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Many of the costs of gambling are hidden and crime-related

Researchers in New Zealand say many of the costs of gambling are hidden and a substantial amount of gambling is related to crime, is 'invisible' and is not reported to the authorities.

27 May 2009

Extra calories not lack of exercise causing obesity

New research from New Zealand has found that over-eating rather than lack of physical activity, is why Kiwis are pilling on the excess kilos.

27 May 2009

Experimental therapy uses immune system to boost cure rate in neuroblastoma

A multicenter research team has announced encouraging results for an experimental therapy using elements of the body's immune system to improve cure rates for children with neuroblastoma, a challenging cancer of the nervous system.

27 May 2009

Psychiatrists begin revising diagnostic manual for mental illnesses

Over the next 18 months, psychiatrists will revise the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is used to determine how U.S. residents' mental health is assessed, diagnosed and treated, the Los Angeles Times reports.

27 May 2009

Brain activation can predict strategies people use to make risky decisions

Watching people's brains in real time as they handle a set of decision-making problems can reveal how different each person's strategy can be, according to neuroscientists at the Duke University Medical Center.

27 May 2009

To spread, skin cancer attacks immune dendritic cells

Dendritic cells are the sentinels of the immune system. When they're alert and on guard, they will marshal the body's immunosoldiers, T cells, to battle at the sight of harmful pathogens. But some diseases, such as cancer, are able to escape their watchful eye. By knocking out or beguiling dendritic cells, they slip the defenses of the immune system and sack the unsuspecting body.

27 May 2009

More evidence that pressure to be "attractive" provokes negative outcomes

People who feel pressure to look attractive are more fearful of being rejected because of their appearance than are their peers, according to a new study by researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of Kent.

27 May 2009

Stem cell breakthrough restores sight to sufferers of corneal disease

In a world-first breakthrough, University of New South Wales (UNSW) medical researchers have used stem cells cultured on a simple contact lens to restore sight to sufferers of blinding corneal disease.

27 May 2009

$Vitamin D and Calcium supplements help prevent bone fracture in the elderly$

Vitamin D and Calcium supplements help prevent bone fracture in the elderly

We all know that vitamin D and calcium are good for bones, but research teams in Europe and USA have shown that both taken daily reduces the rate of hip fracture in older people by 20%.

27 May 2009

Humans may be genetically programmed to care about the long-term future, finds new study of behaviour

Dr Peter Sozou suggests that individuals may have an innate tendency to care about the long-term future of their communities, over timescales much longer than an individual's lifespan. This in turn may help to explain people's wish to take action over long-term environmental problems.

27 May 2009

Poor adherence to healthy lifestyle habits in U.S. adults

Despite the well-known benefits of having a lifestyle that includes physical activity, eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, moderate alcohol use and not smoking, only a small proportion of adults follow this healthy lifestyle pattern, and in fact, the numbers are declining, according to an article published in the June 2009 issue of The American Journal of Medicine. Lifestyle choices are associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease as well as diabetes.

27 May 2009

Revealed - the culprit gene in hair loss!

Researchers at the Division of Mammalian Development at the National Institute of Genetics in Mishima, say the gene appears to determine cyclical hair loss in mice and they suspect it may also be the culprit in hair loss, or alopecia, in people.

26 May 2009

Research looks at common health problems affecting seniors

Researchers from Dalhousie, McMaster, and McGill universities are leading a new study will increase the understanding of common health problems affecting seniors.

26 May 2009

Drug-eluting stents more effective than bare-metal stents in heart attack patients

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center, together with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), announced that its landmark study comparing the safety and efficacy of drug-eluting stents and bare-metal stents was published in the May 7 New England Journal of Medicine.

26 May 2009

Activated stem cells in damaged lungs could be first step toward cancer

Stem cells that respond after a severe injury in the lungs of mice may be a source of rapidly dividing cells that lead to lung cancer, according to a team of American and British researchers.

26 May 2009

Neuroscientists reach consensus on how the brain processes speech and language

Neuroscientists feel they are much closer to an accepted unified theory about how the brain processes speech and language, according to a scientist at Georgetown University Medical Center who first laid the concepts a decade ago and who has now published a review article confirming the theory.

26 May 2009

Terminally ill patients and their physicians delay conversations about end-of-life choices, study finds

About half of terminally ill patients do not have discussions with their physicians regarding end-of-life choices, according to a Harvard Medical School study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the Boston Globe reports.

26 May 2009

Active ingredient in green tea shows promise in leukemia trials

Mayo Clinic researchers are reporting positive results in early leukemia clinical trials using the chemical epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an active ingredient in green tea.

26 May 2009

Novel chemotherapy and biological agents brings dramatic increase in metastatic colon cancer survival

Novel chemotherapy and biological agents for metastatic colorectal cancer, combined with surgical advances in liver resection, have resulted in a dramatic increase in survival for patients with advanced disease, according to researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

26 May 2009

Discovery of entirely new mechanism that promotes blood clot formation

A Monash-led research team has discovered an entirely new mechanism that promotes blood clot formation - a major breakthrough that will impact on treatment and prevention of heart disease and stroke.

26 May 2009