Health News

The Interaction Of Proteins In The Brain Is A Possible Cause Of Alzheimer's Disease

Date: Jun-21-2013
Research shows interaction of tau and amyloid-beta in the brain may cause cognitive decline For years, Alzheimer's researchers have focused on two proteins that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer's and may contribute to the disease: plaques made up of the protein amyloid-beta, and tangles of another protein, called tau...

Researchers Are Working Towards The Development Of Photo-Sensitive Drugs

Date: Jun-21-2013
The scientific cooperation between chemists, biotechnologists and physicists from various Catalan institutes, headed by Pau Gorostiza, from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), and Ernest Giralt, from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), has led to a breakthrough that will favor the development of light-regulated therapeutic molecules. The breakthrough published online in the German journal of reference in chemistry Angewandte Chemie has received recognition as a "Very Important Paper", a distinction that only 5% of the articles accepted achieve...

Emotions Identified Based On Brain Activity

Date: Jun-21-2013
For the first time, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have identified which emotion a person is experiencing based on brain activity. The study, which will be published in the journal PLOS ONE, combines functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and machine learning to measure brain signals to accurately read emotions in individuals. Led by researchers in CMU's Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the findings illustrate how the brain categorizes feelings, giving researchers the first reliable process to analyze emotions...

Increase In Crop Yields Insufficient To Meet Global Crop Production Needs By 2050

Date: Jun-21-2013
Crop yields worldwide are not increasing quickly enough to support estimated global needs in 2050, according to a study published in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Deepak Ray and colleagues from the Institute on the Environment (IonE) at the University of Minnesota. Previous studies estimate that global agricultural production may need to increase by 60-110% to meet increasing demands and provide food security...

Influenza Vaccine Reduced Disease Outcomes By Up To 18.5 Percent, Study Estimates

Date: Jun-21-2013
Approximately 13 million illnesses and over 110,00 hospitalizations may have been averted by the flu vaccine over the last 6 years in the U.S, according to calculations published in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Deliana Kostova and colleagues from the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers calculated the healthcare burden of flu cases that would have occurred in the absence of vaccination based on factors such as illness and hospitalization rates during the flu season, vaccination coverage and vaccine effectiveness...

School Children Taught Mindfulness Suffer Reduced Stress

Date: Jun-21-2013
Mindfulness - a mental training that develops sustained attention that can change the ways people think, act and feel - could reduce symptoms of stress and depression and promote wellbeing among school children, according to a new study published online by the British Journal of Psychiatry. With the summer exam season in full swing, school children are currently experiencing higher levels of stress than at any other time of year. The research showed that interventions to reduce stress in children have the biggest impact at this time of year...

New Source Of Versatility Discovered So 'Floppy' Proteins Can Get Things Done

Date: Jun-21-2013
Many proteins work like Swiss Army knives, fitting multiple functions into their elaborately folded structures. A bit mysteriously, some proteins manage to multitask even with structures that are unfolded and floppy - "intrinsically disordered." In this week's issue of Nature, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) report their discovery of an important trick that a well-known intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) uses to expand and control its functionality...

People With A Gene That Has Been Turned Off Through A Natural Process May Be At Higher Risk Of Heart And Blood-Vessel Disease

Date: Jun-21-2013
Risk of heart and blood vessel disease may increase when a particular gene is switched off, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Emerging Science Series Webinar.* Two known biomarkers are high blood levels of certain fats - low-density lipoproteins ("bad" cholesterol) and high triglycerides. Another recognized biomarker is a protein called adiponectin, which is made in fat tissue and helps regulate the process of turning food into energy. At low levels it is associated with increased disease risk...

The Ugly Truth: Unattractive Workers At Greater Risk Of Being Bullied

Date: Jun-21-2013
People who are considered unattractive are more likely to be belittled and bullied in the workplace, according to a first-of-its-kind study led by a Michigan State University business scholar. "Frankly, it's an ugly finding," said Brent Scott, associate professor of management and lead investigator on the study. "Although we like to think we're professional and mature in the workplace, it can be just like high school in many ways...

2013 Update On Diagnosis And Management Of Osteoporosis, Published By Maturitas

Date: Jun-21-2013
Update presented by National Osteoporosis Guideline Group Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, has announced the publication of the National Osteoporosis Guideline Group (NOGG) Update 2013 on diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and older men in the journal Maturitas...