Health News

Programming language invented to build synthetic DNA

Date: Oct-02-2013
Similar to using Python or Java to write code for a computer, chemists soon could be able to use a structured set of instructions to "program" how DNA molecules interact in a test tube or cell. A team led by the University of Washington has developed a programming language for chemistry that it hopes will streamline efforts to design a network that can guide the behavior of chemical-reaction mixtures in the same way that embedded electronic controllers guide cars, robots and other devices...

Mental health services usage by people with depression

Date: Oct-02-2013
More than half the people in Ontario who reported they had major depression did not use physician-based mental health services in the following year, a new study has found. "It's concerning to us that many Ontarians with mental health needs are not accessing clinician-based care," said Katherine Smith, the lead author and epidemiologist in the Centre for Research on Inner City Health of St. Michael's Hospital. "Some people may seek non-medical types of support or care, such as clergy, alternative medicine, psychologists or social workers...

Individual animal behavior linked with social spacing

Date: Oct-02-2013
The joint study by Luca Giuggioli and Jonathan Potts from the University of Bristol, and Daniel Rubenstein and Simon Levin from Princeton University shows that animals deposit marks wherever they go to show their presence, and retreat from marks left by a member of the same species more quickly if the encountered mark is recent. The study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has important implications for how epidemic disease spreads and animal sociality...

The secret of longevity for naked mole rats?

Date: Oct-02-2013
Naked mole rats have what any animal would want. They live long lives - about 30 years - and stay healthy until the very end. Now biologists at the University of Rochester have new insights into the animal's longevity - better-constructed proteins. Proteins are involved in nearly all functions of an animal cell, and consequently, are essential to all organisms. But before proteins can do their job, they must fold into the appropriate shapes that allow them to connect to and interact with other structures in the cell...

Scientists discover how brain 'power plants' send damage signals

Date: Oct-02-2013
Scientists have discovered a process by which the "power plants" of the brain - tiny mitochondria found inside cells - signal that they are damaged and need to be eliminated. This is according to a study published in the journal Nature Cell Biology. Previous research has provided evidence that many neurological disorders may be caused by impaired mitochondrial function. Last year, Medical News Today reported on a study that suggested mitochondrial impairment may lead to mood and psychotic disorders...

Could niacin be the fountain of youth?

Date: Oct-02-2013
The vitamin niacin has a life-prolonging effect, as Michael Ristow has demonstrated in roundworms. From his study, the ETH-Zurich professor also concludes that so-called reactive oxygen species are healthy, not only disagreeing with the general consensus, but also many of his peers. Who would not want to live a long and healthy life? A freely available food supplement could help in this respect, scientists from ETH Zurich have demonstrated in roundworms...

Radiotherapy dose wasted in compensating for between-treatment tumor growth

Date: Oct-02-2013
For the first time, researchers have estimated the daily dose of radiotherapy that could be wasted in compensating for cancer cell growth that occurs overnight and during weekends in patients with early breast cancer...

Exposure to a farming environment may prevent or dampen hypersensitivities and allergies

Date: Oct-02-2013
Adults who move to farming areas where they experience a wider range of environmental exposures than in cities may reduce the symptoms of their hypersensitivities and allergies considerably. This is the result of new research from Aarhus University. This pioneering result was recently published online in the esteemed periodical, The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in an article entitled "Become a farmer and avoid new allergic sensitization: Adult farming exposures protect against new-onset atopic sensitization"...

Aspirin may act on two different pathways to improve survival in colon cancer

Date: Oct-02-2013
Researchers believe they have discovered how aspirin improves survival in patients diagnosed with colon cancer, the 2013 European Cancer Congress (ECC2013) [1] heard. Although previous research has shown that taking low dose aspirin after being diagnosed with colon cancer improves patient outcome, the reasons why this happens remain unknown...

Locating where the brain creates illusory shapes and surfaces

Date: Oct-02-2013
The logo of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics includes red, white and blue stars, but the white star is not really there: It is an illusion. Similarly, the "S" in the USA Network logo is wholly illusory. Both of these logos take advantage of a common perceptual illusion where the brain, when viewing a fragmented background, frequently sees shapes and surfaces that don't really exist...