http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Authorities are investigating rice mills in southern China following tests that found almost half of the staple grain in one of the country's largest cities was contaminated with a toxic metal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-rice-contamination-china.html Health Tue, 21 May 2013 09:19:45 EST news288346778 In a remote fishing community in Venezuela, a lone fisherman sits on a cliff overlooking the southern Caribbean Sea. This man –– the lookout –– is responsible for directing his comrades on the water, who are too close to their target to detect their next catch. Using abilities honed by years of scanning the water's surface, he can tell by shadows, ripples, and even the behavior of seabirds, where the fish are schooling, and what kind of fish they might be, without actually seeing the fish. This, in turn, changes where the boats go, and how the men fish. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-scene-context-brain.html Neuroscience Tue, 21 May 2013 09:19:06 EST news288346735 Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Lund University, Sweden, have bioengineered a novel molecule which has been proven to successfully kill tumour cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-tumour-killer-great-suppressing-cancers.html Cancer Tue, 21 May 2013 09:10:02 EST news288344824 Researchers from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and the Research Institute of Electrical Communication (RIEC) of Tohoku University have jointly developed an auditory orientation training system for the visually impaired. This technology artificially reproduces the clues to auditory orientation used by a visually impaired person during walking, such as the movement and reflection of sounds, by using three-dimensional acoustic technology. Through downsizing and cost reduction, the researchers have developed it into a practical training system that allows a visually impaired person who has just started orientation and mobility (O&M) training to receive auditory orientation training safely and effectively. Starting on April 11, 2013, the software for the training system is available for free to people and organizations concerned with the visually impaired. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-free-auditory-visually-impaired.html Other Tue, 21 May 2013 09:03:41 EST news288345814 Regardless of pain, social class or age, a woman is more likely to be prescribed pain-relieving drugs. A study published in Gaceta Sanitaria (Spanish health scientific journal) affirms that this phenomenon is influenced by socioeconomic inequality between genders in the Autonomous Community in which the patient resides. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-analgesics-heavily-women-men.html Medications Tue, 21 May 2013 09:00:01 EST news288344801 An article published on the journal Nature describes the major role that Pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) —an enzyme of cellular energy metabolism— plays in the regulation of the cellular senescence induced by the oncogene BRAF, which usually appears mutated in melanoma and other cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-factor-oncogene-induced-senescence.html Cancer Tue, 21 May 2013 08:46:11 EST news288344761 Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine will study gender differences in how the heart uses and stores fat—its main energy source—and how changes in fat metabolism play a role in heart disease, under a new $2 million, 4-year grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-men-women-hearts-fuel-differently.html Medical research Tue, 21 May 2013 08:30:02 EST news288341701 The warning images Brussels proposes to include on tobacco packages in order to reduce consumption do not make the desired impact on smokers because they only find some of them really unpleasant. So, if the European Commission wants to improve the efficacy of its anti-smoking campaigns, it should produce a new set of images that make a stronger emotional impact. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-images-cigarette-strong-emotional-impact.html Health Tue, 21 May 2013 08:20:01 EST news288341636 Ten years after the Iraq war of 2003 a team of scientists based in Mosul, northern Iraq, have detected high levels of uranium contamination in soil samples at three sites in the province of Nineveh which, coupled with dramatically increasing rates of childhood cancers and birth defects at local hospitals, highlight the ongoing legacy of modern warfare to civilians in conflict zones. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cancer-birth-defects-iraq-nuclear.html Health Tue, 21 May 2013 08:10:02 EST news288341596 (Medical Xpress)—In a recent subgroup analysis of the largest blood pressure treatment trial in history, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers found that women and men react the same to non-diuretic-based antihypertensive therapies like an ACE inhibitor (lisinopril) or calcium channel blocker (amlodipine), as well as a diuretic therapy (chlorthalidone) given to treat hypertension and reduce its cardiovascular complications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-superior-hypertension-treatment-efficacy-sexes.html Cardiology Tue, 21 May 2013 08:05:58 EST news288342349 Many brain researchers cannot see the forest for the trees. When they use electrodes to record the activity patterns of individual neurons, the patterns often appear chaotic and difficult to interpret. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-clouds.html Neuroscience Tue, 21 May 2013 07:52:31 EST news288341519 (HealthDay)—Obese and overweight men and women who suffer from heartburn often report relief when they lose weight, a new study shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-weight-ease-chronic-heartburn.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 21 May 2013 07:40:02 EST news288336812 (HealthDay)—Injections of a sugar solution appear to help relieve knee pain and stiffness related to osteoarthritis, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-sugar-knee-arthritis-ease-pain.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Tue, 21 May 2013 07:30:01 EST news288336772 Over the past few decades, scientists have developed many devices that can reopen clogged arteries, including angioplasty balloons and metallic stents. While generally effective, each of these treatments has drawbacks, including the risk of side effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-clogged-arteries.html Cardiology Tue, 21 May 2013 07:26:39 EST news288339960 When it comes to men's sexual health, dirty jokes may just be the best medicine. A QUT researcher is helping Family Planning Queensland (FPQ) use comedy and YouTube to deliver sexuality education to young Australian men. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-dirty-medicine.html Health Tue, 21 May 2013 07:24:20 EST news288339847 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists at the School of Medicine have shown that their previously identified therapeutic approach to fight cancer via immune cells called macrophages also prompts the disease-fighting killer T cells to attack the cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-anti-cd47-antibody-route-successful-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 21 May 2013 07:21:45 EST news288339694 (AP)—A 66-year-old Tunisian man has died from the new coronavirus following a visit to Saudi Arabia and two of his adult children were infected with it, the Tunisian Health Ministry reported. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-tunisia-cases-coronavirus-death.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 21 May 2013 07:20:55 EST news288339644 (HealthDay)—When it comes to the care of your children's teeth, dentists aren't the only experts who can help. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-primary-docs-role-kids-dental.html Dentistry Tue, 21 May 2013 07:20:01 EST news288336885 (HealthDay)—For patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), prolonged prone positioning during mechanical ventilation is associated with significantly reduced mortality at 28 and 90 days, according to a study published online May 20 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with presentation at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society, held from May 17 to 22 in Philadelphia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-ats-early-prone-positioning-mortality.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:02 EST news288336853 (Medical Xpress)—Exposure to sunshine as a small child is crucial to the development of a healthy eye according to results of long-term myopia study conducted by University of Sydney researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-eyes-sun-child-sunshine-exposure.html Ophthalmology Tue, 21 May 2013 06:40:01 EST news288334745 (Medical Xpress)—International researchers are studying the salt intake of Indian adults to provide vital new data to aid the development of a national salt reduction strategy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-salt-consumption-india-population-based-efforts.html Health Tue, 21 May 2013 06:30:07 EST news288334609 (Medical Xpress)—Cardiologists have identified a trio of biomarkers that may predict which patients with heart disease have a high risk of heart attack or death in the next two years. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-biomarker-trio-near-term-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 21 May 2013 06:30:03 EST news288335084 (Medical Xpress)—We spend about a third of our life asleep, but why we need to do so remains a mystery. In a recent publication, researchers at University of Surrey and University College London suggest a new hypothesis, that the biological function of sleep is to allow for vital 'repair and maintenance' of the cells in our brain, so called neurons. The research also proposes that these repair functions can only occur if the rest periods of individual neurons are aligned precisely at a time scale of seconds or less. The hypothesis is published today (20 May) in Nature Reviews Neuroscience. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-theory-clues-vital-maintenance-role.html Neuroscience Tue, 21 May 2013 06:20:01 EST news288334475 Each day, an average of nine people are killed in the United States and more than 1,000 injured by drivers doing something other than driving. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-drivers-attention.html Health Tue, 21 May 2013 06:14:56 EST news288335683 (Medical Xpress)—A three-year multinational study has tracked and detailed the progression of Huntington's disease (HD), predicting clinical decline in people carrying the HD gene more than 10 years before the expected onset of symptoms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-huntington-disease-trials-track.html Neuroscience Tue, 21 May 2013 05:52:53 EST news288334365 No new human cases of the H7N9 virus have been recorded in China for a week, national health authorities said, for the first time since the outbreak began in March. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-h7n9-cases-china-week.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 21 May 2013 05:20:01 EST news288331389 A Nobel prize-winning scientist Tuesday played down "shock-horror scenarios" that a new virus strain will emerge with the potential to kill millions of people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-nobel-laureate-flu-pandemic-scaremongering.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 21 May 2013 05:01:38 EST news288331263 (AP)—The decade-old law that transformed the battle against HIV and AIDS in developing countries is at a crossroads. The dream of future generations freed from the epidemic is running up against an era of economic recovery and harsh budget cuts. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-decade-global-aids.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 21 May 2013 04:16:37 EST news288328580 Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered specific chemical alterations in two genes that, when present during pregnancy, reliably predict whether a woman will develop postpartum depression. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-genetic-predictors-postpartum-depression-uncovered.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 21 May 2013 04:00:02 EST news288291866 Children who have suffered maltreatment are 36% more likely to be obese in adulthood compared to non-maltreated children, according to a new study by King's College London. The authors estimate that the prevention or effective treatment of 7 cases of child maltreatment could avoid 1 case of adult obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-child-maltreatment-adult-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 21 May 2013 04:00:01 EST news288291900