Research: Diagnostic value of single complete compression ultrasonography in pregnant and postpartum women with suspected deep vein thrombosis: prospective study A single ultrasound scan (known as compression ultrasonography) may safely rule out a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in women during pregnancy or in the first few weeks after giving birth (post-partum period), finds a study published on bmj.com today. During pregnancy the risk of DVT increases, but accurately diagnosing it is a challenge for doctors. Tests that are safe and reliable in non-pregnant ...

Many athletes with asthma may not be using the best treatment for their condition and could be putting their long term health at risk, according to a roundup by journalist Sophie Arie published by the BMJ today. The article will feature on the BMJ's new Olympics portal, an online resource to keep doctors up to date with sports medicine content from across the BMJ Group. The portal will be open until the end of the Olympic and Para-Olympic games at www.bmj.com/olympics. Asthma is strikingly common in elite athletes and has gradually risen at almost every Olympics since ...

VIDEO: This is a video of a nano-structure. Click here for more information. DURHAM, N.C. -- Microscopic particles are being coaxed by Duke University engineers to assemble themselves into larger crystalline structures by the use of varying concentrations of microscopic particles and magnetic fields. These nano-scale crystal structures, which until now have been difficult and time-consuming to produce using current technologies, could be used as basic components for advanced ...

A method for the analysis of flavanols in cocoa has been developed by a team of researchers from Mars Botanical, a scientific division of Mars, Incorporated, and recently published in the Journal of AOAC International. Drawing on the research team's expertise in flavanol chemistry and analytics, the method identifies and quantifies the distinct stereochemical forms of flavanols found in cocoa and chocolate products. Foods rich in flavanols are increasingly recognized for their ability to exert positive effects on the cardiovascular system, but investigations have shown ...

Park Ridge, IL (April 24, 2012) – This week at Experimental Biology (EB) 2012 in San Diego, experts are convening to discuss the latest science in a variety of health and disease-related areas, including nutrition. Research on whole egg consumption in individuals with metabolic syndrome as well as the positive effects of a higher-protein breakfast is further revealing the potential benefits of including eggs in the diet. Whole Egg Consumption May Improve Markers of Metabolic Syndrome A University of Connecticut study presented this week suggests that eating eggs may ...

Washington, DC — Older animals show cellular changes in the brain "clock" that sets sleep and wakeful periods, according to new research in the April 25 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings may help explain why elderly people often experience trouble sleeping at night and are drowsy during the day. Like humans, mice experience shifts in daily activities and sleep patterns as they age. To find out why, researchers directed by Johanna Meijer, PhD, at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands studied the electrical activity of cells in the suprachiasmatic ...

(WASHINGTON, April 24, 2012) – The American Society of Hematology (ASH), the world's largest professional society committed to the study and treatment of blood disorders, today issued a report urging federal agencies to coordinate hematology research funding around seven specific high-need areas that would produce the greatest impact and translate into improvements in patient care in the United States. Developed by the Society's Committee on Scientific Affairs, a team of world-class experts in hematology, the ASH Agenda for Hematology Research is a strategic plan identifying ...

LA JOLLA, CA – April 24, 2012 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found clinical evidence that the drug gabapentin, currently on the market to treat neuropathic pain and epilepsy, helps people to quit smoking marijuana (cannabis). Unlike traditional addiction treatments, gabapentin targets stress systems in the brain that are activated by drug withdrawal. In a 12-week trial of 50 treatment-seeking cannabis users, those who took gabapentin used less cannabis, experienced fewer withdrawal symptoms such as sleeplessness, and scored higher on tests of attention, ...

Although people generally talk about "cancer", it is clear that the disease occurs in a bewildering variety of forms. Even single groups of cancers, such as those of the white blood cells, may show widely differing properties. How do the various cancers arise and what factors determine their progression? Clues to these two issues, at least for leukaemias, have now been provided by Boris Kovacic and colleagues at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Vetmeduni Vienna). The results are published in the current issue of the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine and ...

Eating disorders can be triggered by lack of support following traumatic events such as bereavement, relationship problems, abuse and sexual assault, according to research published in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing. Even changing school or moving home can prove too much for some young people and lead to conditions such as anorexia or bulimia. Researchers from the University of Minnesota, USA, spoke to 26 women and one man aged from 17 to 64 receiving treatment from a specialist outpatient clinic. They had suffered from eating disorders for an average ...

April 24, 2012, Cambridge, Mass. and Shenzhen, China – BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, introduced today its latest-generation cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, EasyGenomics, at the 10th Bio-IT World Conference & Expo being held April 24 to 26 in Boston, Mass. EasyGenomics allows scientists to easily access data-heavy omics-related research with rapid turnaround time, reliable results, real-time data monitoring, and a user-friendly interface. EasyGenomics integrates various popular next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis workflows including ...

Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have shown that overactivation of the RANK signalling pathway promotes the initiation, progression and metastasis of tumours in human breast epithelial cells by dedifferentiation of breast cells to stem cells. The results of this study have been advanced in the electronic edition of the journal Cancer Research. RANK signalling pathway The study was coordinated by Eva Gonzalez-Suarez, head of the IDIBELL research group on Transformation and Metastasis. A year ago, the team published a paper which ...

Queen Mary scientists working with images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have discovered strange half-mile-sized objects punching through parts of Saturn's F ring, leaving glittering trails behind them. These trails in the rings, which scientists are calling 'mini-jets', fill in a missing link in our understanding of the curious behaviour of the F ring. The results will be presented today (24 April) at the European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna, Austria. Scientists have known that relatively large objects like the moon Prometheus (as long as 92 miles across) ...

Toxic prions in the brain can be detected with self-illuminating polymers. The originators, at Linköping University in Sweden, has now shown that the same molecules can also render the prions harmless, and potentially cure fatal nerve-destroying illnesses. Linköping researchers and their colleagues at the University Hospital in Zürich tested the luminescent conjugated polymers, or LCPs, on tissue sections from the brains of mice that had been infected with prions. The results show that the number of prions, as well as their toxicity and infectibility, decreased drastically. ...

Where do viruses dangerous to humans come from, and how have they evolved? Scientists working with Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten, Head of the In¬stitute for Virology at the Universitätsklinikum Bonn, have made significant progress in answering this question. "We already knew from prior studies that bats and rodents play a role as carriers of paramyxoviruses," said Prof. Drosten. The many varied members of this large virus family cause, e.g., measles, mumps, pneumonias and colds. The highly dangerous Hendra and Nipah viruses cause types of encephalitis that result in death ...

Around 450 million years ago, shallow seas covered the Cincinnati region and harbored one very large and now very mysterious organism. Despite its size, no one has ever found a fossil of this "monster" until its discovery by an amateur paleontologist last year. The fossilized specimen, a roughly elliptical shape with multiple lobes, totaling almost seven feet in length, will be unveiled at the North-Central Section 46th Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America, April 24, in Dayton, Ohio. Participating in the presentation will be amateur paleontologist Ron ...

Humans that populated the banks of the river Manzanares (Madrid, Spain) during the Middle Palaeolithic (between 127,000 and 40,000 years ago) fed themselves on pachyderm meat and bone marrow. This is what a Spanish study shows and has found percussion and cut marks on elephant remains in the site of Preresa (Madrid). In prehistoric times, hunting animals implied a risk and required a considerable amount of energy. Therefore, when the people of the Middle Palaeolithic (between 127,000 and 40,000 years ago) had an elephant in the larder, they did not leave a scrap. Humans ...

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Yale University have developed a new concept for use in a high-speed genomic sequencing device that may have the potential to substantially drive down costs. "The low cost--if it can be achieved--would enable genomic sequencing to be used in everyday clinical practice for medical treatments and preventions," said Predrag Krstic, project director and former ORNL physicist now at the University of Tennessee-ORNL Joint Institute for Computational Sciences. The research is part of a nearly decade-long drive by the National ...

Northridge, Calif. (April 24, 2012) – A dose of 10 milligrams (mg) daily of S-equol delivered via a newly developed fermented soy germ-based nutritional supplement is as effective as a standard dose of soy isoflavones at reducing hot flash frequency significantly and is even more effective for relieving muscle and joint pain, according to a peer-reviewed study in US postmenopausal women published in the June Journal of Women's Health, available now as a Fast Track article online ahead of print. "This study provides evidence that daily doses of the supplement S-equol, ...

VIDEO: A research group at Linköping University has built five different molecular models of the voltage sensor in an ion channel, which together can explain all the experimental data. The five... Click here for more information. Every thought, every movement, every heartbeat is controlled by lightning-quick electrical impulses in the brain, the muscles, and the heart. But too much electrical excitability in the membranes of the cells can cause things like epilepsy and cardiac ...

This press release is available in German. The new method is based on the natural repair mechanism of plants. So-called homologous recombination repairs the genome when the genome strands in the cell break. "Using an appropriate enzyme, i.e. molecular scissors, we first make a cut at the right point in the genome and then supply the necessary patch to repair this cut," says Friedrich Fauser from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, who is the first author of the PNAS publication. "A part of this patch is the new gene piece we want to install. The rest is done by the ...

Staying motivated is always tough, but it certainly gets easier when you start seeing results. That's why keeping your spirits up during a job search can be extremely difficult. Candidates often face repeated rejection and rarely receive any feedback. A new study that focuses on finding work following a job layoff reveals just how important managing negative thoughts and effort over time are while looking for employment. The research shows that having a more positive, motivational outlook had a beneficial effect on job pursuit, especially at the outset of the search. ...

A family history of liver cancer is reported to increase risk of developing hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), independent of hepatitis according to findings published in the May issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. The study also shows 70-fold elevated risk of HCC in those with liver cancer in the family and markers for hepatitis B (HBV) or hepatitis C (HCV). Liver cancer ranks sixth in incidence and the third cause of mortality worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) liver cancer was responsible ...

Italian researchers report that severe fibrosis increases the early atherosclerosis risk in patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. A second study found that fatty liver disease also increases risk of developing atherosclerosis at an earlier period. Both studies appear in the May issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. In the first study, researchers led by Dr. Salvatore Petta from the Di.Bi.M.I.S. University of Palermo in Italy evaluated 174 patients ...

For many people with gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD, acid reflux drugs are the answer to their woes, curbing the chronic heartburn and regurgitation of food or sour liquid characteristic of the disorder. But when it comes to Barrett's esophagus, a condition commonly found in people with GERD, acid control may be less important than beating back another bodily fluid – bile. A new study published in the Annals of Surgery shows that bile – a digestive fluid that leaks backwards from the stomach into the esophagus along with acid in patients with GERD – plays a ...