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Parents call for boycott of venues selling junk food

A parents advocacy group has called for a boycott of entertainment and sporting venues which promote and sell junk food.

12 Jan 2009

Australian discovers gene for deadly Kawasaki disease

An Australian researcher has identified genes which could make some children more susceptible to the deadly Kawasaki disease - an inflammatory condition in young children that can damage blood vessels.

12 Jan 2009

Calls for iconic surfers cap to be scrapped for health reasons

Australian surf lifesaving clubs have come in for some harsh criticism from experts who say they are promoting dangerous beach behaviour by not forcing children to wear protective hats and vests.

12 Jan 2009

Link between mouthwash and oral cancer in dispute

A battle has broken out between dental health experts over claims by an academic researcher that the alcohol present in mouthwash products increases the risk of oral of cancer.

12 Jan 2009

Statistical analysis of bladder cancer

Bladder cancer is much more likely to be deadly for women and African-Americans, but the reasons long believed to explain the phenomenon account for only part of the differences for such patients compared to their white and male counterparts, according to results published in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Cancer.

9 Jan 2009

U.S. patent for NanoLantern diagnostic technology

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) has received a U.S. patent for a diagnostic technology that can rapidly and accurately screen for organisms such as bacteria and other infectious agents.

9 Jan 2009

Tuberculosis commandeers body's defenses to gain foothold

Tuberculosis bacteria can commandeer the body's defenses in the early stages of infection and redirect them for their own offensive strategies, according to results reported in the scientific journal, Cell.

9 Jan 2009

California's rise in autism cases

A study by researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has found that the seven- to eight-fold increase in the number children born in California with autism since 1990 cannot be explained by either changes in how the condition is diagnosed or counted - and the trend shows no sign of abating.

9 Jan 2009

Discovery of better treatment for bacterial pneumonia

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated a more effective treatment for bacterial pneumonia following influenza.

9 Jan 2009

Discovery of novel ways to halt the spread of antibiotic resistance

Scientists have identified the structure of a key component of the bacteria behind such diseases as whooping cough, peptic stomach ulcers and Legionnaires' disease.

9 Jan 2009

Reasons behind the South's higher stroke death rate

Southerners die from stroke more than in any other U.S. region, but exactly why that happens is unknown.

9 Jan 2009

Researchers find link between two aging pathways in mice

Two previously identified pathways associated with aging in mice are connected, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

9 Jan 2009

Researchers look at relationship between spirituality, religiousness and happiness in children

To make children happier, we may need to encourage them to develop a strong sense of personal worth, according to Dr. Mark Holder from the University of British Columbia in Canada and his colleagues Dr. Ben Coleman and Judi Wallace.

9 Jan 2009

Researchers trick bone marrow into releasing mesenchymal stem cells

Scientists have tricked bone marrow into releasing extra adult stem cells into the bloodstream, a technique that they hope could one day be used to repair heart damage or mend a broken bone, in a new study published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

9 Jan 2009

Understanding human smell at the neural level

A new Rice University study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that socioemotional meanings, including sexual ones, are conveyed in human sweat.

9 Jan 2009

Smoking prevention programs badly needed in China

A study published this month in The New England Journal of Medicine, "Mortality Attributable to Smoking in China," provides an estimate of the number of premature deaths in China in 2005 that were caused by smoking.

9 Jan 2009

Researchers learn to synthesize and control the formation of nanobristles

From the structure of DNA to nautical rope to distant spiral galaxies, helical forms are as abundant as they are useful in nature and manufacturing alike.

9 Jan 2009

An explanation of how statins cause low rates of muscle symptoms

In the January 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine , Florida Atlantic University researcher Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., the first Sir Richard Doll Research Professor in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science and a renowned expert who has revealed numerous causal, therapeutic and preventive factors in the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), most notably low-dose aspirin, explains why statins cause low rates of muscle symptoms.

9 Jan 2009

Use of robot and VR system improves walking post-stroke

Patients who've had a stroke and were rehabilitated using a robot to navigate virtual reality environments walked faster and a greater distance following physical therapy compared to those trained with the robot alone, according to researchers at the UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions.

9 Jan 2009

Older women who are more physically fit have better cognitive function

New research published in the international journal Neurobiology of Aging by Marc Poulin, PhD, DPhil, finds that being physically fit helps the brain function at the top of its game.

9 Jan 2009