Biology News
Elephant seal tracking reveals hidden lives of deep-diving animals
| 5/15/2012 | SANTA CRUZ, CA--Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who pioneered the use of satellite tags to monitor the migrations of elephant seals have compiled one of the largest datasets available for any marine mammal species, revealing their movements and diving behavior at sea in unprecedented detail. A new study published May 15 in the journal PLoS ONE focuses on the a... [Comments] |
UMD finding may hold key to Gaia hypothesis
| 5/15/2012 | Is Earth really a sort of giant living organism as the Gaia hypothesis predicts? A new discovery made at the University of Maryland may provide a key to answering this question. This key of sulfur could allow scientists to unlock heretofore hidden interactions between ocean organisms, atmosphere, and land -- interactions that might provide evidence supporting this famous theory. The Gaia... [Comments] |
Aware Provides Biometrics Software and Services for Three Large-Scale Border Management Systems
| 5/15/2012 | BEDFORD, Mass., May 15, 2012 Aware, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWRE ), a global provider of biometrics and medical imaging software, today announced that it is providing biometrics software and services for three large-scale border management systems as a result of separate team-based project wins in Europe, the Middle East, and North America. In each case, Aware is subcontracted to pr... [Comments] |
Undersea warriors, undersea medicine: The future force
| 5/15/2012 | ARLINGTON, Va.U.S. Navy divers take on dangerous tasks every dayand starting this week, they will be part of a multinational effort near Estonia to help clear the Baltic Sea of underwater mines left over from as long ago as the First and Second World Wars. "Open Spirit" will be among the biggest naval exercises in the Baltic Sea this year, where more than 150,000 naval mines were planted d... [Comments] |
Drugs from lizard saliva reduces the cravings for food
| 5/15/2012 | A drug made from the saliva of the Gila monster lizard is effective in reducing the craving for food. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, have tested the drug on rats, who after treatment ceased their cravings for both food and chocolate. An increasing numbe... [Comments] |  |
Air pollution level changes in Beijing linked with biomarkers of cardiovascular disease
| 5/15/2012 | During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, changes in air pollution were associated with changes in biomarkers of systemic inflammation and thrombosis (formation of blood clot) as well as measures of cardiovascular physiology in healthy young persons, according to a study in the May 16 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on Global Health. "Air pollution is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD... [Comments] |
Prenatal micronutrient, food supplementation intervention in Bangladesh decreases child death rate
| 5/15/2012 | Pregnant women in poor communities in Bangladesh who received multiple micronutrients, including iron and folic acid combined with early food supplementation, had substantially improved survival of their newborns, compared to women in a standard program that included usual food supplementation, according to a study in the May 16 issue of JAMA , a theme issue on Global Health. "Maternal a... [Comments] |
Considerable prevalence of both malaria, STIs exist among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa
| 5/15/2012 | A review of studies reporting estimates of the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections/reproductive tract infections (STIs/RTIs) and malaria over the past 20 years suggests that a considerable burden of malaria and STIs/RTIs exists among pregnant women attending antenatal (before birth) facilities in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a review and meta-analysis of previous studies publishe... [Comments] |
Sulphur and iron compounds common in old shipwrecks
| 5/15/2012 | Sulphur and iron compounds have now been found in shipwrecks both in the Baltic and off the west coast of Sweden. The group behind the results, presented in the Journal of Archaeological Science, includes scientists from the University of Gothenburg and Stockholm University. A few years ag... [Comments] |  |
Mass. Eye and Ear announces Curing Kids Fund grant recipients
| 5/15/2012 | Boston (May 15, 2012) The Mass. Eye and Ear Curing Kids fund has awarded grants for research projects that aim to help the brain locate sound, identify genes that cause congenital blindness, cure deafness through hair cell regeneration, and improve treatment for childhood eye cancer. The 2011/2012 Curing Kids Fund grants were made possible by funds raised from the hospital's annual Sense-sat... [Comments] |
Big-mouthed babies drove the evolution of giant island snakes
| 5/15/2012 | Some populations of tiger snakes stranded for thousands of years on tiny islands surrounding Australia have evolved to be giants, growing to nearly twice the size of their mainland cousins. Now, new research in The American Naturalist suggests that the enormity of these elapids was driven by t... [Comments] |  |
Medicine News
Beijing's Olympic Smog Shows Pollution's Effect on Health
| 5/15/2012 | By Carina Storrs HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- With the 2012 Olympics set to begin in London this summer, a new study on air quality during the 2008 Beijing Olympics delivers an important public health message: Reducing air pollution levels could lower... [Comments] |  |
Blacks, Hispanics Have Higher Colon Polyp Risk Than Previously Thought
| 5/15/2012 | TUESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Black and Hispanic Americans are far more likely than whites to develop precancerous colorectal polyps, a new study finds. Researchers analyzed data from more than 5,000 men and women aged 50 and older who had a first-time colonoscopy screening at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City between 20... [Comments] |
Genes Might Be Key to Parkinson's Spread
| 5/15/2012 | TUESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified gene variants that speed the progression of Parkinson's disease, and they say their findings could help identify patients who would benefit most from early treatment. The researchers, from the University of Califo... [Comments] |  |
Trial Set to See if Drug Can Prevent Alzheimer's
| 5/15/2012 | TUESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers are preparing to test an experimental drug in people genetically primed to develop Alzheimer's disease. The best-scenario hope is that the drug will lead to a way of preventing the progressive brain-wasting disease, and to a better understanding of its destructive processes, U.S. officials announced Tuesday. The study volunte... [Comments] |
Robot-assisted surgery now favored treatment for kidney cancer
| 5/15/2012 | DETROIT Robot-assisted surgery has replaced another minimally invasive operation as the main procedure to treat kidney cancer while sparing part of the diseased organ, and with comparable results, according to a new research study by Henry Ford Hospital urologists. While the study shows that robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPD), available only since 2004, may also offer fewer complic... [Comments] |
U.S. Assistance to Africa Cut AIDS-Related Deaths: Study
| 5/15/2012 | TUESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- The lives of more than 740,000 people in nine African countries were saved between 2004 and 2008 by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a new study indicates. The program reduced adults' risk of death from all causes by 16 percent to 20 percent during those four years, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers fou... [Comments] |
Asthma Cases Continue to Rise in U.S., Affecting Millions
| 5/15/2012 | TUESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Asthma continues to take its toll on Americans, with almost 19 million adults (8.2 percent) suffering from the disorder in 2010, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC analysis... [Comments] |  |
U.S. Task Force Issues Blood Pressure Guidelines
| 5/15/2012 | TUESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- "Team-based care" should be used to improve patients' blood pressure control, the U.S. Task Force on Community Preventive Services recommended on Tuesday. The recommendation is based on a review of 77 studies that showed improvements in patients' control of blood pressure when they received care from a team of health professionals -- a pri... [Comments] |
Plavix's New Generic Status Could Be Boon for Patients
| 5/15/2012 | By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- The blockbuster drug Plavix (clopidogrel), used to prevent clotting in some heart patients, will go off patent in the United States on Thursday, making it considerably more affordable. Adherence rates... [Comments] |  |
Fewer prostate cancer surgery complications found in teaching hospitals with fellowship programs
| 5/15/2012 | DETROIT Patients who undergo radical surgery for prostate cancer may expect better results, on average, if they're treated in accredited teaching hospitals with residency programs, and better still if the hospitals also have medical fellowships, according to a new study by Henry Ford Hospital. The study, which evaluated postoperative complications in 47,100 radical prostatectomy (RP) pati... [Comments] |
Safer kidney cancer surgery under-used for poorer, sicker Medicare, Medicaid patients
| 5/15/2012 | DETROIT An increasingly common and safer type of surgery for kidney cancer is not as likely to be used for older, sicker and poorer patients who are uninsured or rely on Medicare or Medicaid for their health care, according to a new study by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital. The treatment, partial nephrectomy (PN), involves surgically removing only the diseased portion of a cancerous ki... [Comments] |