Health News

Increased anal cancer risk in men with both HIV and HPV

Date: Dec-04-2013
Human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer in women, is also known to cause anal cancer in both women and men. Now, a study led by researchers at the UCLA School of Nursing has found that older HIV-positive men who have sex with men are at higher risk of becoming infected with the HPVs that most often cause anal cancer.The researchers also report that smoking increases the risk of infection with specific types of HPV among both HIV-infected and uninfected older men by up to 20 percent. This is the first large U.S.

US mothers watch more TV, do less housework than they did in 1965

Date: Dec-04-2013
New research from the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health shows that mothers in the U.S. are far less physically active than they were in previous decades and now spend more time engaged in sedentary activities like watching television than in cooking, cleaning and exercising combined.Given the essential role that daily physical activity plays in the health and wellbeing of mothers and their children, this research provides important insights into the nation's pervasive health problems such as childhood obesity and diabetes.

Study investigates the role of the motor system in conceptualization

Date: Dec-04-2013
Is it true, as some scientists believe, that to understand words like "spike" (in the volleyball sense) the brain has to "mentally" retrace the sequence of motor commands that accomplish the action?

New method for determining structure of key cellular receptors could speed drug development

Date: Dec-04-2013
A new approach to mapping how proteins interact with each other, developed at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, could aid in the design of new drugs for diseases such as diabetes and osteoporosis. By reengineering proteins using artificial amino acids, the Salk scientists determine the detailed molecular structure of a cellular switch and its ligand, the molecule that turns it on. The switch--corticotrophin releasing factor type 1 (CRF1R)--belongs to a class of cellular receptors whose structures are notoriously hard to determine.

A skiing trip can give you a valuable boost in pleasure and well-being

Date: Dec-04-2013
Are you contemplating a skiing holiday? The all-out pleasure and enjoyment you experience on a pair of skis or a snowboard is positively priceless to enhance your overall happiness. This is true even if you only get to go out on the slopes once in a blue moon, says Hyun-Woo Lee and colleagues from Yonsei University in the Republic of Korea, in an article published in Springer's journal Applied Research in Quality of Life.Lee and his team conducted a survey of 279 visitors at three major ski resorts in South Korea.

The effectiveness of anti-inflammatory glucocorticoids may be related to oxygen levels

Date: Dec-04-2013
A new research discovery published in the December 2013 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology yields an important clue toward helping curb runaway inflammation. Oxygen levels play a critical role in determining the severity of the inflammatory response and ultimately the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory drugs. This research could have significant future benefits for patients with severe asthma, COPD, rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary fibrosis and coronary artery disease.

Rapid response by bacteria to external changes

Date: Dec-04-2013
Understanding how bacteria adapt so quickly to changes in their external environment with continued high growth rates is one of the major research challenges in molecular microbiology. This is important not least for our understanding of resistance to antibiotics. A research study from Uppsala University is now presenting a model of how bacteria can rapidly adapt to environmental changes through smart regulation of their gene expression.

Why a certain mutation contributes to the development of a certain cancer

Date: Dec-04-2013
For the first time, researchers at Umea University have succeeded in showing how the DNA polymerase epsilon enzyme builds new genomes. The detailed image produced by these researchers shows how mutations that can contribute to the development of colorectal cancer and cervical cancer lead to changes in the structure of the protein. This study will be published in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.Genomes are built from pairs of long strands of DNA.

Long-term developmental outcome affected by congenital heart defects

Date: Dec-04-2013
Approximately one percent of all newborns in Switzerland are diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, roughly half of them require open heart surgery. Most children, including those with the most severe heart defects, survive because of the significant advancements in surgical techniques. Therefore, the current research focuses less on survival than on long-term consequences and quality of life of these children.Aside from cardiac complications, developmental problems may emerge after a complex cardiac surgical procedure. Children may suffer from motor, language or learning difficulties.

Promising new drug target: key found to restoring 'exhausted' HIV-fighting immune cells

Date: Dec-04-2013
Researchers have identified a protein that causes loss of function in immune cells combatting HIV. The scientists report in a paper appearing online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that the protein, Sprouty-2, is a promising target for future HIV drug development, since disabling it could help restore the cells' ability to combat the virus that causes AIDS."A large part of the reason we lose wars against viruses that cause chronic infection is that immune cells called T cells get turned off," says Jonathan Schneck, M.D., Ph.D.