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Three institutions collaborate to study genetics of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia

Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Medical School and collaborators at two other institutions will undertake the largest whole genome sequencing study funded to date, as they seek to better understand bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

30 Sep 2014

Researchers explain how molecular structure of the heart muscle changes in heart failure

In a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, researchers at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry have explained how the function of a key protein in the heart changes in heart failure.

30 Sep 2014

Nondigestible compounds in apples may help prevent obesity-related disorders

Scientists at Washington State University have concluded that nondigestible compounds in apples - specifically, Granny Smith apples - may help prevent disorders associated with obesity. The study, thought to be the first to assess these compounds in apple cultivars grown in the Pacific Northwest, appears in October's print edition of the journal Food Chemistry.

30 Sep 2014

UC Davis research highlights need for better guidance for primary care providers

Short questionnaires used to identify patients at risk for depression are linked with antidepressant medications being prescribed when they may not be needed, according to new research from UC Davis Health System published in the September-October issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

30 Sep 2014

UI study finds sleep twitches activate the brain in a unique way

A University of Iowa study has found twitches made during sleep activate the brains of mammals differently than movements made while awake.

30 Sep 2014

New scaling law helps predict humans' risk of blast-induced traumatic brain injury

Since the start of the military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 300,000 soldiers have returned to the United States with traumatic brain injury caused by exposure to bomb blasts - and in particular, exposure to improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Symptoms of traumatic brain injury can range from the mild, such as lingering headaches and nausea, to more severe impairments in memory and cognition.

30 Sep 2014

Seven NIH research contracts awarded to identify novel adjuvant candidates

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded seven research contracts to discover and characterize new adjuvants, or substances formulated as part of vaccines to enhance their protective ability.

30 Sep 2014

Review article provides novel insight into brain changes in alcohol-related sleep-wake disturbances

A review article published online in Behavioral Brain Research provides novel insight into changes that happen in the brain as a result of chronic alcohol exposure that can lead to disruptions in the sleep cycle.

30 Sep 2014

First-in-kind study evaluates health outcomes of women sexual assault survivors

One in 5 U.S. women experience sexual assault during their lifetime, yet little is known about the experiences and health outcomes of sexual assault survivors. A new study seeks to change that.

30 Sep 2014

Neural recordings can be used to forecast spontaneous decisions

You're waiting at a bus stop, expecting the bus to arrive any time. You watch the road. Nothing yet. A little later you start to pace. More time passes. "Maybe there is some problem", you think. Finally, you give up and raise your arm and hail a taxi. Just as you pull away, you glimpse the bus gliding up. Did you have a choice to wait a bit longer? Or was giving up too soon the inevitable and predictable result of a chain of neural events?

30 Sep 2014

Finding ways to rejuvenate "immunological age" of the brain

How the brain ages is still largely an open question - in part because this organ is mostly insulated from direct contact with other systems in the body, including the blood and immune systems. In research that was recently published in Science, Weizmann Institute researchers Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Neurobiology Department and Dr. Ido Amit of Immunology Department found evidence of a unique "signature" that may be the "missing link" between cognitive decline and aging.

30 Sep 2014

New approach to solve global challenges in food security, emerging diseases and biodiversity loss

Solving global challenges in food security, emerging diseases and biodiversity loss requires evolutionary thinking, argues a new study published online in Science Express that was co-authored by Bruce Tabashnik of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

30 Sep 2014

Novel project to develop new models of care for depression in older adults

UC Davis and the University of Washington are implementing a project to develop innovative new models of care for depression in older adults through a $2.5 million grant from the California-based Archstone Foundation, a private grant-making organization whose mission is to contribute toward the preparation of society in meeting the needs of an aging population.

30 Sep 2014

Antibiotic exposure in infancy linked to childhood obesity

Repeated exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics in the first two years of life is associated with early childhood obesity, say researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in a retrospective study based on data from electronic health records from the extensive CHOP Care Network.

30 Sep 2014

New OSU study shows association between gas kitchen stove ventilation and asthma

Parents with children at home should use ventilation when cooking with a gas stove, researchers from Oregon State University are recommending, after a new study showed an association between gas kitchen stove ventilation and asthma, asthma symptoms and chronic bronchitis.

30 Sep 2014