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Bacteria's Disease Causing Power Missed in Sequencing Efforts

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Genomic sequencing is supposed to reveal the entire genetic makeup of an organism. For infectious disease specialists, the technology can be used to analyze a disease-causing bacterium to determine how much harm it is capable of causing and whether or not it will be resistant to antibiotics. But new research at Rockefeller University suggests that current sequencing protocols overlook crucial bits of information: isolated pieces of DNA floating outside the bacterial ...

Footballers Setting New Trends Off World Cup Pitch

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Footballers realize that the World Cup isn't just about sport, its about tattoos, hairstyles, clothes and big business of setting trends, with thousands of cameras capturing every move of the players for billions of fans. They arrive at airports, training sessions, press conferences and matches with carefully crafted looks, conscious that a new hairdo or tattoo can set social media networks abuzz -- and that global brands with multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals ...

Raf Simons' Jailbirds Kick Off Paris Fashion

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Designer Raf Simons intends to make his audience work for his art and kicked off five days of Paris men's fashion with his collection. Last year the Belgian designer -- who as well as having his own label is also artistic director at Dior -- bussed several hundred photographers, journalists and buyers out to a distant Parisian suburb. This year, he opted for the smart Place Vendome, but sent out e-mails a few hours before effectively warning invitees ...

Penile Cancer

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Penile cancer or cancer of the penis often affects adult males. Penile cancer may be treated with surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Vitamin D Supplements Can Treat High Blood Pressure

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A new study has shown that vitamin D deficiency can lead to high blood pressure (hypertension). The study also suggests vitamin D supplements could be an effective treatment in some cases of hypertension. Hypertension is a risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The Mendelian randomisation study used genetic data involving more than 146,500 Europeans and examined two genetic variants that influence circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin ...

Dietary Insights from Oldest Human Poop

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More vegetables may have been consumed by Neanderthals than previously thought, as suggested in research published in June 25 in the open access journal iPLOS ONE/i, by Ainara Sistiaga from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of La Laguna and colleagues. Neanderthal diet reconstruction remains difficult. Current methods of dietary analysis use isotopes and focus on the role of meat in the diet, which may be overemphasized. For instance, some ...

Early Death Risk Doubled With Watching 3 Hours of Daily TV

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Premature death is twice as likely to occur in people who watch three or more hours of television daily than people who watch less, suggests a study on Wednesday. The research in the Journal of the American Heart Association is the latest to describe the potential dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, which include high blood pressure, obesity, cancer and heart disease. "Our findings are consistent with a range of previous studies where time spent watching ...

World Cup Fever Spreads to Brazil's Amazon Rainforest

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The World Cup is big news and brings big business, out of the stadium, right inside the Amazon rainforest. The two dozen or so Indians in the tiny village of Tupe with one cheek covered in ritual tattoos and the other painted in the nation's green and yellow are closely following the world's premier sporting event. They are also warmly welcoming an influx of tourists keen to add a bit of indigenous culture to their World Cup experience -- monkeys, vultures, ...

Structure and Protein Elements Critical to Human Function and Disease Revealed

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Relationship between certain proteins and juvenile myoclonic epilepsy is seen in new structures discovered within cilia. The discovery, made at the University of Minnesota, was named paper of the week in the emJournal of Biological Chemistry/em, and sheds new light on the microstructure of cilia. Cilia are microscopic, hair-like structures occurring in large numbers on the surface of some of the body's cells and are involved in movement and perception. Cilia ...

Chronic Brain Damage Less Prevalent in NFL Players: Researchers

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The prevalence of chronic brain damage in retired NFL players is not as much as previously thought, suggested a study published online today in emSports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach/em. Researchers performed in-depth neurological examinations of 45 retired NFL players, ranging in age from 30-to 60-years old. The analysis included state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) ...

Home Secondhand Smoke Exposure Reduced With Motivational Interviewing: Study

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Motivational interviewing, along with standard education and awareness programs, has significantly reduced secondhand smoke exposure among children living in those households, found in a study by Johns Hopkins-led research team. Motivational interviewing, a counseling strategy that gained popularity in the treatment of alcoholics, uses a patient-centered counseling approach to help motivate people to change behaviors. Experts say it stands in contrast to externally ...

Study Unveils Evolutionary Boon to Older Moms

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Women who naturally conceive a child after the age of 33 are much more likely to live longer than their peers, a new study finds. The study also observes the same genes that are connected to longer life spans in women have links also to late-life mothering. "We think the same genes that allow a woman to naturally have a kid at an older age are the same genes that play a really important role in slowing down the rate of aging and decreasing the ...

Coping With Personality Changes in Acquired Brain Injury may Get Easier

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Individuals affected by brain injuries may struggle with associated personality changes, and sometimes their families may be impacted too. The behavior of individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) is typically associated with problems such as aggression, agitation, non-compliance, and depression. Treatment goals often focus on changing the individual's behavior, frequently using consequence-based procedures or medication. In the current issue of emNeuroRehabilitation/em ...

Molecule That Blocks Bone Destruction may Help Target Osteoporosis

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A promising new molecule that may block bone destruction and may be a good therapeutic target for bone metastases of cancer and osteoporosis has now been found by researchers. The molecule, miR-34a, belongs to a family of small molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs) that serve as brakes to help regulate how much of a protein is made, which in turn, determines how cells respond. UTSouthwestern researchers found that mice with higher than normal levels of ...

TV Watching Has a Strong Link With Dying Young, Study Says

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A new research claims watching television for more than 2 hours can double the risk of dying at a young age. The research finds a strong link between television watching for 3 hours or more and potentially deadly diseases, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and cancer due to sedentary lifestyle associated with television watching. The study was based on television viewing patterns of 13,000 Spanish people, their average ...

Vitamin D Deficiency Could Lead to Hypertension

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Low vitamin D levels have a causal role in the development of high blood pressure (hypertension), say researchers. The findings suggest that vitamin D supplementation could be effective in combating some cases of hypertension. Study leader Professor Elina Hypponen from the University of South Australia, said in view of the costs and side effects associated with antihypertensive drugs, the potential to prevent or reduce blood pressure and therefore ...

Low Number of Taste Buds Linked to Older Age: Study

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The number of taste buds we have on our tongue decreases as we get older and the lower the number of taste buds, the more likely for fasting blood glucose (sugar) levels to be higher than normal, finds a new study. The results were presented Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. Because high fasting blood sugar level is a main characteristic of diabetes, the study ...

Growth Hormone Defect may Protect Against Diabetes, Cancer

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New research finds that people who lack growth hormone (GH) receptors also appear to have marked insulin sensitivity that prevents them from developing diabetes and lowers their risk for cancer, despite their increased percentage of body fat. The results were presented Sunday, June 22, at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago. "We have shown that people who, due to a genetic ...

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemical Raises Risk of Precancerous Prostate Lesions

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For the first time, a new study has found that the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) reprograms the developing prostate, making the gland more susceptible to precancerous lesions and other diseases later in a man's life. The results will be reported Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. "By using two novel models of human prostate development involving ...

Blood Kisspeptin Level Test may Predict Miscarriage Risk in Pregnant Women

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A new study finds that measuring pregnant women's blood kisspeptin levels early in their pregnancy may effectively predict their risk of miscarriage. The results were presented Saturday at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago. "We show that, even in women with no symptoms of miscarriage, a single blood test for kisspeptin more accurately predicted the risk of miscarriage ...

Dietary Changes Made Early in Pregnancy Benefit Obese Women

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Obese pregnant women who adhere to an intensive nutritional and exercise program starting in the first trimester gain less weight in pregnancy and have less pregnancy complications compared with peers who receive standard prenatal care. A new study from China finds this and the results were presented at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. "Obese pregnant women should start ...

Maternal Use of the SSRI Antidepressant Fluoxetine Linked To Fatty Liver

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A new animal study has found that adult offspring of mothers who used fluoxetine, a common antidepressant, during pregnancy were more likely to develop a fatty liver. The results will be reported Saturday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. "When mothers take antidepressants during pregnancy, they may be predisposing their children to metabolic disturbances, including ...

Keep Paraplegic on Life-support, European Court Tells France

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The European Court of Human Rights has told France not to remove life support from a man in a vegetative state for the past six years, blocking a landmark French court ruling that gave permission for euthanasia earlier on Tuesday. France's highest administrative court earlier Tuesday gave the green light to end the life of Vincent Lambert, who has been a quadriplegic with severe brain damage since a road accident in 2008, in a decision that went against his parents' ...

Animal Testing Methods for Some Chemicals Need Change, Don't Accurately Mimic Human Exposure

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A new review suggests oral gavage, the most widely accepted method of dosing lab animals to test chemical toxicity, does not accurately mimic how humans are exposed to chemicals in everyday life. The review challenging risk assessment methods used for decades by toxicologists is led by environmental health scientist Laura Vandenberg at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Oral gavage refers to the way researchers give chemicals to animals by putting a tube ...

Weight Loss Improves Mood, Sleep Quality

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Obese adults who lose at least 5 percent of their body weight report that they sleep better and longer after six months of weight loss, and a new study also finds them more cheerful. The results were presented at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. "This study confirms several studies reporting that weight loss is associated with increased sleep duration," said the study's lead investigator, ...

Raising Vitamin D Levels may Lower Risk of Prediabetes Progressing to Diabetes: Study

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Vitamin D and calcium supplementation along with diet and exercise may prevent type 2 diabetes in prediabetic individuals who have insufficient vitamin D in their bodies, suggests a study from India. The results were presented Saturday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to prediabetes, which is a blood glucose, or sugar, level that ...

Gender-Based Treatment Needed for Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Type 2 Diabetes

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A Canadian study finds that women with type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol are less likely than their male peers to reach treatment goals to lower their "bad" cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, despite access to cholesterol-lowering medication. The results were presented on Saturday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. Although other research ...

Diabetes Drug Liraglutide Appears to Work for Weight Management, Reversing Prediabetes

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A new study finds that nondiabetic obese and overweight people lose more weight, are more likely to reverse prediabetes and are slower to develop type 2 diabetes when they take the diabetes drug liraglutide in addition to dieting and exercising. The results of the multicenter study were presented Saturday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. Study subjects who received ...

New Weapon Found for Fighting Breast Cancer

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Researchers have discovered one reason why some women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer may respond poorly or only temporarily to estrogen-blocking drugs such as tamoxifen. Results of a new study, which was presented Saturday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago, point to a previously unrecognized role of the androgen receptor. Although this receptor (protein) ...

Whiskey Tasting Pigs Raised in US

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Twenty-five fat and robust pigs mill around in open pens on a tiny farm in Woodward, Iowa and are being raised to taste of rye whiskey. Small-batch distillery Templeton Rye is feeding them the mash used in making its distinctive American whiskey, hoping that the rich taste of the grain will grab consumers' attention. Templeton is especially long on rye, with more than 90 percent of its mash coming from the high-protein grain, and malted barley for the ...

Record Investment Year for EU Theme Parks Topped by 'Ratatouille'

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A new ride based on Disney's animated film "Ratatouille" was recently unveiled in Disneyland Paris that topped of a record year for investment in Europe's theme parks, with the region's most expensive attraction ever. Visitors to "Ratatouille: The Adventure" are made to feel they have shrunk to the size of Disney's gourmet rat Remy as he scurries around a giant kitchen, chased by his nemesis from the film, Chef Skinner. Seated in their own "rat-mobile," ...

Veterans Who Survive Traumatic Brain Injury may Have Unrecognized Pituitary Dysfunction

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A new study finds that soldiers who survive traumatic brain injury from blast exposure, pituitary dysfunction after their blast injury may be an important, under-recognized, and potentially treatable source of their symptoms. The results were presented Saturday at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago. "Our study suggests that deficiencies in the pituitary's growth hormone ...

US Soccer Teams Battle for Second Round, as Fans Brace in

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Another edge-of-the-seat match on Thursday is awaited eagerly by a record number of football fans in the US as their team battles to make the World Cup second round, and prove the sport's growing popularity. Nearly 25 million viewers tuned in to watch their last game against Portugal, astonishingly more than the NBA finals this year, which averaged 15.5 million viewers, or baseball's World Series, which averaged 14.9 million viewers, mainstays of the US sporting ...

Graphic Health Warnings on Cigarette Packs Insisted by Indonesia

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Law requiring manufacturers to display pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs came to force on Tuesday in Indonesia, but anti-smoking campaigners said the rule was widely ignored. The government had given the tobacco industry 18 months to comply with the 2012 regulation on tobacco control, which demands pictures or graphics on packs to warn about the hazards of smoking in addition to written warnings. A government survey last year showed that 36 ...

'World Class Resort' Created at Former Athens Airport

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Plans to create a 'world class resort' at the former Athens airport of Hellinikon has been announced on Tuesday by a prominent Greek development fund, hoping bring around four billion euros ( (Dollar) 5.4 billion) to Greece's ailing economy. "Athens will become the first European capital with its own resort," Odisseas Athanassiou, CEO of Lamda Development, told a news conference. The overhaul will translate into "something like four billion euros incremental ...

Combo Tumor Imaging may Help Distinguish Malignant (and) Benign Breast Tumors

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A new study has found how using four approaches together to image breast tumors can help distinguish malignant tumors form those that are benign, and may help avoid repeat biopsies. "By assessing many functional processes involved in cancer development, a multiparameter PET-MRI of the breast allows for a better differentiation of benign and malignant breast tumors than currently used DCE-MRI alone. Therefore, unnecessary breast biopsies can be avoided," said Katja ...

Mutated X-linked Mental Retardation Protein and How It Impairs Neuron Function

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Malfunctions in brain cells that contribute to intellectual disability and other brain disorders have now been studied better. Professor Linda Van Aelst of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has been scrutinizing how the normal version of a protein called OPHN1 helps enable excitatory nerve transmission in the brain, particularly at nerve-cell docking ports containing AMPA receptors (AMPARs). Her team's new work, published June 24 in the emJournal of Neuroscience/em, ...

One-Fifth of UK Kids Affected by Whooping Cough Despite Vaccinations

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One fifth of school age kids in the UK are found to be suffering from whooping cough, even though most of them have been vaccinated, a new study has found. Before the preschool pertussis booster vaccination had been introduced in the UK in 2001, evidence of recent pertussis infection could be found in nearly 40% of school age children who presented in primary care with a persistent cough. These findings will help to inform consideration of the need for ...

Network Remodeling Reveals Molecules Linked To Pulmonary Hypertension

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A family of molecules that may play a role in pulmonary hypertension, a deadly vascular disease has now been identified by a team of researchers in a new groundbreaking study. This is one of the first studies to leverage advanced computational network modeling to decipher the molecular secrets of this complex human disease. The study is published online June 24, 2014 in emThe Journal of Clinical Investigation/em. Despite the rising number of people ...

Misconceptions may be Hindering New Treatment Developments for Cancer Metastases

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A new article published in the July issue of Neurosurgery claims that historical misconceptions are coming in the way of treatment and research for patients with cancer metastases to the brain. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams (and) Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Dr. Douglas Kondziolka of NYU Langone Medical Center and coauthors identify some issues that may be standing in the way of optimal clinical management for patients with cancer that has spread ...

Challenges of Visual Accessibility for People With Low Vision Revealed

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A new article published in the July issue of Optometry has focused on the need of new tools and approaches to improve the visual accessibility of people with low vision in the 'real world'. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams (and) Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.Vision science, in collaboration with other professions, has a key role in developing technologies and design approaches to promote visual accessibility for the millions of people living with low ...

Regional Anaesthesia Use During Hip Fracture Surgery Reduces Mortality Risk

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Lower mortality rates and length of stay was noted among patients who received regional anaesthesia during a hip fracture surgery, a new study has found. The study, published this week in JAMA, employed a new, more reliable Penn-developed technique for comparative-effectiveness research to pinpoint best practices. In a related study published in emJAMA Internal Medicine/em this week, the team also reported high rates of mortality and functional disability among nursing ...

Engineered Bacteria may Help Keep Mice Lean

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The number of individuals affected by obesity are rising throughout the world. As obesity rates increase, so do the incidences of diabetes, heart disease, and other serious health conditions. The bacteria within an individual's gut can influence their susceptibility to these disorders. Therefore, altering the microbe population in the gut could prevent or reverse disease. A June 24th study in the iJournal of Clinical Investigation/i demonstrates that modified ...

US Doctors Urge Parents to Read Regularly to Babies

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In the age of screens and smartphones, language skills can be boosted in children by reading to them right from infancy, a leading group of US doctors urged parents on Tuesday. Pediatricians have long encouraged reading to children, but the guidelines are the first official policy from the American Academy of Pediatrics telling doctors to talk to parents about daily reading to their children, from the first year of life until kindergarten. It also calls ...

Stem Cell Transplantation Better for Severe Sclerosis, Improves Long-term Survival

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Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), compared to the use of chemotherapeutic drugs was thought to increase the risk of death among patients with a severe form of sclerosis, a study has found. Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune connective tissue disease characterized by vasculopathy (a disorder of the blood vessels), low-grade inflammation, and fibrosis (development of excess fibrous connective tissue) in skin and internal organs. Previously, small studies ...

Herbal High Khat Now Banned in Britain

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The latest nation to formally outlaw the herbal stimulant khat, the bushy leaf chewed by many Somalis, Yemenis, Kenyans and Ethiopians is now Britain. Under a new law that came into effect on Tuesday, khat is now a "class C drug", making possession punishable by up to two years in jail and supply and production punishable by up to 14 years. Khat is the leaves and shoots of the shrub Catha edulis, which are chewed to obtain a mild stimulant effect. British ...

Ageing may Intensify the Damage of Spinal Cord Injury

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The immune cells in the central nervous system of elderly mice do not activate an important pathway that reduces their chances of a repair after a spinal cord injury, researchers have found. These studies were the first to show that spinal cord injuries are more severe in elderly mice than in young adults, corroborating previous anecdotal findings from clinical settings. They also revealed a previously unknown player in the repair of spinal cord injuries in young ...