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Food for kids at British theme parks "shockingly" unhealthy

According to a new report food sold to children at popular leisure attractions in Britain contain "overwhelmingly" high levels of fat, salt and sugar.

2 Jul 2008

Avoid cancer by eating a Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet is back in the news again and for all the right reasons.

2 Jul 2008

New Australian health programmes provide health checks for children and teen dental care

Three new health programmes for children and teenagers have been announced by the Australian Federal Government which include a $150 voucher for teenage dental care, free health checks for children starting school and a guide to kids' health for parents.

2 Jul 2008

Effects of magic mushrooms long-lasting

Researchers in the United States say the "spiritual" effects of sacred mushrooms can last for more than a year.

2 Jul 2008

Type 1 diabetes on the rise in Australian children

A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has revealed a worrying increase in the rate of type 1 diabetes in Australian children.

2 Jul 2008

NSW introduces tougher regulations for cosmetic surgery

The introduction of tougher regulations regarding the advertising of medical services in New South Wales, Australia, promises to offer better protection to people considering cosmetic surgery.

2 Jul 2008

Worksite-based programs for weight loss are helpful

A new review of studies from the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that a little shove from the workplace may actually be the ticket to dropping weight.

1 Jul 2008

GILZ protein may have big role in making more bone and less fat

A small protein may have a big role in helping you make more bone and less fat, researchers say. "The pathways are parallel, and the idea is if you can somehow disrupt the fat production pathway, you will get more bone," says Dr. Xingming Shi, bone biologist at the Medical College of Georgia Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics.

1 Jul 2008

New way to predict IVF success

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a method that can predict with 70 percent accuracy whether a woman undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment will become pregnant. This information may someday help the tens of thousands of couples who want to undergo IVF each year, and their doctors, decide on their course of action.

1 Jul 2008

Designer diet for prostate cancer

Eating one or more portions of broccoli every week can reduce the risk of prostate cancer, and the risk of localised cancer becoming more aggressive.

1 Jul 2008

Potential new way to vaccinate against avian flu

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a potential new way to vaccinate against avian flu. By delivering vaccine via DNA constructed to build antigens against flu, along with a minute electric pulse, researchers have immunized experimental animals against various strains of the virus.

1 Jul 2008

Weekends can sabotage weight-control efforts

Saturday can be the worst enemy for our waistlines, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

1 Jul 2008

Asthma risk increases in children treated for HIV

Children whose immune systems rebound after treatment with potent anti-viral drugs for HIV infection face an increased risk of developing asthma, said a federally funded consortium of researchers led by those from Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

1 Jul 2008

Healing touch therapy

Often, a gentle hand on your shoulder when you're upset is all it takes to ease your mind and calm your nerves. Now, University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers are looking at a similar occurrence by pairing a complementary therapy known as Healing Touch with mild sedation to see if the technique truly calms patients undergoing minor procedures.

1 Jul 2008

Discovery of gene mechanism could lead to new therapeutic strategies to fight metastatic disease

Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers have uncovered how a gene, melanoma differentiation associated gene-7/interleukin-24 (mda-7/IL-24), induces a bystander effect that kills cancer cells not directly receiving mda-7/IL-24 without harming healthy ones, a discovery that could lead to new therapeutic strategies to fight metastatic disease.

1 Jul 2008

UVB does more damage to DNA than UVA

As bombs burst in air this July 4, chances are that sunburn will be the red glare that most folks see - and feel. But unfortunately, even when there is no burn, the effects of the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays can have deadly consequences.

1 Jul 2008

Sleep and menopause

Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep increase as women go through menopause according to research by Rush University Medical Center. Waking up earlier than planned also increases through late perimenopause but decreases when women become postmenopausal. The study is published in the July 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

1 Jul 2008

Predicting tuberculosis outbreaks based on the first 2 cases

Outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB) may be able to be identified by looking at certain characteristics of the first two patients, according to new research. If the first two patients are diagnosed within three months of each other, live in urban areas, and if one or both are of sub-Saharan African origin, there is a 56 percent chance that the two cases will lead to a large outbreak of TB, whereas if the patients exhibit none of those characteristics, the odds are just one percent.

1 Jul 2008

The benefits of green tea in reducing an important risk factor for heart disease

More evidence for the beneficial effect of green tea on risk factors for heart disease has emerged in a new study reported in the latest issue of European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.

1 Jul 2008

Study says cut to junior doctors' hours does not compromise patients' safety

Research led by a team at the University of Warwick's Warwick Medical School has found that reducing the hours of junior doctors does not compromise patients' safety and could even dramatically cut mistakes on wards but, there are some concerns about reduced educational opportunities for junior doctors which it affords.

1 Jul 2008