Health & Medicine : Science World Report

May 21, 2012 12:37 PM EDT

Rare Neurons Discovered in Monkey Brains

The anterior insular cortex is a small brain region that plays a crucial role in human self-awareness and in related neuropsychiatric disorders.

May 21, 2012 12:18 PM EDT

Arthritis Drug Offers Cheap Cure for Dysentery

Researchers have found that the arthritis drug auranofin can be used to treat dysentery infections caused by parasites.

May 21, 2012 11:43 AM EDT

Good News for Nanomedicine: Quantum Dots Appear Safe in Pioneering Study on Primates

- A pioneering study to gauge the toxicity of quantum dots in primates has found the tiny crystals to be safe over a one-year period, a hopeful outcome for doctors and scientists seeking new ways to battle diseases like cancer through nanomedicine.

May 21, 2012 11:22 AM EDT

Nordic Walking Improves Health of Heart Failure Patients

Nordic walking enables heart failure patients to exercise more intensely than walking without poles.

May 21, 2012 08:16 AM EDT

Prenatal Exposure to Pollution Especially Dangerous for Children with Asthma

The link between prenatal exposure to air pollution and childhood lung growth and respiratory ailments has been established by several studies in recent years, and now a new study suggests that these prenatal exposures can be especially serious for children with asthma.

May 18, 2012 01:11 PM EDT

Facebook and Smartphones: New Tools for Psychological Science Research

Whether you're an iPerson who can't live without a Mac, a Facebook addict, or a gamer, you know that social media and technology say things about your personality and thought processes. And psychological scientists know it too - they've started researching how new media and devices both reveal and c...

May 18, 2012 11:47 AM EDT

Frequent Cooking Will Help You Live Longer

A new study published in Public Health Nutrition links frequent cooking to a longer life.

May 18, 2012 10:40 AM EDT

New Key Mechanism in Cell Division Discovered

Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have identified the mechanism by which protein Zds1 regulates a key function in mitosis, the process that occurs immediately before cell division. The result has been achieved in the online edition of the Journal of Cell Science ...

May 18, 2012 09:19 AM EDT

Teaching Creativity to Children from a Galaxy Away

Playing make-believe is more than a childhood pasttime. According to psychologists, it's also crucial to building creativity, giving a child the ability to consider alternative realities and perspectives. And this type of thinking is essential to future development, aiding interpersonal and problem-...

May 18, 2012 08:15 AM EDT

New Study Shows Simple Task at 6 Months of Age May Predict Risk of Autism

A new prospective study of six-month-old infants at high genetic risk for autism identified weak head and neck control as a red flag for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and language and/or social developmental delays. Researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute concluded that a simple "pull-to-sit" ...

May 18, 2012 07:32 AM EDT

Canada OKs Osiris Drug; First Stem Cell Therapy

Osiris Therapeutics Inc said on Thursday that Canadian health regulators have approved its treatment for acute graft-versus host disease in children, making it the first stem cell drug to be approved for a systemic disease anywhere in the world.

May 18, 2012 07:24 AM EDT

Study Unpicks Gene Changes behind Breast Cancer

Scientists have mapped the complete genetic codes of 21 breast cancers and created a catalogue of the mutations that accumulate in breast cells, raising hopes that the disease may be able to be spotted earlier and treated more effectively in future.