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Obese women develop breast cancer at a younger age than other women. Furthermore, the likelihood of developing breast cancer is much higher in patients with morbid obesity.

This is one of the main conclusions drawn in an article recently published in the Spanish journal Nutrición Hospitalaria by the University of Granada research group CTS 367, coordinated by the Nursery Department professor María José Aguilar Cordero.

Differences in the levels of two key metabolic enzymes may explain why some people are more susceptible to liver damage, according to a study in the October 17 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. (http://www.jcb.org).

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease that gets progressively worse over time, making it harder and harder to breathe. It is caused primarily by cigarette smoking, which leads to persistent inflammation in the airways and the subsequent destruction of the lung tissue. Given the central role of inflammation in COPD, it is surprising that patients derive little benefit from treatment with potent anti-inflammatory drugs known as corticosteroids.

The list of aging-associated proteins known to be involved in cancer is growing longer, according to research by investigators at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The new study, published Oct. 17 in Cancer Cell, identifies the protein SIRT2 as a tumor suppressor linked to gender-specific tumor development in mice. Along with two other "sirtuin" proteins previously linked to cancer, the new finding suggests the existence of a rare "family" of tumor suppressors.

Rising sea levels in the coming centuries is perhaps one of the most catastrophic consequences of rising temperatures. Massive economic costs, social consequences and forced migrations could result from global warming. But how frightening of times are we facing? Researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute are part of a team that has calculated the long-term outlook for rising sea levels in relation to the emission of greenhouse gases and pollution of the atmosphere using climate models. The results have been published in the scientific journal Global and Planetary Change.

Antiviral drugs used to target the herpes virus could be effective at slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a new study shows.

The University of Manchester scientists have previously shown that the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) is a risk factor for Alzheimer's when it is present in the brains of people who have a specific genetic risk to the disease.

Assistant Professor David Bickford from the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS Faculty of Science, and his collaborator Dr Jennifer Sheridan, have in a recent study, provided compelling evidence from scientific literature that climate change has an unexpected effect on body size for many different species all over the world.

BOSTON -- Preliminary research suggests that fathers of low-income children support breastfeeding but are unsure how to influence or help their child's mother (their partner) with breastfeeding, according to new research presented Monday, Oct. 17, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

The rate of breastfeeding among low-income, inner-city African-American mothers "is a health disparity now receiving national attention," according to the abstract, "Low-Income Inner-City Fathers and Breastfeeding: Where's the Program for Us?"

BOSTON -- More than one in four kindergarten children, and one in five teachers, had difficulty distinguishing between medicine and candy in new research conducted by two, now seventh-grade students, who presented their findings on Monday, Oct. 17, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

Casey Gittelman and Eleanor Bishop conducted their study, "Candy or Medicine: Can Children Tell the Difference?" earlier this year at Ayer Elementary School in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio.

BOSTON -- While breastfed babies initially awaken more during the night for feedings, their sleep patterns -- falling asleep, staying asleep and total sleep time -- stabilize in later infancy and become comparable to non-breastfed babies, according to an abstract presented Monday, Oct. 17, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

BOSTON -- New research reinforces the need for continued public education programs that encourage parents to place their infants to sleep in the supine (back) position in a safe crib or bassinet, to prevent an estimated 4,600 annual Sudden Unintended Infant Deaths (SUID), of which 50 percent are classified as Sudden Death Syndrome (SIDS). The abstract, "Retrospective Review of Sleeping Conditions in Infant Deaths in New Mexico," was presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

BOSTON -- Very young children who live in a home with a swimming pool are at risk of drowning, a leading cause of injury death among toddlers. A study abstract presented Monday, Oct. 17, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston identifies three likely scenarios that precede the drowning of a very young child (ages 1 to 4) in an at-home swimming pool.

BOSTON -- From 1999 to 2007, there were 185,950 emergency department (ED) visits in the U.S. for firearm injuries in children aged 0 to 19 years. A new abstract presented Monday, Oct. 17, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston, provided an overview of these injuries, including a variety of risk factors including age, race, hospital location, and insurance type.

While it's been long established that watching violent scenes increases aggression levels, a new study in the medical journal Pediatrics suggests that profanity in the media may have a similar effect. Pediatrics is the top-ranked journal in its field and among the top 2 percent most-cited scientific and medical journals in the world.

The study appears to be the first to examine the impact of profanity in the media, which sounds surprising considering how central language is to movie and TV ratings.

The low rate of breastfeeding among low-income, inner-city African-American mothers is a health disparity now receiving national attention. Two new studies from University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital highlight some obstacles to increasing the breastfeeding rate in this population and identify methods to address this disparity.