Health News

Study shows value of calcium scan in predicting heart attack, stroke among those considered at risk

Date: Dec-27-2013
A new study shows that coronary artery calcium (CAC) screening, an assessment tool that is not currently recommended for people considered at low risk, should play a more prominent role in helping determine a person's risk for heart attack and heart disease-related death, as well as the need for angioplasty or bypass surgery. CAC screening provides a direct measure of calcium deposits in heart arteries and is easily obtained on a computed tomography (CT) scan."We showed that by using only the traditional risk factors, we miss a significant percentage of individuals at high risk.

Fewer than 1 in 10 Canadians in ideal cardiovascular health

Date: Dec-27-2013
Fewer than 1 in 10 adult Canadians is in ideal cardiovascular health, according to the new CANHEART health index developed to measure heart health published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).Cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease and stroke, is the second leading cause of death in Canada."A large proportion of Canadians are in poor cardiovascular health, and the overall trend has not changed in the past decade," says senior author Dr.

'Be different or die' does not drive evolution

Date: Dec-27-2013
A new study has found that species living together are not forced to evolve differently to avoid competing with each other, challenging a theory that has held since Darwin's Origin of Species.By focusing on ovenbirds, one of the most diverse bird families in the world, the Oxford University-led team conducted the most in-depth analysis yet of the processes causing species differences to evolve.They found that although bird species occurring together were consistently more different than species living apart, this was simply an artefact of species being old by the time they meet.

Genetic screening identifies genes driving resistance with a guide RNA library

Date: Dec-27-2013
Researchers have developed a method to create a comprehensive library of mutations across all genes in the mouse genome. This library can be used to examine the role of every gene in different cell types.CRISPR technology uses the DNA-cutting enzyme Cas9, with the help of a guide RNA sequence, to find and modify genetic targets. Scientists can easily engineer multiple new guide RNAs using standard molecular biology techniques. This makes for a much faster and efficient method to modify the genome of any cell type in any species.

Novel gel in development for biological and medical applications

Date: Dec-27-2013
A novel method developed by researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Jacobs University Bremen enables manufacturing of polymer layers with tailor-made properties and multiple functions: A stable porous gel (SURGEL) for biological and medical applications is obtained from a metal-organic framework (SURMOF) grown up on a substrate. The method is presented in the renowned Journal of the American Chemical Society. Coating of solids with polymers plays a central role in many areas of technological, natural and life sciences. For example, implants for the human body e.g.

'No reduction' in deaths caused by aggressive prostate cancer

Date: Dec-27-2013
Death rates from metastatic prostate cancer have remained "mostly unchanged over the past 25 years," a study of 19,336 men with an advanced form of the urological disease has found.Publishing their findings online in the journal Cancer, the researchers from the University of California, Sacramento, had been expecting improvements in these mortality rates.

Over 40 new genetic markers found for rheumatoid arthritis

Date: Dec-27-2013
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease that affects the lining of the joints, but it can also affect other organs. In a recent international collaboration, researchers have discovered 42 new genetic markers associated with the condition, which they say could open doors to new treatments.Working together, researchers from Australia, Canada, China, Estonia, France, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US embarked upon what they are describing as the largest international study to date on rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

'Oldest case of sarcoidosis' uncovered in French Revolution leader

Date: Dec-27-2013
Maximilien de Robespierre was one of the most influential and best known figures in the French Revolution. A lawyer and politician who was guillotined in 1794, he might also have been the first described case of the rare immune disorder sarcoidosis.The first case of the disease had been published over 100 years after the subject of this latest discovery, in 1877 by a pioneer in the understanding of the autoimmune disorder, Sir Jonathan Hutchinson. He described a 58-year-old coal-wharf worker with purple, symmetrical skin plaques on the legs and hands.

Brain repair after injury and Alzheimer's disease

Date: Dec-27-2013
Researchers at Penn State University have developed an innovative technology to regenerate functional neurons after brain injury, and also in model systems used for research on Alzheimer's disease. The scientists have used supporting cells of the central nervous system, glial cells, to regenerate healthy, functional neurons, which are critical for transmitting signals in the brain.Gong Chen, a professor of biology, the Verne M. Willaman Chair in Life Sciences at Penn State, and the leader of the research team, calls the method a breakthrough in the long journey toward brain repair.

Research linking autism symptoms to gut microbes called 'groundbreaking'

Date: Dec-27-2013
A new study showing that feeding mice a beneficial type of bacteria can ameliorate autism-like symptoms is "groundbreaking," according to University of Colorado Boulder Professor Rob Knight, who co-authored a commentary piece about the research appearing in the current issue of the journal Cell.The autism study, published today in the same issue of Cell, strengthens the recent scientific understanding that the microbes that live in your gut may affect what goes on in your brain.