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• Time-lapse imaging 'improves IVF' Time-lapse imaging which takes thousands of pictures of developing embryos can boost the success rate of IVF, according to British research. • A&E 'must change or face collapse' Urgent changes must be made to the way A&E units are run - or the system could collapse, doctors and managers say. • WHO data shows narrowing health gap The World Health Organization says its annual statistics show progress is being made in cutting child mortality, but not enough. • Clue to why women live longer Women live longer than men partly because their immune systems age more slowly, a study suggests. • VIDEO: NHS 'falling into chaos and crisis' Members of Britain's largest trade union, Unite, are holding a rally outside Parliament in protest over changes to the NHS. • VIDEO: Time-lapse embryo imaging 'improves IVF' A fertility clinic says tests on a new embryo monitoring system significantly increases the chances in IVF treatment resulting in a successful pregnancy • Breast cancer: What is the risk? How high is the risk for the average woman? • The Texas Tribune: With Consensus and Money, State Takes on Mental Health Care As Republicans and Democrats in Texas House and Senate hash out the details of the state?s 2014-15 budget, one issue they are not arguing about is support for mental health. • Marijuana Bill Advances in Illinois The Illinois Senate has voted to approve the use of marijuana for medical purposes, which if signed into law would make it the second-most-populous state after California to do so. • Shinseki Faces Mounting Criticism Over Backlog of Benefit Claims The secretary, Eric Shinseki, is being held accountable for his overwhelmed agency?s problems dealing with claims for disability compensation. • The Health Toll of Immigration A growing body of mortality research on immigrants has shown that the longer they live in the United States, the worse their rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. • Opinion: Disease and the Public Eye I had never heard of dystonia ? until my doctors told me I had it. • World Briefing | Health: Single Yellow Fever Shot Offers Lifetime Protection,... One shot confers lifetime protection and the ?booster shot? given at 10 years is no longer necessary, the World Health Organization said. • The New Old Age Blog: After the Denial Letter Arrives What families can do if the V.A. rejects a veteran?s claim for caregiving benefits. • Well: Life, Interrupted: Getting Away One of the hardest parts about developing leukemia at age 22 was how restrictive it was: My treatments left me highly susceptible to infection, airplanes were strictly off limits and even a trip to my neighborhood bodega required a protective face mask. • 18 and Under: Poverty as a Childhood Disease More doctors are growing concerned about the effects of childhood poverty in an age when income inequality is increasing and social mobility is declining. • Juvenile Inmates Found to Be at No Greater Risk for Prison Rape A government survey of prison and jail inmates challenged the notion that minors in adult facilities face a higher risk of sexual abuse than other prisoners. • Bayonne Medical Center Has Highest U.S. Billing Rates The Bayonne Medical Center billed Medicare for common treatments at a rate more than four times the national average, according to a Times analysis of 2011 data. • Video: Handbags have more germs than toilet seats, study finds According to a study by Initial Washroom Hygiene, handbags have up to ten times the level of microbiological activity on them than an average toilet seat. Willem Marx reports from London. • Video: Young Innovators: Teen tackles cancer diagnosis After his close friend died from pancreatic cancer, 16-year-old Jack Andraka unleashed his hyper-drive intellect on preventing more cancer deaths. And as Jim Axelrod reports, the teen created a much faster and far cheaper detection method for pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancer. • Handbags may contain more germs than average toilet flush Handbag handle the dirtiest part of the bag; Face or hand creams inside the purse had the most germs • Depression may double stroke risk for middle-aged women Experts question if stroke risk related to women taking antidepressants • CDC finds mental health woes in one in five U.S. kids ADHD was the most prevalent diagnosis in U.S. children and teens between the ages of 3 and 17 • Smoking marijuana linked to lower diabetes risk in study Current pot smokers had 16 percent lower fasting insulin levels and 17 percent lower levels of insulin resistance than non-smokers • 'Why would we wait?': 3 sisters face Jolie's cancer dilemma Actress Angelina Jolie?s revelation this week that she?d had both breasts removed to lower her elevated risk of cancer came as a bombshell to many -- but not to three sisters from Berkeley Heights, N.J.The women -- Cathy Balsamo, Cindy Lepore and Patti Broccoli -- have spent most of the past year grappling with the very dilemma that Jolie faced: What to do when a genetic mutation means you?ve got ... • Fitness protects you from cancer, even 20 years later Fitness can protect you from cancer -- even 20 or more years down the road, researchers report. And men who were the most fit in middle age were the least likely to die a quarter century later even if they were unlucky enough to get cancer, a new study finds.Men who were the most fit at age 50 back in the 1970s were the least likely to develop lung or colon cancer 20 to 25 years later, the study, ... • Chorus of critics greets new psychiatric manual release The fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's manual of mental disorders is finally out, offering the latest revision in nearly 20 years of the diagnostic bible used by individuals and agencies, insurers, schools and government bodies to navigate the mental health landscape.But just as it?s birthed, the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders -- widely known ... • Gymnophobics are real-life 'never-nudes' Of the many wonderfully nonsensical things the TV show ?Arrested Development? has introduced us to ? the mayonegg, hot ham water, each family member?s interpretation of the chicken dance ? one of the most notable is the "never-nude".On the show, which returns May 26 for a much-anticipated fourth season on Netflix, psychotherapist-turned-actor Tobias Funke suffers from the psychological condition a... • Larry Page's damaged vocal cords: Treatment comes with trade-offs Larry Page, Google?s co-founder and chief executive, says the condition that has left his voice hoarse and raspy and made public speaking difficult was caused by a virus.Page disclosed Tuesday that he has some degree of paralysis in both of his vocal cords. That, he said, causes breathing problems and allows him to speak only in a quiet voice.?Thankfully, after some initial recovery I?m fully able... • Psychiatrists, critics face off over psychiatric manual CHICAGO -- In the new psychiatric manual of mental disorders, grief soon after a loved one's death can be considered major depression. Extreme childhood temper tantrums get a fancy name. And certain "senior moments" are called "mild neurocognitive disorder." Those changes are just some of the reasons prominent critics say the American Psychiatric Association is out of control, turning common ... • MRIs could make baby autopsies more acceptable Bereaved parents who do not want to see their dead babies go through a conventional autopsy could in future be offered a less invasive option which uses magnetic resonance imaging and blood tests to establish the cause of death. Scientists who investigated using a combination of full body scans and sample tests found this so-called minimally invasive autopsy (MIA) was as effective in determin... • Doctors detail Angelina Jolie's breast surgery Angelina Jolie's mother had breast cancer and died of ovarian cancer, and her maternal grandmother also had ovarian cancer ? strong evidence of an inherited, genetic risk that led the actress to have both of her healthy breasts removed to try to avoid the same fate, her doctor says.Jolie, 37, revealed on Tuesday that she carries a defective BRCA1 gene that puts her at high risk of developing breas... [CaRP] XML error: undefined entity at line 70 • The Texas Tribune: With Consensus and Money, State Takes on Mental Health Care As Republicans and Democrats in Texas House and Senate hash out the details of the state?s 2014-15 budget, one issue they are not arguing about is support for mental health. • Marijuana Bill Advances in Illinois The Illinois Senate has voted to approve the use of marijuana for medical purposes, which if signed into law would make it the second-most-populous state after California to do so. • Shinseki Faces Mounting Criticism Over Backlog of Benefit Claims The secretary, Eric Shinseki, is being held accountable for his overwhelmed agency?s problems dealing with claims for disability compensation. • The Health Toll of Immigration A growing body of mortality research on immigrants has shown that the longer they live in the United States, the worse their rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. • Opinion: Disease and the Public Eye I had never heard of dystonia ? until my doctors told me I had it. • World Briefing | Health: Single Yellow Fever Shot Offers Lifetime Protection,... One shot confers lifetime protection and the ?booster shot? given at 10 years is no longer necessary, the World Health Organization said. • The New Old Age Blog: After the Denial Letter Arrives What families can do if the V.A. rejects a veteran?s claim for caregiving benefits. • Well: Life, Interrupted: Getting Away One of the hardest parts about developing leukemia at age 22 was how restrictive it was: My treatments left me highly susceptible to infection, airplanes were strictly off limits and even a trip to my neighborhood bodega required a protective face mask. • 18 and Under: Poverty as a Childhood Disease More doctors are growing concerned about the effects of childhood poverty in an age when income inequality is increasing and social mobility is declining. • Juvenile Inmates Found to Be at No Greater Risk for Prison Rape A government survey of prison and jail inmates challenged the notion that minors in adult facilities face a higher risk of sexual abuse than other prisoners. • Bayonne Medical Center Has Highest U.S. Billing Rates The Bayonne Medical Center billed Medicare for common treatments at a rate more than four times the national average, according to a Times analysis of 2011 data. • Depression May Boost Stroke Risk in Middle-Aged Women, Too Although risk is still low, Australian study found it nearly doubled for depressed women in their 40s and 50s • 1 in 5 U.S. Kids Has a Mental Health Disorder: CDC ADHD is most common current diagnosis in children aged 3 to 17 • Some Types of Skin Cancer Linked to Lower Chances of Alzheimer's A weak immune response might allow skin cancer but protect brain from inflammation, expert suggests • FDA: Lower Ambien's Dose to Prevent Drowsy Driving Blood levels from nighttime dose of sleep aid can remain too high the next morning, agency says • Yoga May Help Ease High Blood Pressure, Study Finds Numbers were lowered when people engaged in a few sessions per week • Attacking MRSA with metals from antibacterial clays Medical researchers have come up with a new approach for developing effective, topical antibacterial agents -- one that draws on a naturally occurring substance recognized since antiquity for its medicinal properties: clay. • Now we know why old scizophrenia medicine works on antibiotics-resistant bact... An old medicine for schizophrenia is effective at treating something completely different than it was designed for: antibiotic-resistant bacteria. So far it has been a mystery how this old schizophrenia medicine works, but now researchers have figured it out. This can lead to a new medicine against the increasingly threatening antibiotic-resistant bacteria. • Youth who have their first drink during puberty have higher levels of later d... The earlier the age at which youth take their first alcoholic drink, the greater the risk of later alcohol problems. • College women exceed NIAAA drinking guidelines more frequently than college men In 1990, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism issued guidelines that define low-risk drinking, which differ for men and women. New research shows that female college student drinkers exceed NIAAA guidelines for weekly drinking more frequently than their male counterparts. • Reading rock to understand how climate change unfolds Geologists reads rock, looking for the natural rules that govern the Earth?s climate in the absence of human activity. New work is challenging many assumptions about the ways drastic climate change unfolds ? and what to expect next. • For combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 'fear circ... Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or under-react in response to stressful tasks. • Consuming coffee linked to lower risk of an autoimmune liver disease Regular consumption of coffee is associated with a reduced risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), an autoimmune liver disease. • Mars rover Opportunity examines clay clues in rock NASA's senior Mars rover, Opportunity, is driving to a new study area after a dramatic finish to 20 months on "Cape York" with examination of a rock intensely altered by water. • Invasive species: 'Away-field advantage' weaker than ecologists thought For decades, ecologists have assumed the worst invasive species?such as brown tree snakes and kudzu?have an ?away-field advantage.? They succeed because they do better in their new territories than they do at home. A new study reveals that this fundamental assumption is not nearly as common as people might think. • Nine-year-old Mars rover passes 40-year-old record While Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt visited Earth's moon for three days in December 1972, they drove their mission's Lunar Roving Vehicle 19.3 nautical miles (22.210 statute miles or 35.744 kilometers). That was the farthest total distance for any NASA vehicle driving on a world other than Earth until yesterday. • New malaria test kit gives a boost to elimination efforts worldwide A new, highly sensitive blood test that quickly detects even the lowest levels of malaria parasites in the body could make a dramatic difference in efforts to tackle the disease. • Electric and magnetic characteristics of a material which could be used in sp... Materials belonging to the family of dilute magnetic oxides (DMOs) - an oxide-based variant of the dilute magnetic semiconductors - are good candidates for spintronics applications. • New study recommends using active videogaming ('exergaming') to improve child... Levels of physical inactivity and obesity are very high in children, with fewer than 50 percent of primary school-aged boys and fewer than 28 percent of girls meeting the minimum levels of physical activity required to maintain health. Exergaming, using active console video games that track player movement to control the game, has become popular, and may provide an alternative form of exercise to counteract sedentary behaviors. • Breakthrough for IVF? Selecting the most promising embryos A recent study on 5-day old human blastocysts shows that those with an abnormal chromosomal composition can be identified by the rate at which they have developed to blastocysts, thereby classifying the risk of genetic abnormality without a biopsy. Now, researchers have undertaken a retrospective study, using their predictive model to assess the likelihood of any embryo transferred resulting in a successful pregnancy, with very encouraging outcomes. • Galaxy's 'burning ring of fire' is frenetic region of star formation Johnny Cash may have preferred this galaxy's burning ring of fire to the one he sang about falling into in his popular song. The "starburst ring" seen at center of a new image in red and yellow hues is not the product of love, as in the song, but is instead a frenetic region of star formation. The galaxy, a spiral beauty called Messier 94, is located about 17 million light-years away. • Change in cycle track policy needed to boost ridership, public health Bicycle engineering guidelines often used by state regulators to design bicycle facilities need to be overhauled to reflect current cyclists' preferences and safety data, according to a new study. They say that US guidelines should be expanded to offer cyclists more riding options and call for endorsing cycle tracks -- physically separated, bicycle-exclusive paths adjacent to sidewalks -- to encourage more people of all ages to ride bicycles. • Brain makes call on which ear is used for cell phone If you're a left-brain thinker, chances are you use your right hand to hold your cell phone up to your right ear, according to a newly published study. The study shows a strong correlation between brain dominance and the ear used to listen to a cell phone. • Depression linked to almost doubled stroke risk in middle-aged women Depression among women 47-52 years old is associated with an almost doubled risk of stroke. Researchers call for greater awareness of depression as a preventable risk factor for stroke among younger middle-aged women. • Massachusetts' health care reform didn't raise hospital use, costs Health care reform in Massachusetts didn't result in substantially more hospitalizations, longer stays or higher costs. There were no significant differences in post-reform hospital use in Massachusetts versus to three other states without reform. There was also no significant increase in use of safety-net hospitals in Massachusetts. • Gene involved in neurodegeneration keeps clock running: Scientists identify a... Scientists have shown a gene involved in neurodegenerative disease also plays a critical role in the proper function of the circadian clock. In a study of the common fruit fly, the researchers found the gene, called Ataxin-2, keeps the clock responsible for sleeping and waking on a 24-hour rhythm. Without the gene, the rhythm of the fruit fly's sleep-wake cycle is disturbed, making waking up on a regular schedule difficult for the fly. • Accelerated aging in children: Promising treatment for progeria within reach Pharmaceuticals that inhibit a specific enzyme may be useful in treating progeria, or accelerated aging in children. A new study indicates that the development of progeria in mice was inhibited upon reducing the production of this enzyme. • Beautiful 'flowers' self-assemble in a beaker With the hand of nature trained on a beaker of chemical fluid, the most delicate flower structures have been formed in a laboratory -- and not at the scale of inches, but microns. These minuscule sculptures, curved and delicate, don't resemble the cubic or jagged forms normally associated with crystals, though that's what they are. Rather, fields of carnations and marigolds seem to bloom from the surface of a submerged glass slide, assembling themselves a molecule at a time. • Aimee Copeland Gets Bionic Hands Aimee Copeland, the 25-year-old who lost her hands, both feet and her entire right leg to flesh-eating bacteria a year ago, has received two new bionic hands. Copeland spent the week in Ohio at Touch Bionics, where she received two bionic hands free of... • Great-Grandma, 79, Jumps From Plane What do you do after you?ve survived six strokes, beat cancer twice and suffered from osteoporosis, arthritis and diabetes? If you?re 79-year-old Carolyn Meiselbach, you go skydiving. Of course. Meiselbach said she leaped into the upstate New York sky last month to settle some unfinished... • Jolie's Double Mastectomy May Be Overused, Experts Say Double-mastectomy surgery can be a lifesaver for those with genetic mutations but may be worthless for other women at risk for breast cancer. • Angelina Jolie's Mastectomy: What You Should Know By DR. JENNIFER ASHTON By going public with her prophylactic double mastectomy, actress Angelina Jolie has again shone the spotlight on breast cancer and the genetic mutation known to increase the risk of getting it by 60 percent. (Jolie wrote that her doctor told her... • Antibiotics May Relieve Back Pain Symptoms Taking antibiotics could relieve symptoms of chronic lower back pain, according to a new study. • Confused By Health Care Marketplaces? Help Is Coming Under the Affordable Care Act, people and small businesses will be able to purchase insurance through a Marketplace. • Angelina Jolie?s Double Mastectomy: Q&A Mutations in certain genes raise the risk of breast cancer by as much as 80 percent, experts say. • Illinois Senate Passes Medical Marijuana Legislation Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn must decide if he will sign a measure allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes after the state Senate approved legislation on Friday. • Family Helping Fund Research For Rare Disease That Struck Son, Daughter They start out growing up like any other child, until a seizure strikes. It's the first sign of a deadly, rare brain disease that robs children of their abilities before taking their lives. This weekend, you can help a Downers Grove family try to find a cure for Batten Disease. • World Briefing | Health: Single Yellow Fever Shot Offers Lifetime Protection,... One shot confers lifetime protection and the ?booster shot? given at 10 years is no longer necessary, the World Health Organization said. |
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