http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Northeastern University Earlier this month, the U.S. government declared that the emerging H7N9 bird flu "poses a significant potential for a public health emergency." The virus, a relative of other bird flus we've seen previously like H1N1 and H5N1, originated in China and results in a severe respiratory infection and, in some cases, death. While the virus is not, at this time, transmissible between humans, researchers believe that just a few genetic mutations could change that. Network scientist Alessandro Vespignani, the Sternberg Family Distinguished University Professor of physics, computer science, and health sciences, is mapping the disease's progression in his lab. We asked him to discuss the pandemic potential of the virus and explain how this strain differs from those in the past. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-bird-flu-virus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 14 May 2013 07:10:06 EST news287733012 The Obama administration and federal courts are wrangling over changes to the regulations governing access to emergency contraceptives. The administration supports new rules that would allow girls as young as 15 to purchase the drug without a prescription, while a New York judge has ordered it be made available to anyone, regardless of age. With those changes pending, Northeastern University news office asked Todd Brown, vice chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences, to explore the issue. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-future.html Medications Tue, 14 May 2013 07:00:01 EST news287732980 Ten months ago, Paul Douçot began contemplating his transition from undergraduate mechanical engineering studies to a graduate program in physical therapy. "I didn't want to abandon my engineering background," he said. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-ankle-rehab-re-engineered.html Other Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:36:19 EST news285489370 Scientists have mostly focused on the benefits of meditation for the brain and the body, but a recent study by Northeastern University's David DeSteno, published in Psychological Science, takes a look at what impacts meditation has on interpersonal harmony and compassion. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-meditation-compassionate-person.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:37:34 EST news284031445 Like any factory, the body burns oxygen to get energy for its various needs. As a result, detrimental byproducts are released and our cells try to clean up shop with antioxidants. But as we age, this process becomes a losing battle. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-link-aging-autism-oxidation.html Medical research Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:46:49 EST news281609200 In the last few decades, sci­en­tists have come to attribute an immuno­log­ical expla­na­tion to many can­cers. It is now thought that tumors rise up rou­tinely in the body but that a healthy immune system blocks their devel­op­ment. Thus, for patients who do develop cancer, the immune system is par­tially to blame. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-inflammation.html Immunology Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:14:24 EST news281182443 Stephen Hawking and a 9-​​year-​​old girl with a speech dis­order most likely use the same syn­thetic voice. It's called Per­fect Paul and it's easy to under­stand, espe­cially in acousti­cally chaotic envi­ron­ments like class­rooms full of chil­dren. While new, more natural-​​sounding voices are avail­able, Per­fect Paul remains the most oft-​​used syn­thetic voice in the com­mu­nity of dis­or­dered speakers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-subjects-voice.html Other Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:25:39 EST news280657501 Brendan Mar­rocco, an Iraq War vet­eran who lost all four limbs in a road­side bomb attack, was recently released from a Bal­ti­more hos­pital after receiving a double-​​arm trans­plant. Northeastern University news office asked Christo­pher Hasson, a sen­so­ri­motor con­trol expert and a newly appointed assis­tant pro­fessor in the Depart­ment of Phys­ical Therapy, to explain the brain's role in the long recovery and reha­bil­i­ta­tion process. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-pair-arms-neurology-recovery.html Neuroscience Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:16:59 EST news279360997 The newly released 11th edi­tion of Modern Nutri­tion in Health and Dis­ease has been called an "author­i­ta­tive ref­er­ence on nutri­tion and its role in con­tem­po­rary med­i­cine, nursing, and public policy." Northeastern University news office asked co-​​author and editor Katherine Tucker, a pro­fessor of nutri­tional epi­demi­ology in the Depart­ment of Health Sci­ences, to expound upon the cur­rent state of health in America. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-3qs-health-america.html Health Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:30:31 EST news278235020 Health offi­cials say this year's flu out­break is the worst in a decade, and Boston on Wednesday declared a public health emer­gency as the flu epi­demic wors­ened. Forty-​​one states are cur­rently expe­ri­encing wide­spread flu activity, and Mass­a­chu­setts is one of 29 states reporting high levels of flu-​​like ill­ness. We asked Mark Dou­glass, an asso­ciate clin­ical pro­fessor of phar­macy in the Bouvé Col­lege of Health Sci­ences, how people can pro­tect them­selves from the flu and why they should get vac­ci­nated if they haven't already.  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-3qs-year-flu-season.html Health Mon, 14 Jan 2013 06:30:01 EST news277366570 Each year, more than one mil­lion patients in the U.S. undergo hernia repair surgery, the most common form of which takes place in the abdomen. The injury presents itself as a weak­ness in the abdom­inal wall until ulti­mately the tissue gives way, leaving an open hole. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-hernia-revolutionized.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 09 Jan 2013 06:50:07 EST news276935510 In poor coun­tries where malaria is preva­lent but access to health care is lim­ited, many people mis­tak­enly treat the common cold or other serious ill­nesses such as pneu­monia with med­ica­tions for the mosquito-​​borne disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-economics-malaria.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 09 Jan 2013 06:31:21 EST news276935476 (Medical Xpress)—Living organ­isms depend on pro­teins for their sur­vival. These large, com­plex mol­e­cules mediate nearly every life func­tion, but when the genes that code for them start to mutate, those func­tions begin to break down. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-protein-cancer-drug.html Cancer Tue, 08 Jan 2013 06:35:08 EST news276849299 (Medical Xpress)—In 2009, the H1N1 virus slipped into the blood­streams of more than 40 mil­lion people around the world. In just four months, it killed more than 14,000 indi­vid­uals as it trav­eled from Mexico to India on its most favored vehicle: humans. As trav­elers moved about the planet via air­planes and cars, the pathogen fol­lowed, cre­ating an epi­demic the likes of which had not been seen since the 1970s. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-validation-flu.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 08 Jan 2013 06:34:15 EST news276849246 The November Project began last fall as a pact between friends who wanted to stay in shape, but has evolved into what co-​​founders Brogan Graham, AS'06, and Bojan Man­daric, AS'06, call a "fit­ness tribe." On Mon­days, Wednes­days, and Fri­days at 6:30 a.m., hun­dreds of Bosto­nians—many of whom are in their 20s and 30s and grad­u­ates of North­eastern— gather for intense work­outs at loca­tions such as Allston's Har­vard Sta­dium and Brookline's Summit Avenue. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-3qs-tribe.html Health Thu, 03 Jan 2013 06:26:35 EST news276416776