Tech

Scientists have shown that through an eye exam, doctors can identify infants who are most likely to benefit from early treatment for a potentially blinding eye condition called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), resulting in better vision for many children.

Migraines, often characterized by excruciating headache and nausea, are much worse for the uninsured, a new Harvard Medical School study shows.

Researchers say migraine sufferers who lack private health insurance get poor care for their condition. They are about twice as likely to get inadequate treatment for their headaches as their privately insured counterparts. People with Medicaid also get substandard care.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – People with no health insurance are less likely than the privately insured to receive proper treatment for their migraines, according to a study published in the April 13, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology considers the children's visual acuity results reported in the Early Treatment for Retinopathy of Prematurity Study an affirmation of the efficacy and long-term benefit of current retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) diagnosis and treatment practices. Parents, as well as pediatric ophthalmologists, pediatricians and others who care for babies at risk of ROP can be reassured that treatment will help these children achieve their best possible vision.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - New research findings suggest that an experimental ultrasensitive medical imaging technique that uses a pulsed laser and tiny metallic "nanocages" might enable both the early detection and treatment of disease.

The system works by shining near-infrared laser pulses through the skin to detect hollow nanocages and solid nanoparticles - made of an alloy of gold and silver - that are injected into the bloodstream.

Hamilton, ON (April 9, 2010) – A new study led by the scientific director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research has uncovered for the first time how bacteria recognize and develop resistance to a powerful antibiotic used to treat superbug infections.

Gerry Wright, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University in collaboration with colleagues at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, and the University of Cambridge in the UK, have identified the specific mechanism that triggers resistance to vancomycin.

Canada needs minimum training standards for laser hair removal operators, as currently anyone, trained or not, can legally operate a laser machine for hair removal in Canada, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj100475.pdf.

In Canada, no license is required to operate a laser hair removal machine and training is usually provided by the manufacturer. Only the machine itself is licensed by Health Canada.

St. Louis, MO, April 12, 2010 – More than one third of Americans are considered obese and approximately 15 million (5%) Americans now have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40. The April issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association focuses on the ever-increasing use of bariatric surgery to control the excess morbidity and mortality associated with extreme obesity and the important role that registered dietitians play in the management of patients who have undergone the procedure.

TORONTO, Ont., April 12, 2010— It's well known that many women remain in abusive relationships with their male partners. A new study by researchers in Toronto and New York suggests that many who live with chronic psychological abuse still see certain positive traits in their abusers—such as dependability and being affectionate—which may partly explain why they stay.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers here are hopeful that the new core they drilled through an ice field on the Antarctic Peninsula will contain ice dating back into the last ice age. If so, that record should give new insight into past global climate changes.

The expedition in early winter to the Bruce Plateau, an ice field straddling a narrow ridge on the northernmost tongue of the southernmost continent, yielded a core that was 445.6 meters (1,462 feet) long, the longest yet recovered from that region of Antarctica.

Exposure to an increased level of air pollutants, especially nitrogen dioxide, has been associated with lower likelihoods of successful pregnancy among women undergoing in vitro fertilization, according to a team of fertility researchers.

The team examined the outcomes of the first pregnancy attempt of 7,403 women undergoing IVF at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pa.; Shady Grove Fertility, Rockville, Md.; and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, N.Y. They conducted their observations over a seven-year period from 2000 to 2007.

URBANA - The 1996 U.S. Farm Bill eliminated many acreage restrictions, thereby allowing farmers to plant what they believe to be their most competitive crops. A study conducted by University of Illinois agricultural economists evaluated subsequent acreage changes across crops to better understand which crops have been most profitable during a period when farm legislation contains few acreage constraints.

Do you carry a cell phone? Today, chances are it's called a "smartphone" and it came with a three-to-five megapixel lens built-in—not to mention an MP3 player, GPS or even a bar code scanner. This 'Swiss-Army-knife' trend represents the natural progression of technology—as chips become smaller/more advanced, cell phones absorb new functions.

What if, in the future, new functions on our cell phones could also protect us from toxic chemicals?

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- To make large sheets of carbon available for light collection, Indiana University Bloomington chemists have devised an unusual solution -- attach what amounts to a 3-D bramble patch to each side of the carbon sheet. Using that method, the scientists say they were able to dissolve sheets containing as many as 168 carbon atoms, a first.

The scientists' report, online today (April 9), will appear in a future issue of Nano Letters, an American Chemical Society journal.

Nearly one in ten primary care physicians in the United States has experienced a conflict with a religiously-affiliated hospital or practice over religious policies for patient care, researchers from the University of Chicago report in a paper published early online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.