Climate change may have little impact on tropical lizards

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A new Dartmouth College study finds human-caused climate change may have little impact on many species of tropical lizards, contradicting a host of recent studies that predict their widespread extinction in a rapidly warming planet.

The findings, which appear in the journal Global Change Biology, offer new hope for survival of a creature thought to be doomed: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.12253/abstract

New X-ray method shows how frog embryos could help thwart disease

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LEMONT, Ill. – An international team of scientists using a new X-ray method recorded the internal structure and cell movement inside a living frog embryo in greater detail than ever before.

This result showcases a new method to advance biological research and the search for new treatments for genetic diseases.

GPS solution provides 3-minute tsunami alerts

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Researchers have shown that, by using global positioning systems (GPS) to measure ground deformation caused by a large underwater earthquake, they can provide accurate warning of the resulting tsunami in just a few minutes after the earthquake onset. For the devastating Japan 2011 event, the team reveals that the analysis of the GPS data and issue of a detailed tsunami alert would have taken no more than three minutes. The results are published on 17 May in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, an open access journal of the European Geosciences Union (EGU).

Study suggests new role for ECMO in treating patients with cardiac arrest and profound shock

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New study recommends using active videogaming ('exergaming') to improve children's health

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Moffitt Cancer Center researchers analyze how Spanish smoking relapse booklets are distributed

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Researchers from Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida have evaluated how Florida health care and social service agencies distribute "Libres para Siempre" ("Forever Free®"), a Spanish smoking relapse prevention booklet series.

Their analysis found that 10 agencies distributed the booklets actively and passively, but those methods may not have helped the material reach its intended audience, Spanish-speaking smokers who have quit but are at risk for relapse.

Their study appeared in a March issue of the Journal of Cancer Education.

Breakthrough for IVF?

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Global health policy fails to address burden of disease on men

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Men experience a higher burden of disease and lower life expectancy than women, but policies focusing on the health needs of men are notably absent from the strategies of global health organisations, according to a Viewpoint article in this week's Lancet.

The article reinterprets data from the 'Global Burden of Disease: 2010' study which shows that all of the top ten causes of premature death and disability, and top ten behavioural risk factors driving rates of ill-health around the world, affect men more than they affect women (see tables in Notes to Editors).

Expert questions US public health agency advice on influenza vaccines

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Promotion of influenza vaccines is one of the most visible and aggressive public health policies today, writes Doshi. Today around 135 million doses of influenza vaccine annually enter the US market, with vaccinations administered in drug stores, supermarkets - even some drive-throughs.

This enormous growth has not been fuelled by popular demand but instead by a public health campaign that delivers a straightforward message: influenza is a serious disease, we are all at risk of complications from influenza, the flu shot is virtually risk free, and vaccination saves lives.

LDL cholesterol is a poor marker of heart health in patients with kidney disease

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• Among patients with chronic kidney disease, those with very low kidney function had a higher risk of having a heart attack than those with higher kidney function over a four-year period.

• The link between higher LDL cholesterol and heart attack risk was weaker for patients with very low kidney function than for patients with higher kidney function.
• 60 million people globally have chronic kidney disease.