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Rats as well as humans can become addicted to drugs

The voluntary consumption of drugs is a behavior found in a number of species of animal. But until now it was thought that drug-addiction was a specific behavior of humans.

13 Aug 2004

Benefits from short-term hormone therapy are likely to outweigh the risks

A group of prominent experts on treatment of the menopause today issued advice for doctors on the use of hormone therapy.

13 Aug 2004

Wyeth wins four combined diet drug cases

Wyeth has announced that the jury deliberating over four combined diet drug cases in the Court of Common Pleas of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania has returned a verdict in favor of the Company.

13 Aug 2004

Trick illustrates life’s determination to survive hostile environments

Dipping your hands into 160-degree water is guaranteed to give you an immediate and severe scalding - unless you’re one of the few species of bacteria that manage to thrive in temperatures that would maim or kill the rest of the Earth’s inhabitants.

13 Aug 2004

The largest North American breast cancer prevention trial ever undertaken has reached its goal of enrolling 19,000 women

The largest North American breast cancer prevention trial ever undertaken, the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR), reached its goal of enrolling 19,000 women to the trial in June 2004, a month earlier than originally expected.

13 Aug 2004

Seniors need to socialize to keep communication skills

Senior citizens living alone and independently in apartments should interact often with others - both friends and family members - if they want to maintain their ability to communicate, a new University of Michigan study showed.

13 Aug 2004

Device to warn astronauts about the presence of harmful compounds inside spacecraft

U.S. Rep. John Duncan presented a check for $1.48 million to the University of Tennessee Center for Environmental Biotechnology Wednesday.

13 Aug 2004

Stroke research lags far behind funding for other major causes of death in Europe

Despite being the second leading cause of death worldwide, funding for stroke research lags far behind funding for other major causes of death in Europe, according to a study in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

13 Aug 2004

Researchers map structure of anti-cancer molecule and open the door to the creation of more effective cancer treatments

Scientists at Emory University, in collaboration with researchers at three national laboratories, have solved the structural puzzle of how an emerging class of promising cancer drugs works to halt cell division. The discovery potentially opens the door to the creation of more effective cancer treatments.

13 Aug 2004

Pineal gland which regulates the cycles of sleep and waking evolved to improve vision

The pineal gland - which regulates the cycles of sleep and waking - appears to have evolved as an indirect way to improve vision, by keeping toxic compounds away from the eye

13 Aug 2004

Drug company fights to keep toxin in vaccines

The UK announced Saturday they will remove the mercury preservative Thimerosal from their vaccines. The news comes days after an LA Times article reported that Aventis-Pasteur, a pharmaceutical giant, is pushing to keep the toxin in U.S. vaccines.

13 Aug 2004

MDA opens center for Lou Gehrig's disease

The University of Rochester Medical Center in New York state has been designated as the site of a new MDA/ALS center. The center is the 32nd facility to receive the designation from the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s ALS Division.

13 Aug 2004

66,000 elderly California residents or people with disabilities will continue their home and community-based services

The Independence Plus program, created by President Bush, helps states to achieve the goals established in President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative.

13 Aug 2004

New poll shows consumers back health savings accounts

HSA-based health insurance plans combine individually owned savings accounts with traditional major medical insurance. HSAs give individuals the opportunity to use tax-free funds to pay day-to-day medical bills and to save for future health care expenses.

13 Aug 2004

Three recent deaths in Viet Nam were caused by infection with avian influenza

The Ministry of Health in Viet Nam has informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that three recent deaths from influenza-like illness in Viet Nam were caused by infection with avian influenza. These are the first officially reported cases of avian influenza in Viet Nam since late February.

13 Aug 2004

World's first tagatose-containing chocolate is very low in glycemic load

Spherix Incorporated today announced that the world's first tagatose-containing chocolate, Miada(R) ChocoLite(R), is very low in Glycemic Load (GL) and estimated relative Glycemic Index (GI), according to newly performed studies.

13 Aug 2004

A novel approach for families coping with brain injury

Griffith University psychologists have co-authored a book designed to fill a much-needed gap in assisting families where one child has suffered a sudden brain injury.

13 Aug 2004

Correlation between hate speech and suicide rates remains constant

The more negative a nickname or slur used to refer to an immigrant group, the more likely members of that group are to commit suicide, according to a study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

13 Aug 2004

Boys exposed to cocaine in the womb are more likely to have behavioral problems than girls

While no specific cause of the gender-specific findings was identified, the researchers note that the study confirms animal studies that also suggest gender plays a role in the effects of cocaine exposure.

13 Aug 2004

New method for building carbohydrate molecules

Chemists at the California Institute of Technology have succeeded in devising a new method for building carbohydrate molecules in a simple and straightforward way that requires very few steps. The new synthesis strategy should be of benefit to scientists in the areas of chemistry and biology and in the pharmaceutical industry.

13 Aug 2004