Health News

Multiple sclerosis may increase risk of developing cancer

Date: Jan-16-2014
Individuals with multiple sclerosis may have an increased risk of developing any type of cancer, with an especially high risk of developing breast cancer. That is the conclusion of a recent study published in European Journal of Neurology. Because the findings contradict earlier studies, additional research is needed to determine whether a true link exists between multiple sclerosis and cancer.

Are the outcome of our activities determined by cultural differences?

Date: Jan-16-2014
Not necessarily, say researchersA generally held assumption in various academic disciplines is that the way people perform various everyday activities - walking, swimming, carrying loads, etc. - is culturally determined. But, the question remains: do these cultural characteristics, when they affect various motor skills, also determine the results of people's efforts?A study involving an original collaboration between archaeology, ethnology and human movement sciences indicates that different cultural approaches to various tasks do not necessarily produce different results.

People remember educated black men as 'whiter'

Date: Jan-16-2014
A new study published in SAGE Open finds that instead of breaking stereotypes, intellectually successful Black individuals may be susceptible to being remembered as "Whiter" and therefore 'exceptions to their race,' perpetuating cultural beliefs about race and intelligence. This new study shows that a Black man who is associated with being educated is remembered as being lighter in skin tone than he actually is, a phenomenon the study authors refer to as "skin tone memory bias.

Discovery of physical reason for chromosome shape

Date: Jan-16-2014
This work gives a solution to a fundamental question in structural biology: Why do metaphase chromosomes have their characteristic elongated cylindrical shape? The proposed solution is consistent with the structure of metaphase chromatin and with the nanomechanical properties of chromatin and chromosomes. It is a research at the interface between biology (higher order chromatin structure) and physical sciences (supramolecular structures and nanomaterials).

Lives of older women could be saved by screening for cervical cancer up to age 69

Date: Jan-16-2014
A study published this week in PLOS Medicine suggests that screening women for cervical cancer beyond age 50 clearly saves lives, and also that there are benefits for women with normal (negative) screening results to continue screening up to the age of 69 years.Peter Sasieni and colleagues, from Queen Mary University of London, UK, examined the link between screening women aged 50 to 64 for cervical cancer and cervical cancer diagnosed at ages 65 to 83.

Less brain tissue not to blame for reading difficulties in dyslexia

Date: Jan-16-2014
In people with dyslexia, less gray matter in the brain has been linked to reading disabilities, but now new evidence suggests this is a consequence of poorer reading experiences and not the root cause of the disorder.It has been assumed that the difference in the amount of gray matter might, in part, explain why dyslexic children have difficulties correctly and fluently mapping the sounds in words to their written counterparts during reading. But this assumption of causality has now been turned on its head.

Women who practice muscle-strengthening and conditioning reduce their risk of diabetes

Date: Jan-16-2014
Aerobic exercise is known to prevent type 2 diabetes, and muscle-strengthening alone or in combination with aerobic exercise improves diabetic control among those with diabetes. Although men who weight train have been found to have an associated reduced risk of developing diabetes, whether such an association exists for women has not been established.

Certain painkillers can intensify pain by causing a short-circuit in a molecular switch

Date: Jan-16-2014
While searching for novel painkillers, a team of KU Leuven researchers came to the surprising conclusion that some candidate drugs actually increase pain. In a study published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers show that a molecular switch in nerves responsible for detecting pain can 'short-circuit', thus aggravating the onset of pain.Pain functions as an important alarm signal. It alerts us to potential bodily harm - a hot or sharp object, for example - and motivates us to withdraw from damaging situations.

Mindfulness helps undergraduates by taming wandering minds

Date: Jan-16-2014
Few situations present as much distraction and time pressure as the college experience. In this environment, attention can be elusive and difficult to sustain even when it is attained. This lack of concentration interferes with learning and is associated with stress, which tends to increase during the academic term.Now, a form of mental training called mindfulness training, specifically designed for undergraduate students, shows promise as a tool to train attention and improve learning during the academic semester, according to a new study by a team of University of Miami researchers.

Serum omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes

Date: Jan-16-2014
High concentrations of serum long-chain omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a University of Eastern Finland study published recently in Diabetes Care. The sources of these fatty acids are fish and fish oils.Type 2 diabetes is becoming increasingly widespread throughout the world, including Finland. Overweight is the most significant risk factor, which means that diet and other lifestyle factors play important roles in the development of type 2 diabetes.