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Mount Sinai researchers analyze impact of chemical BPA in dental sealants used in children

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that bisphenol A (BPA) released from some plastic resins used in pediatric dentistry is detectable in the saliva after placement in children's mouths. BPA is a widely used synthetic chemical that has been associated with changes in behavior, prostate and urinary tract development, and early onset of puberty. The findings are published in the current issue of Pediatrics.

Lack of trust in hospitals a major deterrent for blood donation among African-Americans

Disparities in healthcare between races exist in the United States. A new study published in the journal Transfusion explores why African Americans donate blood at lower rates than whites. The findings reveal that there is a significant distrust in the healthcare system among the African American community, and African Americans who distrust hospitals are less likely to donate.

The cost of over-triage on our nation's health system

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified "secondary over-triage" as a potential area of cost savings for our nation's health care. The phenomenon of over-triage occurs when patients are transferred twice, and discharged from a second facility in less than 24 hours. These findings will be published in the September 10th issue of The Journal of Trauma.

Diagnostic errors 'greatest threat to patient safety in hospitals,' claims senior doctor

Diagnostic errors are the most important causes of avoidable harm to patients in hospitals, warns a senior doctor on bmj.com today.

Dr Gordon Caldwell, a consultant physician at Worthing Hospital in Western Sussex argues that doctors need better facilities and sufficient time to make a correct diagnosis.

When a patient is admitted to hospital, the team of doctors formulate a "working diagnosis," he explains. At this point, the diagnosis is uncertain but the patient is treated as if the working diagnosis is correct.

How mycobacteria avoid destruction inside human cells

Tuberculosis, or TB, is a dreaded contagious disease of the lungs and other organs. The causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (or M. tuberculosis), infects roughly a third of the world's population and one-in-ten to one-in-twenty of the infected population becomes sick or infectious at some point during their lifetime.

Mexican-Americans with heart rhythm disorder have increased risk for second stroke

Mexican-American stroke survivors with a heart rhythm disorder have more than twice the risk for another stroke compared to non-Hispanic whites, according to a study published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Mexican-Americans' recurrent strokes are also more likely to be severe, though they don't have a greater risk of death after stroke, researchers said.

Early cotton planting requires irrigation

MADISON, WI, September 9, 2010 – Cotton growers can produce more cotton if they plant early, but not without irrigation. That's the finding of an article published in the September-October 2010 Agronomy Journal, a publication of the American Society of Agronomy.

Promising treatment for metastatic melanoma 'fast tracked' by FDA

HACKENSACK, N.J. (September 9, 2010) — Researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center played an important role in a study that led to the Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) recent fast tracking of ipilimumab, a promising treatment for metastatic melanoma. The FDA based its decision largely on the results of a pivotal study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on August 19, 2010 – the same day the agency accepted Bristol-Myers Squibb's application for the drug's approval and granted the application priority review status.

CRISPR critters: Scientists identify key enzyme in microbial immune system

 Scientists identify key enzyme in microbial immune system

In order to save biodiversity society's behavior must change, leading conservationists warn

An innovative grouping of conservation scientists and practitioners have come together to advocate a fundamental shift in the way we view biodiversity. In their paper, which was published today in the journal Science, they argue that unless people recognise the link between their consumption choices and biodiversity loss, the diversity of life on Earth will continue to decline.

Researchers expand yeast's sugary diet to include plant fiber

Researchers expand yeast's sugary diet to include plant fiber

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have taken genes from grass-eating fungi and stuffed them into yeast, creating strains that produce alcohol from tough plant material – cellulose – that normal yeast can't digest.

Texas AM chemical engineer's work could lead to improved DNA analysis

COLLEGE STATION, Sept. 9, 2010 – DNA analysis is poised to experience a significant advancement thanks to the work of a Texas A&M University chemical engineer, who has discovered a way to achieve more effective separation of DNA fragments.

Male bowerbirds rely special optical effect to get dates

Bowerbird males are well known for making elaborate constructions, lavished with decorative objects, to impress and attract their mates. Now, researchers reporting online on September 9 in Current Biology, a Cell Press journal, have identified a completely new dimension to these showy structures in great bowerbirds. The birds create a staged scene, only visible from the point of view of their female audience, by placing pebbles, bones, and shells around their courts in a very special way that can make objects (or a bowerbird male) appear larger or smaller than they really are.

Improvement in prediction of blood clots in cancer patients

(WASHINGTON, September 9, 2010) – For cancer patients, who have an increased risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) due to a hyperactive blood coagulation system, there is now an enhanced risk model to predict their chance of developing blood clots, according to a recent study published today in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology.

New dual recognition mechanism discovered in tuberculosis

One third of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), which leads to tuberculosis (TB), a leading cause of death world-wide. A new discovery, led by a team of researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, offers hope for new approaches to the prevention and treatment of TB. The team's discovery of a novel mechanism that may contribute to immune recognition of MTB is published in the September issue of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.