Cold homes cost lives and harm the environment, according to a BMJ editorial published today to coincide with a report commissioned by Friends of the Earth and written by Professor Sir Michael Marmot. The report highlights that every year in the UK there are around 5,500 more deaths in the coldest quarter of houses, than would occur if those houses were warm. The authors, Dr Keith Dear and Professor Anthony McMichael from the Australian National University in Canberra say Marmot's report identifies three gains that could be achieved by improving the insulation in British ...

A new study from Family Process shows that passing down a family business is an emotional process, and key factors need to be in place in order for the transition to prove successful. The owner needs to trust other family members' involvement in the long-term plan for the business, and nurture a healthy outlook and plan for their own retirement. In the United States alone there are an estimated 10.8 million family businesses. Only 30% of businesses stay in the family from the first to the second generation. Beyond business-related decisions, such as managing organizational ...

Leading dentist in Provo, UT, Dr. Darren Gardner, is pleased to announce the launch of his practice's state-of-the-art, interactive website. The new educational website was created in order to enhance patient awareness of dental health care and provide information on the practice itself. The new website for this dentist in Provo offers a wide array of valuable tools and information that patients can use to better inform themselves of various dental health care symptoms and treatments. Patients can visit the website via the Internet at any time during their day. With ...

Knife carrying is seen as a legitimate response both to potential threats and to the lack of protection provided by authorities, according to a study of young white British males published in this week's BMJ. In a letter to the journal, Damien Riggs from Flinders University in Australia and Marek Palasinski from Lancaster University in the UK, say that while they appreciate the call for an integrated approach to tackling knife crime, their findings point to further factors that require attention in terms of injury prevention. Their study also found that young men who ...

Size isn't everything... in astronomy, at least. Dwarf galaxy NGC 4214 may be small, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in content. It is packed with everything an astronomer could ask for, from hot, young star-forming regions to old clusters with red supergiants. The intricate patterns of glowing ionised hydrogen gas, cavities blown clear of gas by stellar wind, and bright stellar clusters of NGC 4214 can be seen in this optical and near-infrared image, taken using the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. A huge heart-shaped ...

BarcodeLabelPro.com (http://www.barcodelabelpro.com) announces the free offer of barcode generating software, Accu2000 Barcode Maker at www.barcodelabelPro.com that allows users to get the 1-D version barcode maker at $0 cost when they check out through TrialPay offer. "In a down economy, companies need to streamline and increase efficiency, so they can be more productive with every minute and every dollar," said Dr. Ge, the founder of halfpricesoft.com. "Accu2000 barcode generator is easy-to-use and flexible. We hope this free offer will put customized ...

Heart-related problems accounted for a smaller proportion of hospitalizations among Medicare beneficiaries within the past ten years than did other causes for hospitalization, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke 2011 Scientific Sessions. The study, the largest within the past decade to look at hospitalization rates among Medicare beneficiaries, found that the proportion of heart disease hospitalizations is falling at a faster rate than those from other leading causes of hospital ...

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, U.S.A. (May 12, 2011) — Japanese and U.S. scientists in the young field of epigenetics Thursday reported a rationale as to how specific genes are silenced and others are not. Because this effect can be reversed, it may be possible to devise therapies for cancer and other diseases using this information. The NOVA U.S. public television program described epigenetics as "The Ghost In Your Genes." It is the study of changes in gene expression that occur without changes in DNA sequence. Like keys on a piano, DNA is the static blueprint for all the proteins ...

The highly rated San Antonio morning show "Great Day SA" on Kens 5 is known for highlighting the best of the best San Antonio businesses. On May 16th, 2011 from 9 to 10, Lone Star Remodeling And Renovations will appear on the show to discuss remodeling trends and design/build remodeling concepts. Lone Star is a San Antonio home remodeling firm that handles both the design and construction of your project. Designs, material selection, budgeting, and scheduling are all streamlined for their clients, making the remodeling process much simpler and more enjoyable. ...

A single adult cell from one of the most impressive masters of regeneration in the animal kingdom – the planarian – is all it takes to build a completely functional new worm, researchers have learned. The study provides the first hard evidence that adult planarians harbor pluripotent stem cells – cells capable of producing the diverse range of tissue types necessary to build a complete animal. Distributed throughout the worm body, the newfound cells appear to have the same all-purpose qualities as embryonic stem cells. Such cells are essential for supplying the rapidly ...

A new analysis of data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft has revealed that beneath the surface of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io is an "ocean" of molten or partially molten magma. The finding, from a study published May 13 in the journal Science, is the first direct confirmation of such a magma layer on Io and explains why the moon is the most volcanic object known in the solar system. The research was conducted by scientists from UCLA, UC Santa Cruz and the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. "The hot magma in Io's ocean is millions of times better at conducting electricity ...

New research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy, investigates the therapeutic use of human stem cells from bone marrow against acute lung injury and identifies TNF-α-induced protein 6 as a major molecular component of stem cell action. Acute lung injury is a major complication of critically ill patients resulting in pulmonary edema, hypoxia and, in the worst cases, organ failure. Consequently up to 40% of all sufferers die because their bodies' immune systems overreact in an attempt to repair the original lung damage. ...

Scientists at King's College London have, for the first time, uncovered a gene responsible for Adams-Oliver Syndrome (AOS), a condition which can cause birth defects of the heart, limbs, or blood vessels. The study, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics today, gives valuable insight not only into this particular condition, but also the possible genetic causes of these common birth defects found in the wider population. The team of researchers, led by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at King's ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (May 12, 2011) – A seldom-studied gene known as notum plays a key role in the planarian's regeneration decision-making process, according to Whitehead Institute scientists. Protein from this gene determines whether a head or tail will regrow at appropriate amputation sites. Since the late 1800s, scientists have been fascinated by the planarian's amazing ability to regenerate its entire body from a small wedge of tissue. Whitehead Member Peter Reddien and former postdoctoral fellow Christian Petersen recently found that the Wnt pathway—an ancient signaling ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (May 12, 2011) – Ever since animals, such as lizards and starfish, were observed regenerating missing body parts, people have wondered where the new tissues come from. In the case of the planarian flatworm, Whitehead Institute researchers have determined that the source of this animal's extraordinary regenerative powers is a single, pluripotent cell type. Most advanced animals, including mammals, have a system of specialized stem cells. In humans, we have blood stem cells in our bone marrow that make blood and immune cells, skin stem cells that produce ...

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have identified a bacterium in field-caught mosquitoes that, when present, stops the development of Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria in humans. According to the study, the Enterobacter bacterium is part of the naturally occurring microbial flora of the mosquito's gut and kills the parasite by producing reactive oxygen species (or free radical molecules). The study is published in the May 13 edition of Science. "We've previously shown that the mosquito's midgut bacteria can activate ...

New research shows a drug commonly used to treat sickle cell anemia in adults reduces bouts of acute pain and a pneumonia-like illness, cuts hospitalization time and eases other symptoms of the disease in young patients. Results of the randomized, double-blind trial mark a dramatic advance in treatment of children with the inherited blood disorder. "These results show that hydroxyurea has the potential to dramatically improve the quality of life for an entire generation of patients with sickle cell disease," said Winfred Wang, M.D., the study's principal investigator ...

UPTON, NY - Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have helped to uncover the nanoscale structure of a novel form of carbon, contributing to an explanation of why this new material acts like a super-absorbent sponge when it comes to soaking up electric charge. The material, which was recently created at The University of Texas - Austin, can be incorporated into "supercapacitor" energy-storage devices with remarkably high storage capacity while retaining other attractive attributes such as superfast energy release, quick recharge time, ...

Younger patients (under age 65) and those with lower health literacy were less likely to stick with telemonitoring technology for tracking their heart failure condition, compared to older patients and those with high health literacy skills, according to new research. Telemonitoring systems use information technology to monitor patients remotely. They are rapidly emerging as a strategy to improve care for patients with heart failure, however, results are mixed. This study finds that patient characteristics are important in determining who will use new technologies and ...

To celebrate the launch of the upcoming Antarctic sailing season, Gap Adventures, the world's adventure travel leader, announces an early bird sale. Travellers who book on the first two sailings of the Antarctica Classic in-Depth tour, departing November 7 and 18, will receive a $1000 discount. "We're excited to introduce the new Antarctic cruising season," says Will Bennett, Gap Adventures' director of operations aboard the M/S Expedition. "A visit to Earth's southernmost continent is truly a once in a lifetime experience, filled with many opportunities ...

Researchers analyzed English comprehension among 210 patients at four New York City hospitals who suffered heart attacks with a heart artery completely blocked. Doctors often refer to this type of heart attack as a STEMI, for ST-elevation myocardial infarction. In follow-up telephone interviews, 34 of the patients (16.2 percent) spoke no English (65 percent spoke Spanish; 6 percent Russian; 6 percent Chinese; 23 percent spoke another language). The patients who reported they understood no English took almost twice as long to get to the hospital compared to those who ...

Sepsis is a major killer in hospital intensive care units. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have found that manipulating a genetic factor that can launch or throttle the body's defenses can improve survival rates during bacterial infection. "Currently, our therapies for sepsis are very limited," said Mukesh K. Jain, MD, Ellery Sedgwick Jr. Chair, director of the Case Cardiovascular Research Institute, and professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and chief research officer of the Harrington-McLaughlin Heart ...

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DALLAS – May 12, 2011 – UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered a protein that guides blood vessel development and eventually might lead to a treatment to keep cancer cells from spreading. The researchers showed in mice that the Ras interacting protein 1 (Rasip1) is so specific and central to so many cellular processes that without it new blood vessels simply cannot form, said Dr. Ondine Cleaver, assistant professor of molecular biology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study in the April issue of Developmental Cell. "What we've found is ...

Extraction of the Sprint Fidelis lead (Medtronic) can be safely performed in an experienced large volume center, according to research presented at the 2011 Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) conference in San Francisco last week. The Sprint Fidelis lead has been associated with increased failure rate which resulted in the lead being removed from the market in 2007. However, even if the lead does not fail, physicians are tasked with the decision as to whether or not to prophylactically remove the Sprint Fidelis leads, explained the study's lead author Raed H. Abdelhadi, MD, ...