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Five U.S. federal agencies provide significant contributions each year to global health R&D

A new report that the United States government is the largest funder of global health research and development (R&D) in the world, investing $12.7 billion over the past 10 years in the creation of new vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and other products for neglected diseases of the developing world. That funding, according to the report, helped lead to the development of more than half of the 45 new health products in the last decade that have been used to save lives around the world.

30 Apr 2012

Normal weight drivers more likely to wear seatbelts than obese drivers

Obese drivers are far less likely to wear seatbelts than are drivers of normal weight, a new University at Buffalo study has found, a behavior that puts them at greater risk of severe injury or death during motor vehicle crashes.

30 Apr 2012

Thinking analytically may affect faith in the divine: Study

According to lead author Will Gervais, a social psychologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, there has been no study exploring the cognitive origins of belief as well as disbelief. “There's been a long-standing intellectual tradition of treating science as one thing and religion as separate, and never the twain shall meet,” he said. But in recent years, he added, there has been a push “to understand religion and why our species has the capacity for religion.”

29 Apr 2012

Mobile phone link with cancer refuted in a large study review

The review was carried out by the British Health Protection Agency's Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR). The researchers found that a large number of studies have been published on cancer risks; but none of them had demonstrated that mobiles actually cause brain tumours or any other types of cancer.

29 Apr 2012

Study reveals direct correlation between negative thinking about pain and poor sleep

Chronic pain sufferers who learn to dwell less on their ailments may sleep better and experience less day-to-day pain, according to results of research conducted on 214 people with chronic face and jaw pain.

27 Apr 2012

IOM releases summary of workshop on drug-resistant TB in India

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) on Friday released a summary of a joint workshop by the Institute of Medicine, the Indian National Science Academy, and the Indian Council of Medical Research, titled, "Facing the Reality of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: Challenges and Potential Solutions in India."

27 Apr 2012

Binge drinking may slow recovery and increase medical costs for survivors of burn injuries

A Loyola University Medical Center study has found that binge drinking may slow recovery and increase medical costs for survivors of burn injuries. The study was presented during the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Burn Association in Seattle.

27 Apr 2012

Long-duration breastfeeders sacrifice considerable income

Pediatricians and other breastfeeding advocates often encourage new mothers to breastfeed their babies for at least the first six months of their infants' lives based on the purported health benefits to both mothers and children. Many breastfeeding proponents also argue that breastfeeding has financial advantages over formula-feeding-breastfeeding is free, they say.

27 Apr 2012

Malaria researchers discuss achievements, threats to progress at Capitol Hill event

"To commemorate World Malaria Day, top malaria researchers came together Wednesday to present their work at a research and development event on Capitol Hill, hosted by Malaria No More," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

27 Apr 2012

Study describes structure and function of the stratum corneum

A research team at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has succeeded in describing the structure and function of the outermost layer of the skin - the stratum corneum - at a molecular level. This opens the way not only for the large-scale delivery of drugs via the skin, but also for a deeper understanding of skin diseases.

27 Apr 2012

Funders should follow lead of U.S. in creating policies for scientific research oversight

"The controversy over the research into the genetic modification of the H5N1 flu virus, finally approved for publication, should offer a reminder of the importance of debate" over dual-use technology, a Nature editorial states.

27 Apr 2012

City centre residents more likely to suffer from coronary artery calcification

City centre residents who took part in a study were almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery calcification (CAC), which can lead to heart disease, than people who lived in less polluted urban and rural areas, according to research published in the May issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

27 Apr 2012

Seabirds play an important role in dispersal and biodiversity of parasites

According to a scientific paper published in the journal Biology Letters, in which have taken part Jacob González-Solís, professor at the Department of Animal Biology and at the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona (IRBio), due to their capacity to travel long distances, seabirds play an important role in the dispersal and biodiversity of parasites and of the infectious agents these may transmit.

27 Apr 2012

HMS researcher receives $130,000 to conduct epilepsy study

A researcher from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School is receiving $130,000 to conduct further research on memory dysfunction in epilepsy patients through the Susan S. Spencer Clinical Research Training Fellowship.

27 Apr 2012

Low-intensity workout may be effective in building muscle

Weight training at a lower intensity but with more repetitions may be as effective for building muscle as lifting heavy weights says a new opinion piece in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.

27 Apr 2012

UIC researcher to explore causes of myasthenia gravis

A University of Illinois at Chicago researcher is the recipient of a $240,000 research grant to further explore the causes of myasthenia gravis, a neurologic disease affecting muscles.

27 Apr 2012

UMKC School of Medicine receives $400,000 gift to establish Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Program

The University of Missouri-Kansas City has received a $400,000 gift to establish a pulmonary fibrosis research program at the UMKC School of Medicine. The gift comes from the estate of the late Mary K. Geldmacher, a retired St. Louis school teacher who suffered from pulmonary fibrosis and passed away in 2009. Pulmonary fibrosis is the formation or development of excess fibrous connective tissue in the lungs, commonly described as “scarring of the lung.”

26 Apr 2012

A melanoma cloaking protein

Johns Hopkins and Yale scientists have found that melanoma cells use a cloaking protein to hide from immune cells poised to attack the cancer. Nearly 40 percent of their sampling of melanoma tissues contained the B7-H1 protein, also called PD-L1, and scientists say it could be used as a target for new therapies.

26 Apr 2012

Aspirin reduces bowel cancer death and lung cancer incidence: Research suggests

There is previous evidence suggesting aspirin might prevent certain cancers from developing in the first place. And more recent work suggests it might also work as a cancer therapy - slowing down or preventing a cancer's spread. But the drug can also have unpleasant and dangerous side effects, causing irritation of the stomach lining and internal bleeds in a very small minority of patients.

26 Apr 2012

Allergies may provide benefit by keeping away noxious environmental toxins

Yale researchers suggested Wednesday that allergies may be an outgrowth of the protective mechanism of the body to protect itself from noxious substances in the environment.

26 Apr 2012