http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay)—In Belgium, between 1998 and 2007, euthanasia was legalized and palliative care was intensified, which led to an increase in end-of-life decisions (ELDs) and fewer life-ending acts without the patient's explicit request, according to research published online March 11 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-belgium-tracks-trends-end-of-life-decision.html Health Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:00:01 EST news284215385 As some Pacific island cultures have "westernized" over the last several decades, among the changes has been a dramatic increase in obesity. Researchers don't understand all the reasons why, but even a decade ago in American Samoa 59 percent of men and 71 percent of women were obese. A new Brown University study finds that the Samoan epidemic of obesity may start with rapid weight gain in early infancy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-samoan-obesity-epidemic-birth.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:10:06 EST news279288600 Think of the epigenome like a giant musical mixing board, turning up or down the expression of various genes. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published today in the journal PLOS Genetics shows that in cancer, not only can genes themselves go bad, but abnormal changes in the epigenetic mixing board can unfortunately change the expression of these genes. Researchers hope to play the role of sound engineers, controlling these harmful epigenomic changes to turn down cancer itself or perhaps sensitize cancers to existing drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-epigenomic-abnormalities-patient-survival-non-hodgkins.html Genetics Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:00:01 EST news277046216