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Technology Boost: Mobile Apps Help Doctors Treat Patients Using Smartphones

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Medical apps on mobile phones allow doctors to diagnose their patients through text messages or video-chat on smartphones. One of the most downloaded apps, HealthTap, was best known for its question-and-answer website, where users can ask a pool of thousands of doctors medical questions and for 99 dollars a month, users could also video chat with doctors, CBS News reported. Holly Phillips said that even though the doctor would see people, or they could ...

India on Alert for Deadly Ebola Virus

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The Indian government opened an emergency helpline on Saturday and put the country's airports on alert as part of measures to tackle any outbreak of the deadly Ebola epidemic. India has nearly 45,000 nationals living in the four Ebola-affected West African nations and health officials said there was a possibility of some of them returning to their home country if the outbreak worsens. The illness was declared an international health emergency by the ...

Survey Finds 80 % of Saudis Blame 'Flirtatious Behavior' by Women for Sexual Harassment

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Around 80 percent of people blame the rising incidents of sexual harassment in Saudi Arabia on the "deliberate flirtatious behavior" of women, a new survey has found. The judgment was however dismissed by feminist advocates in both countries as age-old reactions to changing social behaviour and a tendency in conservative cultures to accuse the victim of provoking her mistreatment, Gulf News reports. The survey that was conducted in Saudi Arabia by the ...

Disney Stories to Have 'Feel Effect'

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Disney researchers have developed a "feel effect" vocabulary that will tell stories with sense of touch. The researchers from Disney worked with human participants and a Carnegie Mellon University psychologist to establish a library of 40 feel effects matched to the descriptions that designers without a deep background in haptic effects could readily understand. Ali Israr, senior research engineer at Disney Research Pittsburgh, said that currently there ...

Super Saturday at Salzburg Festival

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An eagerly awaited new production of Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore" will be the highlight of the struggling Salzburg Festival. Featuring the world-famous Placido Domingo, now more a baritone than tenor at 73, and Russian soprano sensation Anna Netrebko, demand for the premiere outstripped supply five times over. Directed by Alvis Hermanis, conducted by Daniele Gatti and also starring Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, five further showings over the ...

Argentines Question Past Following the Finding of Stolen Grandson

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Many people in Argentina have started questioning their identity following the revelation of the story of the Argentine activist who found her grandson 36 years after he was taken by the military regime. The scenes of 83-year-old Estela Carlotto hugging her long-lost grandson for the first time warmed hearts across Argentina this week, but also prompted new soul searching in a country still looking for nearly 400 other babies taken from political prisoners during ...

Here are the Best Friends Who Gave Birth on Same Day Twice

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Media reports indicate that two women from Scarborough in the UK, Claire Ottaway and Michelle Noble, gave birth to their daughters on same day for the second time. Earlier, both Claire and Michelle had delivered their sons, Ben and Henry in March 2012 which was later followed by the birth of their daughters on the same day in July, 2014, the Daily Express reported. Ottaway, who already has a 5-year-old kid, said that she was delighted to share this whole ...

Spanish Nun Does Not Have Ebola

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Blood tests showed no sign of Ebola in a nun who was evacuated from Liberia, Spanish doctors have confirmed. The Spanish nun, 65-year-old Juliana Bonoha Bohe, was flown to Madrid on Thursday along with 75-year-old Roman Catholic priest Miguel Pajares, who contracted Ebola while helping hospital patients in the Liberian capital Monrovia. The nun had been cleared of Ebola before leaving Liberia but doctors at Madrid's La Paz-Carlos III hospital repeated ...

Drones can be Powered by New Human Brain-Like Computer Chip

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A computer chip inspired by the human brain to power unmanned aircraft or robotic ground systems has been created by Pentagon researchers. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has created a breakthrough technology for national security by developing a chip with over 5 billion transistors and more than 250 million "synapses" that mimic the connections between neurons in the brain, which requires only a fraction of electricity needed by other chips, the Washington ...

Eating at Fast Food Joints Triggers Spike in Calorie Intake

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Adults who eat at both fast food and full-service restaurants have a increased chance of calories, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium intake, a new study has shown. Binh T. Nguyen of the American Cancer Society and Lisa M. Powell of the University of Illinois at Chicago said that the United States was one of the most obese nations in the world, with more than one in three adult men and women in defined as obese. Nguyen further said that just as obesity ...

Low Uptake of Colorectal Cancer Screening by African-Americans Highlighted in Study

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African Americans' participation in colorectal cancer screening is low, researchers in California have revealed. Furthermore, the use of colonoscopy is infrequent despite similar access to care across races in a Veterans Affairs healthcare system. The researchers also found that having established primary care at the time of screening eligibility significantly increased screening uptake. The study appears in the August issue of iGastrointestinal Endoscopy/i, ...

Potential ALS Treatment Avenue Identified by HSCI Researchers

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A major step forward in the quest to develop real treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease has come to fruition. The report is a culmination of a series of studies begun by Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) scientists eight years ago. The findings by Harvard professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (HSCRB) Kevin Eggan and colleagues also has produced functionally identical results in human motor neurons in a laboratory dish ...

Dangers Posed by Mercury in the Global Ocean

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The dangers mercury poses to humans and the environment persist today even though the days of odd behavior among hat makers are a thing of the past. Mercury is a naturally occurring element as well as a by-product of such distinctly human enterprises as burning coal and making cement. Estimates of "bioavailable" mercury-forms of the element that can be taken up by animals and humans-play an important role in everything from drafting an international treaty designed ...

What is the Best Way to Spot a Narcissist?

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A new method that could help identify a narcissistic person with just one simple question has been identified by scientists. The researchers found that they could reliably identify narcissistic people by asking them the exact question (including the note) - to what extent do you agree with this statement: "I am a narcissist." (Note: The word 'narcissist' means egotistical, self-focused, and vain.) And people rated themselves on a scale of 1 (not very true of me) ...

Being Stress Free may Help You Get Clearer Skin: Study

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Stress may be associated with inflammatory skin conditions, such as acne, psoriasis and rosacea, says new study. Richard D. Granstein said that nearly everyone has some form of stress in their life, so it's difficult to determine whether stress can actually make the skin's appearance worse and it's been known for a long time that the nervous system, which processes our stress, has an impact on conditions such as psoriasis. He said that research linking ...

E-Cigarette Claims an Elderly Man's Life After Triggering Oxygen Machine Explosion

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A 62-year old British man reportedly died after his E-Cigarette exploded and ignited a home oxygen machine. David Thomson's body was found in the living room of a property in Penkett Road, Wallasey, Merseyside, Sky News reported. According to the investigations e-cigarette that had been charging caught fire and ignited an oxygen concentrator, which may have been in use by the man. Area manager Myles Platt, from MFRS, said that he requested ...

Cooler Bedroom Boosts Metabolism

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Sleeping in a room that has cooler temperatures can help boost people's metabolism, a new study reveals. Researchers have found that cool temperatures could stimulate the growth of brown fat, a special kind of fat that burns energy, in people's body, which might boost their metabolic health and might protect against obesity and diabetes, the Huffington Post reported. Dr. Paul Lee, an endocrinologist at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, ...

LGBT Community Organizes Film Festival in Guwahati

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The LGBT community in Guwahati, Assam, is organizing a three-day film festival in the city to raise awareness about the community in the north east. Organizing the film festival is a gesture for a get together of all LGBT people, their well wishers and also to express their thoughts in the society in this platform. Bitupi Dutta, an organizer and activist, said, "The LGBT issues are still stigmatized in the North East but it is not like there is not ...

Pistorius Trial Acting as Study Material in South African Classrooms

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While the murder trial of South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius has generated immense interest around the globe, with the trial being broadcasted live on television, it is being used as a study material in South African classrooms. When Faith Kholofelo took her exams in June she faced a question about the trial -- one of many students being taught legal principles through the courtroom lens. While adults have been quick to judge the innocence or guilt ...

Ebola Survivors in Guinea Afraid of Being Labeled as Freaks

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Survivors of the Ebola virus, such as 'Old Diallo' who walked out of a Guinean isolation center three weeks after fighting off the infection, are going through mixed emotions, delighted with their recovery but afraid of being labeled as a freak by others. "God is great!" he tells AFP as he waits for relatives in the hospital entrance. He is glad to be alive and on his feet, but the frail man in his 60s carries a deep sadness, having lost his brother ...

Did You Know Eating Out Means An Increase Of 200 Calories Per Day?

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A recent study showed that individuals who choose to eat out consume approximately 200 calories more each day, as compared to individuals who consume home-cooked food. With the rising rate of obesity, Americans have also been resorting to eating out, mostly consuming fast food, whereby they take in more saturated fats, sugars and salts. The study by Binh T Nguyen of the American Cancer Society and Lisa M Powell of the University of Illinois ...

Precautions Against Deadly Ebola Outbreak Adopted Across the Globe

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Even as the WHO issued a global alert on Friday, the world was already on the lookout for Ebola victims with nurses taking nervous passengers' temperatures at airports and isolation wards standing eerily empty waiting to receive anyone showing symptoms. Concern is highest in west African countries neighbouring those worst-affected by the outbreak that has killed nearly 1,000 people -- Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. In Nigeria, which has so far avoided ...

Microtubule-Based Strategy may Promote Nerve Regeneration After Injury

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Damaged axons have the capacity to regenerate after injury, but the regenerative capacity of the axon, particularly axons of the central nervous system, is quite limited. This is because the damaged axons tend to retract, because they encounter obstacles such as scar tissue and inhibitory molecules, and because their growth rates simply do not match those of a juvenile axon. Prof. Peter W. Baas from Drexel University, USA focus on microtubules as among the most ...

US Doctor Diagnosed With Ebola Says He is Growing Stronger Every Day

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A US doctor who contracted the Ebola virus while working in Liberia revealed that he is growing stronger two weeks after being diagnosed with the infection. "I am growing stronger every day, and I thank God for His mercy as I have wrestled with this terrible disease," Kent Brantly, 33, wrote in a letter posted online by the Christian aid group for which he worked, Samaritan's Purse. Brantly said he was writing from his isolation unit at Emory University ...

Human Anxiety Drug Reduces Fish Mortality

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A drug that is used to treat anxiety in humans and which regularly finds its way into surface waters through wastewater effluence has been shown to reduce fish mortality rates. The results, which have been published on 8 August, in IOP Publishing's journal emEnvironmental Research Letters/em, may have significant implications for existing standard ecotoxicological tests, which predominantly focus on harmful effects of water contaminants and ignore the potential ...

US to Send Extra Personnel and Resources to Help Nigeria Overcome Ebola Outbreak

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With Nigeria becoming the latest victim of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, health authorities in the US have quickly swung into action, confirming that they will be sending extra personnel and resources to help the country deal with the outbreak. "We are starting to ramp up our staffing in Lagos," US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman Tom Skinner told AFP. "We are really concerned about Lagos and the potential for spread there, given ...

Effectiveness of HIV Vaccine Influenced by Individual Genotype

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Official statistics indicate that almost 40 million people worldwide live with HIV/AIDS. Despite great effort, HIV-1 vaccine development has been challenging. A recent HIV vaccine trial, known as RV144, revealed that a combination of 2 vaccines protected some individuals from HIV infection. Individuals in the trial that made antibodies that bound to a specific region of the HIV envelope protein had a decreased risk of HIV infection. A new study in the ...

Researchers Develop New Treatment for the Mal De Debarquement Syndrome

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People who suffer from Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS) - a rare illness, now have a chance for full recovery. Thanks to treatment developed by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Their findings were published online in the July issue of iFrontiers in Neurology/i. People often feel a sensation of movement, called Mal de Debarquement, after they have finished boating, surfing or a sea voyage. The symptoms usually disappear within ...

Research Indicates Improving Lymphatic Function Protects Mice from Experimental Colitis

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It is widely known that chronic inflammatory bowel disease can be painful and debilitating. Both genetics and environment are thought to promote disease, but it is not fully understood how chronic IBD develops. Emerging evidence indicates that IBD is associated with an increase in lymphatic vasculature, which transports lymph throughput the body. It is not clear if these lymphatic vessels promote or improve IBD. A new study in the iJournal of Clinical ...

Orally Delivered Compounds Selectively Modify RNA Splicing: Study

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The results of a preclinical study demonstrates that treatment with orally available RNA splicing modifiers of the SMN2 gene starting early after birth is preventing deficits in a mouse model of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). The study got published in the journal iScience/i. Scientists from Roche Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED), PTC Therapeutics, Inc., the SMA Foundation, the University of Southern California and Harvard University collaborated ...

Tumor Genetic Analysis Reveals New Way of Classifying Cancer

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Researchers with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network have completed the most diverse tumor genetic analysis ever conducted, revealing a new way to classify cancers. The work, led by researchers at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and other TCGA sites, not only revamps traditional ideas of how cancers are diagnosed and treated, but could also have a profound impact on the future landscape ...

Gut Microbes Browse Along a Gene Buffet: Study

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In the dark, moist microbial forest of the intestine, many species of microorganisms interact with each other and with the cells of the host animal to get the resources they need to survive and thrive. Though there's a lot of competition in this vibrant ecosystem, collaboration is valued too. A new study on the crosstalk between microbes and cells lining the gut of mice shows just how cooperative this environment can be. One of the main ways that hosts ...

Elderly With Depression, MCI More Vulnerable to Accelerated Brain Aging

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After age 65, people who develop depression and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are more likely to have biological and brain imaging markers that reflect a greater vulnerability for accelerated brain aging. This is according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings were published online in iMolecular Psychiatry/i. Older adults with major depression have double the risk of developing dementia in the ...

'Ebola Outbreak Dramatic but Containable,' Say Experts as They Warn Against Overreaction

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Health experts have said that while the current Ebola outbreak is deadly, it is a containable disease and warned that anxiety and overreaction by the public and the media may do more harm than good. Images of doctors in protective suits, goggles and masks transporting victims of the deadly haemorrhagic fever in plastic capsules strike fear into the hearts of many, as headlines warn of an epidemic "out of control". Media keep close tabs of each new suspected ...

Link Between Obesity and Lead Exposure Uncovered

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Researchers at University of Michigan have uncovered a link between exposure to lead and increased risk of obesity. Even at low levels, lead is associated with obesity in mice whose mothers were exposed to the chemical, researchers at the U-M School of Public Health found. Specifically male mice exposed to lead had an 8-10 percent increase in weight. "The data support the obesogen hypothesis that toxicant exposures in the womb contribute to the higher ...

Study Reveals New Powerful System for Classifying Tumors

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Cancers are classified primarily on the basis of where the disease originates in the body, as in breast cancer or lung cancer. According to a new study, however, one in ten cancer patients would be classified differently using a new classification system based on molecular subtypes instead of the current tissue-of-origin system. This reclassification could lead to different therapeutic options for those patients, scientists reported in a paper published August ...

Cancer Study Proposes 'Disruptive' New System to Reclassify Tumors

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Revealing a new approach to classifying cancers, researchers with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) have analyzed more than 3500 tumors on multiple genomic technology platforms. This largest-of-its-kind study, published online August 7th in emCell/em featured major contributions by Buck faculty Christopher Benz, MD and Senior Staff Scientist Christina Yau, PhD. TCGA scientists analyzed the DNA, RNA and protein from 12 different tumor types using six ...

Taking the Lead from Bacteria to Selectively Kill Off HPV Cancer Cells

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Researchers at Duke University have made use of a genome editing tool known as CRISPR and have utilized a defense system normally used by bacteria in fighting off viral infections to selectively destroy two viral genes that are responsible for the growth and survival of cervical carcinoma cells, thereby causing the human papillomavirus (HPV) cancer cells to self destruct. The findings, appearing online August 7 in the iJournal of Virology/i, give credence to ...

Moscow Cheese Seller Hit Hard by Sanctions

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The embargo on importing cheese in Moscow is hurting many businesses. "Nobody saw this coming" says Alexander Krupetskov, a young Muscovite who recently opened his high-end cheese shop on a quiet street in the capital's city centre. His "Cheese Sommelier", a small boutique packed with premium European cheeses, has been in business for only two months. The shop's two refrigerated cases are lined with little rounds of French camembert, big ...

Research Finds Key Piece to Cancer Cell Survival Puzzle

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An international team has solved a key mystery in cancer research: What allows some malignant cells to circumvent the normal process of cell death that occurs when chromosomes get too old to maintain themselves properly? The team was led by Eric A. Hendrickson of the University of Minnesota and Duncan Baird of Cardiff University. Researchers have long known that chromosomal defects that occur as cells repeatedly divide over time are linked to the onset of cancer. ...

Spotlight on Toilets at Prague's New Museum of Relief

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A museum in Prague has opened a new display which features various types of toilets, bedpans and other items necessary to answer nature's calls. Rows of toilet paper, bathroom vessels of all types, shapes and sizes and cistern pulls made of china, wood and brass are the stars of the show at this museum of relief in the Czech capital. "We bought a 10th-century fortress near Prague and discovered a historic toilet there," says Jan Sedlacek, a 59-year-old ...

Nigeria Follows Liberia in Declaring National Emergency Over Ebola Outbreak

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Notch Developmental Pathway Involved in Fear Memory Formation

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Nature is thrifty, the same signals that embryonic cells use to decide whether to become nerves, skin or bone come into play again when adult animals are learning whether to be afraid. Researchers at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have learned that the molecule Notch, critical in many processes during embryonic development, is also involved in fear memory formation. Understanding fear memory formation is critical to developing more effective ...

Exposure to Natural Light Leads to Better Sleep and Quality of Life Among Employees

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A joint study carried out by researchers at Northwestern Medicine and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has found that providing more light exposure to employees at the office leads to longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, more physical activity and better quality of life. The study highlights the importance of exposure to natural light to employee health and the priority architectural designs of office environments should place on natural daylight ...

Is Gut Microbiome a Potential Cause and Therapeutic Target for Multiple Sclerosis?

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Various risk factors are believed to contribute to the development of autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis. And new research is focusing on the role that bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract as well as other cell stress-related chemical signals could have in stimulating inflammation in the central nervous system and activating immunostimulatory cytokines. Two comprehensive Review articles are part of a focus on "Cytokines in Neuroinflammation ...

Italian Judge Says He Needs More Time to Decide on Tricky Custodial Case

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An Italian judge said that he needs more time to decide on who are the parents of the IVF twins, whose embryo was implanted into the wrong mother. In a case which has gripped the country, two couples are fighting for the custody of the babies born on Sunday whose fertilised embryoes were mixed up in a Rome hospital. The families have very similar names, sharing five of seven letters, according to La Repubblica newspaper. The mother who carried ...

Women Showing 'Masculine Qualities' More Likely to Work in Male-Dominated Fields

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American researchers have found that women who displayed 'masculine qualities' were more likely to get hired in male-dominated fields. In a laboratory experiment by Michigan State University scholars, women who described themselves using masculine-like traits (assertive, independent, achievement oriented) were evaluated as more fitting for the job than those who emphasized female-like traits (warmth, supportiveness, nurturing). The findings refute the ...

Social Media can Harm Mental Health

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Social media like Twitter and Facebook can be harmful to one's mental health, suggests study. A 31-year-old woman was looked for the "Twitter psychosis" case after she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Berlin after a mental breakdown, Metro.co.uk reported. According to the doctors the woman spent several hours a day reading and writing messages, neglecting her social relationships and even skipped her meals and regular sleeping hours. The ...

UN Says Ebola Vaccine to Trial Next Month, may be Ready by 2015

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The World Health Organization said clinical trials of a preventative vaccine for the Ebola virus made by British pharma company GlaxoSmithKline may begin next month and made available by 2015. "We are targeting September for the start of clinical trials, first in the United States and certainly in African countries, since that's where we have the cases," Jean-Marie Okwo Bele, the WHO's head of vaccines and immunisation, told French radio. He said he ...

Brits Use Technology Devices More Than They Sleep

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A new survey has found that Britons, on an average, sleep for less time than that spent on using technology. According to Ofcom, adults spend an average of eight hours and 41 minutes a day on media devices, compared with the average night's sleep of eight hours and 21 minutes, the BBC reported. The study has revealed that almost four hours a day are spent watching TV and 50 percent of the average waking day is spent on media or communication activity ...

Smartphone App Helps Diagnose Anemia from Selfies

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Selfies may now be used as a simple and effortlessly accessible tool to detect anaemia, thanks to the efforts of two medicine students of iMonash University/i. Jarrel Seah and Jennifer Tang have created Eyenaemia, a smartphone app that helps diagnose Anemia from selfies. Sources said that the app won Microsoft's 2014 Imagine World Cup and its developers werelikely to get a private meeting with none other than Bill Gates. The traditional ...