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Exposure to diesel exhaust during commutes poses a serious public health risk

The Boston-based environmental research group reported today that even though we spend only a tiny portion of our day commuting, it's during the commute that we receive more than half our overall exposure to deadly fine particle pollution.

28 Feb 2007

Physical fitness and activity levels decline substantially as we reach middle age

Those are the findings of the largest, long-term study of physical fitness change, presented by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research today at the American Heart Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in Orlando, Fla.

28 Feb 2007

Stress-related adult disease may originate in fetal development birth weight, gestation period may be linked to depression

According to a review in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, evidence is mounting that lifelong stress-related conditions such as depression and chronic pain may be linked to fetal growth and timing of delivery.

28 Feb 2007

Low-GI diets could prevent obesity in babies

According to a study undertaken by scientists from the University of Sydney, a pregnant woman's diet could predispose her unborn baby to obesity.

28 Feb 2007

NHS report raises spectre of private sector

UNISON's call for a time-out in the increased use of markets in the NHS has helped raise public awareness of the issue in the run up to this weekend’s NHS Together day of action.

28 Feb 2007

Bird flu vaccine offers limited protection but 'better than nothing'

Despite evidence it will not protect most people, a panel of health advisers have recommended that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States approve the first vaccine against bird flu.

28 Feb 2007

Antioxidant supplements beta carotene, vitamin A and E may increase risk of death

Contradicting claims of disease prevention, an analysis of previous studies indicates that the antioxidant supplements beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may increase the risk of death, according to a meta-analysis and review article in the February 28 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

28 Feb 2007

Tangerine tomatoes boost disease-fighting antioxidants in blood

Deep red tomatoes get their rich color from lycopene, a disease-fighting antioxidant. A new study, however, suggests that a special variety of orange-colored tomatoes provide a different form of lycopene, one that our bodies may more readily use.

28 Feb 2007

MIT researchers develop technique to encourage the survival and growth of adult stem cells

Adult stem cells, found in many tissues in the body, are precursor cells for specific cell types. For example, stem cells found in the bone marrow develop into blood cells, bone cells and other connective tissues, and neural stem cells develop into brain tissue.

28 Feb 2007

Link between growth of blood vessels critical to spread of cancer and copper in our bodies

Growing new blood vessels from existing ones - a process called angiogenesis - is important in growth, development and wound healing. But it also enables the spread of tumors throughout the body, so researchers have been scrambling for ways to stop angiogenesis in the fight against cancer.

28 Feb 2007

Vitamin D deficiency widespread among women during pregnancy

Even regular use of prenatal multivitamin supplements is not adequate to prevent vitamin D insufficiency, University of Pittsburgh researchers report in the current issue of the Journal of Nutrition, the publication of the American Society for Nutrition.

28 Feb 2007

Differences in outcomes of obese women and men undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty

Obese patients tend to have a higher prevalence of total hip replacements due to a higher incidence of hip osteoarthritis. This is of particular concern in light of the trend in rising rates of obesity in developed countries.

28 Feb 2007

Relationship between appearance and psychological distress in rheumatic diseases

Patients with rheumatic disease can experience physical deformities, especially of the hands and feet in the case of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), or skin rashes and lesions and hand deformity in the case of systemic lupus erthyematosus.

28 Feb 2007

Industry funded studies on breast cancer treatments more likely to have positive results

Industry-funded clinical trials of breast cancer medications report more favorable results than nonindustry supported research, according to a study published in the Feb. 26 online edition of the journal Cancer, the New York Times reports (Bakalar, New York Times, 2/27).

28 Feb 2007

Legislation introduced to help improve heart disease, stroke prevention efforts among women

A group of female lawmakers -- including Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Reps. Barbara Cubin (R-Wyo.) and Lois Capps (D-Calif.) -- earlier this month introduced legislation (S 573, HR 1014) that aims to improve heart disease education among women, bolster gender-specific research and increase women's access to heart disease screening, CQ HealthBeat reports.

28 Feb 2007

FDA intends to withhold $1.2M of $4M allocated to office of women's health

FDA intends to withhold $1.2 million of the $4 million Congress allocated for the agency's Office of Women's Health in fiscal year 2007, and the remaining $2.8 million has already been allocated or spent, according to an unnamed, high-level agency official, the Washington Post reports.

28 Feb 2007

California Appellate Court panel upholds constitutionality of State proposition promoting embryonic stem cell research

A three-judge panel of the California First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco on Monday ruled unanimously that California's Proposition 71 -- approved by voters in 2004 to provide $3 billion for human embryonic stem cell research -- is constitutional, the New York Times reports.

28 Feb 2007

Ice cream to conceive!

Drinking whole fat milk and eating ice cream appears to be better for women trying to become pregnant than a diet consisting of low-fat dairy products such as skimmed milk and yoghurt, according to new research published in the journal, Human Reproduction.

28 Feb 2007

Benefits of breast-feeding might outweigh risk of vertical HIV transmission in developing countries

A series of studies presented Monday at the 14th Annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Los Angeles suggest that the benefits of breast-feeding in developing countries might outweigh the risk of vertical HIV transmission, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

28 Feb 2007

Lawmakers discuss plans for SCHIP reauthorization

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) on Monday at a forum co-sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said that Congress likely will have the ability to authorize the $50 billion over five years needed to enroll all children eligible for SCHIP but "hedged on whether it would do so this year or over the next several years," CQ HealthBeat reports.

28 Feb 2007

Research News and Research

Exposure to diesel exhaust during commutes poses a serious public health risk

Physical fitness and activity levels decline substantially as we reach middle age

Stress-related adult disease may originate in fetal development birth weight, gestation period may be linked to depression

Low-GI diets could prevent obesity in babies

NHS report raises spectre of private sector

Bird flu vaccine offers limited protection but 'better than nothing'

Antioxidant supplements beta carotene, vitamin A and E may increase risk of death

Tangerine tomatoes boost disease-fighting antioxidants in blood

MIT researchers develop technique to encourage the survival and growth of adult stem cells

Link between growth of blood vessels critical to spread of cancer and copper in our bodies

Vitamin D deficiency widespread among women during pregnancy

Differences in outcomes of obese women and men undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty

Relationship between appearance and psychological distress in rheumatic diseases

Industry funded studies on breast cancer treatments more likely to have positive results

Legislation introduced to help improve heart disease, stroke prevention efforts among women

FDA intends to withhold $1.2M of $4M allocated to office of women's health

California Appellate Court panel upholds constitutionality of State proposition promoting embryonic stem cell research

Ice cream to conceive!

Benefits of breast-feeding might outweigh risk of vertical HIV transmission in developing countries

Lawmakers discuss plans for SCHIP reauthorization

Spectroscopy Applications in the Environment eBook eBook

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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