Body

Currently, beachgoers are informed about water-quality conditions based on results from the previous day's sample. Scientists must collect samples in the field, then return to a lab to culture them for analysis — a process that takes a minimum of 24 hours.

Now, engineers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have sped up the process of analyzing bacterial concentrations to under one hour, through the development of a new in-field, rapid-detection method.

Among rhesus macaque monkeys, mothers who weigh more and have had previous pregnancies produce more and better breast milk for their babies than mothers who weigh less and are less experienced. Scientists from the Smithsonian Institution and the University of California, Davis are using this natural variation in breast milk quality and quantity to show that a mother's milk sends a reliable signal to infants about their environment.

AUSTIN, Texas—A fossil that was celebrated last year as a possible "missing link" between humans and early primates is actually a forebearer of modern-day lemurs and lorises, according to two papers by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin, Duke University and the University of Chicago.

In an article now available online in the Journal of Human Evolution, four scientists present evidence that the 47-million-year-old Darwinius masillae is not a haplorhine primate like humans, apes and monkeys, as the 2009 research claimed.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – With the obesity rate rising for American adults and children, health concerns such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease are a frequent reality. Although obesity itself is a major risk factor for disease, most of the threat may be associated with a cluster of risk factors called the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Losing weight can improve health and reduce these risk factors, but many people have difficulty keeping the weight off.

HOUSTON, March 2, 2010 – A heart patient's own skin cells soon could be used to repair damaged cardiac tissue thanks to pioneering stem cell research of the University of Houston's newest biomedical scientist, Robert Schwartz.

His new technique for reprogramming human skin cells puts him at the forefront of a revolution in medicine that could one day lead to treatments for Alzheimer's, diabetes, muscular dystrophy and many other diseases.

When researchers created mice lacking an enzyme that breaks down and releases stored triglycerides (more properly known as triacylglycerols or TGs), they expected to see animals with better lipid profiles. But according to a report in the March Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, they got more than they bargained for. The triacylglycerol hydrolase (TGH)-deficient mice showed global metabolic benefits, with essentially no downside.

Over 60 per cent of Canadians are classified as overweight or obese. This epidemic is a concern for experts around the world. One of the major problems is high levels of lipids in the blood, which can lead to cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease and Type 2 diabetes. But a University of Alberta researcher has taken a major step in protecting people against these diseases.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A nanoparticle growing in popularity as a bactericidal agent has been shown to be toxic to fish, according to a Purdue University study.

Tested on fathead minnows ╨ an organism often used to test the effects of toxicity on aquatic life -- nanosilver suspended in solution proved toxic and even lethal to the minnows. When the nanosilver was allowed to settle, the solution became several times less toxic but still caused malformations in the minnows.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Not getting enough sleep does more damage than just leaving you with puffy eyes. It can cause fat to accumulate around your organs – more dangerous, researchers say, than those pesky love handles and jiggly thighs.

DALLAS – March 3, 2010 – Like any successful team effort, the best qualities of two drugs commonly prescribed for enlarged prostate yielded better results than either of the medicines alone, according to a new study from UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The findings, published in a recent issue of the journal European Urology, compared treatments for three groups of study participants with enlarged prostates over four years. The study, which included more than 4,800 men, is one of the first to compare single and combo medication regimens in such a large group.

Children with asthma who continue to have symptoms while using low-dose inhaled corticosteroids could benefit from increasing the dosage or adding one of two asthma drugs, a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and other institutions finds.

Results of the study, called BADGER (Best ADd-on therapy Giving Effective Responses) may also allow physicians to better predict which of the three options will help a patient the most.

In a bold, eye-opening editorial in the March 2010 issue of the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Harvard Professor, Beryl Benacerraf, MD, urges the medical community to use ultrasound instead of Computed Tomography (CT) as the first-line imaging test for better diagnosis capability in the evaluation of acute female pelvic and lower abdominal conditions. In the editorial, "Why Has Computed Tomography Won and Ultrasound Lost the Market Share of Imaging for Acute Pelvic Conditions in the Female Patient?", Dr Benacerraf raises the question:

CLEVELAND – There is typically a shortage of donated blood in the United States, and research at Case Western Reserve University is looking for ways of improving the life-saving supply.

Nicola Lacetera, assistant professor of economics at the university's Weatherhead School of Management, notes that about 38 percent of Americans are eligible to donate blood and only about 8 percent do. Many of those who donate a first time don't donate again, and there are some population segments which very rarely give blood.

PITTSBURGH, March 2 – Patients hospitalized with even mild to moderate community-acquired pneumonia who develop acute kidney injury (AKI) are more likely to die after discharge than pneumonia patients whose kidneys remain healthy, according to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study in the February issue of Kidney International. The study also found a strong relationship between AKI and levels of inflammatory biomarkers.