Body

The average salt content of packaged bread sold in the UK has fallen by 20 per cent over the past decade. But salt levels still vary widely, indicating that further targets are required, finds research published in the online only journal BMJ Open.

Bread is the biggest contributor of dietary salt in the UK, providing almost a fifth of the total derived from processed foods. The recommended daily intake for UK adults is a maximum of 6 g, with the current average 8.1 g a day.

Moderate drinking during pregnancy - 3 to 7 glasses of alcohol a week - does not seem to harm fetal neurodevelopment, as indicated by the child's ability to balance, suggests a large study published in the online only journal BMJ Open.

But social advantage may be a factor, as more affluent and better educated mums-to-be tend to drink more than women who are less well off, say the researchers.

BOSTON -- Many men with low-risk, localized prostate cancers can safely choose active surveillance or "watchful waiting" instead of undergoing immediate treatment and have better quality of life while reducing health care costs, according to a study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Two independent reanalyses of trial data, based on an unprecedented data release by Medtronic, Inc., indicate that the current evidence shows little benefit and potential harms are associated with the use of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2), an orthobiologic agent used to promote bone growth, in spinal surgery.

A special type of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, may increase the risk for insulin resistance among children conceived in this way, according to a new study from Greece. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

During natural fertilization, as well as other IVF treatments, the egg is exposed to many sperm. In both of these cases, the strongest, healthiest sperm has the best chance of reaching and fertilizing the egg.

Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have identified in the most aggressive forms of cancer a gene known to regulate embryonic stem cell self-renewal, beginning a creative search for a drug that can block its activity.

Researchers have found that antibodies against the human papillomavirus (HPV) may help identify individuals who are at greatly increased risk of HPV-related cancer of the oropharynx, which is a portion of the throat that contains the tonsils.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and investigators have reduced the deadlines for initiation of trials with the goal of reaching more patients in need of new treatments, according to a study published June 17 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Eating more red meat over time is associated with an increased risk of type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a follow-up of three studies of about 149,000 U.S. men and women, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

Age disparities exist in the continuum of care for patients with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with people younger than 45 years less likely to be aware of their infection or to have a suppressed viral load, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

Differences in parental beliefs and attitudes regarding the effects of media on early childhood development may help explain increasing racial/ethnic disparities in child media viewing/habits, according to a study by Wanjiku F. M. Njoroge, M.D., of Seattle Children's Hospital and the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues. (Online First)

TORONTO, June 17, 2013—How kids eat their food may turn out to be just as important as what they eat, according to a new study out of St. Michael's Hospital.

The study, led by Dr. Nav Persaud, a family physician, found a significant association between poor eating habits in kids ages three to five and their levels of non-HDL – or "bad" – cholesterol, putting them at risk for cardiovascular disease later in life.

The paper appeared online in the Canadian Medical Association Journal today.

NEW YORK, NY (June 17, 2013) – A team from the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute and the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center of Columbia University has generated patient-specific beta cells, or insulin-producing cells, that accurately reflect the features of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY).

LA JOLLA, CA – June 17, 2013 – An international team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has identified a highly promising new anti-tuberculosis compound that attacks the tuberculosis (TB) bacterium in two different ways.

RSV is a common cause of respiratory infection, but there is no vaccine available. It causes flu-like symptoms in healthy adults, but becomes life-threatening in young children and the elderly. It is estimated to cause over 100 000 deaths yearly worldwide.

The teams of Research Director Sarah Butcher (Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki) and Professor Ari Helenius (ETH Zurich) have now solved the three-dimensional structure of RSV.