“Tailored” advice no extra help to smokers in study
• Tobacco & Marijuana • Jun 30 12
Tailoring online advice to a smoker’s particular patterns and beliefs about smoking was no more effective than standardized feedback in a new study comparing…
Study finds new gene mutations that lead to enlarged brain size, cancer, autism, epilepsy
• Brain • • Genetics • Jun 30 12
A research team led by Seattle Children’s Research Institute has discovered new gene mutations associated with markedly enlarged brain size, or megalencephaly. Mutations in…
Could your favorite beach make you sick?
• Public Health • Jun 29 12
Bacterial contamination from stormwater runoff and sewage helped make 2011 one of the worst years in more than two decades for health-related closings and…
FDA approves lorcaserin, first weight-loss drug since 1999
• Drug News • • Weight Loss • Jun 28 12
Once the Drug Enforcement Administration clears it, the drug will be marketed in the U.S. under the name Belviq. But the FDA’s approval comes…
Not All Calories Equal, Study Shows
• Dieting • • Food & Nutrition • Jun 28 12
A diet based on healthy carbohydrates - rather than a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet - offers the best chance of keeping weight off without…
‘Smoking vaccine’ blocks nicotine in mice brains
• Brain • • Tobacco & Marijuana • Jun 28 12
Smokers could one day be immunised against nicotine so they gain no pleasure from the habit, according to researchers in the US.
They have…
Sunscreen forbidden at schools and camps
• Children's Health • Jun 28 12
When parents send children to school or camp, they may worry about many things, from bullies to bus accidents. But unauthorized sunscreen use?
It…
Extra weight comes with more knee pain, stiffness
• Obesity • • Pain • Jun 28 12
People who put on weight are more likely to develop knee pain than those who stay the same or lose weight, says a new…
Good News for Aging Eyes
• Eye / Vision Problems • Jun 28 12
Today’s senior citizens are reporting fewer visual impairment problems than their counterparts from a generation ago, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. Improved…
Gene discovery helps explain how flu can cause severe infections
• Infections • Jun 28 12
Scientists have discovered a new gene in the influenza virus that helps the virus control the body’s response to infection.
Although this control is…
Online tool helps U.S. beachgoers avoid dirty waters
• Public Health • Jun 28 12
If you plan on hitting the beach this summer, a new report recommends first checking your local water quality online before packing your bags…
People turn to high-calorie food first after fasting
• Dieting • Jun 28 12
People who haven’t eaten for many hours turn to high-calorie foods like starches and proteins - not vegetables - once they can satisfy their…
China dairy recalls hundreds of cartons of tainted milk
• Public Health • • Nutrition and Food Safety • Jun 28 12
A Chinese dairy company has recalled hundreds of cartons of milk after a mechanical error tainted the batch with alkaline water, the latest blow…
Obese appendectomy patients have fewer complications with minimally invasive operations
• Obesity • • Surgery • Jun 27 12
Obese patients who need to have their appendixes removed fare better after a minimally invasive surgical procedure rather than an open operation, according to…
Stem cell transplantation into mouse cochlea may impact future hearing loss therapies
• Ear / Nose / Throat • Jun 27 12
Researchers in Japan who evaluated the risks and efficacy of transplanting two varieties of stem cells into mouse cochlea have concluded that both adult-derived…
Regular, moderate, coffee drinking may reduce heart failure risk
• Dieting • • Heart • Jun 27 12
If you drink coffee regularly in moderation, you could reduce your risk of heart failure, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s…
Phthalate, environmental chemical is linked to higher rates of childhood obesity
• Children's Health • • Obesity • Jun 26 12
Obese children show greater exposure than nonobese children to a phthalate, a chemical used to soften plastics in some children’s toys and many household…
White House says ready for Supreme Court health decision
• Public Health • Jun 26 12
The White House said on Tuesday it was ready for a Supreme Court verdict on President Barack Obama’s flagship health reform law and remained…
2009 swine flu outbreak was 15 times deadlier: study
• Flu • • Infections • Jun 26 12
The swine flu pandemic of 2009 killed an estimated 284,500 people, some 15 times the number confirmed by laboratory tests at the time, according…
Doctors should screen patients for obesity: U.S. panel
• Obesity • • Public Health • Jun 26 12
Doctors should check weight and height for all patients to determine if they’re obese and refer them to intensive diet and exercise programs if…
Dole recalls salad in 6 U.S. states for listeria risk
• Food & Nutrition • • Infections • Jun 26 12
More than 1,000 bags of salad produced by Dole Foods Co have been recalled from stores in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee…
Statins similarly effective in men and women: study
• Gender: Female • • Gender: Male • Jun 25 12
Cholesterol-lowering drugs are just as effective at preventing heart problems in men and women who have already had a heart attack or stroke, according…
Weight Loss May Change Brain
• Brain • • Neurology • • Weight Loss • Jun 23 12
MRI scans done after bariatric surgery reveal different patterns of brain activation in response to food cues according to a study reported here.
Resistance…
Statistics on smoking
• Tobacco & Marijuana • Jun 22 12
As Mark Twain famously said, “It’s easy to quit smoking. I’ve done it hundreds of times.” Generations of smokers trying to kick the habit…
Happy Father’s Day! Another reason why dads and hopeful dads should quit smoking now
• Tobacco & Marijuana • Jun 22 12
As you decide what to get dad for Father’s Day, you might want to consider what he gave you when you were conceived. If…