Yi Lu and his team at the University of Illinois in Urbana has laid the foundation for a new generation of rapid diagnostic tests that are as easy to handle as a pregnancy test: just dunk them in the sample and see if a colored band appears.
Being exposed to high levels of nutrition before birth can influence the development of networks within the brain that regulate appetite to permanently set a pattern of appetite for life, according to researchers from the University of South Australia.
On the occasion of National Child Day, the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, announced that Health Canada is developing pilot projects to establish and test Patient Wait Times Guarantees (PWTGs) for specific federal health services on reserve, beginning with pilot projects for prenatal care in a number of First Nations communities. Minister Clement made this announcement before the Canadian Institute where he was speaking on patient wait times guarantees in Toronto.
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has set out guidelines on when to give intensive care to extremely premature babies. Advice for parents and doctors is provided, on a week-by-week basis, for treating babies born before 22 weeks up to those born after 25 weeks.
Although children born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy are known to be at increased risk of developing asthma, ?few studies have investigated the role of active cigarette smoking on asthma onset during adolescence?, the researchers explain in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Research led by King’s scientists, and published online in the journal Nature, sheds new light on the development of the immune cells which are critical in fighting infection and some tumours. It may also provide clues to the mystery of why autoimmune diseases in women often go into remission during pregnancy.
World Diabetes Day on 14 November concludes a year-long worldwide campaign to address diabetes in disadvantaged communities and vulnerable groups.
Women who smoke or are exposed to tobacco smoke early in their pregnancies are more likely to have children with certain types of congenital heart defects, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2006.
A new study has suggested a novel way of combating diseases related to the immune system, including cancer and autoimmune diseases such as type I diabetes and arthritis. The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, appears online in the journal Nature.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a simple “dipstick” test for detecting cocaine and other drugs in saliva, urine or blood serum. The test is based upon DNA-gold nanoparticle technology, and can be packaged in user-friendly kits similar to those used for home pregnancy tests.