Health News

Chemists Demonstrate Nanoscale Alloys So Bright They Could Have Potential Medical Applications

Date: May-16-2013
Alloys like bronze and steel have been transformational for centuries, yielding top-of-the-line machines necessary for industry. As scientists move toward nanotechnology, however, the focus has shifted toward creating alloys at the nanometer scale - producing materials with properties unlike their predecessors. Now, research at the University of Pittsburgh demonstrates that nanometer-scale alloys possess the ability to emit light so bright they could have potential applications in medicine. The findings have been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society...

Change In Tactics Means Health Visitors May Be Able To Identify Child Abuse

Date: May-16-2013
New research at The University of Nottingham is calling for changes to a government scheme which engages community nurses in the prevention of child abuse and neglect in the home as part of a maternal and child health care programme. The study, published online by the Journal of Public Health, has found that despite being set up to help reduce the numbers of child abuse cases, the £10 million Family Nurse Partnership will only be able to tackle around 10% of families involved in child maltreatment...

Gender Differences In The Aging Immune System

Date: May-16-2013
Women's immune systems age more slowly than men's, suggests research in BioMed Central's open access journal Immunity & Ageing. The slower decline in a woman's immune system may contribute to women living longer than men. Researchers looked at the blood of healthy volunteers in Japan, ranging in age between 20 and 90 years old; in both sexes the total number of white blood cells per person decreased with age. The number of neutrophils decreased for both sexes and lymphocytes decreased in men and increased in women...

Rubber Hand Illusion Shows That Thinking You Have A Darker Skin Can Positively Impact Racial Bias

Date: May-16-2013
Scientists from Royal Holloway University have found that when white Caucasians are under the illusion that they have a dark skin, their racial bias changes in a positive way. In the study that was funded by the European Research Council and published in Cognition, the team used the tried and tested Rubber Hand Illusion, where participants are asked to look at a fake hand being touched, while at the same time, the experimenter touches the participants' own hand which is hidden out of view...

Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease Not Increased By Hysterectomy

Date: May-16-2013
Having a hysterectomy with or without ovary removal in mid-life does not increase a woman's risk of cardiovascular disease compared to women who reach natural menopause, contrary to many previously reported studies, according to research published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. "Middle-aged women who are considering hysterectomy should be encouraged because our results suggest that increased levels of cardiovascular risk factors are not any more likely after hysterectomy relative to after natural menopause," said Karen A...

Most Complete Database To Date Of Human Phosphatases And Their Substrates

Date: May-16-2013
Although we know the tool's general purpose, it can sometimes be difficult to tell if a specific pair of precision tweezers belongs to a surgeon or a master jeweller. It is now easier to solve similar conundrums about a type of protein that allows cells to react to their environment, thanks to scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). Published in Science Signaling, their work offers a valuable resource for other researchers...

Vitamin C Does Not Lower Uric Acid Levels In Gout Patients

Date: May-16-2013
Despite previous studies touting its benefit in moderating gout risk, new research reveals that vitamin C, also known ascorbic acid, does not reduce uric acid (urate) levels to a clinically significant degree in patients with established gout. Vitamin C supplementation, alone or in combination with allopurinol, appears to have a weak effect on lowering uric acid levels in gout patients according to the results published in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) journal, Arthritis & Rheumatism...

Immune Systems Of Women Remain Younger For Longer

Date: May-15-2013
The secret to why women live longer than men is due to their superior immune systems, according to a new study published in the journal Immunity & Ageing. The study, conducted by Professor Katsuiku Kirokawa and his colleagues of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, revealed that women live longer than men partly because their immune systems age more gradually and are able to fight off infections for a longer time. The Japanese scientists discovered that as the body's defenses diminish over time, men's elevated risk of disease can shorten their lifespans...

Prescription Painkillers Linked To Erectile Dysfunction In Men

Date: May-15-2013
Regularly taking prescription painkillers, commonly called opioids, is linked to a greater risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men, according to a new study published in Spine. Over 11,000 men suffering from back pain were involved in the research. The health records of the participants were analyzed to determine whether males taking prescription opioids were more likely to also receive prescriptions for testosterone replacement or ED medications...

Hysterectomy Does Not Raise Heart Risk

Date: May-15-2013
Contrary to some previous research, a new study from the US finds women's risk of cardiovascular disease does not go up after having a hysterectomy in mid-life, with or without ovary removal. The risk is no higher than that faced by women who reach the menopause naturally, says the new study. Lead author Karen A. Matthews of the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues, write about their findings in a report due to be published online this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology...