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Workplace mental health disability leave recurs sooner than physical health leave, CAMH study shows

June 29, 2011 (Toronto) - The recurrence of an employee's medical leave of absence from work tends to happen much sooner with a mental health leave than a physical one, a Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) study shows.

Most workers who take a mental health leave from their jobs do not have another disability leave for at least two years, according to a new study from CAMH. In contrast, most who have had a physical health disability leave have almost four years before a second episode.

Public prefers limited informed consent process for biobanks

Biobanks are repositories for tissue samples, usually in the form of blood or saliva or leftover tissue from surgical procedures. These samples are collected and used for future research, including genetic research. They may be linked to personal health information regarding the sample donor. People who are eligible to donate these samples and researchers who want to use them face important questions with respect to whether and how informed consent should be obtained for sample and health information collection and use.

Who's happy? How long we look at happy faces is in our genes

Though we all depend on reading people's faces, each of us sees others' faces a bit differently. Some of us may gaze deeply into another's eyes, while others seem more reserved. At one end of this spectrum people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) look less at other people's faces, and have trouble understanding others people's feelings. New research published in BioMed Central's open-access journal Molecular Autism has found variations of the cannabinoid receptor (CNR1) gene that alter the amount of time people spend looking at happy faces.

A happy life is a long one for orangutans

New research has shown that happier orang-utans live longer which may shed light on the evolution of happiness in humans.

Dr. Alexander Weiss and colleagues at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Arizona, who are presenting their paper published in Royal Society journal Biology Letters at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Glasgow on Sunday the 3rd of July, used an innovative approach to assessing happiness by asking keepers who work with orang-utans to answer questions on the animals' behalf.

Obesity is a killer in nonsmoking women

Obesity is an important contributor to premature death in women who have never smoked, especially among women in low income groups, finds research published on bmj.com today.

While established research has shown clearly that smoking is linked to premature death and health inequalities, it is not known which causes of death are related to the social position of women who have never smoked, says the paper.

Innovative partnership advances novel drug candidate to combat sleeping sickness

WASHINGTON/GENEVA (28 JUNE 2011)—The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), Anacor Pharmaceuticals, and SCYNEXIS Inc. today announced the successful completion of pre-clinical studies for the first new oral drug candidate discovered specifically to combat human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness. An article released today in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, reveals the initial successful results of pre-clinical studies of the new compound, which will soon advance to Phase I human clinical trials.

Gene flow may help plants adapt to climate change

The traffic of genes among populations may help living things better adapt to climate change, especially when genes flow among groups most affected by warming, according to a UC Davis study of the Sierra Nevada cutleaved monkeyflower. The results were published online June 27 by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The findings have implications for conservation strategies, said Sharon Strauss, professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis and an author of the study.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University discover MS-like disease in monkeys

Portland, Ore. — Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered a naturally occurring disease in monkeys that is very much like multiple sclerosis in humans — a discovery that could have a major impact on efforts to understand the cause of multiple sclerosis.

International team explores the stigma surrounding abortion

An international team of researchers says abortion stigma is under-researched, under theorized and over emphasized in one category: women who've had abortions. As a result, they're launching a new direction into research that explores the social stigma surrounding abortion.

Study shows climate change makes some chemicals more toxic to aquatic life

Some areas of the southern United States are suffering from the longest dry spell since 1887 and a new Baylor University study shows that could prove problematic for aquatic organisms.

Van Andel Research Institute finding could lead to reduced side effects in anti-cancer antibiotics

Grand Rapids, Mich. (June 28, 2011) – Most of us have had a doctor prescribe an antibiotic for a stubborn bacterial infection, or for a cut that gets infected. However, prescribing an antibiotic to fight cancer? In fact, anti-cancer antibiotics have been used since the 1950s to successfully treat several forms of cancer, but often the side effects limit the duration they can be given to a patient.

Patients treated with sunitinib and sorafenib respond to flu vaccine

PHILADELPHIA — Patients treated with sunitinib and sorafenib responded to the flu vaccine, which suggests the agents do not damage the immune system as much as previously feared, according to a study in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Keith Flaherty, M.D., director of developmental therapeutics at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a senior editor of Clinical Cancer Research, said the findings have broad implications beyond questions of patient management.

Rockin' tortoises: A 150-year-old new species

A team of researchers investigated a desert tortoise from the Southwest USA and northwestern Mexico. What was thought to be a simple problem in species identification turned out to be a very complex matter. Their investigations required forensic genetics and several other methods. In the end, they found it necessary to describe a new species. More than that, the discovery has very important implications for conservation and the development of the deserts of southern California.

Insight into plant behavior could aid quest for efficient biofuels

Tiny seawater algae could hold the key to crops as a source of fuel and plants that can adapt to changing climates.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have found that the tiny organism has developed coping mechanisms for when its main food source is in short supply.

Understanding these processes will help scientists develop crops that can survive when nutrients are scarce and to grow high-yield plants for use as biofuels.

New study finds rise in global malaria R&D funds leads to largest ever pipeline of new products

LONDON (28 JUNE 2011)—A new analysis of progress in the global fight against malaria finds a four-fold increase in annual funding for malaria research and development (R&D) in just 16 years—increasing from US$121 million in 1993 to US$612 million in 2009, with a particularly rapid increase since 2004. The funding has generated the strongest pipeline of malaria control and prevention products in history.