Disrupt the gene that regulates the biological clocks in mice and they become manic, exhibiting behaviors similar to humans with bipolar disorder. Scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center show that the Clock gene, which controls the body's circadian rhythms, may be integrally involved in the development of bipolar disorder. Circadian rhythms include the daily ups-and-downs of waking, eating and other processes such as body temperature, hormone levels, blood pressure and heart activity.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
A new calibration technique that involves measuring the distance between the upper ear and chin in photographs could help facial plastic surgeons use computer imaging software to achieve aesthetic harmony in their patients, according to a recent report in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Within the mind of every smoker trying to quit rages a battle between the higher-order functions of the brain wanting to break the habit and the lower-order functions screaming for another cigarette, say researchers at Duke University Medical Center. More often than not, that cigarette gets lit.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
High performance schools integrate the best in today's design strategies and building technologies.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
At age 32, Maggie Fermental suffered a stroke that left her right side paralyzed. After a year and a half of conventional therapy with minimal results, she tried a new kind of robotic therapy developed by MIT engineers. A study to appear in the April 2007 issue of the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation shows that the device, which helped Fermental, also had positive results for five other severe stroke patients in a pilot clinical trial.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Antibiotics are prescribed for approximately 82 percent of acute sinus infections and nearly 70 percent of chronic sinus infections, despite the fact that viruses are by far the most frequent cause of this condition, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
We've all had our moments of weakness when trying to control ourselves; eating that donut on your diet, losing your temper with your kids, becoming upset when you're doing your best not to. It isn't like we plan on these lapses in judgment. It's more like they just sort of happen. There is now scientific evidence that explains this phenomenon of everyday life.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Even in the digital world, people respond to the expression of a computerized face. New Ohio State University research suggests that the simulated emotions of digital characters on web sites might have a real impact on the potential customers that view and interact with them.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Women who undergo breast enlargement often see a sizable boost in self-esteem and positive feelings about their sexuality, a University of Florida nurse researcher reports. Although breast augmentation should not be seen as a panacea for feelings of low self-worth or sexual attractiveness, it is important for health-care practitioners to understand the psychological benefits of these procedures.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
College students reported mind-wandering almost one-third of the time in their daily lives, according to a new study led by faculty and graduate students at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Individuals with damage to a part of the frontal lobe make ruthless decisions when confronted with moral dilemmas that cause others to waver.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Gifted students who feel the pressure of their ability could be using heavy metal music to get rid of negative emotions according to research at the University of Warwick.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Many young and middle-aged people of Chinese ancestry told they are at risk of going blind from glaucoma may be getting incorrect information, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Traditional Chinese medical beliefs continue to have an impact on oral health in Beijing, China, says Jacqueline Hom, a dental student at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (Boston, MA, USA), who reports her findings today during the 85th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Although mice, like most mammals, typically view the world with a limited color palette--similar to what some people with red-green color blindness see--scientists have now transformed their vision by introducing a single human gene into a mouse chromosome. The human gene codes for a light sensor that mice do not normally possess, and its insertion allowed the mice to distinguish colors as never before.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Early humans developed larger brains as they adapted to colder climates, according to University at Albany researchers.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
An international research team led by scientists at the Institute of Ophthalmology, UCL (University College London), has found high levels of zinc in the deposits in the eye which are a marker of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in the elderly in the developed world. The finding, published in the latest edition of Experimental Eye Research, contributes to a better understanding of AMD and could influence the development of effective treatments.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Researchers in the Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam have created a unique way of identifying patients at risk of osteoporosis by using ordinary dental x-rays.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Scientists have, for the first time, induced difficulties with mathematics (dyscalculia) in subjects who normally find math easy. The study, which finds that the right parietal lobe is responsible for dyscalculia, potentially has implications for diagnosis and management through remedial teaching.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Scientists have found high levels of zinc in amyloid plaque deposits in the eye that are an indication of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The discovery marks an additional similarity between AMD plaques and those seen in Alzheimer's disease and could facilitate the development of effective treatments for AMD.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
People find it harder to make rapid decisions about which way a car will turn if its amber indicator lights are inside the headlights (i.e. nearer the middle of the car) than if the indicator lights are outside the headlights, according to research published today in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
When people receive brief telephone-based psychotherapy soon after starting antidepressant medication, strong positive effects may continue 18 months after their first session. So concludes a Group Health study in the April Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. With close to 400 patients, this is the largest study yet of psychotherapy delivered by phone. It's also the first to study the effectiveness of combining phone-based therapy with antidepressant drug treatment as provided in everyday medical practice.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Whether a supplement used by athletes to boost energy levels and build muscle can slow progression of Parkinson's disease is the focus of a North American study.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
In a remote area of the Amazon, globalization is threatening the time-honored transmission of plant knowledge from generation to generation, with adverse effects on childhood health and nutrition. Researchers report that parents, and especially mothers, who know more about plants and how to use them, have healthier children, independent of other factors such as education, market participation or acculturation.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Psychiatric researchers at the Zucker Hillside Hospital campus of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have uncovered evidence of a new gene that appears to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
A drug used to strengthen bone has been found to help reduce the high incidence of hip fractures among people with Parkinson disease, according to a study published in Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Researchers at the University of Southern California are moving into their next phase of an artificial retinal implant project.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
If you've ever been captivated by an M.C. Escher drawing of stairways that lead to nowhere or a waterfall that starts and ends at the same place, then you are familiar with what psychologists describe as "impossible" objects and scenes. When do we develop the ability to perceive the difference between possible and impossible three-dimensional objects? New research in Psychological Science suggests that that infants as young as 4 months old have the ability to detect at least some three-dimensional features.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
New research, led by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientists Jonathan Sebat, Lakshmi Muthuswamy and Michael Wigler, has found a distinction between heritable and sporadic forms of autism.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Scientists have discovered a compound that shows promise against a debilitating neurodegenerative condition known as Kennedy's disease, which is caused by a mutant gene. Currently there is no treatment for the inherited disorder, which resembles a slowly progressive form of Lou Gehrig's disease and affects mainly men.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Even though older adults generally have poorer health, middle-aged adults are most likely to turn to complementary and alternative medicine, a new study shows. The study also found that adults of different races or ethnic backgrounds use these self-care methods in similar proportions.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
If you're one of the millions of Americans hoping to lose weight by buying fat-free, cholesterol-free, or all-natural products, you may be surprised. Experts say it's those so-called "healthy" foods that often sabotage diets. "These are the foods we naturally look to as we try to lose extra pounds; however, they are the ones that we need to be careful about," says Dee Rollins, PhD, R.D., dietitian with Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine. Case and point--granola.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Young adults who devote more time to physical activity have a reduced risk of developing high blood pressure in the next 15 years, according to new research.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
New research suggests that Americans are more likely to socially reject children with mental illness than they are those with physical illnesses such as asthma.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Children who are stricken with severe hearing loss are five times more likely to contract meningitis, according to a new study. The study, conducted over a nine year period, monitored 663,963 children born in Denmark between 1995 and 2004. It identified 39 children with both hearing loss and meningitis; of these children, five were first diagnosed with hearing loss, and later, meningitis. Statistically, the authors determined the likelihood of a child developing meningitis after losing their hearing is five times that of other children; their research indicates that factor could in fact be as high as 12 times that of other children.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Pelvic and prostate exams provoke jitters for medical students. Carla Pugh, an assistant professor of surgery at Northwestern University, invented and patented a sensor technology in exam simulators to show students whether they have the right touch in these sensitive exams without a patient ever having to yell "Ouch!" Pugh has also invented teaching technologies for other difficult medical procedures. She was honored for being a trailblazer in a national museum.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
If more than three hours pass between the time a patient experiences a stroke and when they arrive at the hospital, it is too late for the only FDA-approved treatment for acute stroke -- intravenous tPA, a clot-busting drug. Now a new device called the Merci Retriever -- a tiny corkscrew designed to physically remove the source of the stroke, a blood clot in the brain -- is giving hope to patients who arrive late.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Researchers have identified a novel gene mutation that causes X-linked mental retardation for which there was no previously known molecular diagnosis, according to an article to be published electronically on Tuesday, March 20, 2007, in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
What is the very best way to learn a complex task? Is it practice, practice, practice, or is watching and thinking enough to let you imitate a physical activity, such as skiing or ballet? A new study from Brandeis University published this week in the Journal of Vision unravels some of the mysteries surrounding how we learn to do things like tie our shoes, feed ourselves or perform dazzling dance steps.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Despite repeated health warnings about the dangers of tanning from sunlight and artificial light sources, there are still those whose mantra "bronzed is beautiful" remains unshaken. Dermatologists have long suspected that some people may be addicted to tanning -- similar to addictions to drugs or alcohol -- and refuse to alter their behaviors, even knowing they have an increased risk of developing skin cancer. Now, a new study of college co-eds indicates that some people may be addicted to ultraviolet (UV) light.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Psychoanalytic therapies have been in professional use for over a century, but a new study from physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is the first to show that a classic psychoanalytic talk therapy is efficacious in treating panic disorder.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Research has shown that people who exercise do better on memory tests. Now a new Columbia University Medical Center study explains specifically what exercise does within the brain. Exercise, the researchers found, targets a region of the brain within the hippocampus, known as the dentate gyrus, which underlies normal age-related memory decline that begins around age 30 for most adults.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
A powerful gamma ray source built to help the U.S. Army calibrate radiation safety equipment might also help scientists decipher Huntington's disease.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Research into nanoparticle gene therapy for Parkinson's disease examines a relatively new approach for treating neurodegenerative disorders. Researcher David Yurek is testing the feasibility of using a novel technology to condense DNA plasmids into nanoparticles and deliver them to the brain as a means to halt or prevent the neurodegenerative process, thanks to a new grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Spinal cord injuries among senior citizens (70 and above) have increased five times in the past 30 years, as compared with younger spinal cord injury patients, researchers report. As the U.S. population ages, an estimated 20 percent of its population will be older than age 65 by the year 2040, and will likely impact spine surgeons and spinal cord rehabilitation centers as these patients become a larger proportion of the spinal cord injury population.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine Child Study Center and 10 other institutions will share a $10 million gift from James and Marilyn Simons of the Simons Foundation to create a databank of DNA samples from autism patients around the country. The goal is to collect a total of 3,000 samples from autism patients around the country to help identify different variants of autism and develop treatments.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Researchers find a link between rough and tumble play and social competence.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
Scientists at the University of Manchester believe injections of tiny sponge-like particles could provide an alternative to major surgery in the treatment of chronic lower back pain.
Mon, 2 Apr 2007 23:38:41 PDT
