Health News

Haptics May Improve Outcomes For People Given Visual Prosthetics

Date: May-04-2013
Normal vision is essentially a spatial sense that often relies upon touch and movement during and after development, there is often a correlation between how an object looks and how it feels. Moreover, as a child's senses develop, there is cross-referencing between the various senses. Indeed, where the links between the senses are not made, there may be developmental problems or delays. This should be taken into consideration when training new users of visual prosthetics, artificial retinas, or bionic eyes, suggest researchers in Australia...

Small-Molecule Compound Developed That Could Lead To Therapeutic Treatment For Myotonic Dystrophy

Date: May-04-2013
There's hope for patients with myotonic dystrophy. A new small molecule developed by researchers at the University of Illinois has been shown to break up the protein-RNA clusters that cause the disease in living human cells, an important first step toward developing a pharmaceutical treatment for the as-yet untreatable disease. Steven C. Zimmerman, the Roger Adams Professor of Chemistry at the U. of I., led the group in developing and demonstrating the compound. The National Institutes of Health supported the work published in the journal ACS Chemical Biology...

ADAR1 As Gene-Silencing Modular RNA Multitool

Date: May-04-2013
RNA, once considered a bit player in the grand scheme by which genes encode protein, is increasingly seen to have a major role in human genetics. In a study presented in the journal Cell, researchers from The Wistar Institute discovered how the RNA-editing protein, ADAR1, also combines with the protein called Dicer to create microRNA (miRNA) and small interfering (siRNA). These varieties of RNA, in turn, play a crucial role in gene regulation--silencing or "switching off" the production of specific proteins...

Scientists Identify Origin And History Of H7N9 Bird Flu Virus

Date: May-02-2013
For the first time ever, a comprehensive genetic analysis of the H7N9 bird flu virus has been carried out by scientists in China. The findings encompass the origin and evolutionary history of the virus. The first case of the novel avian influenza A H7N9 virus was identified on March 30, 2013. By April 18 the virus had spread and was detected in six different provinces and cities in China (Shanghai, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Beijing, and Henan)...

Lipsticks And Lip Glosses Contain Toxic Metals

Date: May-02-2013
Lipsticks and lip glosses contain lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum, and five other toxic metals, some are at levels that could raise potential health concerns, according to a new U.S. study. The research was conducted by experts from the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health who analyzed 32 different lipsticks and glosses commonly sold in drugstores and department stores...

Skin, Food Allergies On The Rise In Kids

Date: May-02-2013
The number of U.S. children who have skin and food allergies has risen significantly in the last few years, a new government report by the CDC reveals. Surprisingly, the incidence of respiratory and food allergies increased with income: kids living in families that earned more than 200% of the poverty level had the highest rates, statistics suggested. Report author LaJeana Howie, from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), part of the U.S...

12 Children Tackle Everest For Extreme Science

Date: May-02-2013
In a valiant example of "extreme science", 12 children from the UK recently took part in an Everest expedition that aimed to help doctors better understand how to treat critically ill youngsters. On the Xtreme Everest expedition, which was led by researchers and doctors from University College London (UCL) and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), the trekkers reached altitudes of 3,500 metres. They went from Lukla to Namche Bazaar in Nepal...

Nearly 90% Of U.S. Turkey Products Contaminated

Date: May-02-2013
An analysis of randomly selected turkey products revealed that almost 90 percent of samples contained some form of dangerous bacteria. As the first-ever laboratory analysis of ground turkey at retail stores across the country, the researchers found that almost half of raw ground meat and patties packages were infected with fecal bacteria. Some of the samples were positive for germs which can cause foodborne illness, such as Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus. The researchers identified that turkeys fed antibiotics harbored more antibiotic-resistant bacteria than the other poultry...

Migraine Gene Found By Scientist Inspired By Her Own Illness

Date: May-02-2013
A scientist who was plagued by migraines as a teenager has identified a gene mutation that makes people more susceptible to the condition. She and her colleagues write about their findings online this week in Science Translational Medicine. As a teenager, Emily Bates was a keen athlete and student who hated not knowing when the next migraine would strike. The condition interfered with her studies, and ability to practise and compete as an athlete...

Diet, 'Anti-Aging' Supplements May Help Reverse Blood Vessel Abnormality

Date: May-02-2013
A diet low in grains, beans and certain vegetables - combined with "anti-aging" supplements - improved blood vessel function, in a study presented at the American Heart Association's Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology 2013 Scientific Sessions. The blood vessel abnormality, or endothelial dysfunction, occurs when cells lining the interior wall of blood vessels malfunction. It's a serious condition that's often one of the first signs of heart disease. Of the 200 51- to 86-year-old people in the study, 40 percent were women...