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Indoor tanning increases risk of non-melanoma skin cancer

The widespread liking for sunbeds continues to place a huge amount of individuals at risk of developing non-melanoma skin cancer.

22 Apr 2013

Cultural factors influence children’s taste preferences

Children love fatty and sugary foods. Or do they? New research contradicts the idea that all children under the age of ten have the same taste in food and highlights the importance of the country of residence, culture and age in these preferences.

22 Apr 2013

Despite public health efforts, sodium intake continues to rise.

Sodium intake around the world is well in excess of physiological needs and public health authorities agree that chronic excess sodium intake can increase blood pressure and the risk of heart attack and stroke. However, despite recommendations to lower sodium consumption over the last decade, actual intake continues to rise.

22 Apr 2013

Nano-Tera provides funds for research and development of artificial sphincter

The lack of control over one's own bowel movements can severely affect an individual's quality of life. Researchers at the University of Basel want to develop an adaptive implant that would be able to contract and relax like a natural muscle.

22 Apr 2013

New studies stress the health benefits of dietary fibre

The health benefits of fibre are relatively well known yet average fibre intake around the world continues to be inadequate . Many diets continue to lack recommended servings of foods naturally high in fibre like fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and whole grains resulting in low fibre intake.

22 Apr 2013

IMRT reduces feelings of dry mouth in patients with head and neck cancers

Geneva, Switzerland: Researchers have shown for the first time that it is possible to reduce the distressing symptoms of dry mouth in patients treated with radiotherapy for head and neck cancers if the radiation dose to a salivary gland (called the submandibular gland) on the opposite side to the tumour is kept to the minimum.

22 Apr 2013

Even light smoking is associated with increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis

Number of cigarettes smoked a day and the number of years a person has smoked both increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), finds research in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy. The risk decreases after giving up smoking but, compared to people who have never smoked, this risk is still elevated 15 years after giving up.

22 Apr 2013

3D image of cell signaling molecules indicates a trippable power switch

A three-dimensional image of one of the proteins that serves as an on-off switch as it binds to receptors on the surface of a cell suggests there may be a sort of main power switch that could be tripped. These surface receptors are responsible for helping cells discern light, set the heart racing, or detect pain.

22 Apr 2013

Combination of diet and exercise produces better results

A worrisome increase in obesity levels in much of the world suggests that current methods of motivating people to eat healthier food and get more exercise are not all that successful. Much of today's research focuses on ways of delivering messages in order to obtain the best sustained adherence to these two key health behaviors.

22 Apr 2013

Study identifies potential drug targets that interfere with cancer metabolism

A massive study analyzing gene expression data from 22 tumor types has identified multiple metabolic expression changes associated with cancer.

22 Apr 2013

Genetic study defines link between primary sclerosing cholangitis and other autoimmune diseases

Researchers have newly associated nine genetic regions with a rare autoimmune disease of the liver known as primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). This brings the total number of genetic regions associated with the disease to 16.

22 Apr 2013

Researchers decipher the underlying mechanism of antiviral drug

A long-forgotten candidate for antiviral therapy is undergoing a renaissance: Since the 1970s, the small molecule CMA has been considered a potent agent against viral infections, yet it was never approved for clinical use.

22 Apr 2013

Study: Use of anti-TNF therapies in RA patients does not increase risk of herpes zoster

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who initiated use of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapies were not at a higher risk of developing herpes zoster (shingles), compared with patients who initiated nonbiologic treatment regimens, according to research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the Oregon Health and Science University. The findings appeared in the March 6, 2013, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

22 Apr 2013

Potential therapies for smell loss

Snot. It's not something most of us spend a lot of time thinking about, but, for a team of researchers in Washington, D.C., it's front and center.

22 Apr 2013

Study examines link between cognitive complaints and neuropsychological testing abnormalities in breast cancer patients

For many years, breast cancer patients have reported experiencing difficulties with memory, concentration and other cognitive functions following cancer treatment. Whether this mental "fogginess" is psychosomatic or reflects underlying changes in brain function has been a bone of contention among scientists and physicians.

20 Apr 2013

Researchers find new potential target for anti-telomerase cancer therapy

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that alternative splicing - a process that allows a single gene to code for multiple proteins - appears to be a new potential target for anti-telomerase cancer therapy.

20 Apr 2013

Penn Medicine gene therapy study receives Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award

A gene therapy study focused on finding a cure for a rare congenital blinding disease has been recognized as one of the ten most outstanding clinical research projects of the year by the Clinical Research Forum.

20 Apr 2013

Shc plays key role in activating and controlling Erk

A protein which is intimately involved in cancer-promoting cell signaling also keeps a key component of the signaling pathway tied down and inactive, a team led by scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports this week in Nature Structural Molecular Biology.

20 Apr 2013

Study identifies seven new genetic regions associated with pulmonary fibrosis

A new genome-wide association study of more than 6,000 people has identified seven new genetic regions associated with pulmonary fibrosis. In findings published online in Nature Genetics on April 14, 2013, researchers at National Jewish Health, the University of Colorado and several other institutions found a number of genes associated with host defense, cell-cell adhesion and DNA repair, which provide clues to possible mechanisms underlying this currently untreatable disease.

20 Apr 2013

Researcher discovers additional mechanical properties of articular cartilage result in osteoarthritis

A researcher at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research has discovered additional mechanical properties of articular cartilage, a protective cartilage on the ends of bones that wears down over time, resulting in the development of osteoarthritis.

20 Apr 2013