Body

(Boston) – Boston University researchers have learned new information about the consequences of overeating high-calorie foods. Not only does this lead to an increase in white fat cell production, the type prominent in obesity, but it also leads to the dysfunction of brown fat cells, the unique type of fat that generates heat and burns energy.

Visualizing calcium dynamics in the kidney

The refrigerant R1234yf is being considered for use in air conditioning systems in cars. Chemists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich now show that, in the event of a fire, it releases the highly poisonous carbonyl fluoride, and urge that its safety be reassessed.

London, UK, Wednesday 9 April 2014: The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) will this week be announcing new on-line recommendations on the management of hepatitis C (HCV) at the International Liver Congress™ (ILC). These EASL recommendations reflect the approval of three new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) during 2014 by the European Medicines Agency.

Philadelphia, PA, April 9, 2014 – A new USDA mandate calling for access to free drinking water during lunchtime at schools participating in the National School Lunch Program went into effect at the start of the 2011-12 school year. Researchers from the University of Michigan and University of Illinois at Chicago examined compliance with the new requirement as well as perceptions about drinking fountain cleanliness and water quality.

One of the world's most contentious food issues - Genetically Modified (GM) crops – will be debated by some of the world's leading authorities on the subject at Queen's University Belfast today (Wednesday day 9 April).

Current and recent use of painkillers/anti-inflammatories may be linked to a heightened risk of an irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation) among older adults, finds a large population study published in the online journal BMJ Open.

Atrial fibrillation has itself been linked to stroke, heart failure, and reduced life expectancy, while previously published research has linked the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, to a heightened risk of cardiovascular problems, including heart attack.

Small financial incentives, totalling as little as £30, can dramatically increase the likelihood of people who inject drugs completing a course of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination, according to new research published in The Lancet.

Northern sea otters living off the coast of Washington state were infected with the same H1N1 flu virus that caused the world-wide pandemic in 2009, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.

During an August 2011 health monitoring project, USGS and CDC scientists found evidence that the Washington sea otters were infected with the pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus, although the exact date and source of exposure could not be determined. The findings suggest that human flu can infect sea otters.

• Energy drinks (EDs) have become increasingly popular among teenagers and young adults during recent years.
• A new study has examined their use among Italian adolescents.
• Findings indicate a strong need for comprehensive educational programs focusing on the potential health effects of energy drinks alone, and in combination with alcohol.

In the creation of lists by specialty societies of medical services deemed least beneficial (the "Choosing Wisely" initiative), inclusion was often justified by evidence suggesting no additional benefit with higher risk, higher cost, or both, compared with other options, according to a study in the April 9 issue of JAMA.

PITTSBURGH, April 8, 2014 – Binge drinking by teenagers and young adults is strongly associated with liking, owning and correctly identifying music that references alcohol by brand name, according to a study by the University of Pittsburgh and Norris Cotton Cancer Center.

SAN DIEGO, CA (April 8, 2014)—By incapacitating the activities of a protein that guides other proteins to fold into a stable shapes, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers shut off the spigot for two proteases that help ovarian cancer cells chew their way out of the tissue they grow in and dig in at new locations.

SAN DIEGO, CA (April 8, 2014)—A quartet of proteins that play critical roles in cell replication, cell death, and DNA repair could lead to better targets for therapy against treatment-resistant head-and-neck squamous cell cancers.

(Lebanon, 04/08/2014)— Binge drinking by teenagers and young adults is strongly associated with liking, owning, and correctly identifying music that references alcohol by brand name according to a study by the University of Pittsburgh and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center.