Body

New approach can predict impact of climate change on species that can't get out of the way

CUMBERLAND, MD (October 1, 2014)--When scientists talk about the consequences of climate change, it can mean more than how we human beings will be impacted by higher temperatures, rising seas and serious storms. Plants and trees are also feeling the change, but they can't move out of the way. Researchers at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and University of Vermont have developed a new tool to overcome a major challenge of predicting how organisms may respond to climate change.

New article shows daily use of certain supplements can decrease health-care expenditures

Washington, D.C., October 1, 2014—Use of specific dietary supplements can have a positive effect on health care costs through avoided hospitalizations related to Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), according to a new article published in the Journal of Dietary Supplements(1). The article, "From Science to Finance—A Tool for Deriving Economic Implications from the Results of Dietary Supplement Clinical Studies," published by Christopher Shanahan and Robert de Lorimier, Ph.D., explores a potential cost-benefit analysis tool that, when applied to a high-risk population (U.S.

FDG-PET/CT shows promise for breast cancer patients younger than 40

Reston, Va. (October 1, 2014) – Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering found that PET/CT imaging of patients younger than 40 who were initially diagnosed with stage I–III breast cancer resulted in change of diagnosis. As reported in the October issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, while guidelines recommend FDG-PET/CT imaging only for women with stage III breast cancer, it can also help physicians more accurately diagnose young breast cancer patients initially diagnosed with earlier stages of the disease.

Have our bodies held the key to new antibiotics all along?

As the threat of antibiotic resistance grows, scientists are turning to the human body and the trillion or so bacteria that have colonized us — collectively called our microbiota — for new clues to fighting microbial infections. They've logged an early success with the discovery of a new antibiotic candidate from vaginal bacteria, reports Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.

Study finds acupuncture does not improve chronic knee pain

A new research study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that in patients older than 50 years with moderate or severe chronic knee pain, acupuncture did not provide any benefit.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne randomly assigned 282 patients (50 years or older) with chronic knee pain to no acupuncture or sham or pretend laser treatment.

Treatments were delivered for 12 weeks with participants and acupuncturists blinded to laser and sham (inactive) laser acupuncture.

Power can corrupt even the honest

When appointing a new leader, selectors base their choice on several factors and typically look for leaders with desirable characteristics such as honesty and trustworthiness. However once leaders are in power, can we trust them to exercise it in a prosocial manner?

Non-traditional donor lungs appear safe for transplant

Chicago, October 1, 2014 – Patients receiving lungs from donors whose cause of death was asphyxiation or drowning have similar outcomes and long-term survival as patients receiving lungs from traditional donors, according to a study in the October2014 issue of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

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Strict blood sugar control after heart surgery may not be necessary

Chicago, October 1, 2014 – Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery may not have to follow a strict blood sugar management strategy after surgery, according to a study in the October 2014 issue of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

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Child mortality falls worldwide, but not fast enough, study finds

Despite advances, millions of children worldwide still die before their fifth birthday, with complications from preterm birth and pneumonia together killing nearly 2 million young children in 2013, according to a study led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Medical discovery first step on path to new painkillers

A major medical discovery by scientists at The University of Nottingham could lead to the development of an entirely new type of painkiller.

A drug resulting from the research, published in the journal Neurobiology of Disease, would offer new hope to sufferers of chronic pain conditions such as traumatic nerve injury, for which few effective painkillers are currently available.

'Stealth' nanoparticles could improve cancer vaccines

Cancer vaccines have recently emerged as a promising approach for killing tumor cells before they spread. But so far, most clinical candidates haven't worked that well. Now, scientists have developed a new way to deliver vaccines that successfully stifled tumor growth when tested in laboratory mice. And the key, they report in the journal ACS Nano, is in the vaccine's unique stealthy nanoparticles.

'Smart' bandage emits phosphorescent glow for healing below

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1—Inspired by a desire to help wounded soldiers, an international, multidisciplinary team of researchers led by Assistant Professor Conor L. Evans at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) has created a paint-on, see-through, "smart" bandage that glows to indicate a wound's tissue oxygenation concentration. Because oxygen plays a critical role in healing, mapping these levels in severe wounds and burns can help to significantly improve the success of surgeries to restore limbs and physical functions.

New drug-delivery capsule may replace injections

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Given a choice, most patients would prefer to take a drug orally instead of getting an injection. Unfortunately, many drugs, especially those made from large proteins, cannot be given as a pill because they get broken down in the stomach before they can be absorbed.

Public feels more negative toward drug addicts than mentally ill

People are significantly more likely to have negative attitudes toward those suffering from drug addiction than those with mental illness, and don't support insurance, housing, and employment policies that benefit those dependent on drugs, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

Dog waste contaminates our waterways: A new test could reveal how big the problem is

Americans love their dogs, but they don't always love to pick up after them. And that's a problem. Dog feces left on the ground wash into waterways, sometimes carrying bacteria — including antibiotic-resistant strains — that can make people sick. Now scientists have developed a new genetic test to figure out how much dogs are contributing to this health concern, according to a report in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.