Health & Medicine : Science World Report

Apr 10, 2012 04:31 PM EDT

Normalizing Tumor Blood Vessels Improves Delivery of Only the Smallest Nanomedicines

Combining two strategies designed to improve the results of cancer treatment - antiangiogenesis drugs and nanomedicines - may only be successful if the smallest nanomedicines are used. A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers, appearing in Nature Nanotechnology, finds that n...

Apr 10, 2012 03:52 PM EDT

Zip Code As Important as Genetic Code in Childhood Obesity

Nearly 18 percent of U.S. school-aged children and adolescents are obese, as the rate of childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of obesity puts children at greater risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and other illnesses, and of suffering se...

Apr 10, 2012 11:37 AM EDT

Researchers Identified a Protein Useful in Predicting the Risk of Pulmonary Metastases in Breast Cancer Patients

Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have shown that breast cancer cells that metastasize to the lung express a higher level of the protein peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2). The study suggests that the modulation of the levels of this protein could be a new therapeutic strat...

Apr 10, 2012 11:12 AM EDT

UCF Scientists Use Nanotechnology to Hunt for Hidden Pathogens

Researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed a novel technique that may give doctors a faster and more sensitive tool to detect pathogens associated with inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease.

Apr 10, 2012 11:05 AM EDT

Study Finds Peoples' Niceness May Reside in Their Genes

It turns out that the milk of human kindness is evoked by something besides mom's good example. Research by psychologists at the University at Buffalo and the University of California, Irvine, has found that at least part of the reason some people are kind and generous is because their genes nudg...

Apr 10, 2012 10:54 AM EDT

The Green Light Gives the Game Away

The immune system is a vital part of our defenses against pathogens, but it can also attack host tissues, resulting in autoimmune disease. The antigens that induce destructive immune reactions can now be identified directly - without any prior knowledge of their possible structure.

Apr 10, 2012 07:34 AM EDT

Geographic Information Systems Demonstrate Links Between Health and Location

The neighborhoods in which children and adolescents live and spend their time play a role in whether or not they eat a healthy diet, get enough exercise or become obese, concludes a collection of studies in a special theme issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Apr 10, 2012 07:08 AM EDT

Head and Body Lice Appear to be the Same Species, Genetic Study Finds

A new study offers compelling genetic evidence that head and body lice are the same species. The finding is of special interest because body lice can transmit deadly bacterial diseases, while head lice do not.

Apr 10, 2012 06:57 AM EDT

Frequent Dental X-rays Linked to Most Common Brain Tumor

People who received frequent dental x-rays in the past have an increased risk of developing the most commonly diagnosed primary brain tumor in the United States. That is the finding of a study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Although dental x...

Apr 10, 2012 06:19 AM EDT

Pain Relief Can Fall Short After Gynecologic Surgery

For some women having a hysterectomy or other gynecologic surgery, at-home plans for pain relief may not be good enough, according to a new study.

Apr 10, 2012 05:59 AM EDT

Is High Spending on Cancer Care 'Worth It'?

With the United States spending more on healthcare than any other country - $2.5 trillion, or just over $8,000 per capita, in 2009 - the question has long been, is it worth it? At least for spending on cancer, a controversial new study answers with an emphatic "yes."

Apr 09, 2012 04:48 PM EDT

Mom's Obesity Tied to Kids' Autism, Development

For children with a developmental delay, 20 were born to mothers with Type 2 or gestational diabetes, 41 to mothers who were obese and 60 to moms with any sort of metabolic condition.