Health News Today

(San Francisco State University) Proteins found in sperm are central to understanding male infertility and could be used to determine new diagnostic methods and fertility treatments according to a paper published by the journal Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. The article demonstrates how proteomics, a relatively new field focusing on the function of proteins in a cell, can be successfully applied to infertility, helping identify which proteins in sperm cells are dysfunctional. »»»

(Scripps Research Institute) Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute have, for the first time, solved the structure of a virus that can infect specific cancer cells. This new knowledge may help drug designers tweak the pathogen enough so that it can attack other tumor subtypes.The study was published in the Oct. 8 issue of Structure, a Cell Press journal. »»»

(Stanford University) The circadian rhythm that quietly pulses inside us all, guiding our daily cycle from sleep to wakefulness and back to sleep again, may be doing much more than just that simple metronomic task, according to Stanford researchers.Working with Siberian hamsters, biologist Norman Ruby has shown that having a functioning circadian system is critical to the hamsters' ability to remember what they have learned. Without it, he said, "They can't remember anything." »»»

(University of South Florida Health) Women, the elderly and patients admitted to emergency rooms on weekends are all less likely to receive same-day coronary angioplasty for a life-threatening heart attack in Florida, University of South Florida researchers found. »»»

(University of Wisconsin-Madison) An anticipated increased incidence of climate-related extreme rainfall events in the Great Lakes region may raise the public health risk for the 40 million people who depend on the lakes for their drinking water, according to a new study. »»»

(University of Texas at Austin) A novel delivery system that could lead to more efficient and more disease-specific vaccines against infectious diseases has been developed by biomedical engineers at The University of Texas at Austin. »»»

(Porter Novelli) deCODE genetics has launched deCODE BreastCancer, a new tool for assessing risk of the common forms of breast cancer. For the first time, a woman concerned about breast cancer can speak with her physician about a genetic test to better understandher lifetime risk of developing the common forms of the disease, which result from the interplay of genetic as well as environmental and lifestyle factors and represent 95 percent of all breast cancers. »»»

(The Hershey Company) A new study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry measured the antioxidant content of cocoa powders and chocolate products. Natural cocoa powder was shown to have the highest content of flavanols -- the main antioxidant in cocoa products. Further, alkalinization of cocoa products can deplete the antioxidant content, but that depletion depends on the degree of alkalinization. Light and moderately treated cocoa products can retain significant amounts of the antioxidants. »»»

(NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) Scientists have deciphered the complete genetic sequence of the parasite Plasmodium vivax, the leading cause of relapsing malaria, and compared it with the genomes of other species of malaria parasites. The findings shed light on distinctive genetic features of P. vivax, and may lead to new tools to prevent and treat P. vivax malaria. Results of the study, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, appear in the Oct. 9 issue of Nature. »»»

(American Society of Plastic Surgeons) The Patients of Courage: Triumph Over Adversity awards program is supported byEthicon Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company. Continuing in the spirit of giving, $5,000grants will be donated to four non-profit organizations that provide reconstructiveplastic surgery services to people in need. »»»

(Optical Society of America) Following are a few of the many technical highlights to be discussed at Frontiers in Optics: OSA's Annual Meeting. »»»

(American Society of Plastic Surgeons) At the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons Plastic Surgery 2008 conference, plastic surgeons or "smile doctors" will reveal state-of-the-art "facial reanimation" procedures that give people, who previously were unable, the ability to smile. »»»

(American Society of Plastic Surgeons) Women who desire a mommy-makeover, have had major weight loss, or are unhappy with the toll age has taken on their breasts can breathe easier. An innovative procedure to correct severely deflated, sagging breasts left looking like "pancakes" will be presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Plastic Surgery 2008 conference. »»»

Family doctors are working less, but being paid more after a new contract "failed to live up to expectations", MPs said. »»»

The cells in a man's testicles may be able to do a lot more than just make sperm - they could provide any cell type in his body. »»»

A vaccine available right now could help save lives in a future bird flu pandemic, UK scientists claim. »»»

A new state-of-the-art children's hospital in East Sussex is named Britain's best public building. »»»

Patients who go for obesity surgery abroad are being exposed to unnecessary risk because of inappropriate surgery. »»»

The number of women having successful IVF treatment in the UK has topped 10,000 for the first time, data shows. »»»

Fears are being raised about the boom in sales of so-called electronic cigarettes which are not covered by the smoking ban. »»»