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278,997 articles from PhysOrg

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder linked to high prevalence of epilepsy

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) refers to a range of negative developmental outcomes that result from maternal drinking during pregnancy. Children with FASD can suffer from many problems, including epilepsy, a disorder characterized by spontaneous recurrence of unprovoked seizures that affects 0.6 percent of the general population. A new study has found a much higher prevalence of...

Madagascar's radiated tortoise threatened with extinction

A team of biologists from the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) reported today that Madagascar's radiated tortoise - considered one of the most beautiful tortoise species - is rapidly nearing extinction due to rampant hunting for its meat and the illegal pet trade.

Study: Northeast seeing more, fiercer rainstorms

(AP) -- The Northeast is seeing more frequent "extreme precipitation events" in line with global warming predictions, a study shows, including storms like the recent fierce rains whose floodwaters swallowed neighborhoods and businesses across New England.

Chip checks for oral cancer

The gentle touch of a lesion on the tongue or cheek with a brush can help detect oral cancer with success rates comparable to more invasive techniques, according to preliminary studies by researchers at Rice University, the University of Texas Health Science Centers at Houston and San Antonio and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Fatal injuries increase in older Americans

The risk of dying from injuries is increasing for Americans ages 65 and older according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy. The report found significant increases in death rates from falls (42 percent increase), machinery (46 percent increase), motorcycle crashes (145 percent increase) and unintentional poisoning (34...

Forest epidemic is unprecedented phenomenon, still getting worse

The Swiss needle cast epidemic in Douglas-fir forests of the coastal Pacific Northwest is continuing to intensify, appears to be unprecedented over at least the past 100 years, and is probably linked to the extensive planting of Douglas-fir along the coast and a warmer climate, new research concludes.

Foster care associated with improved growth, intelligence compared to orphanage care

Socially deprived children removed from orphanages and placed in foster care appear to experience gains in growth and intelligence, catching up to their non-institutionalized peers on many measures, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Oral naltrexone can reduce health care costs

Alcohol-use disorders (AUDs), referring to both alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, affect nearly 8.5 percent of the American population, are associated with numerous medical, psychiatric, family, legal, and work-related problems, and cost an estimated $185 billion in 1998. A new study has found that oral naltrexone can reduce both alcohol- and non-alcohol-related healthcare costs for patients...

Shortened links may not be as malicious as thought

(AP) -- Link-shortening services such as TinyURL seem ideal for criminals because they can disguise the names of malicious sites. Yet on Twitter - one of the most popular places for them - they may not be nearly as malicious as many industry experts fear, according to new security research.

Ultrasensitive detector pinpoints big problem in tiny fetal heart

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of the most powerful magnetic detectors in the world is helping screen high-risk pregnant patients for rare but very serious fetal heart rhythm problems. Thanks to a collaboration with The Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and Hope Children's Hospital, Chicago, the ultrasensitive detector measures...


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A sense of home important is in residential care for the elderly

Many elderly people in residential care feel insecure during relocation or renovation work - but there are ways of handling the situation. Those who manage to create a sense of home where they live are in a better position to cope with the stresses that go with change, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy.

Breast cancer patients with BRCA mutations 4 times more likely to get cancer in opposite breast

Women with breast cancer before age 55 who carry an inherited mutation in the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 are four times more likely to develop cancer in the breast opposite, or contralateral, to their initial tumor as compared to breast cancer patients without these genetic defects. These findings, by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center breast cancer epidemiologist...

Building a better brain

What does Whoopi Goldberg have to do with neuroscience? A lot, says Jeff Brown, co-author with Mark Fenske of `The Winner`s Brain.` Goldberg, an Oscar-winning actress and now the frank and hilarious moderator of `The View,` is a model of resilience, according to Brown, an instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She has weathered some of life`s hardest knocks, including growing up in a...

Simplifying measures of genetic risk for alcohol dependence

While previous twin studies have consistently shown the importance of genetic influences on various measures of alcohol consumption, a full diagnostic assessment can be complicated and lengthy. This has led some researchers to ask: To what extent do measures of alcohol consumption accurately index the genetic risk for alcohol dependence (AD)? Findings indicate that four relatively simple...

Small But Mighty Female Lizards Control Genetic Destiny

(PhysOrg.com) -- "Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." Mother Teresa's words echo throughout the world. They ring particularly true in the biological kingdom among brown anole lizards, as evidenced in research detailed in the April 2 edition of the journal Science.