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Positive link between fish oil supplements and cognitive function

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital's Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center have found positive associations between fish oil supplements and cognitive functioning as well as differences in brain structure between users and non-users of fish oil supplements.

18 Aug 2011

Two-color stimulated emission depletion microscopy in living cells

Researchers are able to achieve extremely high-resolution microscopy through a process known as stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy. This cutting-edge imaging system has pushed the performance of microscopes significantly past the classical limit, enabling them to image features that are even smaller than the wavelength of light used to study them.

18 Aug 2011

Context-focused intervention effective for children with cerebral palsy

A successful new rehabilitation approach to treating children with cerebral palsy puts its focus on where a child lives and plays, not just improving the child's balance, posture and movement skills.

18 Aug 2011

Humanitarian agencies stand by in Pakistan as floods kill 25, displace estimated 50,000 others

"Predictions by Pakistan's Meteorological Department of more rain in the days ahead have raised flood fears, especially in Sindh Province, as the monsoon season peaks," IRIN reports.

18 Aug 2011

ACS honors MIT professor with Priestley Medal for controlled-release drug discovery

Robert S. Langer, Sc.D., the David H. Koch Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been named winner of the 2012 Priestley Medal by the American Chemical Society.

18 Aug 2011

Researchers isolate 17 novel antibodies against HIV

A team of researchers at and associated with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), The Scripps Research Institute, the biotechnology company Theraclone Sciences and Monogram Biosciences Inc., a LabCorp company, report in the current issue of Nature the isolation of 17 novel antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad spectrum of variants of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

18 Aug 2011

Patients with SVT more likely to develop venous thromboembolism

Patients with clinically diagnosed superficial vein thrombosis (SVT), a blood clot in the veins just beneath the skin that commonly resolves on its own without treatment, are four to six times more likely to develop venous thromboembolism (VTE), a dangerous, often life-threatening condition, according to study results published today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology.

18 Aug 2011

Unexplained hospital factors have impact on radioactive iodine use for thyroid cancer: Study

Where thyroid cancer patients go for care plays a large role in whether they receive radioactive iodine treatment, a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds.

18 Aug 2011

Alcohol before bed hampers sleep: Study

A new small-scale study showed the impact of drinking before going to bed on heart rate and sleep.

18 Aug 2011

Scientists turn drug-disease match makers

In a new medical breakthrough American researchers have devised a drug-disease matchmaking program that mines databases for potentially useful new treatment combinations and have actually turned up two so far, said a study on Wednesday.

18 Aug 2011

UNHCR reports 10 children dying daily and women facing risk of rape in Ethiopian refugee camps

"Ten Somali children under the age of five are dying every day of hunger-related causes in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, according to the U.N. refugee agency," the Guardian reports.

18 Aug 2011

Some Muesli fattier than double quarter pounder

According to a consumer organization Choice, a morning bowl of muesli may contain as much fat as a McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder. The consumer organization tested 159 types of muesli and discovered that the popular breakfast meal isn't necessarily a healthy choice.

18 Aug 2011

Human embryonic stem cell, iPS-derived progeny are similar and developmentally immature

Stem cell researchers at UCLA have discovered that three types of cells derived from human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells are similar to each other, but are much more developmentally immature than previously thought when compared to those same cell types taken directly from human tissue.

18 Aug 2011

FDA approves Zelboraf (vemurafenib) for advanced skin cancer

A new drug was approved for advanced skin cancer this Wednesday by U.S. regulators, offering the first new treatment for melanoma in 13 years.

18 Aug 2011

Study looks at intraoperative awareness

In some cases a patient might lie on the operating table conscious and aware of the surgeon's knife despite general anesthesia and this is worrisome say experts. One recent innovation is the so-called bispectral index, a monitoring system which measures electrical brain activity to attempt to detect awareness.

18 Aug 2011

FDA approves Mayo Clinic's ovarian and breast cancer vaccines

Mayo Clinic has received investigational new drug approval from the Food and Drug Administration for two new cancer vaccines that mobilize the body's defense mechanisms to destroy malignant cells.

18 Aug 2011

Tobacco giants sue FDA over ‘shock tactic’ cigarette pack images

The FDA ruled that by Oct. 22, 2012, every pack of cigarettes sold in the United States will carry one of nine graphic, full color, graphic warnings reminding people of just how horrible smoking is for their health. The image might be a pair of healthy lungs next to a pair of blackened and diseased lungs or a man smoking out of a hole in his throat or a mouth with sores on the lips and teeth all yellowed and decayed.

18 Aug 2011

Abbott initiates ABSORB BVS device clinical trial in coronary artery disease

Abbott announced today that the first patient in Japan has been treated with the ABSORB bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) as part of the ABSORB EXTEND clinical trial.

18 Aug 2011

While most docs are sued few pay up: Study

A new study revealed that more than three in four US doctors will face a malpractice suit at some point in their careers, but cash is paid in only about 20 percent of cases. The analysis by researchers at several major US medical schools and the RAND Corporation, a non-profit research group, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

18 Aug 2011

Researchers discover new mechanism that controls ageing in WBCs

Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have discovered a new mechanism controlling ageing in white blood cells.

18 Aug 2011