|  Higher vitamin D levels in pregnancy could help babies become stronger  | Children are likely to have stronger muscles if their mothers had a higher level of vitamin D in their body during pregnancy, according to new research. Low vitamin D status has been linked to reduced muscle strength in adults and children, but little is known about how variation in a mother's status during pregnancy affects her child. | Read More » Animal cells can communicate by reaching out, touching, study shows  | In a finding that directly contradicts the standard biological model of animal cell communication, scientists have discovered that typical cells in animals have the ability to transmit and receive biological signals by making physical contact with each other, even at long distance. | Read More » Doctors experienced with using EHRs say they add value for patients  | A majority of surveyed physicians said they were alerted to a potential medication error or critical lab value by an electronic health record, finds a new study. | Read More » More funding for community health centers improves access to care  | Increased federal funding for community health centers has helped low-income adults get access to primary and dental care, according to a new study. | Read More » Genetically identical bacteria can behave in radically different ways  | When a bacterial cell divides into two daughter cells there can be an uneven distribution of certain survival mechanisms. The resulting cells can behave differently from each other, depending on which parts they received in the split. This is another way that cells within a population can diversify and enhance the odds that some members of a population of bacteria can avoid threats, such as antibiotics. | Read More » New MRI technique illuminates wrist in motion  | Radiologists, medical physicists and orthopaedic surgeons have found a way to create "movies" of the wrist in motion using a series of brief magnetic resonance imaging scans. | Read More » Solution found to problem limiting development of human stem cell therapies  | Biologists have discovered an effective strategy that could prevent the human immune system from rejecting the grafts derived from human embryonic stem cells, a major problem now limiting the development of human stem cell therapies. Their discovery may also provide scientists with a better understanding of how tumors evade the human immune system when they spread throughout the body. | Read More » Tripling tobacco taxes worldwide would avoid 200 million tobacco deaths  | Tripling taxes on cigarettes around the world would reduce the number of smokers by one-third and prevent 200 million premature deaths from lung cancer and other diseases this century, according to a review published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. | Read More » Odors expressible in language, as long as you speak right language  | It is widely believed that people are bad at naming odours. This has led researchers to suggest smell representations are simply not accessible to the language centers of the brain. But is this really so? New evidence for smell language has been found in the Malay Peninsula. | Read More » Fear of childbirth predicts postpartum depression  | Expectant women with prenatally diagnosed fear of childbirth are at an increased risk of postpartum depression, according to a study of over 500,000 mothers in Finland. Women with a history of depression are at the highest risk of postpartum depression. The fact that fear of childbirth puts women without a history of depression at an approximately three times higher risk of postpartum depression is a new observation which may help health care professionals in recognising postpartum depression. | Read More » Molecule discovered that protects brain from cannabis intoxication  | Two INSERM research teams recently discovered that pregnenolone, a molecule produced by the brain, acts as a natural defense mechanism against the harmful effects of cannabis in animals. Pregnenolone prevents THC, the main active principle in cannabis, from fully activating its brain receptor, the CB1 receptor, that when overstimulated by THC causes the intoxicating effects of cannabis. By identifying this mechanism, the INSERM teams are already developing new approaches for the treatment of cannabis addiction. | Read More » Study: Having Medicaid increases emergency room visits  | Adults who are covered by Medicaid use emergency rooms 40 percent more than those in similar circumstances who do not have health insurance, according to a unique new study that sheds empirical light on the inner workings of health care in the US. | Read More » Atlas Mountains in Morocco buoyed up by superhot rock, study finds  | The Atlas Mountains defy the standard model for mountain structure in which high topography must have deep roots for support, according to a new study from Earth scientists. | Read More » New cell mechanism discovery key to stopping breast cancer metastasis  | Researchers have discovered a cellular mechanism that drives the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body (metastasis), as well as a therapy which blocks that mechanism. | Read More » Longmanshen fault zone still hazardous, suggest new reports  | The 60-kilometer segment of the fault northeast of the 2013 Lushan rupture is the place in the region to watch for the next major earthquake, according to research. Recent research papers suggest the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake triggered the magnitude 6.6 Lushan quake. | Read More » Earthquake lights linked to rift environments, subvertical faults  | Rare earthquake lights are more likely to occur on or near rift environments, where subvertical faults allow stress-induced electrical currents to flow rapidly to the surface, according to a new study. | Read More » Knut the polar bear's medical legacy  | Keeping wild animals is an important component of the mission of zoos to educate the public and preserve endangered species. When animals die, tracking the potential cause becomes an investigation of pathogens from around the world. This is because zoo animals are not only potentially exposed to pathogens occurring where the zoo is located, but also to those pathogens harbored by other zoo animals. In other words: the diagnostic challenge is enormous. | Read More » More evidence suggests type 2 diabetes is inflammatory disease  | As people's waistlines increase, so does the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Now scientists have a better understanding of exactly what happens in the body that leads up to type 2 diabetes, and what likely causes some of the complications related to the disease. Specifically, scientists have found that in mice, macrophages, a specific type of immune cell, invade the diabetic pancreatic tissue during the early stages of the disease. | Read More » Pennies vs. Pounds: How 'supersizing' could actually lead to healthier choices  | New research has found that consumers may be just as willing to buy healthy food if they feel they're still getting a "supersize" deal. | Read More » Loss of function of a single gene linked to diabetes in mice  | Researchers have found that dysfunction in a single gene in mice causes fasting hyperglycemia, one of the major symptoms of type 2 diabetes. | Read More » Amber fossil reveals ancient reproduction in flowering plants  | A 100-million-year old piece of amber has been discovered which reveals the oldest evidence of sexual reproduction in a flowering plant -- a cluster of 18 tiny flowers from the Cretaceous Period -- with one of them in the process of making some new seeds for the next generation. | Read More » Reconstructing the New World monkey family tree: After landing in Americas, primates spread as far as Caribbean, Patagonia  | A Duke scientist has reconstructed the most comprehensive family tree to date of the monkeys that arrived in South America 37 or more million years ago and their subsequent evolution. The research uncovered several patterns, suggesting, among other things, that sea level rise and the arrival of humans likely caused the extinction of monkeys native to the Caribbean islands, and that monkeys once lived in the extreme southern reaches of South America. | Read More » Blue Monday: Brutal cold, short days, post-holiday letdown raise risk of depression  | The first Monday after the holidays can be a depressing time for people coping with post-holiday letdown or depression triggered by short days called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This year, First Monday will be especially blue, due to the added stress of the brutal cold in many parts of the country. | Read More » In search of . . . time travelers  | Scientists couldn't find any visitors from another century, but they had a very interesting time trying. | Read More » New social network study investigates how people use Facebook to maintain friendships  | New social networking research investigates how individuals use Facebook to maintain their friendships. | Read More » How ancient artists used palace floor as a creative canvas  | New research finds that the Throne Room floor in the Bronze Age Palace of Nestor located in what is today Pylos, Greece, is an unusual example of artistic innovation for its time. | Read More » Simple, cheap way to increase solar cell efficiency  | Researchers have found an easy way to modify the molecular structure of a polymer commonly used in solar cells. Their modification can increase solar cell efficiency by more than 30 percent. | Read More » Supercomputers join search for 'cheapium': Brute force computing used to find new materials  | Researchers use brute force supercomputing to identify dozens of platinum-group alloys that were previously unknown to science but could prove beneficial in a wide range of applications. | Read More » A novel look at how stories may change the brain  | Many people can recall reading at least one cherished story that they say changed their life. Now researchers have detected what may be biological traces related to this feeling: Actual changes in the brain that linger, at least for a few days, after reading a novel. Their findings, that reading a novel may cause changes in resting-state connectivity of the brain that persist, were published by the journal Brain Connectivity. | Read More » | |
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