People with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NALFD) who consume alcohol in modest amounts – no more than one or two servings per day – are half as likely to develop hepatitis as non-drinkers with the same condition, reports a national team of scientists led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. The findings are published in the April 19, 2012 online issue of The Journal of Hepatology. NALFD is the most common liver disease in the United States, affecting up to one third of American adults. It's characterized by abnormal fat accumulation ...

You have been responsible, you've worked hard for years to build up your retirement accounts. Yet, you may not be aware that if your marriage falls apart, your ex could be running off with a significant portion of your retirement savings. Retirement Accounts Subject To Equitable Distribution Ohio is an equitable distribution state, meaning that in divorce, assets will be divided based on what a court sees as fair -- not necessarily what is equal. A number of factors may come into play in the court's decision, including the length of the marriage, attributes of given ...

A miniature atom-based magnetic sensor developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has passed an important research milestone by successfully measuring human brain activity. Experiments reported this week* verify the sensor's potential for biomedical applications such as studying mental processes and advancing the understanding of neurological diseases. NIST and German scientists used the NIST sensor to measure alpha waves in the brain associated with a person opening and closing their eyes as well as signals resulting from stimulation of the ...

Imagine yourself in orbit, your spacecraft flying backward with its small window facing down toward the surface of the moon. You peer out, scouring the ash-colored contours of the cratered landscape for traces of ancient volcanic activity. Around you, the silent, velvety blackness of space stretches out in every direction. The spacecraft rolls over, and you glimpse a sliver of intense light starting to climb over the rough horizon. It might be dawn, except that the bright sliver quickly morphs into an arc of dazzling white swirled with vivid blue and then rises far enough ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Forced body cooling known as therapeutic hypothermia has reduced in-hospital deaths among sudden cardiac arrest patients nearly 12 percent between 2001 and 2009, according to a Mayo Clinic study being presented at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology 2012 Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The research is among several Mayo abstracts that will be discussed at the conference. The goal of therapeutic cooling is slowing the body's metabolism and preventing brain damage or death. It is believed that mild therapeutic hypothermia suppresses harmful chemical ...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – If you are an aging baby boomer and you've noticed it's a bit harder to drive to unfamiliar locations or to pick a new brand of olive oil at the supermarket, you can blame it on the white matter in your brain. A brain-mapping study, published in the Apr. 11 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, has found that people's ability to make decisions in novel situations decreases with age and is associated with a reduction in the integrity of two specific white-matter pathways that connect an area in the cerebral cortex called the medial prefrontal cortex with ...

Did you know that in addition to offering a fresh financial start, bankruptcy grants you broad protections against creditor harassment? Don't feel bad if you didn't; apparently neither did one of the country's largest banks. Bank of America Agents Didn't Care About Bankruptcy, Violated Automatic Stay 38 Times Financial giant Bank of America posted $2 billion in earnings during the last three months of 2011. But, that didn't stop them from incessantly pestering one Florida bankruptcy filer over a few measly dollars in clear violation of the legal protections afforded ...

CHICAGO --- A new Northwestern Medicine brain-machine technology delivers messages from the brain directly to the muscles -- bypassing the spinal cord -- to enable voluntary and complex movement of a paralyzed hand. The device could eventually be tested on, and perhaps aid, paralyzed patients. "We are eavesdropping on the natural electrical signals from the brain that tell the arm and hand how to move, and sending those signals directly to the muscles," said Lee E. Miller, the Edgar C. Stuntz Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience at Northwestern University Feinberg ...

Grand Rapids, Mich. (April 19, 2012 ) – Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a new stem cell in the adult brain. These cells can proliferate and form several different cell types - most importantly, they can form new brain cells. Scientists hope to take advantage of the finding to develop methods to heal and repair disease and injury in the brain. Analyzing brain tissue from biopsies, the researchers for the first time found stem cells located around small blood vessels in the brain. The cell's specific function is still unclear, but its plastic properties ...

"Cancer worry" is the fear that cancer will return, said researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center who studied cancer worry among breast cancer survivors and published their findings in Psycho-Oncology. They found that even three years after successful treatment, two-thirds of the 202 breast cancer survivors who participated in their study said they had "a moderate level of worry." "Little is known about the factors associated with cancer worry," said paper lead author Paul B. Jacobsen, Ph.D., associate center director for Moffitt's Center for Population Sciences. "In order ...

Scientist studying the way Alzheimer's takes root in the brain have identified important new similarities between a mouse model and human Alzheimer's. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that brain plaques in mice are associated with disruption of the ability of brain regions to network with each other. This decline parallels earlier results from human studies, suggesting that what scientists learn about Alzheimer's effects on brain networks in the mice will likely be transferable to human disease research. The study, published ...

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida and University of Kentucky have found that breast cancer survivors who have had chemotherapy, radiation or both do not perform as well on some cognitive tests as women who have not had cancer. They published their study in the April 1 issue of Cancer. "Survivors of breast cancer are living longer, so there is a need to better understand the long-term effects of cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiation," said study lead author Paul B. Jacobsen, Ph.D., associate center director ...

According to a recent NPR report, some Congressional Republicans believe that the current federal sentencing protocol is not working. They contend that a number of disparities have arisen, and that uniformity must be restored across federal districts. Congressman James Sensenbrenner, (R-Wisconsin) explained to NPR that federal crimes should be punished equally regardless of where the crime was committed. As an example, he highlighted that federal judges in New York City commonly imposed sentences below the guidelines, while judges in Upstate New York were still following ...

Boulder, Colo., USA – Geology posted ahead of print on 19 April reports on evidence of the earliest chemical footprints of mycorrhizal fungi in a 503-million-year-old soil; a complex assemblage of trace fossils, including simple trails and branching burrow systems, in Sirius Passet, Greenland; evolution of a submarine canyon along the Ebro Margin, NW Mediterranean; and the growth of sub-tropical forests in Europe 13-17 million years ago, a crucial period for ape evolution that corresponds to their appearance there. Highlights are provided below. Geology articles published ...

RICHLAND, Wash. – U.S. commercial building owners could save an average of 38 percent on their heating and cooling bills if they installed a handful of energy efficiency controls that make their heating, ventilation and air conditioning, also known as HVAC, systems more energy efficient, according to a recent report from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The estimated savings were based on computer modeling and simulation of building energy usage. The controls that could provide these savings are not widely available commercially, but the ...

Dr Barbara Fam from the University's Molecular Obesity Laboratory group at Austin Health with Associate Professor Sof Andrikopoulos have discovered that the liver can directly talk to the brain to control the amount of food we eat. The results have demonstrated that the liver, which has never been classed as an important organ in controlling body weight before, is in fact a major player and should be considered a target for treatment of weight gain. Test on mice showed that over-expression of a specific enzyme in the liver resulted in 50% less fat and the subjects ...

On March 7, 2012, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a new law providing that as of July 1, people convicted in the commonwealth of driving under the influence for the first time will be required to install ignition-interlock devices on their cars as a condition of regaining driving privileges. The device will be required during the six-month restricted license period that follows a first DUI conviction. Under existing law, ignition interlocks are only required for repeat DUI offenders and for those who are caught driving while highly intoxicated -- with blood alcohol ...

Taking large doses of vitamin C may moderately reduce blood pressure, according to an analysis of years of research by Johns Hopkins scientists. But the researchers stopped short of suggesting people load up on supplements. "Our research suggests a modest blood pressure lowering effect with vitamin C supplementation, but before we can recommend supplements as a treatment for high blood pressure, we really need more research to understand the implications of taking them," says Edgar "Pete" R. Miller III, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor in the division of general internal ...

Singapore, April 20, 2012 – Could engineered human stem cells hold the key to cancer survival? Scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the world's first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute, have discovered that neural stem cells possess the innate ability to target tumor cells outside the central nervous system. This finding, which was demonstrated successfully on breast cancer cells, was recently published in leading peer reviewed journal, Stem Cells. Despite decades of cancer research, cancer remains a leading cause ...

A study of the families of 150 preschoolers suggests that parents of healthy-weight and overweight preschoolers are generally well aware of dietary risk factors that fuel childhood obesity. The research, conducted by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and All Children's Hospital in Florida, suggests that awareness alone is not enough to effect meaningful weight change, and that pediatricians should help parents with specific and tailored guidance on how to apply their knowledge in daily practice, the researchers said. The study, published ahead of print on April 11 ...

Depression may be associated with an increased risk of arterial narrowing in the legs and pelvis, a condition known as peripheral artery disease (PAD), according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology 2012 Scientific Sessions in Chicago. While experts know that depression is a risk factor for constricted heart arteries, its effect on PAD is uncertain. Researchers used data from 1,024 men and women in the Heart and Soul Study and followed them for about seven years. At the study's start, 12 percent ...

Dubai (20 April 2012): Alcohol use in Bollywood movies is directly influencing the drinking habits of India's adolescents, according to a new study presented today at the World Congress of Cardiology in Dubai. Overall 10 per cent of the students (aged between 12-16 years) surveyed in the study had already tried alcohol. But students that had been most exposed to alcohol use in Bollywood movies were found to be 2.78 times more likely to have tried alcohol as compared with those who were least exposed. Even when adjustments were made for demographic variables, social ...

The reasons behind a DUI charge can vary from an incorrectly calibrated breathalyzer machine to poor judgment before getting behind the wheel. One thing is certain, though: regardless of the reason for the charge itself, the consequences are very serious. Those charged with a DUI can have their driving privileges revoked, be forced to attend alcohol education courses, face substance abuse treatment, pay substantial fines and deal with the reality of time behind bars. These penalties increase if the driver is a repeat offender. As a result, it is important not to treat ...

Dubai (20 April 2012): The successful implementation of smokefree legislation in Hong Kong has led to an overall decrease in the total number of smokers but the remaining smokers who are finding it difficult to quit are going on to become "hardcore" smokers, according to a new study from Hong Kong presented today at the World Congress of Cardiology. Hardcore smokers are defined as those smokers that (1) are daily smokers, (2) have a smoking history of at least six years, (3) have never tried to quit, (4) don't want to quit smoking, (5) smoke at least 11 cigarettes, on ...

Dubai (20 April 2012): High normal blood pressure becomes less of a risk factor for incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) with age, according to a new study presented today at the World Congress of Cardiology. The study, carried out over 9.3 years, evaluated the risk of different blood pressure categories among 6,273 participants aged 30 years old and above. The results showed that the risk of developing incident CVD and CHD was significantly higher in people with high normal blood pressure during middle-age (between 30 and 60 years of ...