Body

Tai Chi may help alleviate tension headaches

This study examined whether a traditional low-impact mind–body exercise, Tai Chi, affects health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) and headache impact in an adult population suffering from tension-type headaches.

According to the National Headache Foundation, more than 45 million Americans suffer from chronic headaches, with losses of $50 billion a year to absenteeism and medical expenses and an excess of $4 billion spent on over-the-counter medications.

NOAA announces next solar storm cycle will likely start next March

The next 11-year cycle of solar storms will most likely start next March and peak in late 2011 or mid-2012—up to a year later than expected—according to a forecast issued by the NOAA Space Environment Center in coordination with an international panel of solar experts. The NOAA Space Environment Center led the prediction panel and issued the forecast at its annual Space Weather Workshop in Boulder, Colo. NASA sponsored the panel.

Do anti-depressants cause Parkinson's disease?

Depression may be an early symptom of Parkinson's disease, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 28 – May 5, 2007.

Scientists find missing link in understanding how plants make vitamin C

Vitamin C is possibly the most important small molecule whose biosynthetic pathway remained a mystery. That is until now.

A group of Dartmouth and UCLA researchers, who normally work on genes involved in aging and cancer in animals, discovered the last piece of the puzzle, they report in a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

The economic impact of arthritis on the United States

Arthritis cases on the rise, finds comparative national study, underscoring the need for cost-effective care and disability-reduction efforts

Revolutionizing prosthetics - new DARPA prototype

An international has developed a prototype of the first fully integrated prosthetic arm that can be controlled naturally and provide sensory feedback, and allows for eight degrees of Freedom -- a level of control far beyond the current state of the art for prosthetic limbs.Jesse Sullivan, a former high-power lineman, lost both arms in 2001 after being shocked on the job. Here, he demonstrates the capabilities of the Proto 1 prosthetic arm system during clinical tests at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

More women are developing multiple sclerorsis (MS) than men

Over time, more women are developing multiple sclerosis (MS) than men, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 28 – May 5, 2007.

In 1940, the ratio of women to men with MS in the United States was approximately two to one. By 2000, that ratio had grown to approximately four to one.

Minuscule molecules pack powerful punch

A role for a microRNA in the immune system has been shown by study of one of the world’s first microRNA knockout mouse. The microRNA acts as a lynchpin to balance the response of immune defences and the researchers suggest the corresponding human gene will have a similar vital role.

New genetic risk factors for type 2 diabetes

Ten genetic variants associated with type 2 diabetes, a disease which impacts more than 170 million people worldwide, have been identified or confirmed by a U.S.-Finnish team led by scientists at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

The discoveries could lead to the development of new drugs for diabetes, permit more effective targeting of drug and behavioral therapies, and help scientists and physicians better predict who will develop diabetes, said Michael Boehnke, the Richard G. Cornell Collegiate Professor of Biostatistics at the U-M School of Public Health.

Girls born with HIV infection at higher risk for cervical problems

A generation of children born with HIV are now coming of age and reaching sexual maturity. Girls in this group who are sexually active are experiencing a higher number than expected of cervical abnormalities, a new study finds.

Researchers monitored the rate of first-time pregnancies, genital health and Pap test results of 638 girls, ages13 and over, who became infected with HIV around the time of birth. Nearly 50 percent of the girls had abnormal cervical cells.

Syphilis rate on rise in US gay, bisexual men

Armed with more than a decade’s worth of statistics, researchers are sounding a new alarm about growing rates of syphilis among gay and bisexual men.

The overall number of syphilis cases in the United States fell from 50,578 in 1990 to just 7,177 in 2003 perhaps because of a nationwide prevention campaign aimed at heterosexuals. Nevertheless, gay men have seen their rates rise significantly in this decade.

Vaccine hope for sufferers of potentially fatal stomach bug

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have been awarded over £366,000 to help unravel the mystery of a stomach bug which causes gastric ulcers and cancer. Their research could lead to the development of a vaccine for those most at risk.

Toward a cure for African sleeping sickness

Studies of the enzyme CTP synthetase in the parasite Trypanosoma brucei have brought researchers at Umeå University in Sweden closer to a cure for African sleeping sickness. Their findings are now being published in the April issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Get nanotechnology, go green

Nanotechnology is the ability to measure, see, manipulate and manufacture things usually between 1 and 100 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter; a human hair is roughly 100,000 nanometers wide. More than $30 billion in products incorporating nanotechnology were sold globally in 2005. By 2014, Lux Research estimates this figure will grow to $2.6 trillion.

Fixing diet soda - your mouth as a super-rheometer

Consumers may claim they don't like diet soda because of the taste of artificial sweeteners, but Shelly Schmidt, a University of Illinois professor of food chemistry, thinks people are also influenced by a subtle difference called "mouth-feel." Think body, fullness, thickness; regular soda contains high-fructose corn syrup, diet soda doesn't.