Running News and Research

RSS

Bird flu pandemic supercomputer simulation model

Using supercomputers to respond to a potential national health emergency, scientists have developed a simulation model that makes stark predictions about the possible future course of an avian influenza pandemic, given today's environment of worldwide connectivity.

4 Apr 2006

Number of older people living in the English countryside is soaring

Figures show that 5.3m of England's projected 5.5m population growth in the period until 2028 will be due to the rise in the over-60s, who will mainly be living in rural districts. Numbers of people living in the countryside aged 85 and over are predicted to treble in this period.

4 Apr 2006

Caudal raphe or the hypoglossal nucleus or both together play roles in sleep apnea

The neural pathways between two areas of the brain that control the tongue -- and their interactions with each other -- may hold the key as to why men suffer sleep apnea much more than women.

4 Apr 2006

UV light has "feel-good" effects that may be similar to those of some addictive drugs

Frequent users of tanning beds may be getting more out of the experience than darker skin, according to researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

3 Apr 2006

Scans show smart kids have different brains

Researchers say that children who perform differently in IQ tests show different patterns of brain development.

31 Mar 2006

Modification of O'Connor's technique for the treatment of vesico-vaginal fistula repair described

Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) is a distressing disease with social, hygienic, and psychosexual consequences.

30 Mar 2006

NHS surgeons left to "pick up the pieces" after poor surgery at private treatment centres

NHS surgeons are being left to "pick up the pieces" after poor surgery at private treatment centres, warns a senior doctor in the British Medical Journal.

13 Mar 2006

Breakthrough in fast, disposable DNA testing

Thermal Gradient announced today that it has successfully developed a 30-cycle PCR device that can amplify DNA in just 4.4 minutes, far faster than anything available in the marketplace.

9 Mar 2006

Pregnancy diet has lifelong effects for baby

University of Nottingham researchers are targeting Europe's biggest killer diseases - by focusing on the diet of unborn babies.

8 Mar 2006

Prison Hepatitis program shows promise in limiting spread of HCV

In an article published in the Journal of Correctional Health Care, researchers from the National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI) reported on an evaluation of an intervention program within a prison system addressing Hepatitis C virus (HCV).

6 Mar 2006

Significant advance in our understanding of how sound is encoded for transmission to the brain

Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have discovered that our ears use the most efficient way to process the sounds we hear, from babbling brooks to wailing babies.

27 Feb 2006

Combination of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate may be effective in some patients with moderate-to-severe knee pain

Offering hope for millions of people who suffer the most from osteoarthritis, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has found that the combined use of two dietary supplements - glucosamine and chondroitin - provided significant pain relief from the most common form of arthritis.

24 Feb 2006

Panorama programme lead to significant increase in adverse paroxetine reports

The number of adverse reactions reported by UK doctors to the antidepressant paroxetine - often know by its brand name Seroxat - rose by 61 per cent after three editions of the BBC's award-winning current affairs programme Panorama explored increasing concerns about the drug.

14 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

How to be an "expert patient" and save your hospital money

British health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, in an attempt to resolve the financial quagmire the National Health service has got itself into, is demanding that in future financial management be put ahead of clinical objectives.

23 Jan 2006

Giant protein titin helps build muscles

Imagine grabbing two snakes by the tail so that they can't wriggle off in opposite directions. Scientists at the Hamburg Outstation of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and collaborators from King's College in London have now discovered that something similar happens to a protein that is crucial in the formation of muscle tissue.

11 Jan 2006

Heart disease risk higher if a brother or sister has heart problems

According to a new report having a brother or sister with a cardiovascular disease poses a greater risk than having a parent with a history of the disease.

28 Dec 2005

Online patient monitoring

Drivers know whether or not their cars are running properly by observing the dashboard. Physicians can check vital parameters such as the pulse even when their patients are at home. The data can be recorded with the wireless monitoring device VitaSENS.

15 Dec 2005

Researchers learn to detect DNA mutations

A team of ASU researchers led by Nongjian Tao and Peiming Zhang has developed a new, breakthrough technique for the detection of DNA mutations.

13 Dec 2005

SPARC promotes heart muscle formation from stem cells

The protein SPARC plays a key role in the development of heart muscle in the embryo. An Austrian Science Fund FWF project has discovered this previously unknown role of SPARC.

12 Dec 2005