Misunderstanding of palliative care leads to preventable suffering 'Identity problem' as public, patients, and doctors confuse palliative care with end of life care A new review says palliative care's association with end of life has created an "identity problem" that ...

The colors of nature: 9 beautiful new wasp species from China A new study provides seventeen records of the cuckoo wasp genus Cleptes from China, nine of which are beautifully coloured new to science species. The study, published in the open access journal ZooKeys, is the first revision ...

New way to predict prognosis in patients with heart failure Researchers found a novel approach to predict outcomes in heart failure patients by imaging impaired energy metabolism in a diseased heart WASHINGTON (Dec. 13, 2013) – Researchers at the George Washington ...

New concerns over safety of common anesthetic Large study reports increased risk of death in patients receiving etomidate for anesthesia San Francisco, CA. (December 13, 2013) – Patients receiving the widely used anesthesia drug etomidate for surgery may be at increased ...

Breakthrough could lead to protection from fatal infections Research shows that deletion of the Epac1 gene protects from fatal rickettsiosis Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered a way to block a disease ...

Evidence of savings in accountable care organizations and cancer care LEBANON, NH (Dec. 12, 2013) – Approximately 10 percent of Medicare spending is for cancer care, and Medicare spending is nearly four times higher for beneficiaries ...

Clot-busters, caught on tape High-speed photography provides first direct evidence of how microbubbles dissolve killer blood clots WASHINGTON, D.C. Dec. 13, 2013 -- Ultrasound-stimulated microbubbles have been showing promise in recent years as a non-invasive ...

Jailhouse wine is not as delicious as it sounds, could be deadly WASHINGTON — In a case series seemingly tailor-made for cinematic tragedy or farce, emergency physicians report severe botulism poisoning from a batch of potato-based "wine" (also known ...

Duke engineers make strides toward artificial cartilage Composite material closest yet to properties of the real thing DURHAM, N.C. -- A Duke research team has developed a better recipe for synthetic replacement cartilage in joints. Combining two innovative technologies ...

Marine biologists unmask species diversity in coral reefs Rising water temperatures due to climate change are putting coral reefs in jeopardy, but a surprising discovery by a team of marine biologists suggests that very similar looking coral species differ in how they survive ...

From friend to foe: How benign bacteria evolve to virulent pathogens Bacteria can evolve rapidly to adapt to environmental change. When the "environment" is the immune response of an infected host, this evolution can turn harmless bacteria into life-threatening ...

Physical activity may slow kidney function decline in patients with kidney disease 60 million people globally have chronic kidney disease. Washington, DC (December 12, 2013) — Increased physical activity may slow kidney function decline in patients with kidney disease, ...

Diet and physical activity may affect one's risk of developing kidney stones Even small amounts of exercise provide benefits Washington, DC (December 12, 2013) — Even small amounts of physical activity may decrease the risk of developing kidney stones, according ...

Astronomers discover first noble gas molecules in space Noble gas molecules have been detected in space for the first time in the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant, by astronomers at UCL. Led by Professor Mike Barlow (UCL Department of Physics & Astronomy) ...

Using air transportation data to predict pandemics Computational model demonstrates how disease spreads in a highly connected world Computational work conducted at Northwestern University has led to a new mathematical theory for understanding the global spread ...

Many older Americans rely on people, devices, other strategies to get by ANN ARBOR— Only about a third of Americans ages 65 and older are fully able to take care of themselves and go about their daily lives completely independently, according to a new study ...

James Bond's preference for shaken martinis may be due to alcohol-induced tremor, say experts Famous spy drinks over 4 times the recommended weekly alcohol limit James Bond's alcohol consumption may explain why he prefers his martinis "shaken, not ...

Should your surname carry a health warning? Research: The Brady Bunch? New evidence for nominative determinism in patients' health: Retrospective, population based cohort study Patients named Brady could be at an increased risk of requiring a pacemaker compared ...

Is laughter really the best medicine? Food for thought: Laughter and MIRTH (methodical investigation of risibility, therapeutic and harmful): Narrative synthesis Laughter may not be the best medicine after all and can even be harmful to some patients, suggests ...

Quantum waves at the heart of organic solar cells By using an ultrafast camera, scientists say they have observed the very first instants following the absorption of light into artificial yet organic nanostructures and found that charges not only formed rapidly ...

How Wagner's operas held secrets of his disabling migraines and headaches Medical histories: 'Compulsive plague! Pain without end!' How Richard Wagner played out his migraine in the opera Siegfried In a paper published in the Christmas edition of The BMJ, researchers ...

Rapid evolution of novel forms: Environmental change triggers inborn capacity for adaptation CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (December 12, 2013) – In the classical view of evolution, species experience spontaneous genetic mutations that produce various novel traits—some ...

Scientists discover double meaning in genetic code Discovery casts new light on how changes to DNA impact health and disease Scientists have discovered a second code hiding within DNA. This second code contains information that changes how scientists read the instructions ...

Mayo Clinic: First in-human trial of endoxifen shows promise as breast cancer treatment ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A Phase I trial of endoxifen, an active metabolite of the cancer drug tamoxifen, indicates that the experimental drug is safe, with early evidence for anti-tumor activity, ...

Speeding up gene discovery CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Since the completion of the Human Genome Project, which identified nearly 20,000 protein-coding genes, scientists have been trying to decipher the roles of those genes. A new approach developed at MIT, the Broad ...