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Research in circus arts: Enhancing a science

With the hope of one day performing their daring feats "with the greatest of ease," students from the National Circus School in Montreal must spend countless hours training.

8 Oct 2013

Professor receives $1.3M EUREKA grant to explore communication between cytoplasm and nucleus

University of Massachusetts Medical School Professor and Vice Chair of Neurobiology Vivian Budnik, PhD, has received a four-year, $1.3 million EUREKA (Exceptional Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration) grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to explore a novel mechanism of communication between the cytoplasm and the nucleus, called nuclear envelope budding, that may lead to new understandings for various tissue dystrophies and aging disorders.

8 Oct 2013

Researchers use ARRAYit Microarray Platform to discover important biomarkers

ARRAYit Corporation reports today that researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Northeastern University have used the ARRAYit Microarray Platform to discover biomarkers important in the treatment of prostate cancer.

8 Oct 2013

Lone atrial fibrillation in children has substantial symptomatic burden, recurrence rate

Atrial fibrillation (AF), characterized by a rapid and irregular heartbeat, is the most common chronic arrhythmia in adults, but is rare in children. In one of the first studies of pediatric "lone AF" (AF without associated heart disease), researchers found a nearly 40% recurrence rate and that AF in the young is accompanied by substantial symptoms.

8 Oct 2013

Health exchanges grapple with software, server issues

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration acknowledged Sunday that it needs to make design, as well as capacity, fixes to the website set up to help consumers shop for health coverage. Other news outlets examined the capacity challenges faced both by the federal and state exchanges and the adjustments made over the weekend.

8 Oct 2013

Research: Triathletes feel less pain than casual exercisers

Triathletes participate in a grueling endurance sport, swimming, bicycling, and running long distances without rest. In training and competitions, they regularly push their bodies beyond the limits most of us can endure. But while there is no doubt that triathletes are tough, very little is known about what gives them their exceptional abilities.

8 Oct 2013

Gene involved in regulation of serotonin predicts how much our emotions affect our relationships

What makes some people more prone to wedded bliss or sorrow than others? Researchers at UC Berkeley and Northwestern University have found a major clue in our DNA. A gene involved in the regulation of serotonin can predict how much our emotions affect our relationships, according to a new study that may be the first to link genetics, emotions, and marital satisfaction. The study was conducted at UC Berkeley.

8 Oct 2013

Consumers see big variations in costs and networks

A Kaiser Health News analysis shows that a buyer's home county may make a big difference in the insurance options they can choose from on the new online insurance marketplaces, while Politico reports that areas where co-op plans are offered are seeing lower prices.

8 Oct 2013

Vaccination campaign led HBV to more than double rate of "breakout" mutations

A universal infant vaccination campaign in China has led the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) to more than double its rate of "breakout" mutations. These mutations may enable the virus to elude the vaccine, necessitating new vaccination strategies.

8 Oct 2013

Subtle body cues allow people to identify others when faces are difficult to differentiate

Subtle body cues allow people to identify others with surprising accuracy when faces are difficult to differentiate. This skill may help researchers improve person-recognition software and expand their understanding of how humans recognize each other.

8 Oct 2013

New medications may be used to treat common heart-rhythm problem

An international research team led by medical scientists at the University of Alberta has shown that new medications based on resveratrol - a compound found in red wine and nuts - may be used to treat a common heart-rhythm problem known as atrial fibrillation.

8 Oct 2013

State Medicaid programs pose problems for federal insurance markeplace

Communications issues between the state agencies that administer the program and the federal exchange are interfering with the concept of one-stop shopping.

8 Oct 2013

Tel Aviv University researchers find chemicals in marijuana could help treat MS

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the immune system attacks the nervous system. The result can be a wide range of debilitating motor, physical, and mental problems. No one knows why people get the disease or how to treat it.

8 Oct 2013

PET scan shows promise in predicting patients with inoperable lung cancer

Advanced imaging with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan shows great promise in predicting which patients with inoperable lung cancer have more aggressive tumors and need additional treatment following standard chemotherapy/radiation therapy, according to new research recently published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

8 Oct 2013

Obama asks Americans to give exchanges and Obamacare time to work

President Barack Obama defended the problem-plagued rollout of the health law's insurance exchanges late last week. In an interview with The Associated Press, he asked Americans to not give up on changes the law is making and to give it time to work.

8 Oct 2013

Grandmothers can lower their stress levels with biofeedback device

In a pilot study by Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, 20 grandmothers were able to lower their stress levels with a biofeedback device that tracks breathing patterns.

8 Oct 2013

Study: Seniors in long-term care facilities are at high risk of head injuries

A study by Simon Fraser University researchers has found seniors in long-term care facilities are at high risk of head injuries - nearly 40 per cent of those who fall experience head impact.

8 Oct 2013

Parasites in patients who relapse after leishmaniasis treatment may have greater infectivity

Relapses after treatment for Leishmania infection may be due to a greater infectivity of the parasite rather than drug resistance, as has been previously thought, according to a study published in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

8 Oct 2013

GABA inverse agonist restores learning, memory performances in cognitively-impaired DS mice

A selective GABA inverse agonist has restored cognitive function in a mouse model of Down's syndrome (DS) and has the potential to benefit humans, French researchers have revealed.

8 Oct 2013

Shutdown spurs relitigation of Obamacare

Editors at the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine urge the nation's physicians to make their views on the health law known to their congressional representatives, noting their own favorable stance, while a conservative Georgia district urges the House GOP to keep up its fight to defund the law.

8 Oct 2013