ATS 2010, NEW ORLEANS— Google Flu Trends is not as accurate at estimating rates of laboratory-confirmed influenza as CDC national surveillance programs, according to a new study from the University of Washington.
The findings will be reported at the ATS 2010 International Conference in New Orleans.
WALTHAM, Mass. – The wealth gap between white and African-American families increased more than four times between 1984-2007, and middle-income white households now own far more wealth than high-income African Americans, according to an analysis released on Monday by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University.
Montreal, May 14, 2010 – In Canada, in stark contrast with the rest of the world, wealthy men increase their likelihood of being overweight with every extra dollar they make. The new study was led by Natalie Dumas, a graduate student at the University of Montreal Department of Sociology, and presented at the annual conference of the Association francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS).
"Women aren't spared by this correlation, but results are ambiguous," says Dumas. "However, women from rich households are less likely to be obese than women of middle or lower income."
WASHINGTON, DC (May 14, 2010) – In response to recent announcements about consumer genetic tests being made available in retail drugstores, the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) todayreiterated its position that these tests should be provided to the public only through the services of appropriate health care professionals that order tests from laboratories that are certified by CLIA for high complexity testing.
(Boston) – Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified clinical characteristics associated with prescription drug use disorder (PDUD) in primary care patients with chronic pain. The study found that by identifying characteristics of prescription drug abuse, primary care clinicians can identify those at risk and provide appropriate treatment. This study currently appears on-line in Journal of Pain.
The first clinical trials have started on a new investigational drug, discovered by researchers at Cardiff University, which is being developed to treat infections caused by Hepatitis C virus.
The ability of yeast cells to convert sugar to alcohol, the key process in the production of beer and wine, can be attributed to a remarkable evolutionary process. The genes that allow yeast to digest sugars in fruits and grains have been duplicated several times over the course of time – allowing for optimal conversion of different types of sugars (such as sucrose and maltose) into alcohol. The duplications arose because the genes for sugar processing are situated close to the unstable margin of the chromosome.
Despite an upward curve for 30 years, crime rates suddenly began to drop in the 1990s. More police, said the right. Abortions by mothers who would have been poor parents and raised criminals, said the left. Basically, no one had an answer but everyone was taking some credit.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Local ordinances in Appalachian states with weak statewide smoking regulations do not offer most residents adequate protection against second-hand smoke, according to a new study.
Researchers examined smoking-related ordinances at the community level in six Appalachian states. Based on their analysis, they said that efforts should be focused on enacting strong statewide clean indoor air laws rather than relying on local ordinances to make public places smoke-free in some of these states.
WASHINGTON (13 May 2010) -- Five engineering breakthroughs, from software for virtual surgery to an energy saving device that detects drafts, were cited today by IEEE-USA, the U.S. career and public policy unit of the IEEE, the world's largest professional association for the advancement of technology.
The five breakthroughs, as included in television news reports recently distributed to almost 200 local U.S. TV stations, are:
PHILADELPHIA –- Two University of Pennsylvania mathematicians have found solutions to a 140-year-old, 7-dimensional equation that were not known to exist for more than a century despite its widespread use in modeling the behavior of gases.
Falling down is hazardous to a senior citizen's health, yet fewer than half of all seniors see a doctor after a fall. And those who don't seek medical attention are far less likely to engage in any of the six widely recommended activities — such as a review of their medications or getting a cane or walker — that might prevent repeated falls, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A new study led by researchers from Mayo Clinic in collaboration with six other U.S. institutions has found that patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who smoked, consumed alcohol or were obese before their cancer diagnosis had poorer overall survival, compared to patients who did not have these risk factors. This association held after accounting for clinical and demographic factors, and also when considering only deaths due to this kind of lymphoma.
Male physical competition, not attraction, was central in winning mates among human ancestors, according to a Penn State anthropologist.
"There is sexual competition in many species, including humans," said David A. Puts, assistant professor of biological anthropology.
A first-of-its-kind study examining the long-term economic consequences of childhood psychological disorders finds the conditions diminish people's ability to work and earn as adults, costing $2.1 trillion over the lifetimes of all affected Americans.
People who suffer from childhood conditions such as depression and substance abuse are less likely to be married, attain less education and see their income reduced by about 20 percent over their lifetimes, according to findings published online by the journal Social Science & Medicine.