Health News

A "Google Earth" For Cell Biologists

Date: Aug-07-2012
Just as users of Google Earth can zoom in from space to a view of their own backyard, researchers can now navigate biological tissues from a whole embryo down to its subcellular structures thanks to recent advances in electron microscopy and image processing, as described in The Journal of Cell Biology (JCB). An upgrade to the JCB DataViewer,* JCB's browser-based image presentation tool, now also makes these data publicly accessible for exploration and discovery. Since the early days of cell biology, electron microscopy has revealed cellular structures in exquisite detail...

International Studies Find Cyberbullying Less Frequent Than Traditional Bullying

Date: Aug-07-2012
Traditional in-person bullying is far more common than cyberbullying among today's youth and should be the primary focus of prevention programs, according to research findings presented at the American Psychological Association's 120th Annual Convention. "Claims by the media and researchers that cyberbullying has increased dramatically and is now the big school bullying problem are largely exaggerated," said psychologist Dan Olweus, PhD, of the University of Bergen, Norway...

Next Generation Sequencing Approach Provides Fast, Accurate, Low Cost Analysis Of BRCA Gene Mutations In Breast Cancer

Date: Aug-07-2012
Individuals with mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have a significantly higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers. Families at risk have been seeking genetic testing and counseling based on their mutation carrier status, but the standard method of direct sequencing is labor-intensive, costly, and it only targets a part of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. A group of Canadian scientists has developed a new sequencing approach to provide a more effective method of BRCA1/2 mutational analysis. Their work is published in the September issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics...

Computerized Brain Fitness Program Improves Memory Of Older Adults

Date: Aug-07-2012
UCLA researchers found that older adults who regularly used a brain fitness program played on a computer demonstrated significantly improved memory and language skills. The team studied 59 participants with an average age of 84, recruited from local retirement communities in Southern California. The volunteers were split into two groups: the first group used a brain fitness program for an average of 73.5 (20 minute) sessions across a six-month period while a second group played it less than 45 times during the same period...

In Animal Model, Heart Muscle Cell Grafts Suppress Arrhythmias After Heart Attacks

Date: Aug-07-2012
Researchers have made a major advance in efforts to regenerate damaged hearts. Grafts of human cardiac muscle cells, grown from embryonic stem cells, coupled electrically and contracted synchronously with host muscle following transplantation in guinea pig hearts. The grafts also reduced the incidence of arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythms) in a guinea pig model of myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). This finding from University of Washington-led research is reported in Nature. The paper's senior author, Dr...

Interviews With Virtual Humans Helping To Train Psychologists

Date: Aug-07-2012
New technology has led to the creation of virtual humans who can interact with therapists via a computer screen and realistically mimic the symptoms of a patient with clinical psychological disorders, according to new research presented at the American Psychological Association's 120th Annual Convention...

For Treatment Of Type 2 Diabetes, No Added Benefit Of Linagliptin Proven

Date: Aug-07-2012
Drug manufacturer deviates from appropriate comparator therapy specified by the G-BA Linagliptin (trade name: Trajenta®) has been approved since August 2011 to improve blood glucose control ("glycaemic control") in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus whose elevated blood glucose levels are inadequately controlled by diet and exercise. It is an option for patients who do not tolerate or should not take the usual treatment with the drug metformin. Moreover, linagliptin can be added if treatment with metformin alone is not sufficient...

Emerging Neuroscience Shows Adolescents Mature Intellectually Before They Mature Emotionally; Offers Evidence For Courts, Policymakers

Date: Aug-07-2012
Determining when a teenage brain becomes an adult brain is not an exact science but it's getting closer, according to an expert in adolescent developmental psychology, speaking at the American Psychological Association's 120th Annual Convention. Important changes in adolescent brain anatomy and activity take place far later in development than previously thought, and those findings could impact how policymakers and the highest courts are treating teenagers, said Laurence Steinberg, PhD...

Getting Physical With Unruly Kids

Date: Aug-07-2012
Parents get physical with their misbehaving children in public much more than they show in laboratory experiments and acknowledge in surveys, according to one of the first real-world studies of caregiver discipline. The study, led by Michigan State University's Kathy Stansbury, found that 23 percent of youngsters received some type of "negative touch" when they failed to comply with a parental request in public places such as restaurants and parks. Negative touch included arm pulling, pinching, slapping and spanking...

Sexual Attraction And Playfulness

Date: Aug-07-2012
Why do adults continue to play throughout their lives while most other mature mammals cease such behavior? According to researchers at Penn State, playfulness may serve an evolutionary role in human mating preferences by signaling positive qualities to potential long-term mates. "Humans and other animals exhibit a variety of signals as to their value as mates," said Garry Chick, professor and head of the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management. "Just as birds display bright plumage or coloration, men may attract women by showing off expensive cars or clothing...