Barcelona, Spain: Exposure to fumes released during the firing of military small arms can lead to a decline in lung function, according to a new study. The research, which will be presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress in Barcelona today (9 September 2013), suggests that members of the armed forces who are regularly firing small arms could be putting their lung health at risk. Over the last 5 years, the armed forces in Norway have started to report ill health after live firing training. This new study aimed to characterise the health effects ...

Barcelona, Spain: Argan powder, which is used by the cosmetic industry in the production of foundation products, could be linked with occupational asthma. A small study, presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress in Barcelona today (9 September 2013), has found the first evidence of a risk associated with the use of argan powder during the industrial production of cosmetics. A sample of nine patients from a cosmetic factory in France were analysed in the study. All participants were exposed to the product in three different forms: crude ...

WHAT: National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists report that a combination of two licensed antiviral drugs reduces virus replication and improves clinical outcome in a recently developed monkey model of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. Their study, which appears as a letter in the Sept. 8 edition of Nature Medicine, expands on work published in April showing that a combination of ribavirin and interferon-alpha 2b stops MERS-CoV from replicating in cell culture. Both antivirals are routinely used together to treat viral diseases such ...

New research from the University of East Anglia shows that rising ocean temperatures will upset natural cycles of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and phosphorous. Plankton plays an important role in the ocean's carbon cycle by removing half of all CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and storing it deep under the sea – isolated from the atmosphere for centuries. Findings published today in the journal Nature Climate Change reveal that water temperature has a direct impact on maintaining the delicate plankton ecosystem of our oceans. The new research means that ocean ...

SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 8, 2013) — Biologists reported today in Nature that they have identified two pathways through which chromosomes are rearranged in mammalian cells. These types of changes are associated with some cancers and inherited disorders in people. "Our finding provides a target to prevent these rearrangements, so we could conceivably prevent cancer in some high-risk people," said senior author Edward P. (Paul) Hasty, D.V.M., of the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Partial funding came from the Cancer Therapy ...

NEW YORK, September 8, 2013 — For the first time, a genetic link specific to risk of childhood leukemia has been identified, according to a team of researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, University of Washington, and other institutions. The discovery was reported online today in the journal Nature Genetics. "We're in unchartered territory," said study author Kenneth Offit, MD, MPH, Chief of the Clinical Genetics Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. "At the very least this discovery gives us a new window into inherited ...

Hamilton, ON (September 8, 2013) – A global study led by McMaster University researchers has found large differences in lung function between healthy people from different socioeconomic and geographical regions of the world which could impact their health. The highest lung function was found in individuals from North America and Europe. This was followed by South America, Middle East, China, sub-Saharan Africa, Malaysia and South Asia. South Asians had the lowest lung function, by 30% compared to North Americans and Europeans. The large differences in lung function ...

A new analysis has found that most deaths from breast cancer occur in younger women who do not receive regular mammograms. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that regular screening before age 50 should be encouraged. The use of mammograms to prevent breast cancer deaths has been controversial, especially after the United States Preventive Services Task Force proposed in 2009 to limit screening to women aged 50 to 74 years. Studies show varying benefits, and advances in treatment may have diminished ...

New research reveals that large labor wards—those handling 3,000 to 3,999 deliveries annually—have better overall approval rates compared to small, intermediate or very large obstetric units. The study, appearing in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology, suggests that greater access to in-house obstetricians and auxiliary specialists contributes to the lower obstetric injury claims from patients at large labor wards in Denmark. Nearly one million children ...

Boston, Mass. —Employing a unique quality improvement methodology, called Standardized Clinical Assessment and Management Plans (SCAMPs), physicians have demonstrated that chest pain in children, rarely caused by heart disease, can be effectively evaluated in the ambulatory setting using minimal resources, even across a diverse patient population. So found a multi-institutional study, led by cardiologists throughout New England and published September 9 in Pediatrics. "Previous research has shown that children referred for chest pain infrequently leads to a diagnosis ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Obese teenagers who lose weight are at risk of developing eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, Mayo Clinic researchers imply in a recent Pediatrics article. Eating disorders among these patients are also not being adequately detected because the weight loss is seen as positive by providers and family members. In the article, Mayo Clinic researchers argue that formerly overweight adolescents tend to have more medical complications from eating disorders and it takes longer to diagnose them than kids who are in a normal weight ...

A new analysis published online Sept. 9 in Cancer confirms the need for greater use of annual mammography in women ages 40-49 as recommended by the American Cancer Society, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American College of Radiology and Society of Breast Imaging for all women 40 and older. It also confirms that, even with new therapeutics and protocols for treating breast cancer, regular mammography screening is still the best way to significantly reduce breast cancer deaths. The study, which involved 7,301 patients, found that 71 percent ...

As heads of state get ready for the United Nations General Assembly in two weeks, the second World Happiness Report further strengthens the case that well-being is a critical component of economic and social development. The report is published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), under the auspices of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and was launched at an international workshop on September 8. The World Happiness Report 2013 will be available at http://unsdsn.org/. The landmark Report, authored by leading experts in economics, psychology, survey ...

SALT LAKE CITY -- University of Utah electrical engineers have developed a network of wireless sensors that can detect a person falling. This monitoring technology could be linked to a service that would call emergency help for the elderly without requiring them to wear monitoring devices. For people age 65 and older, falling is a leading cause of injury and death. Most fall-detection devices monitor a person's posture or require a person to push a button to call for help. However, these devices must be worn at all times. A 2008 study showed 80 percent of elderly adults ...

Music has an uncanny way of bringing us back to a specific point in time, and each generation seems to have its own opinions about which tunes will live on as classics. New research suggests that young adults today are fond of and have an emotional connection to the music that was popular for their parents' generation. "Music transmitted from generation to generation shapes autobiographical memories, preferences, and emotional responses, a phenomenon we call cascading 'reminiscence bumps,'" explains psychological scientist and lead researcher Carol Lynne Krumhansl of ...

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6042 Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society Better tests for liver toxicity would mean more medicines -- and safer medicines -- for patients INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 8, 2013 — How many breakthrough new drugs never reach patients because tests in clinical trials suggested a high risk of liver damage when the drug actually was quite safe? That question underpins major ...

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6042 Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society Explaining why so many cases of cardiac arrest strike in the morning INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 8, 2013 — Evidence from people with heart disease strongly supports the existence of the molecular link first discovered in laboratory mice between the body's natural circadian rhythms and cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death (SCD) ...

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6042 Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society Reverse combustion? Turning carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuel back into fuel INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 8, 2013 — With almost 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) released each year from burning coal, gasoline, diesel and other fossil fuels in the United States alone, scientists are seeking ways to turn the tables on the ...

MAYWOOD, Il. – A Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study suggests that omega-3 fish oil might help protect against alcohol-related dementia. Previous studies have shown that long-term alcohol abuse increases the risk of dementia. The Loyola study found that in the brain cells of rats exposed to high levels of alcohol, a fish oil compound protected against inflammation and cell death. The study by Michael A. Collins, PhD, and colleagues was reported Sept. 8 at the 14th Congress of the European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism in Warsaw. An ...

Barcelona, Spain: Virtual observation of patients taking their prescribed TB medication, could prove an effective technique for ensuring patients effectively complete their course of treatment. The research will be presented today (8 September 2013) at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress. The new study suggests an alternative method to directly observed treatment (DOT), which is recommended by the World Health Organization. Directly observing treatments is often time consuming for a patient and is resource intensive for outreach projects, which seek ...

Barcelona, Spain: Living close to a busy road is associated with a higher risk of death in people with bronchiectasis. A new study, presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress in Barcelona today (8 September 2013), has added to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the damaging effects of road-side pollution. Bronchiectasis is a condition in which the airways of the lungs become abnormally widened, leading to a build-up of excess mucus. It can be caused by cystic fibrosis (CF), and experts usually categorise the condition as cases either ...

Barcelona, Spain: First trial to compare e-cigarettes with nicotine patches shows comparable success in helping smokers to quit. The first ever trial to compare e-cigarettes with nicotine patches has found that both methods result in comparable success in quitting, with roughly similar proportions of smokers who used either method remaining abstinent from smoking for six months after a 13 week course of patches or e-cigarettes. The study, presented today (8 September 2013) at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress in Barcelona, Spain and published in ...

Barcelona, Spain: Results of a new study suggest that three new diagnostic tests could each be used to successfully diagnose drug resistance in tuberculosis (TB) patients in a quarter of the time taken by the current method. The research, presented today (8 September 2013) at the European Respiratory Society's Annual Congress in Barcelona, has provided evidence that each test could be used as an effective alternative to standard testing, increasing the possibilities open to clinicians. Drug susceptibility tests are carried out in people with active TB in order to ...

'Eat less salt' is a mantra of our health-conscious times and is seen as an important step in reducing heart disease and hypertension. Too much salt in the diet – and specifically sodium – is widely acknowledged as a major risk factor for high blood pressure however, scientists have found that salt's other oft-overlooked constituent chloride might also play an important role. A study by researchers at the University of Glasgow has revealed that low chloride levels in the blood is an independent indicator of mortality risk in people with hypertension. The role of chloride ...

DNA is the blueprint for life. Could it also become the template for making a new generation of computer chips based not on silicon, but on an experimental material known as graphene? That's the theory behind a process that Stanford chemical engineering professor Zhenan Bao reveals in Nature Communications. Bao and her co-authors, former post-doctoral fellows Anatoliy Sokolov and Fung Ling Yap, hope to solve a problem clouding the future of electronics: consumers expect silicon chips to continue getting smaller, faster and cheaper, but engineers fear that this virtuous ...