Culture

CHICAGO - Researchers using modern imaging techniques on hearts more than 400 years old found at an archeological site were able to learn about the health conditions of the people buried there, according to a new study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Archaeologists with the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research excavating the basement of the Convent of the Jacobins in Rennes, France, unearthed several grave sites dating back to the late 16th or early 17th century.

A growing number of health consumers are consulting online physician-rating sites when choosing doctors even if the value of those sites--whether they're reliable sources for information, or capable of driving improvements in health care--is in dispute.

Some studies have shown how letting patients grade their doctors can lead to over-testing and over-treatment as doctors, hoping to improve their scores, bend to unreasonable patient demands.

The levels of virus in the blood (viremia) for patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD) are strong predictors of fatality, according to a study published in PLOS Medicine this week. The study, conducted by the teams of Amadou Alpha Sall (Institut Pasteur, Dakar, Senegal) and of Simon Cauchemez (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France) and scientists from Guinea and Canada, found that in the week following symptom onset, viremia remained stable, and that the case fatality ratio (CFR, the proportion of deaths from the disease to total cases) increased with level of viremia.

The promotion of healthy eating habits is an important issue across the United States, but research into it has largely been confined to urban areas. But one Drexel professor believes that interventions in the country can reach a significant swath of people.

Drexel University's Ana Martinez-Donate, PhD, and her fellow researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison developed a strategy for healthy eating intervention that showed great promise for rural communities by utilizing local supermarkets and restaurants.

With the aim of producing high-quality X-rays with minimal radiation exposure, particularly in children, researchers have developed a new approach to imaging patients. Surprisingly, the new technology isn't a high-tech, high-dollar piece of machinery. Rather, it's based on the Xbox gaming system.

Using proprietary software developed for the Microsoft Kinect system, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have adapted hands-free technology used for the popular Xbox system to aid radiographers when taking X-rays.

Folsom, Calif., (Dec. 1, 2015) - A new study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that one serving of walnuts (1oz) may provide 146 calories, which is 39 calories less, or 21 percent fewer, than the 185 calories listed in the USDA Nutrient Database. (1) The study takes into account the digestibility of walnut pieces and halves, and further research is needed to better understand the results of the study and how this technique for calculating calories could potentially affect the calorie count of other foods. The research was led by Dr. David J.