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Canada is lagging behind many countries in the use of electronic health records and it is critical that the country's medical and political leaders set targets for universal adoption, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj092189.pdf.

Darkness can conceal identity and encourage moral transgressions; thus Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in "Worship" in The Conduct of Life (1860), "as gaslight is the best nocturnal police, so the universe protects itself by pitiless publicity." New research in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows that darkness may also induce a psychological feeling of illusory anonymity, just as children playing "hide and seek" will close their eyes and believe that other cannot see them, the experience of darkness, even one as subtle as wearing a pair of s

(Boston)- Boston University School of Medicine's (BUSM) researchers have found that sociodemographic characteristics are related to a patients' willingness to participate in cancer screenings. They found this was more important than both attitudinal barriers and medical facilitors. This study appears in the March issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association.

Amsterdam, March 1, 2010 – Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is often considered an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD). An analysis of genetic risk factors predisposing to MCI is critical for accessing individual predisposition and reliably evaluating the effectiveness of early treatment. In a groundbreaking study published in the February 2010 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease investigators successfully used artificial neural networks (ANNs) to help understand the causal relation between multiple factors and the occurrence of neurodegenerative disorders.

Reston, Va.—An imaging technique combining ultrasound and specially modified contrast agents may allow researchers to noninvasively detect cancer and show its progression, according to research published in the March issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM). The technique enables researchers to visualize tumor activity at the molecular level.

An asteroid strike may not only account for the demise of ocean and land life 65 million years ago, but the fireball's path and the resulting dust, darkness and toxic metal contamination may explain the geographic unevenness of extinctions and recovery, according to Penn State geoscientists.

Nanoparticles are atmospheric materials so small that they can't be seen with the naked eye, but they can very visibly affect both weather patterns and human health all over the world – and not in a good way, according to a study by a team of researchers at Texas A&M University.

Researchers Renyi Zhang, Alexei Khalizov, Jun Zheng, Wen Xu, Yan Ma and Vinita Lal in the Departments of Atmospheric Sciences and Chemistry say that nanoparticles appear to be growing in many parts of the world, but how they do so remains a mystery.

One year post-surgery, patients who underwent Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) experienced greater cell loss overall compared to those who underwent penetrating keratoplasty (PKP), according to a new analysis of data collected from the Cornea Donor Study (CDS) Investigator Group's 2008 Specular Microscopy Ancillary Study (SMAS). However, the study, published in the March issue of Ophthalmology, showed that cell loss in DSAEK patients plateaued more quickly than in those who underwent PKP.

Boston, Mass. – Between 5 and 10 percent of babies with Down syndrome develop a transient form of leukemia that usually resolves on its own. However, for reasons that haven't been clear, 20 to 30 percent of these babies progress to a more serious leukemia known as Down syndrome acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (DS-AMKL), which affects the blood progenitor cells that form red blood cells and platelets.

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the University of Dundee recently assessed the light emitted by a home-use intense-pulsed light (IPL) hair reduction system and confirmed that it is safe. This confirmation is important, as IPL devices must meet the necessary safety guidelines, to ensure users are protected in the case of accidental exposure to the human eye.

Tobacco might become as well known for keeping us healthy as it is for causing illness thanks to researchers from the U.K. In a new research report appearing in the March 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) scientists explain how they developed a genetically modified strain of tobacco that helps temper the damaging effects of toxic pond scum, scientifically known as microcystin-LR (MC-LR), which makes water unsafe for drinking, swimming, or fishing.

Simvastatin might help us control our cholesterol, but when it comes to infection, it's an entirely different story says a new research study published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (http://www.jleukbio.org). In the research report, scientists from Italy show that simvastatin delivers a one-two punch to the immune system. First it impairs the ability of specialized immune cells, called macrophages, to kill pathogens. Then, it enhances production of molecules, called cytokines, which trigger and sustain inflammation.

Chevy Chase, MD— According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), obese teenage girls with a greater ratio of visceral fat (fat around internal organs) to subcutaneous fat (fat found just beneath the skin) are likely to have lower bone density than peers with a lower ratio of visceral to subcutaneous fat.

Chevy Chase, MD— According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), older men with high levels of the hormone IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor 1) are at increased risk of cancer death, independent of age, lifestyle and cancer history.

Alexandria, VA - Office-based, surgeon-performed, ultrasound-guided, fine needle aspiration (FNA) of head and neck lesions yields a statistically significant higher diagnostic rate compared to the standard palpation technique, indicates new research in the March 2010 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.