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Use of common opioid painkillers such as codeine, morphine and oxycodone has more than quadrupled in Australia over the past decade and doubled worldwide over the same period a report published today in The Lancet (3rd February 2016) by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) reveals. Yet at the same time the authors warn that the majority of countries, particularly those in developing and poorer regions have little or no access to basic pain medication and there has been little change over the decade.

Future Science Group today announced the publication of a new article in Future Oncology, presenting a consensus statement from the International Radiosurgery Oncology Consortium for Kidney for primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This consensus statement is the result of a collaborative effort from experts worldwide, and identifies key methods for the safe implementation and practice of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for primary RCC. These guidelines may aid the standardization of treatment delivery.

Seagrass is the quiet achiever. The bundles of foliage often found washed up on beaches come from one of the most productive members of the plant kingdom. The long, narrow, ribbon-like leaves provide food and shelter for marine animals and mitigate coastal erosion and greenhouse gas emissions by cushioning the impact of sea waves while capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Genetic scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered a new genetic syndrome of obesity, over-eating, mental and behavioural problems in six families, from across the world.

Dr Siddharth Banka, Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, who led the study, explained: "Our team has identified that this new syndrome is caused by a small deletion on chromosome 6 that affects the function of hypothalamus, a region of the brain that plays a number of important roles in the body."

DENVER (Feb. 3, 2016) - The first national survey of skin infections among high school athletes has found that wrestlers have the highest number of infections, with football players coming in a distant second, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

What is the right and safe method to blow up ice on rivers, if a week ago the air temperature was about zero? How to plant explosives, in conditions when spring ice will not melt and it is low temperature? The mechanics of Tomsk State University (TSU) have left their warm laboratories to test their methods in practice.

PULLMAN, Wash.--Washington State University researchers have concluded that feeding a growing global population with sustainability goals in mind is possible. Their review of hundreds of published studies provides evidence that organic farming can produce sufficient yields, be profitable for farmers, protect and improve the environment and be safer for farm workers.

Two proteins, p38 gamma and p38 delta, control the accumulation of fat in the liver, a process linked to the development of insulin resistance and diabetes, which are common outcomes of obesity. These findings are presented in an article published by researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC). The study, led by Dr. Guadalupe Sabio, shows that inhibition of these proteins with specific inhibitors has potential as a treatment for fatty liver disease. The results are published in the EMBO Journal.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (February 3, 2016) - People who have self-reported penicillin allergy may have a three times greater chance of suffering from chronic hives. And people who have chronic hives tend to self-report penicillin allergy at a three times greater rate than the general population. Coincidence? Authors of a new study think not.

AMES, Iowa - Craig Anderson is no political scientist. But the Distinguished Professor of psychology at Iowa State University could have predicted voter support for the presidential candidates taking a strong anti-Muslim stand.

Insects are astonishingly diverse, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all named animal species living today, and their diversity is widely thought to have increased steadily over evolutionary time. A new study, however, finds that insect diversity actually has not changed much over the past 125 million years.

A cross-sectional survey has been used to estimate the prevalence of self-reported non-prescription medicine misuse, which has found that almost a fifth of people could have misused medicines in some way over their lifetime. The findings were published today in the Journal of Public Health[1].

Almost 40,000 more people might take a bowel cancer test in England each year if the letter inviting them to do so was endorsed by their GP, according to research funded by the National Institute for Health Research and published today (Wednesday) in the British Journal of Cancer.*

This higher uptake could result in up to an additional 61 cases of bowel cancer (more than one extra case each week) being identified annually following the test, which looks for hidden traces of blood in faeces that can be a sign of the disease.

A new study has mapped food specialization in hummingbird communities across the Americas, leading to a rare documentation of a large scale ecological pattern. It reveals that communities with high levels of food specializations coincide with a high number of smaller-ranged species. The study provides an evolutionary insight into how and where ecological specialization might occur. The study was led by the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen.

The system that awards national and academic honors to doctors is called into question by a senior doctor writing in The BMJ this week.

Consultant cardiologist, Peter Wilmshurst, tells the story of Anjan Kumar Banerjee, a surgeon who spent the years 2002 to 2008 erased from the medical register for serious professional misconduct related to research fraud, financial misconduct, and substandard care.

Yet in 2014 he was awarded an MBE "for services to patient safety."