Health News

Young adults want to live close to transit, high-density housing, and urban amenities

Date: Dec-27-2013
Research out of the University of Waterloo appearing in an upcoming issue of the Canadian Geographer.Contrary to traditional ideas of neighbourhood gentrification defined along class lines, this research examines a new division of space, in urban core areas increasingly populated by young adults who have delayed child-bearing and increased educational attainment with a decline in economic prospects and the extension of a youthful phase.

Sending messages via molecules can aid communication underground, underwater or inside the body

Date: Dec-27-2013
Scientists have created a molecular communications system for the transmission of messages and data in challenging environments such as tunnels, pipelines, underwater and within the body.The technique has a wide range of applications in environments where electromagnetic waves cannot be used, for example in underground structures such as tunnels, pipelines or in underwater environments.Molecular signalling is a common feature of the plant and animal kingdom - insects for example use pheromones for long-range signalling - but to date continuous data have not been transmitted.

Home tests for HPV could identify cancer risk

Date: Dec-27-2013
HPV self-testing is as effective as tests done by doctors, according to a Lund University study. Simple HPV home tests could therefore complement existing screening programmes, and identify more women at risk for cervical cancer.Sweden has a system of regular gynaecological smear tests, which has halved the number of cases of cervical cancer. Most of the patients who die from the disease are therefore either above the screening age, or part of the 20% who fail to attend their screenings. The figures are similar in other countries with equivalent screening programmes.

Infection risk reduced by new optimized coatings for implants

Date: Dec-27-2013
Implants are commonly made from metals such as titanium alloys. These materials are being made porous during processing used to prepare them for medical use. Whereas this is important to ensure good contact between the implant and the bone, this also allows dangerous bacteria to adhere and grow both on the surface as well as inside leading to increased risk of infection."Our work has focused on developing an analysis of surface treatments for commercial implants which reduces risk of infection," said Professor Michael Gasik at Aalto University.

Researchers find a cause of aging that can be reversed

Date: Dec-27-2013
Medical researchers have found a cause of ageing in animals that can be reversed, possibly paving the way for new treatments for age-related diseases including cancer, type 2 diabetes, muscle wasting and inflammatory diseases.The researchers hope to start human trials late next year.The study, which was published in the journal Cell, relates to mitochondria, which are our cells' battery packs and give energy to carry out key biological functions.

Dogs recognize familiar faces from images

Date: Dec-27-2013
Humans have specific brain mechanisms involved in face processing, which focuses attention to faces and recognizes the identity of faces remarkably quickly and accurately. So far the specialized skill for recognizing facial features holistically has been assumed to be a quality that only humans and possibly primates possess. Although it's well known, that faces and eye contact play an important role in the communication between dogs and humans, this was the first study, where facial recognition of dogs was investigated with eye movement tracking.

The impact of artificial sweeteners: the debate continues

Date: Dec-27-2013
New research from the University of Adelaide has added to the debate about how our bodies respond to artificial sweeteners and whether they are good, bad or have no effect on us.In a study published in this month's Diabetes Care journal, researchers in the University's School of Medicine and the Nerve-Gut Laboratory have found that artificially sweetened drinks produced no different response in the healthy human gut to a glass of water.The findings, by PhD student Dr Tongzhi Wu, are contrary to some other studies in humans and in laboratory-based research.

Researchers identify new anti-HIV drug target

Date: Dec-27-2013
University of Minnesota researchers have discovered a first-of-its-kind series of compounds possessing anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity. The compounds present a new target for potential HIV drug development and future treatment options.Complete findings are printed in today's issue of the Journal of Virology.The compounds, known as ribonucleoside analogs 8-azaadenosine, formycin A, 3-deazauridine, 5-fluorocytidine and 2'-C-methylcytidine, were found to stop the replication and spread of HIV by blocking HIV DNA synthesis or by inducing lethal mutagenesis.

Aerobic glycolysis is a cause of malignancy in breast cancer

Date: Dec-27-2013
Metabolism was lost in the shadows of cancer research for decades but has recently been reclaiming some of the spotlight. Now, Mina Bissell, Distinguished Scientist with Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division and a leading authority on breast cancer, has shown that aerobic glycolysis - glucose metabolism in the presence of oxygen - is not the consequence of the cancerous activity of malignant cells but is itself a cancerous event."A dramatic increase in sugar uptake could be a cause of oncogenesis," Bissell says.

Study confirms target of potent chronic leukemia drug

Date: Dec-27-2013
A new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James) helps confirm that a molecule targeted by the experimental drug ibrutinib is critical for the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the most common form of adult leukemia.In clinical trials, ibrutinib has often shown exceptional activity in people with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The agent targets a molecule called Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK).