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Specific plant oil may reduce belly fat in humans

Scientists have known for years that belly fat leads to serious medical problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found a plant oil that may be able to reduce belly fat in humans.

24 Mar 2011

Contrast agent for tumor diagnostics

X-rays are not the only way: visible and especially infrared light can also be used to image human tissue. The effectiveness of optical imaging processes can be significantly improved with suitable dyes used as contrast agents. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a team led by Wenbin Lin at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, USA) has now introduced a novel contrast agent that marks tumor cells in vitro. The dye is a phosphorescent ruthenium complex incorporated into nanoparticles of a metal–organic coordination polymer, which allows an extraordinarily high level of dye loading.

23 Mar 2011

New insights into cancer genome may lead to designer drugs for myeloma

Patients with myeloma could benefit from ‘designer’ drugs in the future after new genome-mapping technology has allowed scientists to identify a full genetic blueprint of the mutations which drive the bone marrow cancer.

23 Mar 2011

'The Silent Treatment' research focuses on communication breakdown in hospitals

Health care professionals make calculated decisions daily to not alert their colleagues when a safety tool signals potential harm to a patient, according to a new study of 6,500 nurses and nurse managers released March 22 during a national briefing in Philadelphia.

23 Mar 2011

New research: Skeleton's femur characteristics can reveal individual's weight

One of the blind spots in forensic science, particularly in identifying unknown remains, is the inability of experts to determine how much an individual weighed based on his or her skeleton.

23 Mar 2011

NIH: Diabetic retinopathy leads to vision loss in working-age Americans

Diabetes is often called the "silent killer" because people who have it are often unaware they are affected. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes affects 26 million people – including children – in the United States. Approximately one-quarter of those people do not know they're living with the disease.

23 Mar 2011

Study finds prevalence of insomnia among Spanish population

Insomnia is common in Spain, and affects one person in every five. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona and the Stanford University School of Medicine, which shows that 40% of survey respondents aged over 65 report interrupted sleep at night being the prime cause of this problem.

23 Mar 2011

Study finds novel physical mechanism behind cancer migration

Ninety percent of cancer deaths resulted from metastasis, the spread of cancer to different areas in the body, yet scientific exploration of the possible mechanical factors that promote metastasis has been limited.

23 Mar 2011

Toddlers who played with fewer toys show improvement in communication skills

Toddlers who played with a limited number of toys showed more improvement in their communication skills following parent-guided treatment than those receiving other community-based treatments.

23 Mar 2011

Sign language users may simultaneously keep words and signs in their minds as they read

People fluent in sign language may simultaneously keep words and signs in their minds as they read, according to an international team of researchers.

23 Mar 2011

New research on brain plasticity may delay onset of Alzheimer's disease

The human brain loses 5 to 10% of its weight between the ages of 20 and 90 years old. While some cells are lost, the brain is equipped with two compensatory mechanisms: plasticity and redundancy.

23 Mar 2011

Research: Hot dogs and deli meat may have low HCA levels

If given the choice between eating a hot dog or enjoying some rotisserie chicken, consider the hot dog. That's because hot dogs, as well as pepperoni and deli meats, are relatively free of carcinogenic compounds, according to Kansas State University research. But it's a not-so-happy ending for bacon and rotisserie chicken -- especially chicken skin -- because both have higher levels of cancerous material.

23 Mar 2011

U-M professors recommend certain steps to reach research equipoise

In 1998, a study linking the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism in children appeared in a respected medical journal. For a decade, the study grabbed headlines worldwide.

23 Mar 2011

Episodic physical and sexual activity associated with short-term increase in risk of acute cardiac events

An analysis of previous studies that examined whether episodic physical activity and sexual activity can act as a trigger for cardiac events found an association between these activities and a short-term increased risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac death, although the absolute risk was small and lessened among persons with high levels of regular physical activity, according to an article in the March 23/30 issue of JAMA.

23 Mar 2011

Early smoking onset linked to higher risk of cannabis use

Young people who start smoking at an early age have a much higher risk of starting to use cannabis by the time they turn 17. Risk factors that increase the likelihood of starting to smoke include externalising problem behaviours such as impulsiveness. Smoking, in turn, is a significant risk factor for cannabis use. These results have been confirmed in a project researching smoking at an early age and externalising behaviour as predictors of drug use.

23 Mar 2011

AHA to honor BIDMC investigator for groundbreaking Vascular Biology research

Alterations in blood vessel dilation lie at the heart of coronary artery health: When vessels dilate, blood and oxygen supplies successfully reach the heart. When vessels contract, blood and oxygen are diminished, leading to coronary artery disease.

23 Mar 2011

Bowel cancer rate increases to 12% in over 60s in England due to screening test

Bowel cancer rates in 60 to 69 year olds went up by more than 12 per cent in England from 2006 to 2008, according to the latest figures from Cancer Research UK.

23 Mar 2011

MD Anderson receives $2.7 million NCI grant for acupuncture study in cancer

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has been awarded a grant to study whether xerostomia, a debilitating side effect caused by head and neck cancer radiation treatment, can be prevented when acupuncture is part of a patient's treatment regimen.

23 Mar 2011

Obese teens have inflammation, insulin resistance, and high homocysteine levels despite feeling healthy

Obese teens may feel healthy, but blood tests show they have inflammation, insulin resistance, and high homocysteine levels, researchers report at the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions.

23 Mar 2011

Corticosteroids may decrease occurrence of hospital-acquired pneumonia in ICU patients

Patients admitted to a hospital with major trauma and treated with the steroid hydrocortisone were less likely to be diagnosed with hospital-acquired pneumonia than patients who received placebo, according to a study in the March 23/30 issue of JAMA.

23 Mar 2011