reveals that treatment soon after injury combining radiation therapy to destroy harmful cells and microsurgery to drain excess fluids significantly increases the body's ability to repair the injured cord leading to permanent recovery from injury, according to the study published in the July 18 peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.

25 Jul 2007

Prenatal alcohol exposure alters brain activity in the frontal-striatal areas

Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure does not always lead to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS); sometimes it can lead to cognitive and behavioral deficits in the absence of craniofacial features needed to make an FAS diagnosis.

25 Jul 2007

Telephone counseling coaxes reluctant alcoholics into treatment

Telephone counseling might be an effective primary care intervention for men who are not seeking treatment for their alcohol dependence or abuse, according to a new study.

25 Jul 2007

Experience of the surgeon determines outcome of prostate cancer surgery

According to a new study published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, prostate cancer patients treated by highly experienced surgeons are much more likely to be cancer-free five years after surgery than patients treated by surgeons with less experience.

25 Jul 2007