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Clever ants may hold the secret to antibiotic resistance

New research has revealed that ants that tend and harvest gardens of fungus carry on their bodies a secret weapon, an antibiotic-producing bacteria, which works against the parasites that invade their crops.

9 Jan 2006

Mobile phones make unhappy homes

According to a newly published study being accessible night and day on your mobile phone may not be such a good thing.

9 Jan 2006

Death by drink on the rise in the UK

According to a new study Britain now has experienced the sharpest increase in death rates from liver cirrhosis in western Europe; and that not so jolly news comes just days after some of the heaviest drinking of the year.

8 Jan 2006

Travelers in Russia warned about bird flu in Turkey

Following the confirmation by officials that two children and one adult have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain in Turkey's capital Ankara, Russians are being warned against traveling to Turkey.

8 Jan 2006

Raising alcohol prices does not always reduce sales

Both research and policy initiatives tend to support increasing the prices of alcohol beverages as a way of reducing alcohol sales and related problems. However, a study in the January issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has found that across-the-board price increases may not always have the intended effects on alcohol sales.

8 Jan 2006

Evidence supports combination therapy for achieving remission of early rheumatoid arthritis

A chronic and potentially crippling inflammatory disorder, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) progressively wears away the cartilage and bone.

8 Jan 2006

Kids learn about STD's when they are getting diagnosed with them

Most sexually active teenage girls know relatively little about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) until it is too late, according to a paper by Carnegie Mellon University researchers that will be published in the January edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

8 Jan 2006

Alcohol-deterrent drugs help long-term abstinence

Studies investigating the long-term outcomes of alcoholism treatment are rare and inconsistent.

8 Jan 2006

Statins not associated with reduced colorectal cancer risk

Use of cholesterol reducing drugs is not associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

8 Jan 2006

Obesity increases risk of kidney failure seven fold

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have determined that there is a strong relationship between being obese and developing end-stage renal disease, or kidney failure.

8 Jan 2006

Myelin breakdown appears to be key contributor to Alzheimer disease later in life

A new UCLA imaging study shows that age-related breakdown of myelin, the fatty insulation coating the brain's internal wiring, correlates strongly with the presence of a key genetic risk factor for Alzheimer disease.

8 Jan 2006

Walking slows progression of peripheral artery disease

A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that walking three times a week, even in an unsupervised exercise program, can significantly improve walking ability and slow progression of peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD often causes leg pain because of impaired blood flow in the arteries.

8 Jan 2006

Low-fat, high-carb diet not associated with weight gain in postmenopausal women

In a clinical trial of over 48,000 post-menopausal women, a low-fat diet that includes increased consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains is not associated with weight gain over an average of 7.5 years, according to a study in the January 4 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

8 Jan 2006

Use of L-arginine following a heart attack provides no benefit

Use of the amino acid supplement L-arginine following a heart attack does not improve certain cardiac functions and measurements and may be associated with an increased risk of death, according to a study in the January 4 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

8 Jan 2006

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy prolongs survival for women with advanced ovarian cancer

A study featured in this month's edition of Gynecologic Oncology examines the challenges associated with the administration of intra-abdominal chemotherapy, also known as intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy.

8 Jan 2006

Unorthodox vaccine could one day help to prevent or control HIV infection

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston have reason to believe their unorthodox vaccine could one day help to prevent or control HIV infection, according to a study published in today's edition of Public Library of Science Medicine.

6 Jan 2006

Quality of care for acute myocardial infarction in elderly patients with alcohol-related diagnoses

Older Americans with alcohol problems do not get worse treatment than their sober peers when they are hospitalized for a heart attack, according to new research on Medicare patients across the country.

6 Jan 2006

Link between soft drinks and esophageal cancer debunked

Carbonated soft drink consumption was previously suggested to be linked to the 350 percent increase of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus since the mid-1970s, but researchers at Yale School of Medicine report that the link is unfounded and that there may, in fact, be a decreased risk of this cancer for diet soda drinkers.

6 Jan 2006

Anti-cancer drugs based on platinum

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Cancer Center have created a new platinum-based, anti-cancer agent able to overcome acquired drug resistance by first modifying the way it is absorbed into cancer cells and then attacking the DNA of those cancer cells.

6 Jan 2006

Psychotropic drug prescriptions for teenagers has skyrocketed

Psychotropic drug prescriptions for teenagers skyrocketed 250 percent between 1994 and 2001, rising particularly sharply after 1999, when the federal government allowed direct-to-consumer advertising and looser promotion of off-label use of prescription drugs

6 Jan 2006