Health News

Tests Confirm Prototype Generators Emit Much Less Carbon Monoxide

Date: Apr-21-2013
Portable electric generators retrofitted with off-the-shelf hardware by the University of Alabama (UA) emitted significantly lower levels of carbon monoxide (CO) exhaust, according to the results* of tests conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Compared with standard portable generators, CO emissions from the prototype machines were reduced by 90 percent or more, depending on the specific hardware used and operating conditions...

How New Forms Of Media Affect Social Skills, Values, Relationships In Childhood

Date: Apr-21-2013
Screen time has changed dramatically in the 21st century. Although most people still watch television and work on computers, social forms of media are expanding rapidly, in part due to the growth of the Internet and cellular networks. These interactive and social media include social networking sites, online video sharing, virtual worlds, mobile phones, and video chat. Starting as early as ages 1 or 2, many children start using these tools, increasing the likelihood that social media will influence the development of social skills, interpersonal dynamics, and social-emotional learning...

Genetic Differences Lead To Smallpox Vaccine Shielding Some But Not Others

Date: Apr-21-2013
How well people are protected by the smallpox vaccine depends on more than the quality of the vaccination: individual genes can alter their response, Mayo Clinic research shows. The findings, gathered using sophisticated genomic screening, appear in the online issue of the journal Genes and Immunity. "We were looking into the intercellular reactions that occur when vaccinated and unvaccinated persons are exposed to and infected with smallpox virus. We were able to use blood samples taken directly from vaccinated patients," says senior author Gregory Poland, M.D...

Association Between Demanding Physical Work And Increased Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease

Date: Apr-21-2013
Two studies presented at this year's EuroPRevent 2013 congress suggest that demanding physical work has a detrimental effect on an individual's risk of coronary heart disease. The first was a case-control study described by Dr Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Associate Professor of Biostatistics-Epidemiology at Harokopio University, Athens, which evaluated occupation in 250 consecutive patients with a first stroke, 250 with a first acute coronary event and 500 equally matched controls...

Increased Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease In Mentally Vulnerable Individuals

Date: Apr-21-2013
People deemed to be "mentally vulnerable" are at a significantly increased risk of both fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease, according to results of a large population study from Denmark. The details of the study were presented at the EuroPRevent 2013 congress in Rome...

Risk Of Heart Disease Increased By Long-Term Exposure To Fine Particles Of Traffic Pollution

Date: Apr-21-2013
The association between road traffic and heart disease has been suggested in several studies. In 2012 a large prospective cohort study from Denmark showed that traffic noise was significantly associated with risk of heart attack - for every 10 decibel increase in noise exposure (either at the time of the attack or over the five years preceding it) there was a 12% increased risk...

Scientists Probe The Source Of A Pulsing Signal In The Sleeping Brain

Date: Apr-21-2013
New findings clarify where and how the brain's "slow waves" originate. These rhythmic signal pulses, which sweep through the brain during deep sleep at the rate of about one cycle per second, are assumed to play a role in processes such as consolidation of memory. For the first time, researchers have shown conclusively that slow waves start in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for cognitive functions. They also found that such a wave can be set in motion by a tiny cluster of neurons...

Progress In Antibiotic Development 'Alarmingly Elusive' Despite Superbug Crisis

Date: Apr-21-2013
Despite the desperate need for new antibiotics to combat increasingly deadly resistant bacteria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved only one new systemic antibiotic since the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) launched its 10 x '20 Initiative in 2010 - and that drug was approved two and a half years ago. In a new report, published online in Clinical Infectious Diseases, IDSA identified only seven new drugs in development for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacilli (GNB) bacteria...

Fashion Model Scouts Target Girls With Eating Disorders As They Leave A Clinic

Date: Apr-21-2013
Fashion-model talent scouts approach extremely thin girls as they come out of the Stockholm Center for Eating Disorders, Dr. Anna-Maria af Sandeberg claims. The sick girls, who go into the clinic for treatment for a range of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are of interest to at least one Swedish modeling agency, which seems to find their emaciated bodies ideal for their recruitment campaigns. In an interview with the Swedish newspaper, Metro, Dr. Sandeberg, Director and Chief Physician at the clinic, said: "We think this is reprehensible...

Serving Size Is What Drives How Much We Eat More Than Anything Else

Date: Apr-21-2013
Large servings make us eat more, even when we are are taught about the impact of portion size on consumption, according to investigators from the University of New South Wales, Australia. People who learned how to engage in mindful - instead of mindless - eating still ate much more food than those given smaller servings with no orientation regarding mindful eating. The researchers explained in the Journal of Health Psychology that we need to find new ways to reduce the impact of portion size on overeating. Author, Dr...