Health News

'Stomach clock' limits food intake to specific times, study suggests

Date: Dec-09-2013
Researchers say they have uncovered the first evidence that nerves situated in the stomach follow a circadian rhythm and limit a person's food intake to certain times throughout the day. This is according to a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience.Investigators from the University of Adelaide in Australia say their findings may lead to insight into how the stomach tells the brain we are hungry or full.

Never turn your back on a shark

Date: Dec-09-2013
Caribbean reef sharks can tell if a human is facing toward them. They prefer to sneak up from behind, study shows."Never turn your back on a shark" is the take home message from an article published in Springer's journal Animal Cognition. Erich Ritter of the Shark Research Institute and Raid Amin of the University of West Florida in the US contend that sharks can comprehend body orientation and therefore know whether humans are facing them or not. This ability helps sharks to approach and possibly attack their prey from the blind side - a technique they prefer.

Oversight of clinical gene transfer protocols assessed by new IOM report

Date: Dec-09-2013
In most cases, human gene transfer research is no longer novel or controversial enough to require additional review from the National Institutes of Health's Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, known as RAC, says a new report by the Institute of Medicine. Patient safety is always paramount, the report says, but most individual RAC reviews no longer provide benefits beyond the existing regulatory and oversight framework and may be impeding scientific advancement with unnecessary administrative burdens.

Oversight of clinical gene transfer protocols assessed by new IOM report

Date: Dec-09-2013
In most cases, human gene transfer research is no longer novel or controversial enough to require additional review from the National Institutes of Health's Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, known as RAC, says a new report by the Institute of Medicine. Patient safety is always paramount, the report says, but most individual RAC reviews no longer provide benefits beyond the existing regulatory and oversight framework and may be impeding scientific advancement with unnecessary administrative burdens.

Increasing alcohol and traffic laws reduces traffic deaths

Date: Dec-09-2013
States with a higher number of alcohol- and traffic-related laws have a lower proportion of traffic deaths than do states with fewer such laws on the books, a study by researchers at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development has found."Our findings show the human cost of these differences in state law environments," said James Macinko, a professor in NYU Steinhardt's Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and the paper's senior author.

Increasing alcohol and traffic laws reduces traffic deaths

Date: Dec-09-2013
States with a higher number of alcohol- and traffic-related laws have a lower proportion of traffic deaths than do states with fewer such laws on the books, a study by researchers at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development has found."Our findings show the human cost of these differences in state law environments," said James Macinko, a professor in NYU Steinhardt's Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health and the paper's senior author.

Racial disparities revealed in pediatric liver transplant survival rates

Date: Dec-09-2013
Novel research reveals racial and socioeconomic disparities among pediatric liver transplant patients. Findings published in Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society, indicate that graft and patient survival was higher in white children than minorities.For patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) the only treatment option for survival is liver transplantation.

The presence of peers affects adolescents' reward-seeking behavior

Date: Dec-09-2013
It is well known that teenagers take risks - and when they do, they like to have company. Teens are five times likelier to be in a car accident when in a group than when driving alone, and likelier to commit a crime or drink alcohol when with a group of peers.Now, a new study from Temple psychologists Laurence Steinberg and Jason Chein, CLA '97, has found that an inclination toward risky behavior in groups also holds true for another teen mammal - namely, mice.

'Stomach clock' limits food intake to specific times, study suggests

Date: Dec-09-2013
Researchers say they have uncovered the first evidence that nerves situated in the stomach follow a circadian rhythm and limit a person's food intake to certain times throughout the day. This is according to a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience.Investigators from the University of Adelaide in Australia say their findings may lead to insight into how the stomach tells the brain we are hungry or full.

Growth in dormant hair follicles could be restarted by activating pathway

Date: Dec-09-2013
A pathway known for its role in regulating adult stem cells has been shown to be important for hair follicle proliferation, but contrary to previous studies, is not required within hair follicle stem cells for their survival, according to researchers with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. A new study, published in Cell Stem Cell, identifies a molecular pathway that can be activated to prompt hair growth of dormant hair follicles, or blocked to prevent growth of unwanted hair.