Biologists at the University of Florida have found a reason why men’s ring fingers are generally longer than their index fingers — and why the reverse usually holds true for women.
The finding could help medical professionals understand the origin of behavior and disease, which may be useful for customizing treatments or assessing risks in context with specific medical conditions.
Across the western Cape of South Africa can be found small plants in the Iris family called Babiana. Flitting between them are sunbirds, small colourful birds like the African version of hummingbirds, that drink the nectar of flowers and in doing so pollinate them.
The majority of people who undergo bariatric weight-loss surgery benefit from the procedure, but long-term complications and further surgery are not uncommon, according to a UK paper on late postoperative complications in the October issue of BJS, the British Journal of Surgery.
Going back to work after the holidays is a nightmare for many. Can you improve your health by remembering the past in a positive way? A study by the University of Granada (UGR) reports that people's attitude to past events, present experiences or future expectations, influences their perception of health and their quality of life.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Obesity is a known risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. But it hasn't been clear whether the "dose" of obesity—how much excess weight a person has, and for how long—affects the risk of diabetes.
A new University of Michigan Health System study of about 8,000 adolescents and young adults shows the degree and duration of carrying extra pounds are important risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes in adulthood.
LOS ANGELES (Sept. 6, 2011) -- Richard Casaburi, Ph.D., M.D., principal investigator at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed), is co-author of a recent study that should help improve the condition for the millions of individuals who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, better known as COPD. The results of the study reveal that adding a common antibiotic - azithromycin – to the usual daily treatment for COPD reduced the occurrence of acute exacerbations by 27% and tended to improve the quality of life for COPD patients.
In a first-ever comprehensive study of the species origins of nature-derived drugs, it is shown that drug-producing species are concentrated and clustered in a limited number of families, refuting the conventional view that as every nature species produces biologically active molecules, one can find drugs from almost any major block of species groups if one looks for them hard enough.
KINGSTON, ON. Queen's University medical researchers today released some key findings from the first study of its kind done in Canada on the impact of colds and flu on school absenteeism, the workplace, and the economy.
The researchers reviewed more than 80 published clinical trials, studies and research projects representing the work of over 300 researchers from more than 100 universities and institutions.
In their report entitled "Why the Common Cold and Flu Matter", the researchers found:
Pediatric obesity ends up costing $3 billion annually in the U.S., but a significant amount of that could be saved by streamlining medical coverage to address health issues affecting young obese patients now rather than waiting to treat conditions they develop as they get older, according UCLA researchers and colleagues.
Los Angeles, CA (SEPTEMBER 6, 2011) Suicide, child abuse, playground fights, gang violence, sexual assault, and domestic violence are just a few examples of violence that touch people in all walks of life and communities everywhere. Homicide and suicide remain in the top ten leading causes of death for people from birth to age 64. How do you combat an issue that takes so many forms and has so many causes?
Johns Hopkins researchers say data show aging alone, not hormonal impact of menopause, explains increasing number of deaths as women age
Contradicting the long-held medical belief that the risk of cardiovascular death for women spikes sharply after menopause, new research from Johns Hopkins suggests instead that heart disease mortality rates in women progress at a constant rate as they age.
Cell communication is essential for the development of any organism. Scientists know that cells have the power to "talk" to one another, sending signals through their membranes in order to "discuss" what kind of cell they will ultimately become — whether a neuron or a hair, bone, or muscle. And because cells continuously multiply, it's easy to imagine a cacophony of communication.
A novel way of increasing the amounts of antibiotics produced by bacteria has been discovered that could markedly improve the yields of these important compounds in commercial production. It could also be valuable in helping to discover new compounds. With the ever-growing threat from antibiotic resistance, these tools will be very useful in ensuring that we have enough of these useful compounds in the future.
It is now widely accepted that the species Homo sapiens originated in Africa and eventually spread throughout the world. But did those early humans interbreed with more ancestral forms of the genus Homo, for example Homo erectus, the "upright walking man," Homo habilis, – the "tool-using man" or Homo neanderthalensis, the first artists of cave-painting fame?
Biologists at the University of Florida writing this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show that male and female digit proportions are determined by the balance of sex hormones during early embryonic development. Differences in how these hormones activate receptors in males and females affect the growth of specific digits.