Experts warn of misbehaving tooth fairy

Teeth discovered in children's ears and wind pipe

2012-12-14

(Press-News.org) The tooth fairy and malpractice

Opinions of the tooth fairy as kind and giving may need to be revised following "mounting reports of less child-friendly activity", says a paper published in the BMJ Christmas edition and appearing online today.

Researchers from across London became concerned following misdemeanours of the mythical character and a worrying trend in malpractice. One boy in particular became extremely distressed because the tooth fairy "had put a tooth in his left ear" after he left it under his pillow. Further investigation turned out he was right.

Further supporting their evidence are another two cases showing teeth being found in the oesophagus (causing "a trauma situation") and a man who developed an abscess after placing his child's tooth in his nipple piercing so it could be "near to his heart".

The researchers conclude that as there is no clear guidance on how to avoid such complications, they suggest that clinicians have a "high index of suspicion with tooth related presenting complaints".

They add: "As far as we are aware there is no revalidation procedure for the tooth fairy and no clear guidance or standard operating procedures in place to ensure outcomes are avoided". ### END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Intense mind wandering could account for 'substantial proportion' of road crashes

2012-12-14

Mind wandering and driving: responsibility case-control study People whose minds wander whilst driving, especially when intense, are significantly more likely to be responsible for a crash and are threatening safety on the roads, warns a study in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today. The term "mind wandering" has been coined to describe thinking unrelated to the task at hand. It happens most often at rest or during repetitive tasks. All drivers experience occasional drifting of their minds towards internal thoughts, a temporary "zoning out" that might dangerously ...

Experts advise doctors on how to clear patients for space travel

2012-12-14

Can I take a space flight? Considerations for doctors With the prospect of space travel for tourists looming, clinicians could soon be asked to advise on medical clearance for their patients, says a paper published in the BMJ Christmas edition and appearing online today. Space travel opportunities are becoming increasingly available to the general public with bookings already in place. A team of experts from North America therefore looked to provide advice to clinicians who require direction when advising patients on space travel. The Aerospace Medical Association ...

McMaster researchers find age not factor in immunity to viruses

2012-12-14

Hamilton, Ont. (Dec. 13, 2012) — Our immune system does not shut down with age, says a new study led by McMaster University researchers. A study published in PLOS Pathogens today shows a specialized class of immune cells, known as T cells, can respond to virus infections in an older person with the same vigour as T cells from a young person. "For a long time, it was thought the elderly were at a higher risk of infections because they lacked these immune cells, but that simply isn't the case," said Jonathan Bramson, the study's principal investigator. "The elderly are ...

Cancer scientists identify a new layer of complexity within human colon cancer

2012-12-14

(TORONTO, Canada – Dec. 13, 2012 ) – Cancer scientists led by Dr. John Dick at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre have found a way to follow single tumour cells and observe their growth over time. By using special immune-deficient mice to propagate human colorectal cancer, they found that genetic mutations, regarded by many as the chief suspect driving cancer growth, are only one piece of the puzzle. The team discovered that biological factors and cell behaviour – not only genes – drive tumour growth, contributing to therapy failure and relapse. The findings, published ...

No more lying about your age: Scientists can now gauge skin's true age with new laser technique

2012-12-14

Wrinkles, dryness, and a translucent and fragile appearance are hallmarks of old skin, caused by the natural aging of skin cells. But while most of us can recognize the signs of lost youth when we peer into the mirror each morning, scientists do not have a standardized way to measure the extent of age damage in skin. Now a group of Taiwanese researchers has used a specialized microscope to peer harmlessly beneath the skin surface to measure natural age-related changes in the sizes of skin cells. The results, which are published in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access ...

Berkeley Lab research finds the insurance industry paying increasing attention to climate change

2012-12-14

The insurance industry, the world's largest business with $4.6 trillion in revenues, is making larger efforts to manage climate change-related risks, according to a new study published today in the journal Science. "Weather- and climate-related insurance losses today average $50 billion a year. These losses have more than doubled each decade since the 1980s, adjusted for inflation," says the study's author Evan Mills, a scientist in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab)'s Environmental Energy Technologies Division. "Insurers have become quite adept at quantifying ...

Researchers find new culprit in castration-resistant prostate cancer

2012-12-14

BOSTON—Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered a molecular switch that enables advanced prostate cancers to spread without stimulation by male hormones, which normally are needed to spur the cancer's growth. They say the finding could lead to a new treatment for prostate cancers that are no longer controlled by hormone-blocking drugs. The researchers report in the Dec. 14 issue of Science that the molecular switch occurs in a protein, EZH2, which is increased in these tumors, termed castration-resistant prostate cancers (CRPC). EZH2 is part of a ...

Who are sports gamers?

2012-12-14

Montreal, December 13, 2012 – From Gran Turismo to WWE Smackdown, sports-based video games represent a wide variety of pursuits. When it comes to the people who actually play those games, however, little is known. How do sports video game players fit their games into a larger sports-related context? How does their video game play inform their media usage and general sports fandom? That's what Concordia University communications professor Mia Consalvo sought to discover when she embarked on a large-scale study of video game players, the results of which were recently published ...

'Two-faced' cells discovered in colon cancer

2012-12-14

CHICAGO -- Northwestern Medicine researchers have discovered a "two-faced" group of cells at work in human colon cancer, with opposing functions that can suppress or promote tumor growth. These cells are a subset of T-regulatory (Treg) cells, known to suppress immune responses in healthy individuals In this previously unknown Treg subset, the presence of the protein RORγt has been shown to differentiate between cancer-protecting and cancer-promoting properties. The Northwestern team, led by Khashayarsha Khazaie, research associate professor at the Robert H. ...

Bubble study could improve industrial splash control

2012-12-14

ARGONNE, Ill. – For the first time, scientists witnessed the details of the full, ultrafast process of liquid droplets evolving into a bubble when they strike a surface. Their research determined that surface wetness affects the bubble's fate. This research could one day help eliminate bubbles formed during spray coating, metal casting and ink-jet printing. It also could impact studies on fuel efficiency and engine life by understanding the splashing caused by fuel hitting engine walls. "How liquid coalesces into a drop or breaks up into a splash when hitting something ...

Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 upregulates the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling pathway to mitigate hepatocyte ferroptosis in chronic liver injury

Experts warn of misbehaving tooth fairy

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: