Body

Geroscience researchers studying the biology of aging briefly treated middle-aged mice with the drug rapamycin to gauge the long-term effects of short-term therapy on health and longevity.

Rapamycin, approved by the Food & Drug Administration for certain organ transplant recipients, is already known to extend life in mice and delay some age-related problems in rodents and humans.

DURHAM, N.H. - Scientists from the University of New Hampshire have unlocked a major genetic mystery of one of the ancestors of cultivated strawberry. A genetic analysis conducted by New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station researchers, which took four years to complete, aims to improve modern cultivation efforts of strawberry growers.

MAYWOOD, IL - A surgery for quadriplegics called tendon transfer can significantly improve hand and elbow function, but the procedure is greatly underused, according to an article in the journal Hand Clinics by Loyola Medicine hand surgeon Michael S. Bednar, MD, FAAOS.

The millions of people who consume green tea all over the world benefit from the catechins it contains. Catechins are a class of chemical compounds with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, among other healthy ingredients.

PROBIOTICS FOR NEWBORNS: 20 YEAR STUDY REVEALS LONG TERM ALLERGY PROTECTION

Allergies belong to the most common diseases with steadily increasing incidence. Probiotics are believed to prevent or reduce allergy development. Nevertheless, the mechanism of their beneficial effect is poorly understood.

A new study questions the effectiveness of using pictogram message on the labels of anxiety and sleep medications that interfere with driving - an approach this is currently implemented across France. The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology study found that the risk of being responsible for a crash associated with these medicines did not decrease long-term after the pictogram was introduced.

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 22, 2016 -- Whether severe trauma occurs on the battlefield or the highway, saving lives often comes down to stopping the bleeding as quickly as possible. Many methods for controlling external bleeding exist, but at this point, only surgery can halt blood loss inside the body from injury to internal organs. Now, researchers have developed nanoparticles that congregate wherever injury occurs in the body to help it form blood clots, and they've validated these particles in test tubes and in vivo.

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 22, 2016 -- During a heart attack, clots or narrowed arteries block blood flow, harming or killing cells within the tissue. But the damage doesn't end after the crushing pain subsides. Instead, the heart's walls thin out, the organ becomes enlarged, and scar tissue forms. If nothing is done, the patient can eventually experience heart failure. But scientists now report they have developed gels that, in animal tests, can be injected into the heart to shore up weakened areas and prevent heart failure.

SEATTLE -- In 2013, Kansas became the first state to completely privatize its Medicaid system. Known as KanCare, the new program drew skepticism from healthcare consumer advocates who worked to ensure Medicaid consumers received the care they need.

"There is evidence to suggest that advocates helped secure modest wins for consumers," said Kevin McCannon, a University of Kansas doctoral student in sociology. "But they faced limits."

SEATTLE -- The dynamics of global environmentalism, ranging from indigenous people's rights to the reliance on non-governmental organizations, have been marked by a resurgence in environmental movements that more aggressively resist natural resource extraction, according to two University of Kansas (KU) researchers.

"Environmental protestors are now being taken more seriously by environmental policymakers," said Brock Ternes, a KU doctoral student of sociology.

A single approach can prevent both obesity and eating disorders in teenagers, according to new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Scientific evidence summarized in the new recommendations shows that physicians and parents can ward off problems at both ends of the weight spectrum by avoiding focusing teens' attention on weight or dieting, and instead encouraging a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

PHILADELPHIA--(August 22, 2016)-- Cancer is often driven by various genetic mutations that are acquired through changes to a person's DNA over time. These alterations can occur at the chromosome level if the proteins are not properly organized and segregated as our cells divide and multiply.

In doses equivalent to those used regularly in human children, antibiotics changed the mix of gut microbes in young mice to dramatically increase their risk for type 1 diabetes. That is the finding of a study led by researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center, supported by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), and published Aug. 22 in Nature Microbiology.

When most people hear the word "pollinator," they think of bees and butterflies. However, certain beetles are known to pollinate plants as well, and new fossil evidence indicates that they were doing so 20 million years ago.

A new study in American Entomologist by George Poinar, Jr. (Oregon State University) describes beetles found in fossilized amber with orchid pollen in their mouthparts.

A study from Oxford and Basel universities may point the way to maintaining our immune systems as we get older.

In a paper in the journal Nature Immunology, scientists explain how they uncovered the effects of a protein called Foxn1, which is a critical factor in the development of an effective immune system.