National screening benchmarks for finding polyps during a colonoscopy might be too low

Researchers from North Carolina State University have for the first time successfully coated polymer implants with a bioactive film. The discovery should improve the success rate of such implants – which are often used in spinal surgeries. The polymer used in these implants, called PEEK, does not bond well with bone or other tissues in the body. This can result in the implant rubbing against surrounding tissues, which can lead to medical complications and the need for additional surgeries. "We wanted to apply a bioactive coating that would allow the polymer implants ...

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The more you sit, the higher your risk of chronic diseases. Kansas State University researcher Richard Rosenkranz, assistant professor of human nutrition, examined the associations of sitting time and chronic diseases in middle-aged Australian males in a study that is published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Collaborators include University of Western Sydney researchers Emma George and Gregory Kolt. The study's sample included 63,048 males ages 45-65 from the Australian state of New South Wales. Study participants ...

VIDEO: In a video demonstration, a researcher asks the iCub robot to point to a guitar (shown in the form of blue object) then asking it to move a violin to... Click here for more information. This technological prowess was made possible by the development of a "simplified artificial brain" that reproduces certain types of so-called "recurrent" connections observed in the human brain. The artificial brain system enables the robot to learn, and subsequently understand, new sentences ...

Heart and cerebro-vascular disorders represent the two leading causes of death throughout the world. They are sometimes combined in a single patient and their combination represents both a considerable risk to the patient and a therapeutic challenge. Today's anti-thromobotic, blood-thinning medication provides effective treatment for coronary heart disease. Several randomised tests to assess new anti-thrombotic treatments in coronary patients have identified the fact that a history of stroke or TIA constitutes a marker for increased risk of intracranial bleeding that ...

Atherosclerosis is one of the commonest causes of death in modern societies. The condition is characterized by the build-up of fatty deposits called atherosclerotic plaques on the inner surfaces of arteries, which restrict, and may eventually cut off, blood flow. The deposits can also be dislodged from their site of origin and may then block major vessels in the heart or the brain, leading to life-threatening myocardial infarction or stroke. Monocytes, an important class of white blood cells, are known to contribute significantly to the development of atherosclerosis. ...

A study of eye movements in schizophrenia patients provides new evidence of impaired reading fluency in individuals with the mental illness. The findings, by researchers at McGill University in Montreal, could open avenues to earlier detection and intervention for people with the illness. While schizophrenia patients are known to have abnormalities in language and in eye movements, until recently reading ability was believed to be unaffected. That is because most previous studies examined reading in schizophrenia using single-word reading tests, the McGill researchers ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Therapy to ease stress, fatigue and other quality of life issues significantly improves patients' sense of well-being during cancer treatment, new Mayo Clinic research shows. Patients who kept to their standard routines showed a decline in quality-of-life measures, the study found. The findings are published this month in Cancer. Mayo cancer care specialists created a six-session program to address cognitive, physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being. Each session includes physical therapy exercises to improve fatigue, discussions of topics ...

Animal scientists say a raw meat diet is a good source of protein for cats, but pet owners may need to supplement with other nutrients. In a new paper in the Journal of Animal Science, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium analyzed the value of raw meat diets for cats and exotic felids. The researchers used several tests to evaluate the nutrients in meat from bison, cattle, horses and elk. To test how the different diets affected cats, the researchers collected blood serum and fecal samples from domestic ...

COLLEGE STATION, Feb. 18, 2013 — Imagine two steel springs identical in look and composition but that perform differently because each was tempered at a different rate. A team of researchers including a Texas A&M University molecular biologist has shown that concept — that the speed of creation affects performance — applies to how a protein they studied impacts an organism's circadian clock function. This discovery provides new insights into the significance of the genetic code for controlling the rates at which critically important proteins are synthesized, and could ...

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 18, 2013) — A study by a leading Alzheimer's researcher at the University of Kentucky provides new evidence that will help researchers home in on the molecular mechanisms involved in inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS) and aid drug-development strategies for treating inflammatory neurological diseases. The research was led by Linda Van Eldik, director of UK's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, and included co-authors Bin Xing and Adam Bachstetter from the Van Eldik lab. The study demonstrated that the beta isoform of p38 mitogen-activated ...