Body

Melatonin supplements do not appear to lessen delirium in elderly people undergoing surgery for hip fractures, indicates a new trial published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)

A new study published in the September issue of The FASEB Journal, http://www.fasebj.org, identifies a novel strategy to diagnose the leading cause of blindness in adults, diabetic retinopathy, before irreversible structural damage has occurred. This advance involves quantifying the early molecular changes caused by diabetes on the endothelium of retinal vessels. Using new probes developed by scientists, they were able to distinguish the early molecular development of diabetic retinopathy.

Winston-Salem, N.C. – Sept. 2, 2014 – What if repairing large segments of damaged muscle tissue was as simple as mobilizing the body's stem cells to the site of the injury? New research in mice and rats, conducted at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, suggests that "in body" regeneration of muscle tissue might be possible by harnessing the body's natural healing powers.

New research1 presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona shows that having a family history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is not enough to motivate people to follow healthy lifestyles.

In light of the upcoming referendum on whether Scotland should be an independent country, researchers present a set of predictions of the possible effects on internal and international migration.

If Scotland declares independence, international immigration will remain the most uncertain flow. However, if large inflows occur, they are likely to be balanced by emigration from Scotland. Migration between Scotland and the rest of the UK is expected to remain at similar levels to the present, irrespective of the outcome of the 2014 independence referendum.

Move over antibiotic ointment, there might be a new salve to dominate medicine cabinets of the future, and it comes from an unlikely place—the lowly salamander. Salamanders may not be the cuddliest of animals, but they can regenerate lost limbs and achieve amazing recovery of seriously damaged body parts.

The prevalence of opioid-involved overdoses has become an increasing concern to health officials both in NYC and nationally. According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the number of unintentional opioid-involved overdose deaths in 2011 was nearly triple the number of such deaths in 2000. Much of the increase has been attributed to a dramatic rise in nonmedical prescription opioid (PO) use among teens and young adults, and, more recently, in heroin use among youth who transitioned from POs to heroin.

MANHATTAN, KANSAS — Two Kansas State University biochemists have discovered a family of proteins that could lead to better treatments for Staphylococcus aureus, a pathogenic bacterium that can cause more than 60,000 potentially life-threatening infections each year.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2014—In a new guideline, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine has recommended against the routine use of bed rest in pregnancy.

"There is no evidence that bed rest improves outcomes", says Anthony Sciscione, DO, director of Delaware Center for Maternal and Fetal Medicine and one of the co-authors of the guideline. "However, there is evidence that bed rest can be harmful for moms, babies, and families."

Many research studies have made it clear that a mother's eating habits prior to pregnancy, during pregnancy and during lactation have a profound impact on her offspring and their propensity for developing weight problems, including obesity. However, until now, the mechanisms behind this phenomenon were unclear.

JUPITER, FL, September 2, 2014 – In a new study that could ultimately lead to many new medicines, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have adapted a chemical approach to turn diseased cells into unique manufacturing sites for molecules that can treat a form of muscular dystrophy.

The foundation of the human population explosion, commonly attributed to a sudden surge in industrialization and public health during the 18th and 19th centuries, was actually laid as far back as 2,000 years ago, suggests an extended model of detailed demographic and archeological data.

The Public Library of Science One (PLOS ONE) recently published the analytical framework developed by Aaron Stutz, an associate professor of anthropology at Emory University's Oxford College.

Experts who reviewed the terminology associated with genitourinary tract symptoms related to menopause—currently referred to as vulvovaginal atrophy—have agreed that the term genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is a medically more accurate, all-encompassing, and a more publicly acceptable term. Their thoughts are published in a recent Journal of Sexual Medicine article.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — It's hard to comprehend how bad the current rate of species extinction around the world has become without knowing what it was before people came along. The newest estimate is that the pre-human rate was 10 times lower than scientists had thought, which means that the current level is 10 times worse.

Rice is a main food source for more than half of the global population and is a model plant for genome-based research.

Since the turn of the century, Chinese scientists have embarked on a "Long March" toward more intricate understanding of the complex agronomic traits of rice, spurred in part by the completion of the draft genome sequence of the indica variety 93-11 and a fine sequence analysis of chromosome 4 of the japonica variety Nipponbare.