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Scoliosis gene found

Physicians have recognized scoliosis, the abnormal curvature of the spine, since the time of Hippocrates, but its causes have remained a mystery -- until now. For the first time, researchers have discovered a gene that underlies the condition, which affects about 3 percent of all children.

26 Jun 2007

Does playfulness in young children encourage creativity and confidence?

That was the key question posed by Anita Bundy; Professor of Occupational Therapy at the University's the Faculty of Health Sciences, when she and her colleagues carried out an activity study of children aged five to seven at a Sydney primary school.

26 Jun 2007

Personal comments by physicians distract from patient needs

In well-intentioned efforts to establish relationships, some physicians tell patients about their own family members, health problems, travel experiences and political beliefs.

26 Jun 2007

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids protect against retinopathy

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids protect against the development and progression of retinopathy, a deterioration of the retina, in mice.

26 Jun 2007

MIT researchers reverse behavioral symptoms in mice

Researchers at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT have, for the first time, reversed symptoms of mental retardation and autism in mice.

26 Jun 2007

Free insecticidal bednets, not social marketing, key to controlling malaria in Africa

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Professor Chris Curtis has joined the Earth Institute's Professor Jeffrey Sachs to call for the mass distribution of free insecticidal bed nets to replace social marketing as a means of controlling malaria in Africa.

26 Jun 2007

Fine particulate matter from traffic may influence birth weight

After the scientists had investigated the effects of the exposure of adults and children to particulate matter in the past, they are now first focussing on the risks to unborn life in this recent study.

26 Jun 2007

Link between teenage violence and domestic violence

Adolescents who engaged in violent behavior at a relatively steady rate through their teenage years and those whose violence began in their mid teens and increased over the years are significantly more likely to engage in domestic violence in their mid 20s than other young adults, according to a new University of Washington study.

26 Jun 2007

$50 million gift for University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center

On June 11, the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center's new building opened its doors to patients.

26 Jun 2007

Basically eating fish may protect against type of blindness

Increasing intake of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, found in popular fish-oil supplements, may protect against blindness resulting from abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye, according to a study published online by the journal Nature Medicine on June 24.

26 Jun 2007

Animal studies shouldn't alter anesthesiology practice in newborns

Recent studies showing that commonly used anesthetic agents can cause brain damage in animals don't prove that similar harmful effects occur in human newborns - and shouldn't affect current approaches to anesthesia in preterm and ill infants, according to a leading expert on pain management in newborns.

26 Jun 2007

Green light for first drug to treat fibromyalgia

Authorities in the United States have given approval for the first drug to treat the condition fibromyalgia.

25 Jun 2007

Number one son the smart one!

Scientists in Norway have confirmed after carrying out a large study that the order people are born in within a family may influence how smart they are.

25 Jun 2007

Software enhances breast MRI scans - helps radiologists reduce false positives

Using commercially available software to enhance breast scans done by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reduces the number of false positive identifications of malignant tumors and the subsequent need for biopsies, according to a new study.

23 Jun 2007

Genes play unexpected role in their own activation

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered how a single molecular "on switch" triggers gene activity that might cause effects ranging from learning and memory capabilities to glucose production in the liver.

23 Jun 2007

Vitamin D deficient rickets in infants

The message about preventing vitamin D deficient rickets in children is not getting through, warn senior doctors in this week's BMJ.

23 Jun 2007

Cilia research may help find cure for inherited eye diseases

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified proteins in the rod and cones of the eye that could lead to the discovery of the genetic causes of a host of inherited eye diseases.

23 Jun 2007

Vaccine for human cytomegalovirus

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have patented a strategy for developing a human vaccine to prevent against Human Cytomegalovirus (hCMV) infection and disease.

23 Jun 2007

Current status of neuroblastoma treatment and trends for the near future

Childhood cancers are fortunately rare, but among them, neuroblastoma is a special case, accounting for 7 percent of all childhood cancers, but 15 percent of childhood cancer deaths.

23 Jun 2007

Extra vitamin A does not help mothers and children in developing countries

Giving mothers and children in developing countries twice the WHO recommended doses of vitamin A, as suggested by an international vitamin group, does not have a beneficial effect.

23 Jun 2007