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Scientist finds different paths lead to similar cognitive abilities

Despite the divergent evolutionary paths of dolphins and primates -- and their vastly different brains -- both have developed similar high-level cognitive abilities, says Emory University neuroscientist and behavioral biologist Lori Marino.

5 Apr 2005

Genetic testing could bolster radiotherapy's effectiveness against cancer

Obtaining a genetic picture of how a tumor will react to the many treatment techniques available could help doctors prescribe therapies customized for individual cancer patients' needs, suggests a Purdue University research team.

5 Apr 2005

Organ donors must document their wishes

According to the results of a new survey by the Coalition on Donation, an alliance of national and local organ and tissue donation education groups, even though many Americans support organ and tissue donation and are willing to become donors themselves, many have not taken the steps required to ensure that their wishes will be carried out after their death.

5 Apr 2005

Seven-year research project to expand the evidence base in dentistry

Washington Dental Service, the University of Washington School of Dentistry and the School of Dentistry at Oregon Health Sciences University are partnering in a seven-year research project to expand the evidence base in dentistry.

5 Apr 2005

Canadians spend over $21 billion on drugs

Drugs continue to be the fastest-growing category of health care spending in Canada and a new report released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), the Drug Expenditure in Canada 1985-2004 report, shows that total spending on drugs is expected to have reached $21.8 billion in 2004, five times the amount spent on drugs in 1985.

5 Apr 2005

Researchers have identified a new clinical syndrome

Researchers have identified a new clinical syndrome that produces serious and sometimes fatal symptoms in a variety of seemingly unrelated diseases. The syndrome, described in the April 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, is caused by hemolysis, the destruction of red blood cells.

5 Apr 2005

E. coli cases in Florida has now risen to 24

The number of E. coli cases in Florida has now risen to 24 with the confirmation this week that two more people have E. coli bacteria poisoning.

5 Apr 2005

Sobering facts on lung cancer

For up-to-date information about lung cancer, you can contact the Thomas G. Labrecque Foundation. The foundation was founded in 2002 by the Labrecque family in honor of Tom Labrecque, former chairman of the Chase Manhattan Bank. Mr. Labrecque, a non-smoker, died of lung cancer.

5 Apr 2005

Vitamin E supplements speed up the development of latent cancers

Taking high-dose vitamin E supplements for an extended period doesn't protect against cancer; in fact, it may even speed up the development of latent cancers, according to a study by researchers from Hotel-Dieu de Quebec Research Centre and Universite Laval. Their results are published in the April issue of the prestigious Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

5 Apr 2005

Obesity costs California $21.7 billion a year

California businesses are feeling the financial pinch from employees with obesity-related health conditions, State Public Health Officer Dr. Richard J. Jackson announced today. The combined cost of physical inactivity, obesity and overweight totaled $21.7 billion in 2000, according to a new report, The Economic Costs of Physical Inactivity, Obesity and Overweight in California Adults, the first such research conducted for California.

5 Apr 2005

How heart is formed in the embryo helps explain congenital heart disease

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Cardiologist Bradley B. Keller, MD, and his research team are discovering details in the lab that explain how the heart is formed in the embryo. This knowledge improves the chances of doctors identifying fetuses who can benefit from intervention to treat congenital defects.

5 Apr 2005

Kids have upswing in golf-related head injuries

Children’s increasing interest in golf is resulting in an unfortunate upswing in golf-related head injuries, according to a review of sports injuries treated over six years at an academic medical center in Georgia.

5 Apr 2005

Iron deficiency can mean women are less in tune with their babies

New mothers who are mildly iron deficient -- a common result of childbirth among women who don't take their vitamins -- are less emotionally available or in tune with their babies, a Penn State study has shown.

5 Apr 2005

Metabolic side effects of antipsychotics are known, but rarely monitored

Psychiatrists are doing a “modest” job of monitoring for weight gain, diabetes and other metabolic problems that may result from use of the newer antipsychotics for schizophrenia, researchers say.

5 Apr 2005

Potential therapeutic target for infertility and contraception

The multiple “litter” births of mice, versus the normal singleton pregnancy of humans, is due to defective processing in mice of a common mammalian protein called bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP-15), according to new research from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.

5 Apr 2005

Dallas heart study researchers find no link between Lp(a), calcium

The latest findings from the historic Dallas Heart Study have ruled out one of the most prominent explanations of why elevated levels of a fat-carrying protein called "lipoprotein(a)" lead to increased risks for heart attacks among whites but not among African-Americans.

5 Apr 2005

Important trial in the fight against lung cancer

Two University of Kentucky researchers continue their work with a vaccine to prevent lung cancer recurrences in patients following primary treatment of the disease.

5 Apr 2005

Meningitis epidemics driven by the wind

A meningitis epidemic hits West Africa every year, affecting 25 000 to 200 000 people. It has long been known that the timing of this epidemic and its spatial distribution within the “Meningitis Belt”, situated between 10° and 15° North, are closely linked to climatic conditions. Involved in the AMMA programme, IRD and University of Paris-VII researcher produced the first quantified description of this relationship using statistical methods.

5 Apr 2005

Sildenafil prevents anti-cancer drug induced heart damage

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have found that the popular impotence drug Viagra prevents damage to the heart from a potent chemotherapeutic agent frequently used in the treatment of breast cancer, leukemia and sarcomas.

5 Apr 2005

Study suggests that eating onions might help prevent bone loss and osteoporosis

Besides adding flavor to food, onions also may be good for your bones. Researchers at the University of Bern in Switzerland have identified a compound in the popular vegetable that appears to decrease bone loss in laboratory studies using rat bone cells.

5 Apr 2005