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Johns Hopkins-led safety checklist program appears to reduce hospital deaths by 10%

A Johns Hopkins-led safety checklist program that virtually eliminated bloodstream infections in hospital intensive-care units throughout Michigan appears to have also reduced deaths by 10 percent, a new study suggests.

1 Feb 2011

Scientists devise safer way to create iPS cells

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found a better way to create induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells-adult cells reprogrammed with the properties of embryonic stem cells-from a small blood sample. This new method, described last week in Cell Research, avoids creating DNA changes that could lead to tumor formation.

1 Feb 2011

Walk briskly to boost memory

Researchers have found that older adults who took a brisk walk three times a week did better on memory tests and increased the size of their hippocampus, a portion of the brain involved with memory formation.

1 Feb 2011

Research on triple negative disease can benefit patients with breat cancer

Research to develop more effective treatments for triple negative breast cancer -- a difficult disease to cure -- could someday benefit all breast cancer patients, reports Dr. Frederick C. Tucker, Jr. of Fredericksburg Oncology.

1 Feb 2011

Vitamin D deficiency linked to lung disease, poor lung function: Study

For the study lead researcher Dr. Graeme Zosky a research fellow at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Subiaco, WA, compared two-week-old mice with vitamin D deficiency to normal mice. He noted that mice with a vitamin D deficiency had weaker lungs and that the difference was substantial.

1 Feb 2011

Easier access to emergency birth control increases sexually-transmitted diseases among teenagers

Offering the morning after pill free over the counter has not reduced the number of teenage pregnancies and may be associated with a rise in sexually-transmitted diseases (STIs), according to a report by experts at The University of Nottingham.

1 Feb 2011

HighRes Biosolutions to build High-Throughput Laboratory Network for LANL-UCLA

A compact, self-contained, automated system for surveillance and screening of potential pandemic strains of influenza and other deadly infectious diseases is a step closer to reality, thanks to an agreement between Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of California Los Angeles School of Public Health, and HighRes Biosolutions of Boston, Massachussets.

1 Feb 2011

Brain scans can predict smokers' behavior change: New study

Brain scans showing neural reactions to pro-health messages can predict if you'll keep that resolution to quit smoking more accurately than you yourself can. That's according to a new study forthcoming in Health Psychology, a peer-reviewed journal.

1 Feb 2011

Scientists create 'reporter mouse' to close gap between kidney injury and diagnosis

The current check for kidney disease is a simple blood test for serum creatinine, but it can take longer than two days for this metabolite to accumulate to levels that are significant enough to indicate kidney damage - and by then it may be too late to intervene.

1 Feb 2011

ACC introduces new chromogenic endotoxin detection system

Associates of Cape Cod, Inc., (ACC) is proud to introduce its NEW CHROMOGENIC ENDOTOXIN DETECTION SYSTEM incorporating the enhanced Pyrochrome® chromogenic reagent and the new-to-market Pyros Kinetix® Flex Incubating Kinetic tube reader. This system offers our customers diverse options for conducting endotoxin testing.

1 Feb 2011

Research sheds new light on venous thromboembolism following liver resections

Patients undergoing liver surgery have long been considered to be at low risk of venous thromboembolism. However, pulmonary embolism has recently emerged as an increasingly frequent and potentially fatal complication following liver resections.

1 Feb 2011

Scientist identifies natural signaling molecule that can prevent Hemophilia A

A scientist from The Scripps Research Institute has identified a new role for a natural signaling molecule in preventing blood clot formation. The molecule could become a target for the development of novel and cost-effective treatments for blood clotting diseases such as Hemophilia A.

1 Feb 2011

New research finding shows strong relationship between gut bacteria and fatty liver

The more we learn about biology, the closer we get to being able to treat disease - and the more complicated our understanding of disease itself becomes. A new research finding showing a strong relationship between complex microbial ecologies in human intestines and the common but serious medical condition known as fatty liver illustrates this paradox.

1 Feb 2011

New study: Swine flu transmission is most intensive between children of same class

Boys predominantly pass on flu to other boys and girls to girls, according to a new study of how swine flu spread in a primary school during the 2009 pandemic, published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The results also suggest that flu transmission is most intensive between children of the same class, but that sitting next to an infected person does not significantly increase a child's risk of catching flu.

1 Feb 2011

MRI T2 can determine iron overload in beta-thalassemic patients

Iron overload is a common and serious problem in thalassemic major patients. As iron accumulation is toxic in the body's tissues, accurate estimation of iron stores is of great importance in these patients to prevent iron overload by an appropriate iron chelating therapy.

1 Feb 2011

Researchers study peripheral blood Tregs as disease marker of gastric cancer

T-regulatory lymphocytes are a subset of T lymphocytes that are involved in the mechanism of immunotolerance to self- and allo-antigens. Activity of these cells is one of the mechanisms of immune evasion of tumors, which inhibits the antitumor activity of effector cells.

1 Feb 2011

Histamine can be an important molecule to develop new treatments for MS

If you think histamines are your nemesis during allergy season, here's something that might change your perspective. New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that histamine could be an important molecule to developing new treatments for multiple sclerosis.

1 Feb 2011

National Jewish Health scientists identify signaling pathway for ALI

Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered a signaling pathway that is crucial to the devastating effects of acute lung injury. The data, obtained from cells, animals and ALI patients, suggest several potential therapeutic targets. Experimental blockade of one of the targets significantly reduced flooding of the lungs that is the hallmark of ALI.

31 Jan 2011

New nicotine addiction mechanism revealed

A new discovery has shown why some people cannot give up tobacco and may lead to new anti-smoking treatments. The researchers have found a brain pathway which when defective leads to an uncontrollable desire to smoke. This is a “sub-unit” of a receptor protein sensitive to nicotine.

31 Jan 2011

Warwick research opens new strategy in vehicle design for drug release

The ability of some forms of plankton and bacteria to build an extra natural layer of nanoparticle-like armour has inspired chemists at the University of Warwick to devise a startlingly simple way to give drug bearing polymer vesicles (microscopic polymer based sacs of liquid) their own armoured protection.

31 Jan 2011