Month: April 2015

The white of Sonny Miller’s right eye was red. Fire engine red. He cocked his head to the side all the time, in fact, his shoulders leaned also to the right, I think. Maybe it was from carrying that box around. That box that made my movie. Six years ago, I called him. “I’ve written a movie, it takes place in the water. I hear you’re the guy. Can I send it to you?” He

i Algy Garrod’s rapeseed in bloom in Norfolk, England. Anne Bramley for NPR hide caption itoggle caption Anne Bramley for NPR Algy Garrod’s rapeseed in bloom in Norfolk, England. Anne Bramley for NPR Rapeseed, an oilseed known in North America as canola, has a mild reputation as a cooking oil. Maybe that’s because the version that most consumers know is a pale, neutral-flavored oil used for frying and baking. But in the U.K., a more

i Rod-shaped specimens of Yersinia pestis, the bacterial cause of plague, find a happy home here in the foregut of a flea. Fleas can transmit the infection to animals and people, who can get pneumonic plague and transmit the infection through a cough. Science Source For the first time in 90 years, U.S. health officials say they have diagnosed a case of the plague that may have spread in the air from one person to

Fresno native Mark Arax has written about the war over water in his state for decades. “It used to be the farmers against the delta smelt fish, and now it’s the urbanite against the almond,” he says.

i St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Md., is one of the 131 hospitals run by Ascension Health. It’s a not-for-profit, Catholic health care system that treats many low-income patients who can’t pay their bills. Saint Agnes Hospital hide caption itoggle caption Saint Agnes Hospital St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Md., is one of the 131 hospitals run by Ascension Health. It’s a not-for-profit, Catholic health care system that treats many low-income patients who can’t pay

i Chipotle restaurant workers in Miami, Fla., fill orders on Apr. 27, the day that the company claimed it would only use non-GMO ingredients in its food. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption itoggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images Chipotle restaurant workers in Miami, Fla., fill orders on Apr. 27, the day that the company claimed it would only use non-GMO ingredients in its food. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Chipotle is trumpeting its renunciation of ingredients derived from

In order to carry out their functions, proteins need to move. Scientists at EPFL have developed a new technique to study motions in proteins with unprecedented accuracy. The method, which is based on NMR, freezes proteins down to immobility, then slowly heats them to ‘wake them up’ and restart motions individually and in sequence, providing a slow-motion image of real conditions. Proteins inside a cell are in constant motion, changing shape continuously in order to

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ResMed (NYSE: RMD) today announced its Lumis™ series of noninvasive ventilation devices that combine personalized, simplified therapy with powerful wireless connected care capabilities. The Lumis series builds upon ResMed’s legacy of innovation as a new option for patients with respiratory challenges who are not dependent on continuous ventilation. “With its ease of use, customization capabilities and wireless connectivity, the Lumis series offers important benefits for patients, clinicians, and home medical equipment providers alike,” said Luke

With the Millennium Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2000 coming to an end in 2015, and the new Sustainable Development Goals now in the works to establish a set of targets for the future of international development, experts at Baylor College of Medicine have developed a new tool to show why neglected tropical diseases, the most common infections of the world’s poor, should be an essential component of these goals. Using World

New York, NY (April 30, 2015) – The use of integrative medicine interventions leads to significant improvements in patient activation and patient-reported outcomes in the treatment of chronic pain, depression, and stress, according to a new report released by The Bravewell Collaborative. The findings are based on data collected by the Patients Receiving Integrative Medicine Interventions Effectiveness Registry (PRIMIER), the first-ever patient registry on integrative medicine. “We are encouraged by these early results, and we

How and when does mom feed her embryo? We humans, like most mammals, experience pregnancy where a mother supplies nutrition directly to the embryo as it develops. But we’re in the minority. Most members of the animal kingdom supply eggs with nutritious yolk before they are fertilized. With this yolk supply, fertilized eggs develop as embryos in the environment outside the mother’s body. For over a century, the scientific understanding of matrotrophy (“mother-feeding”) of an

PLANO, Texas – Many parents are concerned about new guidelines about head lice. Experts now say kids who have lice shouldn’t be kept home from school. The updated guidelines were issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics this week. The group says kids who get head lice should not be barred from class because lice are “not a health hazard,” even though the doctors acknowledge the problem causes a high level of anxiety among parents

April 30, 2015, 10:39 AM|A new study from Careerbuilder shows stressed workers are more likely to report being overweight. Dietician Tanya Zuckerbot talks about the findings.

WASHINGTON — To fight infections, hospital workers can hit the hand sanitizer a hundred times or more a day. Now, the government wants more study of whether that is safe and how well it actually fights the spread of germs. The Food and Drug Administration is asking manufacturers to submit additional data about medical hand washes and sanitizers, including the long-term health effects of their daily use on the skin. Under a proposed rule published

April 30, 2015, 12:54 PM|Experts now say kids who have lice should be allowed to stay in class, but some parents are worried. CBS Dallas station KTVT’s J.D. Miles reports.

It’s often difficult for owners of older pets to know whether changes they see in their dog or cat are signs of normal aging, or signs of a more serious health issue. Your pet is considered a senior if he’s in the final 25 percent of the expected lifespan for his species and breed. For example, most housecats are considered senior at 11 to 12 years of age, given an average lifespan of 15 or

Last weekend, I spoke at a Donate Life event designed to encourage and support transplant recipients and organ donor families. I was nervous about talking because my being an organ recipient is such a private part of my life. I am grateful that someone donated lungs to me almost two years ago. I cherish this gift. It’s such an odd experience because I can’t thank the person who helped me. I can’t celebrate life with

In the coming weeks, a single drug will revolutionize the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. Zarxio, a drug that reduces infections caused by chemotherapy, is about to become the very first biosimilar drug sold in the United States. Biosimilars are generic-like alternatives to biologics, complex drugs created in living organisms that have exploded in usage over the last decade. About $4 out of every $10 spent on prescription drugs in the U.S. is spent on biologics. Biosimilars

Alison is about to have an abortion. It’s not the first time she’s been to the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo, North Dakota. She came here a week ago but went home. “I wasn’t prepared last week,” she said. “As soon as I saw the ultrasound machine I just started bawling. The woman at the clinic looked at me and said, ‘I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I can tell you’re not

On April 8, 2015, celebrated singer Krishna Das and Drugs Over Dinner Co-Founder Angel Grant discussed addiction, suffering and compassion. Angel: For the last year, I’ve been gathering content for our new site DrugsOverDinner.org. In much of the information, I’m hearing that there’s a connection between early emotional wounding and later-in life-addiction. You and I both have extensive drug use in our past. What are your thoughts on this? Krishna: The stories we replay in

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a proposed rule requesting additional scientific data to support the safety and effectiveness of certain active ingredients used in health care antiseptics marketed under the over-the-counter drug monograph. “Health care antiseptics are an important component of infection control strategies in hospitals, clinics and other health care settings, and remain a standard of care to prevent illness and the spread of infection,” said Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of

i A surgeon and nurse anesthesiologist deliver a baby by emergency cesarean section at a hospital in Rwanda. Amber Lucero Dwyer/Courtesy Lifebox Foundation hide caption itoggle caption Amber Lucero Dwyer/Courtesy Lifebox Foundation A surgeon and nurse anesthesiologist deliver a baby by emergency cesarean section at a hospital in Rwanda. Amber Lucero Dwyer/Courtesy Lifebox Foundation As you’re wheeled down to surgery nervously waving goodbye to loved ones, it’s unlikely that one of your fears is whether

i Dr. George Papanicolaou discovered that it was possible to detect cancer by inspecting cervical cells. The Pap smear, the cervical cancer screening test, is named after him. American Cancer Society/AP hide caption itoggle caption American Cancer Society/AP Dr. George Papanicolaou discovered that it was possible to detect cancer by inspecting cervical cells. The Pap smear, the cervical cancer screening test, is named after him. American Cancer Society/AP Cervical cancer, which still kills about 4,000

Until today, the proteins known as ubiquitin receptors have been associated mainly with protein degradation, a basic cell cleaning process. A new function now described for the protein dDsk2 by the team headed …

HeartWare International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTWR), a leading innovator of less invasive, miniaturized circulatory support technologies that are revolutionizing the treatment of advanced heart failure, today announced revenue of $70.0 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015, a five percent increase compared to $66.5 million in revenue for the same period of 2014. Currency fluctuations negatively impacted total revenue growth by approximately $5 million, or nearly eight percentage points, in the first quarter of

DATATRAK International, Inc.

A new study forecasting how life expectancy will change in England and Wales has predicted people will live longer than current estimates. The researchers say official forecasts underestimate how long people will live in the future, and therefore don’t adequately anticipate the need for additional investments in health and social services and pensions for the elderly. The new study, published in the Lancet, also predicts that regional inequality in life expectancy will increase, highlighting a

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EU researchers have set out to substitute liquid and freeze-dried vaccines for new, solid state candidates. If successful, the research will enable the large scale production of new virosome-based vaccines with increased stability, longer shelf life and less invasive administration methods. To this day, immunisation remains the most effective way to eradicate diseases. Their widespread use has helped reduce the incidence of diseases such as hepatitis A, polio, rubella, tetanus or varicella by over 90

IMAGE: D. Ross Camidge, M.D., Ph.D., investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and colleagues report promising results of rociletinib against EGFR-positive lung cancer. view more Credit: CU Cancer Center The New England Journal of Medicine reports results of a multi-center phase I/II study of the investigational anti-cancer agent rociletinib (CO-1686) in patients with EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had progressed after previous treatment with EGFR inhibitors. Responses were seen in 59 percent

April 24, 2015. Almost since the time of Melville’s epic hunt, scientists have been fascinated by the remarkable attributes of the sperm whale and its kin, the smaller pigmy and dwarf whales. Capable of diving to great depths and gifted with an acute sense of echolocation, these animals have remained inseparable from maritime lore. An international team of scientists, led by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County’s Curator of Marine Mammals Dr. Jorge

Using the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have produced the first complete three-dimensional view of the famous Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula, Messier 16. The new observations demonstrate how the different dusty pillars of this iconic object are distributed in space and reveal many new details — including a previously unseen jet from a young star. Intense radiation and stellar winds from the cluster’s brilliant stars have sculpted the

A magazine called Vangardist is seeking to draw attention to HIV and AIDS with a provocative cover that is printed with ink containing HIV-positive blood. The special edition of the magazine features stories of “HIV heroes” at a time when the editors say too many people have grown complacent about the disease. “There’s been an 80 percent increase in HIV in the last 10 years — that’s according to the World Health Organization — and

The Question: Can you ever really know if you’ve slept well? The Answer: Let’s face it: most days, it’s nearly impossible to view our own sleep habits with anything other than bias. Whether you over- or underestimate your sleep quantity and quality, you’re rarely on target. That’s because without scientific tracking methods to confirm your sleep details, it’s all a matter of perception that can be altered substantially by your given mood. Kristen L. Knutson,

When I was in kindergarten, a boy in my class tossed my favorite book over our elementary school fence. I remember crying profusely, not because I was sad to see it go, but because I was so furious that he was such a bully. It was probably one of the first times I expressed my sensitivity to my peers — a rollercoaster I still continue to ride each day. Many of my friends lovingly tease

1 Department of Clinical Sciences, Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden 2 Department of Ophthalmology, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland 3 Department of Ophthalmology, St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland 4 Department of Ophthalmology, Sahlgren’s University Hospital, Molndal, Sweden 5 Department of Ophthalmology, Vumc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 6 Oxford Eye Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom For all author emails, please log on.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has called for submissions on the idea of deleting codeine from Schedule 3 (pharmacy only) availability and moving it to Schedule 4 (prescription only). From my point of view this is a good thing, though I realise that not everyone will agree at first blush. There will be a huge backlash to the proposal from the over-the-counter (OTC) medicines industry as well as pharmacists, since both these groups have financial

Chemotherapy can be very effective against small prostate tumors. Larger prostate tumors, however, accumulate cells that suppress the body’s immune response, allowing the cancer to grow despite treatment. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now find that blocking or removing these immune-suppressing cells allows a special type of chemotherapy — and the immune cells it activates — to destroy prostate tumors. This novel combination therapy, termed chemoimmunotherapy, achieved near complete

For the seventh consecutive time, The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ, has been recognized for its dedication to patient safety by being awarded an A grade in the Spring 2015 Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from preventable medical errors, injuries and infections within the hospital. The hospital is also being recognized as a “Straight A’s” hospital, as it has never received a grade lower than an A from the Hospital

Professionals whose jobs require more speaking, developing strategies, conflict resolution and managerial tasks may experience better protection against memory and thinking decline in old age than their co-workers, according to a new study published in the April 29, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “Our study is important because it suggests that the type of work you do throughout your career may have even more significance on

Offering a potential early intervention for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Cenna Biosciences, Inc. have identified compounds that block the production of beta amyloid peptides in mice. The study is reported April 29 in PLOS ONE.? If the results ultimately translate to human treatment, the most promising compound – a peptide dubbed P8 – could be administered to individuals at high risk of developing the disease,

Young HIV positive women are more likely to practice safer sex if they have an equitable perception of gender roles, according to new research involving the University of Southampton. The new study shows that South African women under 26 years old were more likely to have used a condom in their last sexual encounter if they held more gender equal views, while those who had a more male dominant perspective were less likely to have

UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have discovered that a certain class of receptors that inhibit immune response are crucial for the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common acute leukemia affecting adults. Researchers found that some receptors containing the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif (ITIM) are important to the development of AML, providing a target for potential therapies. “We showed that these receptors are expressed by AML cells and that they support the development

The halving of alcohol-fuelled car crashes since the mid-1980s boosted US economic output by $20 billion, increased national income by $6.5 billion, and created 215,000 jobs in 2010, reveals an analysis of the economic impact …

Enlarge A type of immune cell can be primed to attack and eliminate various kinds of malignant cancers in mice, according to a study by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers. The researchers studied mouse models of melanoma, pancreatic, breast and lung cancer and found that their technique could eliminate not only primary tumors, but also distant metastases throughout the body. “The potency is impressive,” said Edgar Engleman, MD, PhD, a professor of pathology and

Enlarge Human Embryo. Credit: Ed Uthman, MD/Wikipedia The mechanism by which embryos receive nutrition during the first 11 weeks of pregnancy has been revealed by University of Manchester scientists. Writing in this month’s edition of the journal Placenta, they show how glucose and other nutrients are delivered in the early stages of pregnancy before the foetus is large and developed enough to receive a direct blood supply from the mother. This stage is crucial for

Exposure to light at night, which shuts off nighttime production of the hormone melatonin, renders breast cancer completely resistant to tamoxifen, a widely used breast cancer drug, says a new study by Tulane University School …

Enlarge Left hemisphere of J. Pi?sudski’s brain, lateral view. Credit: public domain Investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a way to monitor neural stem cells after they’ve been transplanted into the brain. The scientists were able to determine not only whether the stem cells transplanted into living animals survived but whether they matured into nerve cells, integrated into targeted brain circuits and, most important, were firing on cue and igniting activity

Perky or pendulous, AA or DDD—our boobs come in a seemingly infinite variety of shapes and sizes. Each pair is beautifully unique, of course. And yet many of us wonder about the exact same things: “Why do my breasts sometimes hurt?” “Why can’t I find a bra that fits?” “Should I be concerned about this lump?” Worry not: We’ve got answers to your most pressing breast-related FAQs—so you can give your girls all the support

The brain function of people addicted to cocaine is different from that of people who are not addicted and often linked to highly impulsive behavior, according to a new scientific study. The variation in the way that different regions of the brain connect, communicate and function in people addicted to cocaine is an observation uncovered for the first time by a collaborative research team led by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and

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Intensive therapy cut risk of needing a procedure in half, researchers report. (HealthDay)—Intensive management of type 1 diabetes can reduce the risk of having a diabetes-related eye surgery by nearly 50 percent, according to a new report. But even for people who couldn’t meet the very stringent blood sugar targets set for the study participants, just a 10 percent improvement in hemoglobin A1C—a two- to three-month estimate of average blood sugar levels—led to a 35

Newborn complications also decreased, Canadian study reports. (HealthDay)—Fewer pregnant women had cesarean section births in Canadian hospitals that took part in a C-section review program, a new study reports. The intervention program included onsite training in best-practice guidelines for C-sections, audits by a committee, and feedback for doctors. “The benefit was driven by the effect of the intervention in low-risk pregnancies,” said lead author Nils Chaillet, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the

Some cities showed improvements in air quality, while others had their worst record ever (HealthDay)— More than four in 10 Americans, or about 138.5 million people, are breathing unhealthy air, a new report finds. Despite the fact that many cities have shown improvements in air quality, other metropolitan areas have recorded more days of air that contained high levels of both ozone and particle pollution. And a handful of cities saw their highest number of

The first generic versions of the atypical antipsychotic drug Abilify (aripiprazole) have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. (HealthDay)—The first generic versions of the atypical antipsychotic drug Abilify (aripiprazole) have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. License to produce the drug in multiple strengths was approved for Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Hetero Labs, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Torrent Pharmaceuticals, the

Many suspected victims of child sexual abuse are sharing sexually explicit photos and videos via their cell phones and social media, and are receiving online sexual solicitations, according to a study to be presented Tuesday, …

By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Rescue teams toiled in pouring rain on Thursday in the debris left by last week’s devastating earthquake in Nepal, but officials said the chance of finding any more survivors was bleak as the death toll neared 5,500.While rescue teams were out in the capital Kathmandu despite the rain, helicopters could not fly to the worst-hit areas in the countryside of the impoverished Himalayan nation.”There may not be any more

IMAGE: CNS Oncology publishes clinical and translational research and management of tumors of the central nervous system. view more Credit: Future Science Group Because depression in brain cancer patients is a common but often overlooked condition, oncologists should regularly screen tumor patients for depression, according to an article in the current issue of CNS Oncology. The journal is published by Future Medicine, an imprint of Future Science Group. The authors also propose that more studies be

Casting a large interdisciplinary research net has helped Simon Fraser University archaeologist Dana Lepofsky and 10 collaborators dig deeper into their findings about ancient clam gardens in the Pacific Northwest to formulate new perspectives. Lepofsky’s research team has discovered that Northwest Coast Indigenous people didn’t make their living just by gathering the natural ocean’s bounty. Rather, from Alaska to Washington, they were farmers who cultivated productive clam gardens to ensure abundant and sustainable clam harvests.

Being bigger and bolder holds various benefits for male soldier beetles. They enjoy higher rates of successful courtship and more often land a larger, more fertile mate. These are some of the findings of a study led by Denson McLain of the Georgia Southern University in the US, published in Springer’s journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. The goldenrod soldier beetle or Pennsylvanian leatherwing (Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus) is native to Northern America. During its peak reproductive season,

(PHILADELPHIA) – Multiple sclerosis (MS) is caused by immune cells that activate a cascade of chemicals in the brain, attacking and degrading the insulation that keeps neuronal signals moving. These chemicals, called cytokines, drive the inflammation in the brain, attracting more immune cells, and causing the debilitating disease marked by loss of neurological function. Researchers have long debated which cytokines drive the disease and which are merely accessory. Now, a study published online April 27th,

29.04.2015: In these days, it was again tragically demonstrated that the Himalayas are one of the most active geodynamic regions of the world. Landslides belong to the most important geohazards. Besides earthquakes they are triggered mainly by strong rainfall events. A team of scientists from Nepal, Switzerland and Germany was now able to show how erosion processes caused by the monsoon are mirrored in the sediment load of a river crossing the Himalaya. The geoscientists

IMAGE: A new tool could help in controlling biological invasions, such as the emerald ash borer, the Asian beetle which is now advancing on the East Coast after having wiped out… view more Credit: USDA KNOXVILLE –Asian carp. Burmese python. Hemlock woolly adelgid. These are just some of the most destructive pests and the world’s worst invasive species that raise the hackles of fisherman, farmers, and wildlife managers everywhere they invade. But how do they establish

The TGA has called for submissions on the idea of deleting codeine from Schedule 3 (pharmacy only) availability and moving it to Schedule 4 (prescription only). From my point of view this is a good thing, though I realise that not everyone will agree at first blush. There will be a huge backlash to the proposal from the OTC medicines industry as well as pharmacists, since both these groups have financial and business incentives to

Australia’s drug regulator is looking into reclassifying about 150 codeine-based drugs as prescription-only. This means they will no longer be available for purchase over the pharmacy counter. The easy and widespread availability of these opioid medicines is causing a substantial level of harm. Currently, lower-strength painkillers such as paracetamol, ibuprofen and aspirin can be bought almost anywhere, while drugs such as Nurofen Plus or Panadeine Forte can be bought only at pharmacies. These combine codeine

You share everything with your girlfriends, so you might as well breastfeed their babies too, right? Err… That’s one of the concepts explored in new research from The Ohio State University. In the study, researchers surveyed 500 new mothers about their knowledge of breast milk sharing as well as if they had used donated milk or donated milk themselves.  Here’s what the researchers discovered: Women who were educated and had higher incomes were more likely

You’re never too old to get married—and Doreen Luckie and George Kirby are proof. Doreen is 91, and her fiancé (who proposed on Valentine’s Day) is 102, the Daily Mail reports. When the two tie the knot in June, they’ll nab the title of oldest couple to marry in the Guinness Book of World Records, according to ABC News. (The previous record was set in 2002 by François and Madeleine Francineau, who were 96 and 94, respectively.)  Because everybody hearts an amazing love story, here are

Nearly 75 percent of women will get at least one yeast infection at some point in their life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And while this super common condition is unlikely to turn into something more serious, coming down with one just might drive you nuts with frustration. First there are the symptoms. Caused by an overgrowth of the yeast that normally make your vagina their home, a yeast infection triggers crazy intense