Body

The bodies of virtually all U.S. pregnant women carry multiple chemicals, including some banned since the 1970s and others used in common products such as non-stick cookware, processed foods and personal care products, according to a new study from UCSF.The study marks the first time that the number of chemicals to which pregnant women are exposed has been counted.

Current guidance advising mothers in the UK to exclusively breast feed for the first six months of their baby's life is being questioned by child health experts on bmj.com today.

The authors, led by Dr Mary Fewtrell, a consultant paediatrician at the UCL Institute of Child Health in London, have reviewed the evidence behind the current guidance and say the time is right to reappraise this recommendation.

Simply taking more steps every day not only helps ward off obesity but also reduces the risk of diabetes, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

While several studies have shown that physical activity reduces body mass index and insulin resistance - an early stage in the development of diabetes - this is the first study to estimate the effects of long-term changes in daily step count on insulin sensitivity.

Patients returning to dialysis after kidney transplant failure present unique challenges compared with other dialysis patients: they have been exposed to very powerful immunosuppressive medications and have been on dialysis for a longer period of time than other dialysis patients. This puts them at particularly high risk for various complications and death.

Among older adults with a recent heart attack (myocardial infarction), those with lower levels of kidney function are less likely to take their medications as prescribed, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

Among older adults with a recent heart attack (myocardial infarction), those with lower levels of kidney function are less likely to take their medications as prescribed, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

The American Heart Association today issued a call to action for the public, health professionals, the food industry and the government to intensify efforts to reduce the amount of sodium (salt) Americans consume daily.

GALVESTON, TX – Drugs that pharmaceutical companies market most aggressively to physicians and patients tend to offer less benefit and more harm to most patients — a phenomenon described as the "inverse benefit law" in a paper from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

DURHAM, N.C. — Researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute who have been studying prostate cancer cells for decades now think they know why PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels reflect cancer progression.

"This is the first demonstration of a mechanism that explains why PSA is a bad thing for a tumor to produce," said senior author Sal Pizzo, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Duke Department of Pathology. "I am willing to bet there is also a connection in cancerous cell growth with this particular biological signaling mechanism happening in other types of cells."

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- At any given time between 10 and 20 percent of cattle in the United States are afflicted with lameness, making it one of the most common ailments affecting feedlot and stocker calves.

That's why a Kansas State University research team is working to reduce the percentage of cattle affected by bovine lameness.

Chickens genetically modified to prevent them spreading bird flu have been produced by researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center researchers have discovered a previously unknown feature of common tumor cells – massive overexpression of certain DNA sequences that do not code for proteins. These DNA sequences – called satellite repeats – have been studied for their role in chromosomal structure but previously were not suspected of having a role in cancer. The report will appear in the journal Science and is receiving early online release.

A team of paleontologists and geologists from Argentina and the United States on Jan. 13 announced the discovery of a lanky dinosaur that roamed South America in search of prey as the age of dinosaurs began, approximately 230 million years ago.

Sporting a long neck and tail and weighing only 10 to 15 pounds, the new dinosaur has been named Eodromaeus, the "dawn runner."

Scientists have for the first time sequenced and reconstructed the genomes of most of the microbes in the gut of a premature newborn and documented how the microbe populations changed over time.