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Tips to keep kids safe while playing outside in the cold

Cold winds, icy rain and, in some places, snow—Old Man Winter is here. With the snowball fights, snow forts and snowy hills come some serious dangers. In addition to ducking from flying snow balls and avoiding out-of-control skiers, parents need to be on the lookout for dangerously low body temperatures and frostbite related to cold weather exposure.

10 Jan 2013

Researchers use electrokinetic patterning to separate particles and microbes by size

Researchers have demonstrated a new technology that combines a laser and electric fields to create tiny centrifuge-like whirlpools to separate particles and microbes by size, a potential lab-on-a-chip system for medicine and research.

9 Jan 2013

Vaccine gives HIV patients a long-term boost

A functional cure for HIV-1 seems feasible after research shows that an immunotherapeutic vaccine demonstrated long-term efficacy at reducing viral load when administered to patients in the early stages of disease.

7 Jan 2013

TRIP-Br2 plays a major role in energy metabolism and fat storage

As part of their ongoing research on the physiologic factors that contribute to the development of obesity, Joslin Diabetes Center scientists have identified a cell cycle transcriptional co-regulator - TRIP-Br2 - that plays a major role in energy metabolism and fat storage.

6 Jan 2013

Itch-specific nerve cells in skin discovered by John Hopkins scientists

Johns Hopkins researchers have uncovered strong evidence that mice have a specific set of nerve cells that signal itch but not pain, a finding that may settle a decades-long debate about these sensations, and, if confirmed in humans, help in developing treatments for chronic itch, including itch caused by life-saving medications.

3 Jan 2013

Johns Hopkins scientists uncover itch-specific nerve cells in skin

3 Jan 2013

Extended sleep takes the pain out of mild chronic sleep loss

Increased sleep time and reduced sleepiness in mildly sleepy, but otherwise healthy, individuals increases alertness and in turn reduces pain sensitivity, US researchers have found.

28 Dec 2012

Winter is not a good excuse to give up fitness routines

The weather outside might be frightful, but sitting by that fire might make your fitness routine frightful. Though your body may be layered under sweatshirts and coats, staying active and healthy is important no matter what the temperature is outside.

27 Dec 2012

New therapeutic ultrasound approach could lead to an invisible knife for noninvasive surgery

A carbon-nanotube-coated lens that converts light to sound can focus high-pressure sound waves to finer points than ever before. The University of Michigan engineering researchers who developed the new therapeutic ultrasound approach say it could lead to an invisible knife for noninvasive surgery.

20 Dec 2012

New form of puffed rice ideal for breakfast cereals and snacks

A new process for blowing up grains of rice produces a super-nutritious form of puffed rice, with three times more protein and a rich endowment of other nutrients that make it ideal for breakfast cereals, snack foods and nutrient bars for school lunch programs, scientists are reporting. Their study appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

19 Dec 2012

Hair care, maintenance issues primary factors that deter African-American women from exercising

Hair care and maintenance issues are primary factors that deter African-American women from exercising, a major health concern for a group that has the highest rates of overweight or obesity in the country.

18 Dec 2012

Human nociception genes mapped out

Researchers have uncovered a “network map” of genes that are involved in pain perception, which they say may help identify new analgesic drugs.

17 Dec 2012

Low-wage workers vulnerable to financial hits that can result from on-the-job injuries and illnesses

Low-wage workers, who make up a large and growing share of the U.S. workforce, are especially vulnerable to financial hits that can result from on-the-job injuries and illnesses, according to a policy brief released today by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS).

14 Dec 2012

Researchers turn light into heat on the nanoscale to trigger biochemical reactions

Since Edison's first bulb, heat has been a mostly undesirable byproduct of light. Now researchers at Rice University are turning light into heat at the point of need, on the nanoscale, to trigger biochemical reactions remotely on demand.

14 Dec 2012

Researchers use nanotechnological approach to transform rattan wood into implants

Could ageing and damaged bones be replaced with implants based on wood? That's the question Italian researchers from the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management hope to answer.

13 Dec 2012

Fiscal talks continue with new round of proposals, finger-pointing

With the deadline looming, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boener, R-Ohio, traded new fiscal offers but appeared no closer to a deal. Boehner is pushing for more specifics on how Obama would cut safety net programs, while the White House continues to press for tax increases for the wealthy.

13 Dec 2012

Ceramic cookstoves may not reduce risk of pneumonia in young rural Kenyan children

Inexpensive, locally-produced ceramic cookstoves may produce less smoke than traditional indoor 3-stone firepits, but they don't significantly reduce indoor air pollution or the risk of pneumonia in young children, according to results from a small, year-long observational study by researchers working in rural Kenya.

13 Dec 2012