Metallic copper surfaces kill microbes on contact, decimating their populations, according to a paper in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. They do so literally in minutes, by causing massive membrane damage after about a minute’s exposure, says the study’s corresponding author, Gregor Grass of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This is the first study to demonstrate this mechanism of bacteriocide — via redwolf.newsvine.com
People with autism use their brains differently from other people, which may explain why some have extraordinary abilities to remember and draw objects in detail, according to new research.
University of Montreal scientists say in autistic people, the brain areas that deal with visual information are highly developed.
Other brain areas are less active — via redwolf.newsvine.com
The chemical which summons stem cells from bone marrow to the site of a wound has been discovered by scientists in the UK and Japan.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, identified the distress signal – HMGB1 — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Five more genes which increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease have been identified, scientists say — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Fresh doubts have been cast about how useful helmets are in preventing head injuries to cyclists.
An analysis by Norwegian researchers of existing studies has suggested previous scrutiny was biased towards helmets and relied too heavily on research into 1980s stack-hat
style hard-shell helmets. They argued that today’s soft-shell
helmets were less effective at reducing brain injuries — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Erin Brockovich, a US consumer health advocate whose life story was the basis for an Academy Award-winning film, urged senators Tuesday to pass a law to document disease clusters in the United States.
A disease cluster is an unusual number of health events, such as reports of cancer, grouped together in a time and location, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Brockovich, who came to prominence investigating the prevalence of cancer cases in Hinkley, California, said she has become an informal reporting agency for those who worry that something in their immediate environment is a health hazard — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A new study has found older men who are slightly overweight are less likely to develop dementia.
The University of Western Australia study surveyed men aged between 65 and 84 years of age over a ten year period — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A drug containing the sleep hormone melatonin is to be tested in Scotland to find out if it helps reduce the effects of dementia.
Glasgow-based firm, CPS Research, aims to recruit 50 people with Alzheimer’s disease for the clinical trial of the drug, Circadin — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Stressed-out parents to be could be passing on damaged DNA to their children and increasing their risk of dying at an earlier age, researchers suspect.
A £1.8 million study has been launched by scientists at Glasgow University to find out what effect stress has on the genetic make-up of the human body and whether any changes are then inherited by offspring. The study, backed by a European Research Council grant, will focus on the role of telomeres, structures that act as a protective shield for chromosomes — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Treating Parkinson’s disease with gene therapy has been shown to be successful in clinical trials for the first time, say US researchers — via redwolf.newsvine.com
An investigation is underway after two transplant patients got cancer from the same donor.
The recipients were each given a kidney from a woman with a rare form of blood cancer which was not picked up in routine safety checks.
The disease was detected too late in a post-mortem examination.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), the agency responsible for transplant safety, said research would determine the scale of the problem nationally — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Dr Abhay Bang does not look like a pioneer. He sits across the table in a London conference room, his posture slight and upright, his beard neatly trimmed. He is wearing a grey suit and tie, his hair brushed precisely to the right. And yet despite the conventional appearance, this is the man who has revolutionised healthcare for the poorest people in India and who has overseen a programme that has sent infant mortality rates plummeting in one of the most poverty-stricken areas of the world. Medical experts now believe that Dr Bang’s radical beliefs hold the key to tackling the myriad endemic health problems that blight the developing word — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A West Australian study into dyslexia shows many cases are going undiagnosed until sufferers reach adulthood — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Once again, it’s time to turn the clocks forward (at 2 a.m. Sunday) for Daylight Saving Time. The yearly change is sure to cause more than a few missed brunch dates, and perhaps some confusion over why the alarm is going off an hour early.
But the hour shift in sleep schedule could also have more serious effects on some people’s health, according to experts on circadian rhythms, particularly in people with certain pre-existing health problems — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A Sydney homoeopath and his wife have lost an appeal against their manslaughter conviction for failing to obtain proper medical help for their baby — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Researchers have found the female hormone estrogen can be an effective treatment for men suffering schizophrenia — via redwolf.newsvine.com
A revolutionary new gel for healing wounds after sinus surgery has been successfully commercialised in a lucrative collaborative deal for the University of Otago.
Otago University officials say the exact financial details are commercially sensitive
, but it is understood the deal is likely to substantially boost university research funds — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Camel meat in the dog bowl is in the spot light today after a recent report published in the Australian Veterinary Journal.
According to the report, three dogs were euthanased after contracting severe liver disease and the common denominator was that they had all eaten a mixture of camel meat and sweet potato. All three were found to have the toxin indospicine
in their systems — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Australia’s aim to be world leaders in commercialising the bionic eye
has been dealt a blow with a US company gaining approval to sell its device this year.
Los Angeles-based Second Sight Medical Products said Australia was now one of a series of countries “on its radar” for marketing and transplanting its bionic eye, which this week received commercial go-ahead in Europe.
Second Sight’s bionic eye, the Argus II, will be available commercially after it attained the required CE Certification in Europe — via redwolf.newsvine.com
Regular use of the painkiller and anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen may reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease by a third, a major study has found.
People who took the drug at least twice a week had a 38% lower risk of developing the condition than those who used other painkillers, such as aspirin, scientists said.
The findings, based on a review of 136,000 patient records, build on previous studies that also reported an apparent protective effect in those who took the drug — via redwolf.newsvine.com
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