ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Monday, November 21, 2011

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Monday, November 21, 2011

Welcome to another edition of ScienceDaily's email newsletter. You can change your subscription options or unsubscribe at any time.

What bacteria don't know can hurt them (November 20, 2011) -- Bacteria enter a self-protective mode when they sense nutrients are low. Starving bacteria resist killing by nearly every antibiotic, even ones they have never been exposed to before. By keeping bacteria that have congregated into a biofilm from warning each other of nutrient shortages, scientists increased the infection-fighting effectiveness of currently available antibiotics. ... > full story

Genetic rearrangements drive 5 to 7 percent of breast cancers (November 20, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered two cancer-spurring gene rearrangements that may trigger 5 to 7 percent of all breast cancers. ... > full story

Nano-technoloogy makes medicine greener (November 20, 2011) -- Scientists in Denmark are working on a new method that will make it possible to develop drugs faster and greener. Their research promises cheaper medicine for consumers. ... > full story

Finnish researchers discover regulator of human cell activity (November 20, 2011) -- Researchers in Finland have discovered that the SHARPIN protein regulates human cell activity. ... > full story

Social media has role in delivery of healthcare but patients should proceed with caution, experts say (November 20, 2011) -- Social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube can be powerful platforms to deliver and receive healthcare information, especially for patients and caregivers who are increasingly going online to connect and share experiences with others with similar medical issues or concerns. However, experts say these sites may lack patient-centered information and can also be sources of misleading information that could potentially do more harm than good, according to the results of two separate social media-related studies unveiled today. ... > full story

Protection from severe malaria explained (November 19, 2011) -- Why do people with a hereditary mutation of the red blood pigment hemoglobin (as is the case with sickle-cell anemia prevalent in Africa) not contract severe malaria? Scientists have now solved this mystery. ... > full story

New tool saves time, reduces risk of mistakes in diabetes care (November 19, 2011) -- In the fast-paced world of health care, doctors are often pressed for time during patient visits. Researchers have now developed a tool that allows doctors to view electronic information about patients' health conditions related to diabetes on a single computer screen. A new study shows that this tool, the diabetes dashboard, saves time, improves accuracy and enhances patient care. ... > full story

Paving the way for better prevention and management of delirium (November 19, 2011) -- Important clues to the prevention and management of delirium, a condition affecting an estimated seven million hospitalized Americans, are being ignored, according to a new study. ... > full story

Unraveling how a mutation can lead to psychiatric illness (November 18, 2011) -- A new study demonstrates how DISC1 variants impair signaling pathways and disrupt brain development. ... > full story

'Silent' stroke risk factors for children with sickle cell anemia (November 18, 2011) -- Factors such as low hemoglobin levels, increased systolic blood pressure, and male gender are linked to a higher risk of silent cerebral infarcts, or silent strokes, in children with sickle cell anemia, according to results from a large, first-of-its-kind study. ... > full story

Nanoparticles used as additives in diesel fuels can travel from lungs to liver (November 18, 2011) -- Recent studies have demonstrated that nanoparticles of cerium oxide -- common diesel fuel additives used to increase the fuel efficiency of automobile engines -- can travel from the lungs to the liver and that this process is associated with liver damage. ... > full story

Job market for college grads braced for slow but steady growth (November 18, 2011) -- After last year's rollercoaster ride, the job market for college graduates has settled down and appears braced for slow but steady growth, according to a new study. ... > full story

New 'smart' material could help tap medical potential of tissue-penetrating light (November 18, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting development and successful initial testing of the first practical "smart" material that may supply the missing link in efforts to use in medicine a form of light that can penetrate four inches into the human body. The new polymer or plastic-like material has potential for use in diagnosing diseases and engineer new human tissues in the lab. ... > full story

How Legionnaires' bacteria proliferate, cause disease (November 18, 2011) -- Scientist have determined for the first time how the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' disease manipulates our cells to generate the amino acids it needs to grow and cause infection and inflammation in the lungs. ... > full story

Panel of melanoma mutations opens door to new treatment possibilities (November 18, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a new genetic screening tool that will aid in the investigation of possible treatments for patients with melanoma and the unique genetic mutations that may accompany the disease, according to new research. ... > full story

Rehabilitating vacant lots improves urban health and safety (November 18, 2011) -- Greening of vacant urban land may affect the health and safety of nearby residents. In a decade-long comparison of vacant lots and improved vacant lots, greening was linked to significant reductions in gun assaults across most of Philadelphia and significant reductions in vandalism in one section of the city. Vacant lot greening was also associated with residents in certain sections of the city reporting significantly less stress and more exercise. ... > full story

Treatment for juvenile offenders shows shows positive results 22 years later (November 18, 2011) -- A researcher, developed a treatment for juvenile offenders that has become one of the most widely used evidence-based treatments in the world. Now, he has found that the treatment continues to have positive effects on former participants more than 20 years after treatment. ... > full story

How heart attack can lead to heart rupture (November 18, 2011) -- A new study pinpoints a single protein as the key player in the biochemical cascade that leads to cardiac rupture. The findings suggest that blocking the action of this protein, known as CaM kinase, may help prevent cardiac rupture and reduce the risk of death. ... > full story

Heart disease treatment: A new stent design may put patients at risk (November 18, 2011) -- Some stents that keep blood vessels open to treat heart disease are poorly designed to resist shortening, according to new research. ... > full story

Training in 'concrete thinking' can be self-help treatment for depression, study suggests (November 18, 2011) -- Research provides the first evidence that depression can be treated by only targeting an individual's style of thinking through repeated mental exercises in an approach called cognitive bias modification. The study suggests an innovative psychological treatment called 'concreteness training' can reduce depression in just two months and could work as a self-help therapy for depression in primary care. ... > full story

A new technique makes it possible to reduce by half the amount of salt in already desalted cod (November 18, 2011) -- Researchers have achieved a 50% reduction in the amount of salt in already desalted cod, thus obtaining a final product that preserves all its sensory properties and is particularly suitable for persons with hypertension. ... > full story

New class of antimalarial compounds discovered (November 17, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered a family of chemical compounds that could lead to a new generation of antimalarial drugs capable of not only alleviating symptoms but also preventing the deadly disease. ... > full story

Discovery may help fight late-stage ovarian cancer (November 17, 2011) -- A potential breakthrough in treating late-stage ovarian cancer has come from researchers who have discovered a peptide that shrinks advanced tumors and improves survival rates for this deadly but often undetected disease. ... > full story

Predicting how individuals differ from their genome sequences (November 17, 2011) -- Researchers have predicted how individuals vary from the complete sequences of their genomes, using yeast as a model. The study has important implications for personalized medicine. The authors show that when we have a good understanding of the genes important for a process, it is possible to make accurate predictions about the biology of individuals. ... > full story

Future-Directed Therapy helps depression patients cultivate optimistic outlook (November 17, 2011) -- Patients with major depression do better by learning to create a more positive outlook about the future, rather than by focusing on negative thoughts about their past experiences, researchers say after developing a new treatment that helps patients do this. ... > full story

Molecules on branched-polymer surfaces can capture rare tumor cells in blood (November 17, 2011) -- The removal of rare tumor cells circulating in the blood might be possible with the use of biomolecules bound to dendrimers, highly branched synthetic polymers, which could efficiently sift and capture the diseased cells, according to new research. ... > full story

The fat-burning zone: News on burning fat (November 17, 2011) -- Obesity-related diseases are an increasing health problem. Researchers have now uncovered a central component of fat metabolism. ... > full story

Brain study reveals how successful students overcome math anxiety (November 17, 2011) -- Using brain-imaging technology for the first time with people experiencing mathematics anxiety, scientists have gained new insights into how some students are able to overcome their fears and succeed in math. For the highly math anxious, researchers found a strong link between math success and activity in a network of brain areas in the frontal and parietal lobes involved in controlling attention and regulating negative emotional reactions. ... > full story

Cancer's sweet tooth may be its weak link (November 17, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered that cancer cells tap into a natural recycling system to obtain the energy they need to keep dividing. In a study with potential implications for cancer treatments, researchers used genetic manipulation to turn off this recycling system within the walls of cells and stop both tumor growth and metastasis (cancer spread). ... > full story

Neurological and executive function impairment associated with breast cancer (November 17, 2011) -- Women who survive breast cancer show significant neurological impairment, and outcomes appear to be significantly poorer for those treated with chemotherapy, according to a new report. ... > full story

Serotonin system in women's brains is damaged more readily by alcohol than that in men’s brains, study finds (November 17, 2011) -- After only four years of problem drinking, a significant decrease in the function of the serotonin system in women’s brains can be seen. This is the system that regulates such functions as impulse control and mood. It takes 12 years before a corresponding decrease is seen in men. ... > full story

Alcohol consumption by adolescents may increase breast cancer risk in those with a family history of the disease (November 17, 2011) -- Breast cancer patients often wonder what their daughters might do to reduce their risk of also developing cancer. Are there dietary intakes or behaviors that can be modified by their daughters to lower their own chances of getting the disease? A new study sought information relevant to this question. ... > full story

Vascular risk linked to long-term antiepileptic drug therapy (November 17, 2011) -- New research reveals that patients with epilepsy who were treated for extended periods with older generation antiepileptic drugs may be at increased risk for developing atherosclerosis, a common disorder known as hardening of the arteries. According to the findings, the vascular risk is significantly associated with the duration of AED monotherapy. ... > full story

U.S. population on track to getting even fatter (November 17, 2011) -- In 2020, the vast majority of adults in America will be overweight or obese and more than half will suffer from diabetes or pre-diabetic conditions, according to new projections. ... > full story

New drug combo targets multiple cancers: Sugar molecule primes cancer cells for early death from second compound (November 17, 2011) -- Researchers say a novel combination of a specific sugar molecule with a pair of cell-killing drugs prompts a wide variety of cancer cell types to kill themselves, a process called apoptosis or programmed cell death. ... > full story

Chimps play like humans: Playful behavior of young chimps develops like that of children (November 17, 2011) -- Playful behavior is widespread in mammals, and has important developmental consequences. A recent study of young chimpanzees shows that these animals play and develop much the same way as human children. The work can therefore also shed light on the role of human play behavior. ... > full story

Fleas collected from Norway rats in downtown Los Angeles carry human pathogen (November 17, 2011) -- Most fleas collected from rats trapped in downtown Los Angeles, California carried microbes from the genus Bartonella, many of which are human pathogens, according to a new study. ... > full story

Everybody can become a better a reader, Swedish research suggests (November 17, 2011) -- Students with cognitive impairments may learn to comprehend written texts much better than commonly thought, according to researchers in Sweden. ... > full story

Stop signal discovered for skin cancer (November 17, 2011) -- An extraordinary breakthrough in understanding what stops a common form of skin cancer from developing could make new cancer treatments and prevention available to the public in five years. ... > full story

External capsule protects gum disease-causing bacteria from immune response (November 17, 2011) -- The capsule of Porphyromonas gingivalis, the bacterium that causes gum disease, provides stealth, boosting the bacterium's virulence, according to new study. Call it a sugar coating, if you will, for in fact, the capsule is made from sugar molecules, which do not ordinarily elicit immunity. Thus it hides the bacterium's proteins within, preventing immune response. ... > full story

Poor sleep habits linked to increased risk of fibromyalgia in women (November 17, 2011) -- Researchers from Norway have uncovered an association between sleep problems and increased risk of fibromyalgia in women. The risk of fibromyalgia increased with severity of sleep problems, and the association was stronger among middle-aged and older women than among younger women. ... > full story

Stem cell researchers uncover mechanism that regulates human pluripotent stem cell metabolism (November 17, 2011) -- Human pluripotent stem cells, which can develop into any cell type in the body, rely heavily on glycolysis, or sugar fermentation, to drive their metabolic activities. ... > full story

Increasing dosage of clopidogrel for patients with genetic variation improves response to medication (November 17, 2011) -- Among patients with stable cardiovascular disease who have a genetic variation that diminishes the response to the antiplatelet drug clopidogrel, tripling the standard daily dosage of this medication resulted in improved platelet reactivity, according to a new study. ... > full story

Gene impedes recovery from alcoholism, Swedish research finds (November 17, 2011) -- People who are alcohol-dependent and who also carry a particular variant of a gene run an increased risk of premature death, according to research from Sweden. ... > full story

Researchers uncover steps in synapse building, pruning (November 17, 2011) -- The brain is constantly building networks of synapses, while pruning out redundant or unneeded synapses. Researchers have discovered a factor in synapse-building, also showing that the building and pruning processes occur independent of each other. ... > full story

Mycophenolate is superior to azathioprine as treatment for lupus nephritis, study finds (November 17, 2011) -- A new large, international study finds that the immunosuppressant drug mycophenolate mofetil is superior to azathioprine, an older immunosuppressant, as a maintenance therapy for lupus nephritis. ... > full story

Telephone-based therapy and exercise appear effective for reducing chronic widespread pain (November 17, 2011) -- Telephone-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy and an exercise program, both separately and combined, are associated with short-term positive outcomes for patients with chronic widespread pain, and may offer benefits for patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia, according to a new report. ... > full story

Even the cleanest wastewater contributes to more 'super bacteria', study finds (November 16, 2011) -- A new study reveals that the release of treated municipal wastewater -- even wastewater treated by the highest-quality treatment technology -- can have a significant effect on the quantities of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, often referred to as "superbacteria," in surface waters. ... > full story