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New understanding on how aging causes broken bones to heal slowly

Researchers have unraveled crucial details of how aging causes broken bones to heal slowly, or not at all, according to study results published today in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

19 Jan 2009

Report confirms serious health system capacity challenge

The Alternate Level of Care in Canada report released yesterday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) substantiates the Ontario Hospital Association's (OHA) long-standing concerns about the seriousness of alternate level of care (ALC) challenges and lack of capacity across the patient care continuum.

19 Jan 2009

Exercise after menopause lowers breast cancer risk

Several studies had previously suggested that regular physical exercise reduces the breast cancer risk of women.

19 Jan 2009

Postnatal depression can be effectively treated and possibly prevented

Health visitors can be trained to identify women with postnatal depression and offer effective treatment, while telephone peer support (mother to mother) may halve the risk of developing postnatal depression, suggests research published on bmj.com.

19 Jan 2009

Paintball-related eye injuries

Paintballs can cause severe and 'visually devastating' eye injuries, especially when used in unsupervised settings without proper eye protection, reports a study in the February issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, published by Elsevier.

19 Jan 2009

Ancient fish provides new piece in the jigsaw puzzle of human origins

In an article in the journal Nature, Uppsala researcher Martin Brazeau describes the skull and jaws of a fish that lived about 410 million years ago.

19 Jan 2009

Discovery of potential new bactericide

As bacteria resistant to commonly used antibiotics continue to increase in number, scientists keep searching for new sources of drugs.

19 Jan 2009

Taser study finds serious injuries rare after Taser use

An emergency medicine researcher at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has just published the first large, independent study of injuries from conducted electrical weapon (CEW) or Taser use, finding that serious injuries occurred in fewer than 1 percent of 1,201 Taser uses by law enforcement officers.

19 Jan 2009

Nanotechnology safety high on Congress' priority list

The House Science and Technology Committee has introduced legislation that highlights the growing attention on Capitol Hill to the need to strengthen federal efforts to learn more about the potential environmental, health and safety (EHS) risks posed by engineered nanomaterials.

19 Jan 2009

Mutant host cell protein sequesters critical HIV-1 element

Scientists have identified a new way to inhibit a molecule that is critical for HIV pathogenesis.

19 Jan 2009

A tipple a day helps seniors keep disabilities at bay

It is well known that moderate drinking can have positive health benefits - for instance, a couple of glasses of red wine a day can be good for the heart.

19 Jan 2009

Lack of grey matter linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

A research study led by scientists from the Gregorio Marañón University Hospital in Madrid and the Network of Centres for Biomedical Research in Mental Health Networks (CIBERSAM) shows that adolescents experiencing a first outbreak of psychosis have lower levels of grey matter in their brains than healthy teenagers. Strangely, this change was seen in patients suffering from various psychoses, including bipolar illness and schizophrenia.

19 Jan 2009

Is human ‘imperfection’ such a bad thing?

Imagine a world of 'human perfection' where disabled people are a distant memory, edited out by medical enhancement and economic cost-benefit analysis: a world where thanks to generic selection and economic crises disabled people find themselves expendable.

19 Jan 2009

HPS files world patent for mood-enhancing compound from sea coral

Human Pheromone Sciences, Inc. has announced that it has filed a Comprehensive Patent Application with the International Bureau of the World Patent Office for the use of its innovative and previously undeveloped compound with its origin in sea coral, which has significant emotional impacts on both men and women, enhancing feelings of positive social relationships, personal well-being and social attraction.

19 Jan 2009

How the sensory organs of bacteria function

Bacteria can occur almost anywhere on earth and exist under the most varying conditions. If these tiny, microscopic organisms are to survive in these environments, they need to be able to rapidly detect changes in their surroundings and react to them.

19 Jan 2009

Higher mortality among unscreened children

Swedish researchers have previously shown that as maternity ward stays become shorter, more and more newborns leave the hospital with undetected life-threatening congenital heart disease.

19 Jan 2009

Healthcare among public's top priorities for economic stimulus

The public ranks action on health care highly as part of efforts to stem the impact of the economic recession and also views reforming health care as one of the top priorities for President-elect Obama and Congress, according to a new national survey conducted by researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.

19 Jan 2009

European viral epidemic linked to global warming

An epidemic of the viral disease nephropathia epidemica (NE) has been linked to increases in the vole population caused by hotter summers, milder winters and increased seedcrop production by broadleaf trees.

19 Jan 2009

Savella - Fibromyalgia treatment approved by FDA

Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Cypress Bioscience, Inc. have announced that Savella (milnacipran HCl), a selective serotonin and norepinephrine dual reuptake inhibitor, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the management of fibromyalgia.

19 Jan 2009