Folic Acid :: Folic acid cuts risk of cleft lip
Taking folic acid supplements in early pregnancy seems to substantially reduce the risk of cleft lip, finds a new study published online.
Birth
Pregnancy :: Reducing caffeine intake has no effect on birth weight or length of pregnancy
There is no evidence that moderate levels of caffeine consumption during pregnancy lead to a greater risk of premature births and underweight babies despite warnings from some public health officials, finds a new study online today.
Smoking :: Quitting smoking may be harder if mom smoked during pregnancy
Quitting smoking may be more difficult for individuals whose mothers smoked during pregnancy, according to animal research conducted by Duke University Medical Center researchers.
Contraception :: Effectiveness of newer birth control pills – contraception
Recent wire service stories about today’s meeting of the FDA Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee have created misperceptions about the effectiveness of newer generation hormonal contraceptives.
Childhood abuse can harm health as an adult
Children who are abused show a higher incidence of health and medical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes as adults, revealed in a study.
Folic Acid :: Folic acid improves memory and brain power of ageing people
Folic acid supplements can improve the memory and brain power of ageing brains. Men and women aged 50 to 70 who took daily supplements had similar mental abilities to contemporaries almost five years younger, The Lancet study found.
Language :: Internationally adopted children shed light on how babies learn language
Each year, about 40,000 children are adopted across national lines, primarily by families from North America and Western Europe. These joyful occasions mark the growth of new families and also provide the framework for a natural experiment in language development. Although most are infants and toddlers, thousands of older children are also adopted. Typically, these older children loose their birth language rapidly and become fluent speakers of their new language.
Atrial Septal Defect :: Hospitalizations for Birth Defects – atrial septal defect
People born with a hole between the two smaller chambers of the heart ? known as atrial septal defect ? or with other heart and circulatory conditions, accounted for a third of the 139,100 hospital admissions for birth defects in 2004, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Brain Cancer :: Statin plus cancer drug deliver combo punch to brain cancer cells
Building on newly discovered genetic threads in the rich tapestry of biochemical signals that cause cancer, a Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center team has dramatically killed brain cancer cells by blocking those signals with a statin and an experimental antitumor drug.
Genome :: Microbiologists crack genome of a parasite that causes a common STD
Scientists at UCLA and NYU have deciphered the genome of the parasite causing trichomoniasis, and their research may lead to new approaches to improve the diagnosis and treatment of this common sexually transmitted disease. Trichomoniasis affects an estimated 170 million people a year, with more than five million cases reported in North America.