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Transient absorption tracks carbon nanotubes in living cells and bloodstream

Researchers have demonstrated a new imaging tool for tracking structures called carbon nanotubes in living cells and the bloodstream, which could aid efforts to perfect their use in biomedical research and clinical medicine.

6 Dec 2011

WSU study to improve diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are one of the most common causes of birth defects worldwide and are particularly prevalent in some South African communities where heavy drinking during pregnancy is a major public health issue, particularly in the wine-growing areas of the Western Cape.

6 Dec 2011

UH receives HP/Intel Mission-Critical Innovation Award

In a world-wide competition, University Hospitals (UH) received the Mission-Critical Innovation Award - Humanitarian/Environmental Impact category presented by the multinational information technology companies Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Intel. The award recognizes UH's leadership in information technology for groundbreaking work in developing solutions for mission-critical computing.

6 Dec 2011

GE Healthcare, UCSF collaborate for cord blood project

UCSF and the Cell Technologies business of GE Healthcare Life Sciences have begun a unique collaboration aimed at overcoming the lack of blood-forming stem cells available to patients suffering from life-threatening diseases such as lymphoma, myeloma, leukemia or sickle cell anemia.

6 Dec 2011

Researchers reveal how podocytes may regenerate themselves during normal kidney function

Damage to podocytes -- a specialized type of epithelial cell in the kidney -- occurs in more than 90 percent of all chronic kidney disease. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have uncovered an unexpected pathway that reveals for the first time how these cells may regenerate and renew themselves during normal kidney function.

6 Dec 2011

Endocrine Society supports policies that aim to combat pediatric obesity

Today, The Endocrine Society issued a Position Statement supporting policies that bring together doctors and other healthcare providers, family, schools and the community to combat pediatric obesity through education and encouragement of lifestyle modifications.

6 Dec 2011

DD and autism screening should be routine for all children seen in epilepsy clinics

Research presented today at the American Epilepsy Society's 65th annual meeting suggests that systematic screening for developmental delay (DD) and autism should be routine for all children seen in epilepsy clinics.

6 Dec 2011

Researchers identify brain area that controls voluntary movement after damage

Researchers have identified the area of the brain that controls our ability to correct our movement after we've been hit or bumped -- a finding that may have implications for understanding why subjects with stroke often have severe difficulties moving.

6 Dec 2011

Exposure to family violence may increase brain activity in children

Children exposed to family violence show the same pattern of activity in their brains as soldiers exposed to combat, new research has shown.

6 Dec 2011

Breast cancer patients might experience prolonged fatigue years after chemotherapy

In a follow-up study, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have found that patients who receive chemotherapy for breast cancer might experience prolonged fatigue years after their therapy.

6 Dec 2011

S. Korea resumes aid through UNICEF to N. Korea

"South Korea said on Monday that it would send 6.5 billion won, or $5.7 million, in aid to North Korea through UNICEF, the United Nations children's agency," the New York Times reports.

6 Dec 2011

Fruit fly and malaria mosquito sensors attuned to heat, chemical odors

Fruit flies and mosquitoes share similar sensory receptors that allow them to distinguish among thousands of sensory cues - particularly heat and chemical odors - as they search for food or try to avoid danger, researchers from Boston College and Brandeis University report in the current electronic edition of the journal Nature.

6 Dec 2011

Incorporate other diseases into fight against AIDS

"The public and private sectors have achieved remarkable success in Africa in the battle against AIDS, and the question now is: Where do we go from here?" James Glassman, founding executive director of the George W. Bush Institute and former under secretary of state for public affairs and public diplomacy, writes in this Forbes opinion piece.

6 Dec 2011

Epilepsy in children with ASD is photosensitive: Study

Epilepsy is common in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A new study indicates their epilepsy is surprisingly photosensitive as well. Since photosensitive epilepsies can be triggered by flickering lights, the self-stimulatory behavior of ASD children, such as hand flapping in front of the face, has the potential to dramatically increase the risk of inducing photosensitive seizures.

6 Dec 2011

How health policy is playing on the campaign trail

Today's news from various sections of the campaign trail include reports about whether President Barack Obama's gamble on health care will pay off, details of GOP presidential candidates' plans to hold down health care costs, and some of the policy particulars being advanced by Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

6 Dec 2011

Combination of metformin and exercise can prevent Type 2 diabetes

Kinesiology researcher Barry Braun of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and colleagues recently reported unexpected results of a study suggests that exercise and one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for diabetes, metformin, each improves insulin resistance when used alone, but when used together, metformin blunted the full effect of a 12-week exercise program in pre-diabetic men and women.

6 Dec 2011

Mental health system problems emerge in Calif.

The U.S. Department of Justice says Napa State Hospital and Norwalk's Metropolitan State Hospital have failed to comply with critical provisions of a sweeping consent judgment imposed in 2006. ... In a filing late Friday night, federal officials detailed key failings: ... preventable suicides, nursing errors leading to unnecessary suffering, improper use of some restraints and a failure to adequately analyze and prevent violence.

6 Dec 2011

Study identifies ways to differentiate types of diabetes in young Asian Americans

Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have determined key differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in the Asian American population. This study, published today in PLoS ONE, identified ways to differentiate the types of diabetes, which can be clinically similar in young Asian Americans.

6 Dec 2011

Bush launches Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon project in Zambia

"Zambian President Michael Sata on Friday told former U.S. president George W. Bush that the West should help fight the scourge of maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa," Agence France-Presse reports, adding, "Bush is in Zambia on the second stop of a three-nation trip aimed at promoting efforts to fight diseases like cancer, AIDS and malaria."

6 Dec 2011

Study looks at how severely low birth weight impacts attention and memory during adulthood

Babies born at a very low birth weight are more likely to have memory and attention problems when they become adults than babies born at a low to normal weight, according to a study published in the December 6, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

6 Dec 2011