Health News

The minimum age of criminal responsibility - a contested and controversial question

Date: Aug-21-2013
One of the most complex, contested and controversial questions confronting modern juve­nile/youth justice systems concerns the minimum age of criminal responsibility: the age at which a child is deemed to be sufficiently 'mature' to be held responsible before the substantive criminal law...

Multisensory integration is crucial for sensory processing

Date: Aug-21-2013
A new publication in the top-ranked journal Neuron sheds new light onto the unknown processes on how the brain integrates the inputs from the different senses in the complex circuits formed by molecularly distinct types of nerve cells. The work was led by new Umeå University associate professor Paolo Medini...

Asthma in adults adversely affected by traffic pollution and wood smoke

Date: Aug-21-2013
Asthma sufferers frequently exposed to heavy traffic pollution or smoke from wood fire heaters, experienced a significant worsening of symptoms, a new University of Melbourne led study has found. The study is the first of its kind to assess the impact of traffic pollution and wood smoke from heaters on middle-aged adults with asthma. The results revealed adults who suffer asthma and were exposed to heavy traffic pollution experienced an 80 per cent increase in symptoms and those exposed to wood smoke from wood fires experienced an 11 per cent increase in symptoms...

Total tumor dimensions predict survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Date: Aug-21-2013
For the two-thirds of lung cancer patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease, tumor size is not used currently to predict overall survival times. A new study, however, led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers has shown that even in advanced stages total tumor size can have a major impact on survival. Using data from a National Cancer Institute-sponsored Phase 3 trial involving 850 patients with advanced lung cancer, Dr...

Genes discovered that promote stable microbial colonization of the gut

Date: Aug-21-2013
The human body is full of tiny microorganisms - hundreds to thousands of species of bacteria collectively called the microbiome, which are believed to contribute to a healthy existence. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract - and the colon in particular - is home to the largest concentration and highest diversity of bacterial species...

Long-term benefits of child friendly spaces for Congolese children who have fled fighting and sought refuge in western Uganda

Date: Aug-21-2013
Spaces built to keep children safe after an emergency or conflict can also help them recover from trauma, new Columbia University and World Vision research just launched shows. The research, conducted with the support of UNICEF, measured the impact of Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) on Congolese children who have fled fighting and sought refuge in western Uganda. The publication reveals the spaces were widely used; 73 percent of children in the Rwamwanja camp attended them at some stage...

In subarachnoid hemorrhage, complications associated with continuous cerebrospinal fluid drainage

Date: Aug-21-2013
Researchers at Duke University conducted a randomized clinical trial in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). In this study, the researchers compared two approaches to intracranial pressure management - continuous and intermittent drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) - and outcomes associated with those methods, focusing specifically on the incidence of cerebral vasospasm. The study had to be closed approximately midway due to a high rate of complications (52.9%) in the group of patients in whom CSF was drained continuously...

3D tissue engineering brings researchers closer to viable organ implants

Date: Aug-21-2013
Researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) have developed a simple method of organizing cells and their microenvironments in hydrogel fibers. Their unique technology provides a feasible template for assembling complex structures, such as liver and fat tissues, as described in their recent publication in Nature Communications. According to IBN Executive Director Professor Jackie Y...

Preschoolers given choice increase their sharing behavior

Date: Aug-21-2013
Getting kids to share their toys is a never-ending battle, and compelling them to do so never seems to help. New research suggests that allowing children to make a choice to sacrifice their own toys in order to share with someone else makes them share more in the future. The new findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science...

Urban population and air pollution

Date: Aug-21-2013
Live in a large city like New York, London, Beijing or Mumbai, and you are likely exposed to more air pollution than people in smaller cities in surrounding areas. But exactly how a city's pollution relates to the size of its population has never been measured, until now. Using satellite observations, NASA scientists directly measured air pollution's dependence on population in four of the planet's major air pollution regions: the United States, Europe, China and India. The study shows that the pollution-population relationship varies by region...