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Americans need to eat more fish

The sooner people start eating more fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids like salmon and tuna the better. Having fallen out of favor due to past mercury warnings aimed at pregnant women, new data show that consumers are doing their bodies a disservice if they continue to avoid this food.

19 Jul 2005

Decline in physical activity plays key role in weight gain among girls

Girls who were inactive during adolescence gained an average of 10 to 15 pounds more than active girls, according to results of a 10-year observational study of obesity. Total calorie intake increased only slightly and was not associated with the weight gains.

19 Jul 2005

For influenza experts, the question is not whether the world is going to have a new flu pandemic, but when

This isn't easy to communicate to the public. Bird flu and the potential for a human flu pandemic have been making headlines in recent weeks, but the subject presents more uncertainties than certainties.

19 Jul 2005

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) rates in women skyrocket

The death rate for one of the most lethal diseases in North America has skyrocketed for women in the last 20 years, and a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia and the B.C. Centre of Excellence for Women's Health wants to find out why.

19 Jul 2005

U.S. stockpile of anti-flu drugs is "totally inadequate"

The United States does not have nearly enough antiviral drugs on hand to fight a coming influenza pandemic, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

19 Jul 2005

New way to fight antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus infections

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital and Health Center, San Diego have discovered that "Staph" bacteria use a protective golden armor to ward off the immune system, a finding with the potential to lead to new treatments for serious infections now increasingly resistant to standard antibiotics.

19 Jul 2005

People who drink alcohol have a lower risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

People who drink alcohol have a lower risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) than non-drinkers, researchers at Yale’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (EPH) wrote recently in an article published in Lancet Oncology.

19 Jul 2005

Hispanic women are smoking cigarettes in the United States more than they do in their native countries

More Hispanic women are smoking cigarettes in the United States than they do in their native countries, most likely due to cultural influences. Similar smoking increases are not seen in Hispanic men, according to a new systematic review of studies.

19 Jul 2005

Many paramedics do not get enough clinical experience in insertion of emergency breathing tubes

Across the United States, many patients require insertion of emergency breathing tubes before arriving to a hospital, but emergency medicine researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have found that many paramedics - the highest level of prehospital providers - do not get enough clinical experience in this life-saving skill.

19 Jul 2005

Studies explore genetic interactions between two well-known tumor suppressor proteins, PTEN and TSC2

Two papers in the August 1 issue of Genes & Development explore the genetic interactions between two well-known tumor suppressor proteins, PTEN and TSC2.

19 Jul 2005

Regular yoga practice may help prevent middle-age spread

A new study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that regular yoga practice may help prevent middle-age spread in normal-weight people and may promote weight loss in those who are overweight.

19 Jul 2005

First generation of HIV vaccines may be available within 10 years but availability doesn't guarantee uptake

Public health officials must be sensitive to concerns about stigma and fear of vaccine-induced infection if they want women to take advantage of HIV vaccines now under development, says a University of Toronto researcher.

18 Jul 2005

Tamiflu may treat avian flu virus

Experiments in mice show that an antiviral drug currently used against annual influenza strains also can suppress the deadly influenza virus that has spread from birds to humans, killing dozens of people in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand since early 2004.

18 Jul 2005

Scientists sequence the genomes of three species of parasites responsible for causing diseases that kill or cripple millions

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) scientists who participated in the project say the sequencing of the genomes of the parasitic protozoa that cause Chagas disease, African sleeping sickness, and leishmaniasis, could significantly impact world health. Some of the genes discovered may prove to be good drug and vaccine targets.

17 Jul 2005

Having asthma, hay fever or another allergic condition may reduce the risk of developing Glioblastoma multiforme

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) affects three out of 100,000 people, a rate that quadruples to 13 out 100,000 among people who are 65 and older. The average five-year survival rate from the time of diagnosis for GBM is only 3.3 percent, and is lower for people 65 and older.

15 Jul 2005

Handwashing with soap could halve the incidence of diarrhoea in children in developing countries

Every year more than 3·5 million children aged less than 5 years die from diarrhoea and acute lower respiratory tract infection, making these two clinical syndromes the largest cause of childhood deaths globally.

14 Jul 2005

Asbestos in rocks cause lung cancer

According to a study by a team at UC Davis Department of Public Health Sciences, everyday exposure to naturally occurring asbestos, increases the risk of developing malignant mesothelioma.

14 Jul 2005

Desire more important than therapy for quitting alcohol

The positive outcomes of therapy for alcoholism may have less to do with the therapy itself and more to do with participants' determination to quit.

13 Jul 2005

White blood cell called a neutrophil appears to be crucial to abdominal aortic aneurysm formation

Each year, 200,000 Americans find out that the largest blood vessel in their body, the aorta, may burst open at any time. About 20,000 die suddenly from such a rupture. And another 36,000 have surgery to repair or replace the swelling section of aorta before time runs out.

13 Jul 2005

Targeted program drastically reduced hepatitis A in U.S.

According to a newly released study, the number of cases of hepatitis A have fallen by 76 percent in the United States since a vaccination campaign targeted children in communities with the highest rates of the disease.

13 Jul 2005

Public Health News and Research

Americans need to eat more fish

Decline in physical activity plays key role in weight gain among girls

For influenza experts, the question is not whether the world is going to have a new flu pandemic, but when

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) rates in women skyrocket

U.S. stockpile of anti-flu drugs is "totally inadequate"

New way to fight antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus infections

People who drink alcohol have a lower risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Hispanic women are smoking cigarettes in the United States more than they do in their native countries

Many paramedics do not get enough clinical experience in insertion of emergency breathing tubes

Studies explore genetic interactions between two well-known tumor suppressor proteins, PTEN and TSC2

Regular yoga practice may help prevent middle-age spread

First generation of HIV vaccines may be available within 10 years but availability doesn't guarantee uptake

Tamiflu may treat avian flu virus

Scientists sequence the genomes of three species of parasites responsible for causing diseases that kill or cripple millions

Having asthma, hay fever or another allergic condition may reduce the risk of developing Glioblastoma multiforme

Handwashing with soap could halve the incidence of diarrhoea in children in developing countries

Asbestos in rocks cause lung cancer

Desire more important than therapy for quitting alcohol

White blood cell called a neutrophil appears to be crucial to abdominal aortic aneurysm formation

Targeted program drastically reduced hepatitis A in U.S.

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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