ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Saturday, November 26, 2011

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Saturday, November 26, 2011

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Worms reveal secrets of wound-healing response (November 25, 2011) -- The lowly and simple roundworm may be the ideal laboratory model to learn more about the complex processes involved in repairing wounds and could eventually allow scientists to improve the body's response to healing skin wounds, a serious problem in diabetics and the elderly. ... > full story

Discovery of a new muscle repair gene (November 25, 2011) -- Scientists have presented new findings regarding the function of muscle stem cells. Researchers investigated several families with children suffering from a progressive muscle disease. Using a genetic analysis technique known as "next generation sequencing" the scientists identified a defective gene called MEGF10 responsible for the muscle weakness. ... > full story

Body mass index associated with short-term mortality rates following surgery (November 25, 2011) -- Body Mass Index appears to be associated with 30-day mortality risk following surgical procedures, and patients with a BMI of less than 23.1 appear to be at highest risk of death, according to a new study. ... > full story

Human development experts recommend tuning in to family, not devices (November 25, 2011) -- Human development specialists say powering down digital devices is a vital step in maintaining family relationships and health. ... > full story

Scientists turn on fountain of youth in yeast (November 25, 2011) -- Researchers have successfully manipulated the life span of common, single-celled yeast organisms by figuring out how to remove and restore protein functions related to yeast aging. ... > full story

The ABCC9 of sleep: A genetic factor regulates how long we sleep (November 25, 2011) -- Researchers have shown that ABCC9, a known genetic factor in heart disease and diabetes, also influences the duration of sleep in humans. This function is evolutionarily conserved as knock-out of the gene reduces the duration of nocturnal sleep in fruitflies. ... > full story

Researchers decode a puzzling movement disorder (November 25, 2011) -- Neurodegenerative diseases represent one of the greatest challenges of our aging society. However, investigation into these diseases is made particularly difficult due to the limited availability of human brain tissue. Scientists have now taken a roundabout path: They reprogrammed skin cells from patients with a hereditary movement disorder into so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and obtained functional nerve cells from them. They subsequently decoded how the disease arises. ... > full story

Abnormal levels of caffeine in water indicate human contamination (November 25, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered that traces of caffeine are a useful indicator of the contamination of our water by sewers. ... > full story

Celiac patients face potential hazard as information on cosmetic ingredients difficult to find (November 25, 2011) -- The lack of readily available information about cosmetic ingredients may cause patients with celiac disease who use lip, facial or body products to unknowingly expose themselves to gluten -- an ingredient they need to avoid, according to the results of a new study. ... > full story

Key to aging? Key molecular switch for telomere extension by telomerase identified (November 24, 2011) -- Researchers have described for the first time a key target of DNA damage checkpoint enzymes that must be chemically modified to enable stable maintenance of chromosome ends by telomerase, an enzyme thought to play a key role in cancer and aging. ... > full story

Treatment of acne using oral antibiotics associated with reporting symptoms of sore throat (November 24, 2011) -- Taking oral antibiotics for treatment of acne appears to be associated with reporting symptoms of pharyngitis, according to a new study. ... > full story

Happy, feel-good holiday seasons start with healthy choices at Thanksgiving, nutrition experts say (November 24, 2011) -- While most people only gain about a pound of weight during the holiday season, that pound may never come off, increasing the likelihood of becoming overweight or obese and the risk of related health problems, according to a recent study. Dietitians recommend families maintain healthy diet and exercise habits during the holiday season beginning with Thanksgiving. ... > full story