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Improper use of seat belts puts kids at risk

New South Wales Special Minister of State, John Della Bosca, announced this week the results of new research which shows an alarming number of children are being put at risk through the improper use of seat belts and child restraints.

10 Sep 2005

Is suburban life making people overweight?

Or could it be that overweight people tend to choose the suburban life?

10 Sep 2005

Australians consider medical research more important than tax cuts and border protection

Australians consider medical research to be a more important priority for funding and resources than tax cuts and border protection, a new poll has found.

10 Sep 2005

Two common weight loss supplements promoted as ephedra-free and safe for dieters caused increased heart rate among healthy people

...and could have harmful health effects in some people, according to a study by University of California - San Francisco (UCSF) scientists. Their placebo-controlled clinical study is the first to examine the pharmacological effects of these re-formulated dietary supplements.

10 Sep 2005

Safe, non-surgical method of identifying brain infections such as brain abscess

Researchers at Westmead Millennium Institute have discovered a safe, non-surgical method of identifying brain infections such as brain abscess, and an accurate and rapid way of diagnosing meningitis.

10 Sep 2005

Medicine remains a white male dominated profession

Despite a record number of female medical students, medicine remains a white male dominated profession – but its days as such are numbered, says a paper in this week's British Medical Journal (BMJ).

10 Sep 2005

One in four cases of hospital MRSA bacteraemia occurs in new arrivals

One in four cases of MRSA blood stream infection in hospital occur in patients who have just arrived from the community. These patients tend to be older and have been in hospital before.

10 Sep 2005

Afghan refugee children and young adults prone to injury

Pakistan is home to 2 million Afghan refugees who fled a communist coup and Soviet occupation in 1978. A study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins University found that Afghan refugees under the age of 29 years experience more injuries than their older counterparts and children in developed countries.

10 Sep 2005

Scientists characterize the most infectious prion protein particles

A new study of prions - apparently malformed proteins that initiate deadly brain diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans - has yielded surprising information about how the size of prions relates to their infectivity.

10 Sep 2005

Inhaled-insulin drug Exubera - monitoring programme to be launched by Pfizer

Drug company Pfizer says it is all set to launch a patient-monitoring scheme in order to assess the safety of its novel inhaled-insulin drug Exubera, if the product is approved for use.

10 Sep 2005

Diabetics with fatty livers could benefit from diet rich in soy protein

According to a group of researchers from Mexico they have discovered that a diet rich in soy protein may alleviate fatty liver, a disease which often accompanies diabetes.

10 Sep 2005

Stress on a daily basis protects against breast cancer

According to recently published research, women with high levels of stress in their everyday lives, are at less risk than others of developing primary breast cancer.

10 Sep 2005

Depression may hasten the progression of heart disease

In a study of 32 people with heart failure, the 14 patients who felt the most depressed had nearly twice the levels of this protein in their blood.

7 Sep 2005

Nitric oxide could one day help women in their 30s and 40s remain fertile longer

Researchers have found that an important chemical compound, nitric oxide, appears to slow or reverse the aging of eggs in mouse ovaries. The finding suggests nitric oxide could one day help women in their 30s and 40s remain fertile longer and increase their chances of having healthy babies, the scientists say.

7 Sep 2005

Bacteria lurking in household dust produce chemicals that may trigger asthma

These bacterial chemicals, called endotoxins, particularly those found on bedroom floors, were linked with increased respiratory problems in adults.

7 Sep 2005

MRC call for proposals in experimental medicine

The Medical Research Council (MRC) has launched a Call for Proposals in experimental medicine today as part of its £15 million commitment to promote the translation of laboratory research into clinical practice for the benefit of patients.

7 Sep 2005

Stressgen granted new U.S. patent for treatment of Hepatitis B

Stressgen Biotechnologies announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Patent Number 6,921,534 covering fusion protein compositions comprised of a hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigen fused to a heat shock protein (Hsp), as well as DNA encoding such fusion proteins, and methods of treating an HBV infection using these fusion proteins.

7 Sep 2005

Parents advised to turn off the TV, encourage outdoor play

If mothers of preschoolers perceive their neighborhood as unsafe, their children tend to watch more television, but differ little in amounts of outdoor play or overweight, compared to peers in safer neighborhoods. Drawing from a study of three-year-olds in 20 U.S. cities, researchers reported these findings in the September issue of Pediatrics.

7 Sep 2005

Researchers discover discrete region of the monkey brain that processes pitch

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a discrete region of the monkey brain that processes pitch, the relative high and low points of sound, by recognizing a single musical note played by different instruments.

7 Sep 2005

Researchers develop screening test for cells that activate immune system

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers are the first to create a large-scale, cell-based screening method that identifies which compounds activate immune-response cells that hold promise for future cancer-fighting vaccines.

7 Sep 2005