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Study Explains How Giraffes Stay Upright on 'spindly Legs'

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A highly specialized ligament structure identified by the researchers at the Royal Veterinary College is thought to prevent giraffes' legs from collapsing under the immense weight of these animals. Christ Basu, a PhD student in the Structure and Motion Lab said that giraffes were heavy animals but had unusually skinny limb bones for an animal of this size which means that their leg bones were under high levels of mechanical stress. The researchers ...

Cheaper Drugs can Improve Outcome for Heart Attack Treatment: Study

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Two new drugs used for preventing blood clot formation could result in improved outcomes in the treatment for heart diseases. According to the researchers, the drug can reduce rate of repeat heart attacks, as compared to bivalirudin which is more expensive. The results of the HEAT-PPCI trial suggest that systematic use of heparin rather than bivalirudin after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) - the most commonly used treatment for ...

Etiquette in the Digital Age

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The digital age has brought with it new etiquette dilemmas for millions of users. What should you do when your boss sends a Facebook friend request? Is it OK to take and share smartphone pictures at a friend's wedding? When should you take off Google Glass, rather than just turn it off? Etiquette mavens say the book on manners must be rewritten, literally, to take into account new technologies and social media. "Technology is such an area ...

Urgent Need for Improved Diagnostic Technologies and Disease Surveillance to Tackle Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

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In an open letter published in The Lancet, researchers in Sierra Leone have underlined an urgent need for priority actions, including improvements in access to diagnostic technologies and health-care resources and improved disease surveillance and health communication, to tackle the ongoing Ebola crisis in West Africa. At present, there is little incentive for patients to seek professional diagnosis of suspected Ebola, say the authors, with most people with febrile ...

New Study Suggests Heparin is a Cheaper Option in Treating Common Heart Attacks

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Results of a new study that compared the effectiveness of two drugs in treating heart attacks has found that one of the drugs, heparin, led to improved outcomes, including reducing the rate of repeat heart attacks, compared to bivalirudin which is a popular drug in high income countries and is 400 times more expensive than heparin. The study appears in The Lancet. The results of the HEAT-PPCI trial suggest that systematic use of heparin rather than bivalirudin after ...

Fleeing Christians and Hindus Say Taliban Treated Them With Tolerance

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Even though the Taliban has earned a global reputation of being brutal and intolerant, Christians and Hindus fleeing from a military offensive against the insurgents in the northwest region of Pakistan say that they were treated with relative tolerance. Some 2,000 people from the country's often embattled religious minorities have fled an army operation that began in mid-June in the North Waziristan tribal district for the nearby town of Bannu, where many have taken ...

Chinese Web Firms Employing Innovative Ways to Overcome the Country's Strict Gambling Rules

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World Cup betting in China is set to see a big boom this year thanks to some innovative ways being adopted by internet giants and insurance companies in the country to get around strict betting laws. Gambling is banned in China, except where it is run by the government or the proceeds donated to charity, but technology behemoths Alibaba and Tencent have this year linked up with state-owned provincial lotteries to enable punters to bet on the World Cup online. Both ...

Scientists Insist High-Protein Weight Loss Diets can Work

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We would do better to boost the protein content of our diet instead of focusing too much on counting calories, say scientists. Nutritional values of foods are typically given in kilojoules or kilocalories, standard units of energy. However, new research on apes and monkeys suggests that this is too simplistic as different macronutrients - carbohydrates, fats and proteins- interact to regulate appetite and energy intake. In these animals, overall energy intake seems ...

Report Underlines Dangers Associated With Headbanging

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Headbanging is closely associated with hardcore rock and heavy metal music but a new study led by Ariyan Pirayesh Islamian at Hannover Medical School has underlined the dangers associated with the practice in their Case Report of a man who developed a chronic subdural haematoma after headbanging at a Motorhead concert. The report has been published in The Lancet. In January 2013, a 50-year-old man came to the neurosurgical department of Hannover Medical School with ...

Popularity of Online Pharmacies Boosting Illegal Consumption of Viagra

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Dutch researchers have warned that widespread popularity of online pharmacies means that at least two-thirds of Viagra consumption in the Netherlands is illegal. In a letter published on bmj.com, they say the consumption of illicit drugs might dwarf consumption of legitimate versions - and they call for the further inquiry into the apparent success of rogue online pharmacies. It follows reports of a record number of fake drugs seized under Operation Pangea ...

Regular Walks can be Beneficial to Parkinson's Patients

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Regular walks can help people with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease improve their motor function, mood, tiredness, fitness and thinking abilities, a new study published in Neurology reveals. "The results of our study suggest that walking may provide a safe and easily accessible way of improving the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and improve quality of life," said study author Ergun Y. Uc, MD, with the University of Iowa in Iowa City and the Veterans Affairs ...

Widespread Use of New Surgical Innovation Increases Risk for Patients

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The risk of patient harm more than doubled in 2006, when teaching hospitals nationwide embraced the pursuit of minimally invasive robotic surgery for prostate cancer, a new study conducted by researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and published in JAMA Surgery reveals. "This study looked at the stages of innovation and how the rapid adoption of a new surgical technology-in this case, a surgical robotic system-can lead to adverse events ...

New Treatment Approach can Significantly Reduce Seizures in PNES Patients

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Researchers led by Curt LaFrance Jr from Brown University have found that the number of seizures in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) can be significantly reduced through a cognitive behavior therapy-informed psychotherapy, a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry reveals. "PNES is much more common than people realize, in fact it's estimated to be as prevalent as multiple sclerosis," LaFrance said. "Patients with PNES often suffer from repeated ...

Risk of Psoriasis High Among Women With Hypertension

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The risk of skin condition psoriasis is high among women who suffer from long-term high blood pressure and use beta- blocker medication to treat their condition, a new study led by Shaowei Wu from Brown University reveals. Background: Psoriasis is an immune-related chronic disease that affects about 3 percent of the U.S. population. The authors suggest prospective data on the risk of psoriasis associated with hypertension is lacking. Antihypertensive medications, ...

Computer-Automated, Time-Lapse Photography of Embryos may Increase Success of IVF

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During in-vitro fertilization, using computer-automated, time (and) #8208;lapse photography of embryos in the laboratory may improve embryo selection, potentially increasing the chances of pregnancy among women undergoing the procedure. This is according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and five other fertility centers. Results of the study were presented this week at the 30th annual European Society of Human Reproduction ...

National Health Insurance Expansion can Lead to Increase in Discretionary Surgeries in Massachusetts

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Researchers led by Chandy Ellimoottil from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, have found that the number of discretionary surgical procedures will increase over the next few years if the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) national health insurance expansion is fully implemented. Background: The potential effect of the ACA on surgical care is not well known. The authors examined its possible effect by analyzing the Massachusetts insurance expansion and utilization of discretionary ...

Veterans With Muscle, Bone or Joint Injury and Mental Health Conditions More Likely to End Service

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After an Iraq deployment, sixty percent of U.S. Army soldiers who were unable to return to a military career couldn't do so because of a muscle, bone or joint injury and nearly half had a mental health diagnosis. This is according to a new study from the University of Michigan and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Lower rank, which indicated socioeconomic status, was also a predictor of poor health outcomes among service members, according to the research ...

Living in 'Green Buildings' can Help Improve Health Problems of Public Housing Residents

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A new study published in the journal Environmental Science (and) Technology suggests that living in a 'green building' is not only environment-friendly, but also helps improve certain health problems seen in public housing residents. Gary Adamkiewicz, Meryl Colton and colleagues note that indoor air quality is an important predictor of health, especially among low-income populations. Adults in the U.S. spend most of their time indoors - 65 percent of their time is spent ...

People in Cool, Highland Regions of East Africa are More Susceptible to Malaria

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Researchers have found that people living in cool, highland regions of East Africa had a greater risk of contracting malaria compared to people in hot, lowland areas, a study of fine-scale climate model projections suggests. The team applied a statistical technique to conventional, coarse-scale climate models to better predict malaria dynamics at local levels."People might have an interest in predictions for global malaria trends and even more so for regional patterns, ...

'Bone-House Wasp' may Use Dead Ants to Protect Their Nest

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The 'Bone-house Wasp' -a new species of spider wasp, may use chemical cues from dead ants as a nest protection strategy. This is according to a recent study published July 2, 2014 in the open-access journal emPLOS ONE/em by Michael Staab from University of Freiburg, Germany, and his colleagues from China and Germany. Wasps use a wide variety of nest protection strategies, including digging holes or occupying pre-existing cavities such as in wood. ...

New Method That can Quickly and Accurately Track Down Allergy-Causing Proteins Developed

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Researchers at EPFL reveal they have developed a highly-sensitive method that can be used to quickly and accurately identify the protein in a food that causes an allergic response in a patient. The method has been successfully tested with regard to cow milk allergy, a new study published in the journal Analytical Chemistry reveals. Food allergies are becoming widespread in the Western world today, affecting around 6-8% of children and about 3% of adults. These types ...

First National Model for Bovine TB Calls for More Focus on Cattle in Great Britain

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A team of researchers based at the University of Warwick has produced the first national model to investigate the bovine TB spread in a study published in emNature /emthis week. The results derived from the model in the emNature/em paper, entitled "A dynamic model of bovine tuberculosis spread and control in Great Britain", demonstrated that the majority of herd outbreaks are caused by multiple transmissions routes - including failed cattle infection tests, ...

Study Finds Link Between Alcohol Sponsorship and Hazardous Drinking Among British Athletes

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A joint study conducted by researchers at University of Manchester in Britain and Australia's Monash University has identified a link between hazardous drinking in UK athletes and alcohol sponsorship. The study, published online today in the scientific journal emAddiction/em, is the first to examine alcohol sponsorship of athletes in the UK, and comes at a time when there are calls in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa for greater restriction ...

For Treatment Of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Research on Inflammasomes Opens New Therapeutic Ways

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Patients with more or less severe forms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may have the same painful symptoms. But does this mean that the cause of their illness is the same? And therefore that they should all receive the same treatment? Scientists at VIB and Ghent University have demonstrated with their research into inflammasomes that RA should be considered as a syndrome rather than a single disease. Mohamed Lamkanfi (VIB/Ghent University): "Rheumatoid ...

Japan Unveils Nursing Home for Aging Canines

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A nursing home in Japan will be providing some of the best comforts available for seniors, from a hair salon and 24-hour medical care to comfy beds and a swimming pool, though only aging dogs are welcome. The facility in a Tokyo suburb is throwing open its doors to ageing dogs of all shapes and sizes with the promise of a comfortable retirement for the elderly canines, and their equally wrinkly human owners. Aeonpet Co., a unit of major shopping mall ...

European Teen Imaging Study Pinpoints Predictors of Binge-Drinking

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Scientists leading the largest longitudinal adolescent brain imaging research to date have learned that predicting teenage binge-drinking is possible. In fact, say the researchers in the group's latest publication, a number of factors - genetics, brain function and about 40 different variables - can help scientists predict with about 70 percent accuracy which teens will become binge drinkers. The study appears online July 3, 2014 as an Advance Online Publication ...

Risk of Complications Higher Among Children Who Undergo Emergency Surgeries on Weekends

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A new study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center has found that the risk of complications, or even death, is high among children who undergo emergency surgeries, such as hernia repairs or appendix removals, compared to children getting the same kind of treatment during the week. The Johns Hopkins team says that although the number of deaths was small, the marked difference in death and risk of other complications points to a worrisome "weekend ...

Stem Cells Have the Potential to Develop into Any Cell Type

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Around the world, researchers have turned to stem cells, which have the potential to develop into any cell type in the body, for potential regenerative and disease therapeutics. Now, for the first time, researchers at the Salk Institute, with collaborators from Oregon Health (and) Science University and the University of California, San Diego, have shown that stem cells created using two different methods are far from identical. The finding could lead to improved avenues ...

Theme Park in France Recreates 'Little Prince' Universe

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In France, a theme park inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery's timeless classic "The Little Prince" opened this week giving visitors a chance to recall the author's claim that "all grown-ups were children first". The Little Prince Park hopes to draw 150,000 visitors a year with its hot air balloons, slides, live foxes and sheep and hi-tech learning tools based around the surreal tale of a golden-haired boy who lives on a planet a little larger than himself. "Our ...

Research may Reveal What Happens in Female Brains During Mating

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In the emCurrent Biology/em study, researchers have found that a small group of neurons in the abdominal nerve cord and reproductive tract-called Abdominal-B neurons-is necessary for the female to pause her movement and interact with a courting male. The study was led by Dr. Leslie Vosshall of The Rockefeller University in New York City and her team. When the neurons are inactivated, the female ignores the male and keeps moving, but when the neurons are activated, ...

For Studying Genetics, Flies are a Useful Scientific Tool

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Mating is a complicated ritual, even among flies. Their elaborate courtship dance combines multiple motor skills with advanced sensory cues. Remarkably this behavior is entirely innate. Now, researchers at Rockefeller University have determined that the Abdominal-B (Abd-B) gene, previously known as the gene that sculpts the posterior parts of the developing fly, is also important for this complex behavior, at least in the case of female flies (iDrosophila melanogaster/i). ...

High-Quality Translations Required to Solve the Issues of Chinese Medicine

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Today, millions of people in the West utilize traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, massage, herbs and nutritional therapies. Yet only a few U.S. schools that teach Chinese medicine require Chinese-language training and only a handful of Chinese medical texts have so far been translated into English. Given the complexity of the language and concepts in these texts, there is a need for accurate, high-quality translations, say researchers at UCLA's ...