ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Wednesday, March 28, 2012

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Wednesday, March 28, 2012

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Bacteria use chat to play the 'prisoner's dilemma' game in deciding their fate (March 27, 2012) -- When faced with life-or-death situations, bacteria -- and maybe even human cells -- use an extremely sophisticated version of "game theory" to consider their options and decide upon the best course of action. Scientists said microbes "play" a version of the classic "Prisoner's Dilemma" game. ... > full story

New gene therapy approach developed for red blood cell disorders (March 27, 2012) -- Scientists have designed what appears to be a powerful gene therapy strategy that can treat both beta-thalassemia disease and sickle cell anemia. They have also developed a test to predict patient response before treatment. ... > full story

Hot pepper compound could help hearts (March 27, 2012) -- The food that inspires wariness is on course for inspiring even more wonder from a medical standpoint as scientists have reported the latest evidence that chili peppers are a heart-healthy food with potential to protect against the No. 1 cause of death in the developed world. ... > full story

Blocking 'oh-glick-nack' may improve long-term memory (March 27, 2012) -- Just as the familiar sugar in food can be bad for the teeth and waistline, another sugar has been implicated as a health menace and blocking its action may have benefits that include improving long-term memory in older people and treating cancer. Progress has been made toward finding such a blocker for the sugar — with the appropriately malicious-sounding name “oh-glick-nack.” ... > full story

Capsule for removing radioactive contamination from milk, fruit juices, other beverages (March 27, 2012) -- Amid concerns about possible terrorist attacks with nuclear materials, and fresh memories of environmental contamination from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, scientists have developed a capsule that can be dropped into water, milk, fruit juices and other foods to remove more than a dozen radioactive substances. ... > full story

Competition-linked bursts of testosterone are fundamental aspect of human biology, study of Amazonian tribe suggests (March 27, 2012) -- Though Tsimane men have a third less baseline testosterone compared with U.S. men, Tsimane show the same increase in testosterone following a soccer game, suggesting that competition-linked bursts of testosterone are a fundamental aspect of human biology. ... > full story

Nanoparticles and magnetic current used to damage cancerous cells in mice (March 27, 2012) -- Using nanoparticles and alternating magnetic fields, scientists have found that head and neck cancerous tumor cells in mice can be killed in half an hour without harming healthy cells. The findings mark the first time to the researchers' knowledge this cancer type has been treated using magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle-induced hyperthermia, or above-normal body temperatures, in laboratory mice. ... > full story

Placenta on toast? Could we derive benefits from ingesting afterbirth? (March 27, 2012) -- Almost all non-human mammals eat placenta for good reasons. Are we missing something? Neuroscientists now suggest that ingesting components of afterbirth or placenta -- placentophagia -- may offer benefits to human mothers and perhaps to non-mothers and males. ... > full story

Some flame retardants make fires more deadly (March 27, 2012) -- Some of the flame retardants added to carpets, furniture upholstery, plastics, crib mattresses, car and airline seats and other products to suppress the visible flames in fires are actually increasing the danger of invisible toxic gases that are the No. 1 cause of death in fires. ... > full story

New evidence on effects of green coffee beans in weight loss (March 27, 2012) -- Scientists have reported striking new evidence that green, or unroasted, coffee beans can produce a substantial decrease in body weight in a relatively short period of time. ... > full story

Most extensive full face transplant to date (March 27, 2012) -- The most extensive full face transplant ever performed has just been completed. It included both jaws, teeth, and tongue. The 36-hour operation occurred on March 19-20, 2012 and involved a multi-disciplinary team of faculty physicians and a team of over 150 nurses and professional staff. ... > full story

Microfluidic chip developed to stem flu outbreaks (March 27, 2012) -- Researchers have developed a rapid, low-cost, accurate, point-of-care device that matches the accuracy of expensive and time-consuming lab-based tests to diagnose influenza. ... > full story

Living human gut-on-a-chip: Tiny device simulates structure, microenvironment, and mechanical behavior of human intestine (March 27, 2012) -- Researchers have created a gut-on-a-chip microdevice lined by living human cells that mimics the structure, physiology, and mechanics of the human intestine -- even supporting the growth of living microbes within its luminal space. As a more accurate alternative to conventional cell culture and animal models, the microdevice could help researchers gain new insights into intestinal disorders and evaluate the safety and efficacy of potential treatments. ... > full story

Air pollution from trucks and low-quality heating oil may explain childhood asthma hot spots (March 27, 2012) -- Where a child lives can greatly affect his or her risk for asthma. Neighborhood differences in rates of childhood asthma may be explained by varying levels of air pollution from trucks and residential heating oil. In New York City, where the study was conducted, asthma among school-age children ranges from a low of three percent to a high of 19 percent depending on the neighborhood. ... > full story

New way to abate heart attacks before patients get to the hospital (March 27, 2012) -- Paramedics can reduce someone's chances of having a cardiac arrest or dying by 50 percent by immediately administering a mixture of glucose, insulin and potassium to people having a heart attack, according to new research. ... > full story

New catalyst promises cheaper, greener drugs (March 27, 2012) -- A chemistry team has discovered environmentally-friendly iron-based nanoparticle catalysts that work as well as the expensive, toxic, metal-based catalysts that are currently in wide use by the drug, fragrance and food industry. ... > full story

Stand up: Your life could depend on it (March 27, 2012) -- Standing up more often may reduce your chances of dying within three years, even if you are already physically active, a study of more than 200,000 people shows. ... > full story

Use it or lose it: Mind games help healthy older people too (March 27, 2012) -- Cognitive training including puzzles, handicrafts and life skills are known to reduce the risk, and help slow down the progress, of dementia amongst the elderly. A new study has shown that cognitive training was able to improve reasoning, memory, language and hand eye co-ordination of healthy, older adults. ... > full story

How colds cause coughs and wheezes (March 27, 2012) -- Cold-like infections make 'cough receptors' in the airways more sensitive, making asthmatics more prone to bouts of coughing and wheezing, reveal scientists. The work could lead to drugs that reduce virus-induced coughing in those suffering chronic lung diseases. ... > full story

Vitamins doing gymnastics: Scientists capture first full image of vitamin B12 in action (March 27, 2012) -- It may not sound too exciting when it's listed on the side of your cereal box and your multivitamin bottle. But when vitamin B12 gets inside your body, new research suggests, it turns into a gymnast. Scientists report that they have created the first full 3-D images of B12 and its partner molecules twisting and contorting as part of a crucial reaction called methyltransfer. ... > full story

Regular chocolate eaters are thinner, evidence suggests (March 27, 2012) -- Katherine Hepburn famously said of her slim physique: "What you see before you is the result of a lifetime of chocolate." New evidence suggests she may have been right. Nutritional experts present new findings that may overturn the major objection to regular chocolate consumption: that it makes people fat. ... > full story

New endoscope technology paves the way for 'molecular-guided surgery' for cancer (March 27, 2012) -- With about 15 million endoscopies done on patients each year in the U.S., scientists have reported that a new version of these flexible instruments for diagnosing and treating disease shows promise for helping surgeons more completely remove cancerous tumors. The new technology combines endoscopy with the phenomenon responsible for the blue glow in the water of nuclear reactors. ... > full story

New 'electronic skin' patches monitor health wirelessly (March 27, 2012) -- Like the colorful temporary tattoos that children stick to their arms for fun, people may one day put thin “electronic skin” patches onto their arms to wirelessly diagnose health problems or deliver treatments. The patches could eliminate the need for patients to stay tethered to large machines for hours of treatment or monitoring. ... > full story

New field of chemistry has potential for making drugs inside patients -- and more (March 27, 2012) -- The traditional way of making medicines in a factory may be joined by a new approach in which doctors administer the ingredients for a medicine separately, and those ingredients combine inside patients’ bodies. That’s one promise from an emerging field of chemistry, according to its founder. ... > full story

Popcorn-shaped gold particles gang up on salmonella (March 27, 2012) -- How about a test that identifies Salmonella, the food poisoning bacteria that sickens millions of people each year, in five minutes, so that shipments of lettuce can be confiscated before they reach the table? Scientists have just developed and successfully tested just such a test. ... > full story

Study shows people know more than they think they do (March 27, 2012) -- A new study concludes that “for groups to be successful, they must effectively exploit the knowledge of their (individual) members.” ... > full story

Does the brain 'remember' antidepressants? More proof for the power of placebo (March 26, 2012) -- Using a placebo pill appearing identical to the real thing, researchers have found that how the brain responds to antidepressant medication may be influenced by its remembering past antidepressant exposure. ... > full story

Genetic risk and stressful early infancy join to increase risk for schizophrenia (March 26, 2012) -- Working with genetically engineered mice and the genomes of thousands of people with schizophrenia, researchers say they now better understand how both nature and nurture can affect one's risks for schizophrenia and abnormal brain development in general. ... > full story

A 24-karat gold key to unlock the immune system (March 26, 2012) -- Using nanoparticles made of pure gold, researchers have developed a new method of introducing chemical residues into the immune system, triggering immune cells to help the body fight infection. The breakthrough could lead to an increased understanding of viruses and bacteria, better drug delivery systems, and more effective medications and vaccinations. ... > full story

Stem cell study aids quest for motor neuron disease therapies (March 26, 2012) -- A breakthrough using cutting-edge stem cell research could speed up the discovery of new treatments for motor neuron disease. The international research team has created motor neurons using skin cells from a patient with an inherited form of MND. ... > full story

Smokers could be more prone to schizophrenia (March 26, 2012) -- Smoking alters the impact of a schizophrenia risk gene. Scientists have demonstrated that healthy people who carry this risk gene and smoke process acoustic stimuli in a similarly deficient way as patients with schizophrenia. Furthermore, the impact is all the stronger the more the person smokes. ... > full story

Chronic stress spawns protein aggregates linked to Alzheimer's (March 26, 2012) -- Repeated stress triggers the production and accumulation of insoluble tau protein aggregates inside the brain cells of mice, say researchers. ... > full story

Single antibody shrinks variety of human tumors transplanted into mice, study shows (March 26, 2012) -- Human tumors transplanted into laboratory mice disappeared or shrank when scientists treated the animals with a single antibody, according to a new study. The antibody works by masking a protein flag on cancer cells that protects them from macrophages and other cells in the immune system. The scientists achieved the findings with human breast, ovarian, colon, bladder, brain, liver and prostate cancer samples. ... > full story

'Could my child have autism?' Ten signs of possible autism-related delays in 6- to 12-month-old children (March 26, 2012) -- Though autism is often not diagnosed until the age of three, some children begin to show signs of developmental delay before they turn a year old. While not all infants and toddlers with delays will develop autism spectrum disorders, experts point to early detection of these signs as key to capitalizing on early diagnosis and intervention, which is believed to improve developmental outcomes. ... > full story

New analysis could give cues about when to move infants from NICU (March 26, 2012) -- New analysis of premature infants’ heartbeats and breathing could give cues about their readiness to leave the NICU. ... > full story

Tiny reader makes fast, cheap DNA sequencing feasible (March 26, 2012) -- Researchers have devised a nanoscale sensor to electronically read the sequence of a single DNA molecule, a technique that is fast and inexpensive and could make DNA sequencing widely available. ... > full story

Two drugs already on the market show promise against tuberculosis (March 26, 2012) -- A two-drug combination is one of the most promising advances in decades for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) — a disease that kills 2 million people annually — a scientist has reported. The treatment, which combines two medications already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), delivers a knockout punch to forms of TB that shrug off other antibiotics. ... > full story

Lowering LDL, the earlier the better (March 26, 2012) -- Coronary atherosclerosis – a hardening of the arteries due to a build-up of fat and cholesterol – can lead to heart attacks and other forms of coronary heart disease (CHD). Lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, reduces the risk of CHD, and researchers found that lowering LDL beginning early in life resulted in a three-fold greater reduction in the risk of CHD than treatment with a statin started later in life. ... > full story

Computer system identifies liars (March 26, 2012) -- Computer scientists are exploring whether machines can read the visual cues that give away deceit. Results so far are promising: In a study of 40 videotaped conversations, an automated system that analyzed eye movements correctly identified whether interview subjects were lying or telling the truth 82.5 percent of the time. ... > full story

To drive infections, a hijacking virus mimics a cell's signaling system (March 26, 2012) -- New biological research reveals how an invading virus hijacks a cell's workings by imitating a signaling marker to defeat the body's defenses. By manipulating cell signals, the virus destroys a defensive protein designed to inhibit it. This finding, from studies in human cell cultures, may represent a broader targeting strategy used by other viruses, and may lay the scientific groundwork for developing more effective treatments for infectious diseases. ... > full story

Bariatric surgery dramatically outperforms standard treatment for type 2 diabetes (March 26, 2012) -- In the first published study of its kind, researchers have found that bariatric surgery dramatically outperforms standard medical treatment of severe type 2 diabetes. ... > full story

Early-life exposure to secondhand smoke affects girls more than boys, new study suggests (March 26, 2012) -- The negative health effects of early-life exposure to secondhand smoke appear to impact girls more than boys -- particularly those with early-life allergic sensitization, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. ... > full story

Neuronal transport granules: Single occupancy vehicles (March 26, 2012) -- Protein precursors destined for the spiny extensions of neurons travel single file, according to a new study. ... > full story

New way to treat chronic pain, suggested by study (March 26, 2012) -- Gene that encodes crucial pain receptor may be the key to individualizing therapy for a major health problem. ... > full story

Smiling through the tears: Study shows how tearjerkers make people happier (March 26, 2012) -- People enjoy watching tragedy movies like “Titanic” because they deliver what may seem to be an unlikely benefit: tragedies actually make people happier in the short-term. ... > full story

Rapid rise in blood pressure before midlife may cause irreversible heart damage (March 26, 2012) -- The current "watch-and-wait" approach to high blood pressure readings in younger people may set patients on a course for irreversible heart damage, according to new research. ... > full story

New class of platelet blockers proves effective in phase III trial, study suggests (March 26, 2012) -- Adding vorapaxar, an investigational platelet blocker, to standard antiplatelet therapy significantly reduces the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events in patients with known atherosclerosis, a hardening and narrowing of the arteries, according to new research. ... > full story

Sleeping too much or too little can be bad for your heart (March 26, 2012) -- Getting too little sleep – or even too much – appears to spell trouble for the heart. New data reveal that adults who get less than six hours of sleep a night are at significantly greater risk of stroke, heart attack and congestive heart failure. Even those who reportedly sleep more than eight hours a night have a higher prevalence of heart problems, namely chest pain (angina) and coronary artery disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. ... > full story