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Better health care for the indigenous population

A report from Melbourne University says that Indigenous Australians are six times more likely than other Australians to be blind and more than a third of this population has never had an eye examination. Now a substantial number of optometrists will be sent to remote Aboriginal communities under a $6.5 million federal program.

16 May 2010

Indigenous Australians at higher risk of diseases: studies

Central Australia ranks first in incidences of pneumonia among children with alarming figures like 78.4 cases per 1,000 children annually. This is much higher than even South Africa, Uruguay, Gambia, Fiji or Pakistan.

16 May 2010

HHS announces $1 billion in Recovery Act awards for construction, repair and renovation of research facilities

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced one billion dollars of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds have been awarded to construct, repair and renovate scientific research laboratories and related facilities across the country. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) administered the grants, which are expected to create or sustain jobs nationwide and to help foster scientific advances that may lead to improved human health.

15 May 2010

Blood flow restriction combined with resistance exercise can increase muscle-mass in older men

For years, researchers have known that resistance exercise training -such as weightlifting, in which muscles work against gravity or another force - can be one of the most effective ways to fight the debilitating muscle loss caused by aging.

15 May 2010

BUSM researchers identify clinical characteristics associated with PDUD in primary care patients

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine have identified clinical characteristics associated with prescription drug use disorder in primary care patients with chronic pain. The study found that by identifying characteristics of prescription drug abuse, primary care clinicians can identify those at risk and provide appropriate treatment.

15 May 2010

Low testosterone levels can impact sleep quality

At 30 years old, male testosterone levels drop by one to two percent annually. By age 40, men's quality of sleep begins to diminish. Could there be a link between decreased testosterone and reduced sleep?

15 May 2010

UC researchers explore dynamics of bacterial evolution

Researchers found that as dominant members of the population surrendered to host immune defenses, they were replaced by a hyperaggressive, mutant minority population that thrived and took over the abandoned community to become the new majority.

15 May 2010

Fat tissue different in men and women

The age-old question of why men store fat in their bellies and women store it in their hips may have finally been answered: Genetically speaking, the fat tissue is almost completely different.

15 May 2010

TRPV4 activity vital to prevent skin dehydration

Japanese research group led by Prof. Makoto Tominaga and Dr. Takaaki Sokabe (National Institute for Physiological Sciences: NIPS) found that TRPV4 ion channel in skin keratinocytes is important for formation and maintenance of barrier function to prevent dehydration. Their finding was reported in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

15 May 2010

Agronomic practices can increase cancer-preventive phytochemicals in broccoli and tomatoes

A University of Illinois study has demonstrated that agronomic practices can greatly increase the cancer-preventive phytochemicals in broccoli and tomatoes.

15 May 2010

National study of factors related to unmet health needs among homeless people

The vast majority of homeless adults surveyed in a national study had trouble accessing at least one type of needed health care service in the preceding year, according to a study that will appear in the July American Journal of Public Health and is now available online.

15 May 2010

Scientists look for new ways to fight TB

Scientists looking for new ways to fight tuberculosis have their sights set on a structure essential to the bacterium's survival. Disabling this structure could kill the microbes in the infected host and thwart TB infections. In a study appearing online May 11, 2010, in EMBO J, the journal of the European Molecular Biology Organization, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and Weill Cornell Medical College describe new features of how this structure, known as a proteasome, is put together and how it works.

14 May 2010

Poorly designed clinical trials adversely affect medical advances

In a paper published this week in Science, experts caution that important ethical issues in the testing of new therapies like stem cells may not be receiving the attention they deserve. Carnegie Mellon University's Dr. Alex John London (Dept. of Philosophy) joined McGill University's Dr. Jonathan Kimmelman (Faculty of Medicine) and University of Wisconsin-Madison's Marina Emborg (Dept. of Medical Physics) to examine the way scientists, physicians, and regulators evaluate risk and benefit when testing new drugs in human beings for the first time.

14 May 2010

Rensselaer professor selected to receive NSF CAREER Award

David T. Corr, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has won a Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation.

14 May 2010

Study examines impact of tobacco smoke carcinogen on mice

Although tobacco use is widely understood to be one of the leading causes of oral cancer, research on the prevention of tobacco-related oral cancer in experimental animals has traditionally been limited to examining the impact of synthetic carcinogens manufactured especially for cancer research, rather than on observing the effects of carcinogens that occur in tobacco smoke.

14 May 2010

Researchers determine how cells regulate chromosome/microtubule interface

Whitehead Institute researchers have determined a key part of how cells regulate the chromosome/microtubule interface, which is central to proper chromosomal distribution during cell division.

14 May 2010

Local ordinances in Appalachian states do not offer protection against second-hand smoke: Study

Local ordinances in Appalachian states with weak statewide smoking regulations do not offer most residents adequate protection against second-hand smoke, according to a new study.

14 May 2010

New research to improve treatment for oesophageal and upper stomach cancer

Poor diet, too much alcohol, smoking and increasing obesity could be leading to an epidemic of oesophageal and upper stomach cancer, according to a leading UK team of specialists at The University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals.

14 May 2010

Study shows correlation between good mental health and academic performance in children

Children's social-emotional competencies are directly related to how well they do in math and reading according to the results of a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in Denver, Colorado.

14 May 2010

Research efforts needed to identify optimal treatments for sexual dysfunction in people with CKD

Despite the very high rate of problems with sexual function among people with chronic kidney disease (CKD), little is known about the best treatment approaches in this group of patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

14 May 2010