Health News

What are the health benefits of coffee?

Date: Dec-17-2013
A cup of coffee in the morning may pack more than just an energy boost.More and more research is emerging to suggest that there may be several health benefits associated with drinking this dark black beverage, from helping prevent diabetes to lowering the risk of liver disease.The consumption of coffee goes back centuries.In 17th century England the popularity of the drink gave rise to a number of coffee houses which were dubbed 'penny universities', because with one penny a person could buy a cup of coffee and have intellectually stimulating conversations with other people.

'Breakthrough' may lead to new treatment for fatal childhood cancer

Date: Dec-17-2013
Scientists have discovered an enzyme in the "developmental pathway" of patients with embryonal tumors within multilayers rosettes - an uncommon but deadly childhood brain cancer - which they say may lead to more effective treatment of the disease.The study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, was led by researchers from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), the McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Centre and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Canada.

LatAm Healthcare IT Summit 2014, 3rd and 4th April 2014, São Paulo, Brazil

Date: Dec-17-2013
Fleming Gulf's - The LatAm Healthcare IT Summit 2014 to be held on 3rd and 4th April 2014 in São Paulo, Brazil is gearing up to what promises to be a converging platform for Healthcare IT thought leaders, architects, developers and solution providers to showcase their designs, ideas, concepts that have created benchmarks throughout the region.

Skin cancer: new molecular targets identified

Date: Dec-17-2013
Scientists have identified two molecular targets in some forms of skin cancer, which they say could lead to new treatment options for the disease. This is according to a study published in the the journal Clinical Cancer Research.The American Cancer Society state that skin cancer (melanoma) is the most common of all cancers. It is estimated that there will have been 76,690 new diagnoses of the disease in the US throughout 2013.According to the research team from the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Tennessee, around 35% of skin cancer cases are thought to be "pan-negative.

Fatty acids crucial to embryonic development

Date: Dec-17-2013
One classical question in developmental biology is how different tissue types arise in the correct position of the developing embryo. While one signaling pathway that controls this process has been well described, unexpected findings from a team led by Carnegie's Steven Farber reveal the importance of polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism in this process. It was published online December 12 in Developmental Cell.Fatty acids serve as sources of energy, the building materials of cellular membranes, and as signals for sending messages between cells.

Peripheral immune system may regulate vulnerability to depression

Date: Dec-17-2013
A new study shows that immune cells outside the brain may regulate propensity to develop depression. The data were presented today at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) Annual Meeting.Depression is a chronic disorder with a devastating impact on the quality of life, health and life expectancy of those who suffer from the disorder. The underlying causes of the disorder remain something of a mystery.

Caution to pregnant women on red meat diabetes link

Date: Dec-17-2013
Pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant can make use of the holiday season to adjust their diets and reduce the risk of gestational diabetes, according to researchers at the University of Adelaide's Robinson Institute.The recommendation comes at a time when there is increasing evidence to suggest that red meat is linked with a higher rate of gestational diabetes in pregnant women, which poses risks to the health of both the mother and the baby.

Reconceptualizing the study of population aging

Date: Dec-17-2013
A groundbreaking study published in the journal Population and Development Review by IIASA population researchers Warren Sanderson and Sergei Scherbov reorients the way demographers study population aging, providing a new toolbox of methodologies for demographers to better understand the impacts of an aging population on society. Previously, studies of aging used only one characteristic of people, their chronological age.

Genetic differences discovered between 'identical' twins

Date: Dec-17-2013
Eurofins Scientific (EUFI.PA), a European leader in Genomics Services, Forensics and Paternity Testing, announces a milestone in genetic and forensic research. A multidisciplinary Eurofins team in the Eurofins flagship Genomics laboratory in Ebersberg, Germany, has successfully completed a research project to genetically discriminate "identical" monozygotic twins.So far there have been only theoretical considerations against the experimental finding and dogma that monozygotic twins are genetically fully identical. Statistically, around 6 of 1,000 males are identical twins.

Vitamin supplements a waste of money?

Date: Dec-16-2013
Physicians urge, 'stop wasting money on vitamin and mineral supplements'Editorialists responding to three articles on vitamin and mineral supplementation being published in Annals of Internal Medicine urge U.S. adults to stop wasting their money on dietary supplements. The authors cite the large body of accumulated evidence showing that most multivitamin supplements are ineffective, and some may cause harm. The message is simple, the authors write. Most supplements do not prevent chronic disease or death, their use is not justified, and they should be avoided.