ChristmasHoliday2011.com just made Christmas shopping easier for everyone this year with a new Facebook page for the Christmas Holiday 2011 season. The new Facebook page contains news articles, shopping tips, best gift ideas, Christmas recipes, hottest gifts and decorating ideas to help make this Christmas the best ever. ChristmasHoliday2011.com has so far received excellent reviews with most people enjoying the Christmas shopping stories on the page, such as the story about a Christmas fairy who was fired after cursing on the job. The woman claimed that she cursed out ...

Cruise.com, one of the Internet's largest cruise sellers, is offering its annual Black Friday Cruise Sale, featuring exceptional values on many of the major cruise lines to favorite destinations worldwide. The special sale is scheduled to begin at 8:00 AM on Friday, November 25th. Space for these deals is limited and will be offered on a first come first serve basis. To book these deals call 866-401-0895. Cruise.com's special Black Friday Cruise Sale features some of the best cruise deals to many exciting places such as the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska and South America ...

Two proteins conspire to promote a lethal neurological disease, according to a study published online this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (www.jem.org). Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder that results in progressive loss of motor function and ultimately death. More than 90% of ALS cases have no known genetic cause or family history. However, in some patients, spinal cord cells contain unusual accumulations of a protein called TDP-43. Jean-Pierre Julien and colleagues at ...

Breast cancer patients often wonder what their daughters might do to reduce their risk of also developing cancer. Are there dietary intakes or behaviors that can be modified by their daughters to lower their own chances of getting the disease? A new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, sought information relevant to this question. Dr. Catherine Berkey, a biostatistician at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, led a team that investigated childhood and adolescent risk factors for benign ...

Adding to research linking alcohol to breast cancer risk, a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that adolescent girls with a family history of breast disease — either cancer or the benign lesions that can become cancer – have a higher risk of developing benign breast disease as young women than other girls. And unlike girls without a family history, this already-elevated risk rises with increasing alcohol consumption. "The most common question we hear from women with a family history of breast disease is how can we prevent breast ...

Childhood aggression is strongly linked to poorer health in adults and to higher use of health services, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/site/embargo/cmaj091830.pdf. Researchers from Université de Sherbrooke and Concordia University, Quebec, the University of California (Davis) and the University of Ottawa looked at data from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project to determine the impact of childhood aggression on health service usage in adulthood. The Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project ...

Canada should establish a vaccine seroepidemiology surveillance network to better understand the effectiveness of vaccination programs, according to an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/site/embargo/cmaj110506.pdf. Many countries, in Europe for example, have well-established national serosurveillance programs, despite differing vaccination practices. Canada, however, lacks a coordinated serosurveillance program despite the country's strong vaccination programs and support systems. A serosurveillance program ...

Natural health products and medicinal foods should be subject to the same regulations as pharmaceutical drugs to ensure safety and efficacy, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/site/embargo/cmaj111739.pdf. While pharmaceutical drugs are subject to rigorous evaluation and must provide significant evidence of their therapeutic effects and that the benefits outweigh risks, natural health products in Canada are not. Many contain active pharmacological substances that can have potent effects and interactions ...

Nearly a fifth of all Americans 12 years or older have hearing loss so severe that it may make communication difficult, according to a new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published in the Nov. 14 Archives of Internal Medicine. The findings, thought to be the first nationally representative estimate of hearing loss, suggest that many more people than previously thought are affected by this condition. Study leader Frank Lin, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor with dual appointments in both the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins ...

Contact Michelle Geis 254-706-348-938 mgeis@burnesscommunications.com Burness Communications Additional contacts: Jonathon Rees 27-76-185-1827 Jonathon@proofcommunication.com Michael Victor 27-728-434-343 m.victor@cgiar.org Climate change in Africa's river basins could impede continent's farm transformation efforts Experts at global water forum warn climate shifts will increase water pressure on already-stressed Limpopo, Nile and Volta river basins, increase cross-border water conflicts Tshwane, South Africa -- Climate change could significantly ...

A novel study in twins found that exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE) -- a hazardous organic contaminant found in soil, groundwater, and air -- is significantly associated with increased risk of Parkinson's disease (PD). Possibility of developing this neurodegenerative disease is also linked to perchloroethylene (PERC) and carbon tetrachloride (CCI4) exposure according to the study appearing today in Annals of Neurology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society. The National Institute of Neurological ...

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common malignant brain cancer in humans. Patients with GBM have a poor prognosis because it is a highly aggressive form of cancer that is commonly resistant to current therapies. A team of researchers -- led by Bo Hu and Shi-Yuan Cheng, at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh -- has now identified a molecular pathway that drives the aggressive cancerous nature of a substantial proportion of glioblastomas; specifically, those that overexpress the protein PDGFR-alpha. This pathway could represent a new therapeutic ...

EDITOR'S PICK: Glioblastoma multiforme in the Dock Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common malignant brain cancer in humans. Patients with GBM have a poor prognosis because it is a highly aggressive form of cancer that is commonly resistant to current therapies. A team of researchers — led by Bo Hu and Shi-Yuan Cheng, at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh — has now identified a molecular pathway that drives the aggressive cancerous nature of a substantial proportion of glioblastomas; specifically, those that overexpress the protein PDGFR-alpha. ...

A new research report contributes to the increasing evidence that repeated occupational exposure to certain chemical solvents raises the risk for Parkinson's disease. Researchers analyzed the occupational histories of twins in which one of the pair developed the neurodegenerative disorder, and assessed that twin's likelihood of exposure to six chemicals previously linked to Parkinson's. Of the six chemicals investigated, researchers concluded that two common chemical solvents, trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PERC), are significantly linked to development ...

Lexington Nannies, http://www.LexingtonNannies.com has partnered with Venice Family Clinic in Los Angeles to offer free childcare to cancer patients as of November 2011. Patients who need childcare while receiving treatment for chemo or other cancer related treatments will be referred to Lexington Nannies by the clinic. Brooke Barousse, the owner of Lexington Nannies, was inspired to find a way to give back after attending a fundraiser for the clinic and hearing the stories about the work they were doing. "Cancer in particular hits home in my family. I want to help ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- An analysis of the remains of ancient midges – tiny non-biting insects closely related to mosquitoes – opens a new window on the past with a detailed view of the surprising regional variability that accompanied climate warming during the early Holocene epoch, 10,000 to 5,500 years ago. Researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of British Columbia looked at the abundance and variety of midge larvae buried in lake sediments in Alaska. Midges are highly sensitive to summer temperatures, so changes in the abundance of different species ...

"Dark Girls" Directors/Producers D. Channsin Berry and Bill Duke have officially announced the first leg of a ground-breaking nationwide tour playing exclusively in concert theatres; Oakland, California, November 17, 2011 and Atlanta, Georgia, November 19, 2011. The tour is being promoted by BAP Events. The directors, will conduct a 'Question and Answer' session after each screening. Berry explains, "The nature of the subject matter and the responses we have received from audiences makes it a perfect fit for this type of interactive event." Duke adds, ...

PHILADELPHIA -- Scientists are another step closer to understanding what drives tumor metastasis, as laboratory models suggest there are factors inside tumors that can slow their own growth. In a recent issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, Raúl A. Ruggiero, Ph.D., a biological researcher at the division of experimental medicine at the National Academy of Medicine in Buenos Aires, Argentina, described this novel mechanism. Ruggiero and colleagues used bioanalytical methods of ion electrospray mass and tandem mass spectrometry ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Scientists have discovered that a gene that influences empathy, parental sensitivity and sociability is so powerful that even strangers observing 20 seconds of silent video identified people with a particular genetic variation to be more caring and trusting. In the study, 23 romantic couples were videotaped while one of the partners described a time of suffering in their lives. The other half of the couple and their physical, non-verbal reactions were the focal point of the study. Groups of complete strangers viewed the videos. The observers were asked ...

Researchers from Norway have uncovered an association between sleep problems and increased risk of fibromyalgia in women. The risk of fibromyalgia increased with severity of sleep problems, and the association was stronger among middle-aged and older women than among younger women. Results of the prospective study, based on ten years of data, appear in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Experts estimate that fibromyalgia -- a chronic musculoskeletal pain syndrome -- affects more than ...

Botanolution, a boutique company specializing in organic health, beauty, and skincare products, proudly announced the opening of its online store (www.botanolution.com). The demand for natural and green products continues to grow as the support for healthy living is promoted more aggressively in today's society. However, today's skincare market is filled with products containing harmful synthetic chemicals, artificial fragrances, and dyes that can cause allergic reactions. Furthermore, most consumers today are unaware of the harsh and harmful components found in their favorite ...

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Nov. 14, 2011) -- A catastrophic landslide 22,500 years ago dammed the upper reaches of northern California's Eel River, forming a 30-mile-long lake, which has since disappeared, and leaving a living legacy found today in the genes of the region's steelhead trout, report scientists at two West Coast universities. Using remote-sensing technology known as airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and hand-held global-positioning-systems (GPS) units, a three-member research team found evidence for a late Pleistocene, landslide-dammed lake along the river, ...

Wine and Design recently held a Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser at its painting party studio located at 231 Bickett Boulevard in Raleigh. The event, held on October 16th in honor of Durham resident Cindy Grant, raised close to $200, which will be used to help reduce Grant's medical expenses. Grant, who is 45, was diagnosed with metastic breast cancer in May 2011. Her treatment at UNC Hospitals began with two weeks of finding a golf ball-sized tumor in her right breast. During those two weeks, Grant had a battery of tests that included a biopsy of the tumor, harvesting ...

NIH-funded trial shows that therapy with bone-marrow derived cells does not improve heart function after six months; future clinical benefits still possible. Stem cells obtained from bone marrow, known as BMCs, can be safely injected into people 2-3 weeks following a heart attack, reports a new clinical trial supported by the National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. However, while safe, the BMCs did not improve heart function six months after their administration. This study, called LateTIME (Transplantation In Myocardial ...

HOUSTON -- Results of a study by Baylor College of Medicine physicians underscore the important role that clinical genetic evaluation can have in the management plan of patients with retinoblastoma, a childhood cancer of the eye. The report documents the success of using a multi-disciplinary team approach to achieving the goal of providing genetic evaluation and testing of all retinoblastoma patients at Texas Children's Cancer Center over an eight-year period. Results were published in the Archives of Ophthalmology. "Integrating genetic evaluation into retinoblastoma ...