Al Capone famously said "Vote early and vote often." Violations of electoral law aside, this saying perfectly applies to data backups. Frequent and full data backups are extremely crucial now more than ever because the Internet has exploded the security risks that threaten computer users' data. From spam mail containing HTML files that refresh to virus and/or Trojan loading websites to hijacked websites that load all sorts of malicious software to infected torrent files, there are almost an infinite number of ways your data can be corrupted or your computer's ...

VIDEO: Weihua Guan and Mark Reed confine a single polystyrene bead to an accuracy of just 10 nanometers, or about 1/10,000th the width of a human hair. Click here for more information. New Haven, Conn.—Sequencing DNA base pairs – the individual molecules that make up DNA – is key for medical researchers working toward personalized medicine. Being able to isolate, study and sequence these DNA molecules would allow scientists to tailor diagnostic testing, therapies and ...

Many people tout the beneficial effects of probiotics in preventing and/or treating several intestinal diseases, including ulcerative colitis. Although there have been few, if any, good clinical studies evaluating the clinical efficacy of probiotics, preclinical data suggest that probiotics and approaches utilizing probiotic-derived products could be effective therapies for acute and chronic gastrointestinal disorders. In this context, a team of researchers, led by Fang Yan, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, have now identified a new probiotic bacteria–derived ...

EDITOR'S PICK: Comfort food: probiotic-derived product protects in model of intestinal inflammation Many people tout the beneficial effects of probiotics in preventing and/or treating several intestinal diseases, including ulcerative colitis. Although there have been few, if any, good clinical studies evaluating the clinical efficacy of probiotics, preclinical data suggest that probiotics and approaches utilizing probiotic-derived products could be effective therapies for acute and chronic gastrointestinal disorders. In this context, a team of researchers, led by Fang ...

Men who visit art galleries, museums, and the theatre regularly tend to enjoy better health and are more satisfied with life, reveals a study published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The study found that both men and women who play musical instruments, paint or visit the theatre or museums felt in better health, enjoyed life more, and were less likely to be anxious or depressed then people who do not participate in cultural activities. However, the effect was most pronounced in men who were interested in watching and looking at culture ...

The number of children taken to emergency care departments with common medical problems has risen sharply over the past decade, reveals a study published online in Emergency Medicine Journal. During the past 10 years, the way that the NHS provides care at night and at weekends for common medical problems has changed. The family doctor is no longer responsible for providing that care and advice to worried parents, with large private companies now generally contracted to provide this instead. Researchers looked at the medical records of children under the age of 15 ...

More than four fifths of children who turn up at emergency departments with head injuries in the UK are seen in hospitals which would have to transfer them if the injury was serious, reveals a study published online in Emergency Medicine Journal. Around 210,000 children attend hospital every year with a head injury and around 34,500 are admitted. A few children with serious head injuries will require emergency surgery and intensive care, and delays to the provision of this can prove fatal or result in severe disability. The authors surveyed 245 hospitals in England, ...

Coronary computed tomographic (CT) angiography, which can detect plaque buildup in heart vessels, is sometimes used as a screening tool to assess the risk for a heart attack. However, the usefulness of the test on low-risk patients who do not have coronary symptoms, such as chest pain, has been unclear. In the first large population study to assess the impact of the test on physicians and patients, Johns Hopkins cardiologists found that having CT angiography leads to more prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering medications and aspirin, as well as more stress tests, nuclear ...

OAKLAND, Calif., May 23, 2011 – Compared with women whose weight remained stable, body mass index gains between the first and second pregnancy were associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in the second pregnancy. But losing weight between the first and second pregnancies appeared to reduce GDM risk in a second pregnancy, particularly for women who were overweight or obese to begin with, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study appearing online in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. GDM is associated with an increased risk ...

(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School have found targeting patient navigation to black and non-English speaking patients may be one approach to reducing disparities in colorectal cancer (CRC) screenings. These findings appear in the May 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and is preventable through screening. Nevertheless, about 40 percent of eligible adults in the U.S. and more foreign born U.S. residents ...

TEMPE, Ariz. – The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and a committee of taxonomists from around the world – scientists responsible for species exploration and classification – announced their picks for the top 10 new species described in 2010. The May 23 announcement coincided with the anniversary of the birth of Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who was responsible for the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications. On this year's top 10 new species list are a leech with enormous teeth, an iron-oxide consuming ...

A protein isolated from beneficial bacteria found in yogurt and dairy products could offer a new, oral therapeutic option for inflammatory bowel disorders (IBD), suggests a study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researcher Fang Yan, M.D., Ph.D. The study, published May 23 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, shows that the protein, called p40, was effective as an intervention in animal models of colitis (colon inflammation). The investigators demonstrated that the protein supports intestinal epithelial cell growth and function, and reduces inflammatory ...

Among low-income patients who are black or whose primary language is not English, patient navigators may help improve colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates, according to a report in the May 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Health Care Reform series. According to background information in the article, CRC is one of the country's main causes of cancer deaths. "Nevertheless," the authors write, "approximately 40 percent of eligible adults in the United States and more foreign-born U.S. residents ...

Men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are treated with inhaled anticholinergic drugs appear to have an increased risk of developing urinary retention (inability to urinate), according to a report in the May 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Less Is More series. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a progressive respiratory disorder in which inflammation or blockage in the lungs makes breathing difficult. According to background information in the article, it affects ...

Limiting antibiotic prescribing for certain respiratory infections, avoiding imaging for low back pain and osteoporosis screening for certain patients, and not ordering cardiac screening tests in low-risk patients are among the suggestions to make primary care more affordable and efficient, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the August 8 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Less Is More series. These recommendations and others resulted from a project of the ...

Screening for coronary heart disease (CHD) among individuals at low risk of the condition is associated with increased use of medications (such as aspirin and statins) and increased additional testing, but no difference in cardiac events at 18 months, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the August 8 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Less Is More series. Coronary heart disease is associated with atherosclerosis, a process in which plaque builds up in the ...

Researchers from Virginia Tech and Oxford University have proposed a novel molecular mechanism for the living cell's remarkable ability to detect the alignment of replicated chromosomes on the mitotic spindle in the final phase of the cell division cycle. This checkpoint mechanism prevents mistakes in the cell division process that could damage dividing cells and the organism they inhabit. John Tyson, University Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences in the College of Science at Virginia Tech, and Bela Novak, professor of integrative systems biology at Oxford ...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., May 23, 2011 -- Adding just a few more weeks of pregnancy can cut a newborn's risk of death in half – even if the pregnancy has reached "term" -- adding more evidence to the argument that continuing a pregnancy to at least 39 weeks is crucial to a baby's health. The research by a team of investigators from the March of Dimes, the National Institutes of Health and the US Food and Drug Administration found that although the overall risk of death is small, it more than doubles for infants born at 37 weeks of pregnancy, when compared to babies born ...

A shave biopsy is a reasonably safe and accurate method for the initial diagnosis of melanoma, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. In the past, some physicians have criticized shave biopsies for not providing accurate T (tumor) stage information, thereby complicating treatment planning. "We conducted this study to determine the impact of shave biopsies on the initial staging of melanoma and their impact on the final treatment planning for patients," explained Jonathan S. Zager, MD, FACS, associate professor ...

New research aimed to better identify the genetic factors that lead to breast cancer has uncovered a link between the fat mass and obesity associated gene (FTO) and a higher incidence of breast cancer. According to the study conducted at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, people who possess a variant of the FTO gene have up to a 30 percent greater chance of developing breast cancer. Research to identify why the link exists is ongoing, but experts say the finding takes us one step closer to personalized medicine based on genetic risk which would allow for better monitoring ...

It is well known that rising medical malpractice premiums have reached a crisis point in many areas of the United States, and the economic and emotional costs of these claims are driving physicians and surgeons away from high-risk specialties. However, according to the authors of a study published in the April issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, implementation of comprehensive tort reform has been associated with a nearly 80 percent decrease in the prevalence of surgical malpractice lawsuits at one academic medical center. This decrease in lawsuits ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – May 23, 2011 – Researchers from China report that in patients with peptic ulcer bleeding in whom endoscopy failed to control the bleeding, transarterial embolization is a safe procedure which reduces the need for surgery without increasing overall mortality and is associated with few complications. The study appears in the May issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). A peptic ulcer is an erosion in the lining of the stomach or the first part of ...

Johns Hopkins University bioethicists say disaster-response planning has generally overlooked the special needs of people who suffer from pre-existing and serious mental conditions. Survivors already diagnosed with schizophrenia, dementia, addictions and bipolar disorder are vulnerable long before a disaster strikes, they point out. In a commentary appearing in the June issue of the journal Biosecurity and Bioterrorism, faculty from the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics say that more attention should be devoted to triaging and managing those already identified ...

In a study to be published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report the discovery of a novel hepatitis C-like virus in dogs. The identification and characterization of this virus gives scientists new insights into how hepatitis C in humans may have evolved and provides scientists renewed hope to develop a model system to study how it causes disease. The research was conducted at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, the University of Edinburgh, the Center ...

The popular, formerly caffeinated, fruity alcoholic beverage, Four Loko, has been blamed for the spike in alcohol-related hospitalizations, especially throughout college campuses. Initially, caffeine was deemed the culprit and the Food and Drug Administration ordered all traces of caffeine to be removed from Four Loko and all other similar beverages. However, according to an upcoming evaluation in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, caffeine might not be the primary cause of the spike in hospitalizations. "Four ...