Birth weight has significant and lasting effects, a new study finds. Weighing less than 5.5 pounds at birth increases the probability of dropping out of high school by one-third, reduces yearly earnings by about 15 percent and burdens people in their 30s and 40s with the health of someone who is 12 years older.
A new way to provide clear images of cancerous tumors in the kidney during surgery promises to help physicians preserve as much kidney function as possible while still removing all the malignant tissue — a significant advance as doctors discover that saving as much healthy kidney tissue as possible is crucial for the future health of cancer patients.
Why does the same diet make some of us gain more weight than others? The answer could be a molecule called Bsx, as scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Institute for Nutrition (DIFE), Potsdam, and the University of Cincinnati report in the current issue of Cell Metabolism. Bsx is the molecular link between spontaneous physical activity and food intake.
Meningitis epidemics caused by the pathogen Nesseiria meningitis (or meningococcus) provoke high mortality in children and young people under 20 years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. They rage during periods of drought from January to April, in the area known as the ?Meningitis Belt? (see Map)
A groundbreaking surgical therapy capable of stabilising and restoring vision in the vast majority of patients who currently suffer blindness through Age-Related Macular Degeneration is to be taken to clinical trial by scientists and clinicians at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital and the University of Sheffield.
The reality of the threat from vector-borne diseases has been recognized and the problem is prompting research scientists to take a strong interest. Most of these infections, classified as emerging or re-emerging diseases, are linked to ecosystem changes, climatic variations or pressure from human activities.
Smokers have been getting more support for quitting, and the numbers ofsmokers have reduced, since the introduction of performance-relatedincentives for UK general practitioners, according to new researchpublished today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Researchers at the University of Leeds (UK) have found a mechanism to prevent a potentially fatal heart condition that can strike without warning.
Agricultural workers exposed to high levels of pesticides and people who use them on houseplants appear to have a greater risk of developing brain tumours, suggests a study published online ahead of print in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Moderate strengthening exercises may help people with early stage ALS maintain function and quality of life longer, according to a study published in the June 5, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.