Health News

Giving up smoking can improve psychological quality of life

Date: Feb-14-2014
Quitting smoking results in improved mental health, according to a new study by researchers in the UK and published in the BMJ.The physical benefits of stopping smoking are well known. Giving up smoking can reduce chance of cancers and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, among other things. But the potential benefits to mental health on a smoke-free lifestyle have been less clear cut.Indeed, a reason often cited by smokers for not giving up is that they believe smoking has mental health benefits - such as reducing stress and anxiety.

Study questions use of mortality as measure of stroke care

Date: Feb-14-2014
A new study disputes the effectiveness of mortality as a measure of the quality of care provided by hospitals to stroke patients. The paper - which was simultaneously presented at the International Stroke Conference in San Diego and published in the journal Stroke - found that use of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders differ widely between hospitals and that this variation can significantly skew a hospital's quality "ranking" based on mortality.

Capillaries will measure diffusion and help in more efficient medical treatment

Date: Feb-14-2014
How strongly do two dissolved analytes react with each other? Such information is of paramount importance not only in chemistry and molecular biology, but also in medicine or pharmacy, where it is used, i.e., to determine optimal drug doses. A method developed in the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw will allow for determining diffusion coefficients of analytes in fluids and equilibrium constants of reactions - quickly, at low cost, and most importantly: universally.

Refining genomic predictors of resistance offers potential to breed cattle more resistant to TB

Date: Feb-14-2014
Scientists have identified genetic traits in cattle that might allow farmers to breed livestock with increased resistance to bovine tuberculosis (TB).The study, which compared the genetic code of TB-infected animals with that of disease-free cattle, could help to impact on a disease that leads to major economic losses worldwide.The research, led by the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, has identified a number of genetic signatures associated with TB resistance in the cows that remained unaffected.

Veterinary drugs improve the health of school children with worm infections in developing countries

Date: Feb-14-2014
Hookworms and whipworms are detrimental to health. Children in many developing countries in particular are prone to regular infection via contaminated soil due to a lack of latrines and clean water. Whipworm eggs enter the body via the gastrointestinal tract and evolve over several development stages. To contain the health risks of worm infections, the WHO recommends annual de-worm treatment for children and at-risk groups (such as field hands and miners). However, the recommended standard treatment appears to have little effect against the widespread whipworm (Trichuris trichiura).

Gene identified that offers a new target for psoriasis treatment

Date: Feb-14-2014
Researchers at King's College London have identified a new gene (PIM1), which could be an effective target for innovative treatments and therapies for the human autoimmune disease, psoriasis.Psoriasis affects around 2 per cent of people in the UK and causes dry, red lesions on the skin which can become sore or itchy and can have significant impact on the sufferer's quality of life.It is thought that psoriasis is caused by a problem with the body's immune system in which new skin cells are created too rapidly, causing a build up of flaky patches on the skin's surface.

Ancient British diets traced by archaeologists and chemists

Date: Feb-14-2014
The change by our ancestors from hunter-gathers to farmers is one of the most intensively researched aspects of archaeology. Now a large-scale investigation of British archaeological sites dating from around 4,600 BC to 1,400 AD has examined millions of fragments of bone and analysed over 1,000 cooking pots.The team, led by Professor Richard Evershed of the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry, developed new techniques in an effort to identify fish oils in the pots. Remarkably, they showed that more than 99 per cent of the earliest farmer's cooking pots lacked sea food residues.

Ancient British diets traced by archaeologists and chemists

Date: Feb-14-2014
The change by our ancestors from hunter-gathers to farmers is one of the most intensively researched aspects of archaeology. Now a large-scale investigation of British archaeological sites dating from around 4,600 BC to 1,400 AD has examined millions of fragments of bone and analysed over 1,000 cooking pots.The team, led by Professor Richard Evershed of the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry, developed new techniques in an effort to identify fish oils in the pots. Remarkably, they showed that more than 99 per cent of the earliest farmer's cooking pots lacked sea food residues.

Ancient British diets traced by archaeologists and chemists

Date: Feb-14-2014
The change by our ancestors from hunter-gathers to farmers is one of the most intensively researched aspects of archaeology. Now a large-scale investigation of British archaeological sites dating from around 4,600 BC to 1,400 AD has examined millions of fragments of bone and analysed over 1,000 cooking pots.The team, led by Professor Richard Evershed of the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry, developed new techniques in an effort to identify fish oils in the pots. Remarkably, they showed that more than 99 per cent of the earliest farmer's cooking pots lacked sea food residues.

Ancient British diets traced by archaeologists and chemists

Date: Feb-14-2014
The change by our ancestors from hunter-gathers to farmers is one of the most intensively researched aspects of archaeology. Now a large-scale investigation of British archaeological sites dating from around 4,600 BC to 1,400 AD has examined millions of fragments of bone and analysed over 1,000 cooking pots.The team, led by Professor Richard Evershed of the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry, developed new techniques in an effort to identify fish oils in the pots. Remarkably, they showed that more than 99 per cent of the earliest farmer's cooking pots lacked sea food residues.