Obesity is a killer in its own right, irrespective of other biological or social risk factors traditionally associated with coronary heart disease, suggests research published online in Heart. Increasing weight is associated with a higher prevalence of known risk factors for coronary artery disease, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol. And it has been assumed that these have been responsible for the increased risk of heart disease seen in obesity, say the authors. The research team tracked the health of more than 6,000 middle aged men with high cholesterol, ...

Portable pedal machines could help counter the harmful effects of prolonged periods spent at a desk or workstation among an increasingly sedentary workforce, suggests a small study published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The researchers base their findings on 18 full time employees who were given a pedal exercise machine for four weeks, specifically designed to be used while seated at a desk in the workplace. The mini exercise bike comprised a set of pedals that can be set up in front of most standard office chairs for use while seated, and which ...

Dietary fiber may be associated with a reduced risk of death from cardiovascular, infectious and respiratory diseases, as well as a reduced risk of death from any cause over a nine-year period, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the June 14 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Fiber, the edible part of plants that resist digestion, has been hypothesized to lower risks of heart disease, some cancers, diabetes and obesity, according to background information in the article. It is known to assist ...

Automatically referring patients with heart disease to cardiac rehabilitation—when followed by a discussion between patient and clinician—was associated with an increased rate at which patients use this beneficial service, according to a report in the February 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality worldwide, and this is chiefly attributable to modifiable risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, smoking, unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle," the ...

Older adults with hearing loss appear more likely to develop dementia, and their risk increases as hearing loss becomes more severe, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. By the year 2050, an estimated 100 million people or nearly one in 85 individuals worldwide will be affected by dementia, according to background information in the article. Interventions that could delay the onset of dementia by even one year could lead to a more than 10 percent decrease in the prevalence of dementia in 2050, the authors ...

Cigarette smoking may be associated with an increased risk of developing the muscle-wasting disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder of motor neurons affecting more than 5,500 newly diagnosed patients every year in the United States," according to background information in the article. "There is no cure for ALS, and the few available treatments have limited efficacy. About 90 percent of ALS cases ...

Individuals who have higher blood glucose levels and poorer control of those levels over time appear more likely to develop eye-related complications 10 years later, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The high blood glucose levels accompanying diabetes are known to be associated with microvascular complications, including the eye condition retinopathy, according to background information in the article. "However, some controversy concerns the actual value of this glycemic threshold for identifying ...

Obesity may be associated with higher eye pressure and a decreased risk of open-angle glaucoma in women but not men, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Open-angle glaucoma is a chronic eye disease characterized by glaucomatous optic neuropathy and corresponding glaucomatous visual field loss," the authors write as background information in the article. Previous research has identified several risk factors for open-angle glaucoma, including intraocular pressure (pressure ...

For the last several years, neurologists have been probing a connection between Parkinson's disease and problems with mitochondria, the miniature power plants of the cell. Toxins that mimic Parkinson's effects act specifically to poison mitochondria, and mitochondria appear to be damaged in the brain cells that are endangered in the disease. But one unresolved question has been: are mitochondria simply the vulnerable "canaries in the coal mine" or is their deterioration a key step on the way to neurodegeneration? Now researchers at Emory University School of Medicine ...

Two scientific publications report on improved methods for determining the amounts of flavanol antioxidants in cocoa and chocolate. The research, sponsored by The Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition, was a collaboration between scientists at The Hershey Company and other scientific laboratories. Scientists at Planta Analytica (Danbury, CT) isolated and separated cocoa flavanol antioxidants on a large scale. The Hershey scientists and collaborating scientists at the Pennsylvania State University-M.S. Hershey Medical Center (Hershey, PA) teamed up to determine the ...

(PORTLAND, Ore.) February 14, 2011 — A commonly prescribed osteoporosis drug is associated with a slightly elevated risk of developing the rare, but serious condition, osteonecrosis of the jaw; nonetheless the risk remains extremely low. These findings are published online in the Journal of Dental Research, the official journal of the International and American Associations for Dental Research. Although the findings are provocative, study authors say they should be carefully considered against the large benefit of these drugs to prevent and treat osteoporosis. The study ...

Mapping the Earth's magnetic field – to find oil, track storms or probe the planet's interior – typically requires expensive satellites. University of California, Berkeley, physicists have now come up with a much cheaper way to measure the Earth's magnetic field using only a ground-based laser. The method involves exciting sodium atoms in a layer 90 kilometers above the surface and measuring the light they give off. "Normally, the laser makes the sodium atom fluoresce," said Dmitry Budker, UC Berkeley professor of physics. "But if you modulate the laser light, when ...

Researchers at the Institute for Social and Economic Research asked both individuals in the couple to rate their happiness on a seven point scale; from the lowest score of 'extremely unhappy' to the middle point of 'happy', the highest point being 'perfect'. The self-reported happiness rating revealed that 90 percent of married women and 88 percent of cohabiting women are happy in their relationships. Ninety-three percent of married men and 92 percent of cohabiting men said they were happy in their relationship. The findings indicate the happiest couples are those in ...

The world's first control system that will allow engineers to programme satellites and spacecraft to think for themselves has been developed by scientists from the University of Southampton. Professor Sandor Veres and his team of engineers have developed an artificially intelligent control system called 'sysbrain'. Using natural language programming (NLP), the software agents can read documents written in English, rather than needing specially programmed code to be uploaded, to obtain new instructions or new information. This gives the vehicles advanced guidance, navigation ...

A team of researchers at CIC bioGUNE has revealed that oestrogen can reduce the risk of breast cancer. Their work shows that oestrogen is capable of reducing the number of breast cancer stem cells, which may explain the lower aggression of the tumour and, as a consequence, the possibility of a better prognosis. The project was published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment and the team will present the results under the auspices of the International Conference on Breast Cancer to be held in Madrid. The research combined the use of human samples and laboratory cell lines. The ...

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm). Its name comes from the fibrillating (i.e., quivering) of the heart muscles of the atria, instead of a coordinated contraction. The result is an irregular heartbeat, which may occur in episodes lasting from minutes to weeks, or it could occur all the time for years. Atrial fibrillation alone is not in itself generally life-threatening, but it may result in palpitations, fainting, chest pain, or congestive heart failure. There is no doubt that heavy alcohol intake and binge drinking ...

The objective of this research is to understand how cooperation works in nature in general, and among humans in particular. "From the evolutionary point of view it is very difficult to understand why we would help others when what interests us is helping ourselves," explained the authors of this study, which was recently published in the journal PLoS ONE. One of the most striking conclusions drawn is that there are different types of people: those who always try to help their neighbors (around 5 percent), those who never do so (35 percent), and others who cooperate depending ...

(Baltimore, MD) – Two research studies published today in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found markers for measuring the ability of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to control impulsive movements, which may reveal insights into the neurobiology of ADHD, inform prognosis and guide treatments. In one of two studies conducted by researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, children with ADHD performed a finger-tapping task. Any unintentional ...

Scientists aboard the Royal Research Ship James Cook have discovered a new set of deep-sea volcanic vents in the chilly waters of the Southern Ocean. The discovery is the fourth made by the research team in three years, which suggests that deep-sea vents may be more common in our oceans than previously thought. Using an underwater camera system, the researchers saw slender mineral spires three metres tall, with shimmering hot water gushing from their peaks, and gossamer-like white mats of bacteria coating their sides. The vents are at a depth of 520 metres in a newly-discovered ...

Culling will not stop the spread of a deadly fungus that is threatening to wipe out hibernating bats in North America, according to a new mathematical model. White-nose syndrome, which is estimated to have killed over a million bats in a three year period, is probably caused by a newly discovered cold-adapted fungus, Geomyces destructans. The new model examines how WNS is passed from bat to bat and concludes that culling would not work because of the complexity of bat life history and because the fungal pathogen occurs in the caves and mines where the bats live. "Because ...

New research shows a link between use of two pesticides, rotenone and paraquat, and Parkinson's disease. People who used either pesticide developed Parkinson's disease approximately 2.5 times more often than non-users. The study was a collaborative effort conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale, Calif. "Rotenone directly inhibits the function of the mitochondria, the structure responsible for making ...

This release is available in French. Montreal, February 14, 2010 – A new study has confirmed an old adage: A family that plays together stays together. Researchers from Concordia University and Wilfrid Laurier University examined the ways grandparents can maintain close ties with their adult grandchildren. True to the old maxim, recreation emerged as the glue sealing intergenerational bonds. "Leisure is vital in the formation of bonds that last from generation to generation," says lead author Shannon Hebblethwaite, a professor in Concordia University's Department ...

Tampa, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2011) – Transplanting autologous renal progenitor cells (RPCs), (kidney stem cells derived from self-donors), into rat models with kidney damage from pyelonephritis - a type of urinary infection that has reached the kidney - has been found to improve kidney structure and function. The study, authored by a research team from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, is published in the current issue of Cell Medicine [1(3)] and is freely available on-line at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/cm . "Advancements in stem cell therapies and ...

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Northeast Georgia Medical Center are one step closer to their goal of automating the management of sedation in hospital intensive care units (ICUs). They have developed control algorithms that use clinical data to accurately determine a patient's level of sedation and can notify medical staff if there is a change in the level. "ICU nurses have one of the most task-laden jobs in medicine and typically take care of multiple patients at the same time, so if we can use control system technology to automate the task ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Scientists have discovered a molecular assistant called Spy that helps bacteria excel at producing proteins for medical and industrial purposes. Bacteria are widely used to manufacture proteins used in medicine and industry, but the bugs often bungle the job. Many proteins fall apart and get cut up inside the bacteria before they can be harvested. Others collapse into useless tangles instead of folding properly, as they must in order to function normally. A research team led by James Bardwell, who is a professor of molecular, cellular and developmental ...