Laughter is of two types – genuine and artificial- states a new study published in the current Quarterly Review of Biology. The study, which explains how laughter has evolved over the past seven million years, found that the first type is spontaneous and stimulus-driven, while the second, is strategic and, at times, downright cruel, also nicknamed ‘the dark side of laughter’.
Working with heart attack-stricken mice, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists has shown embryonic stem cells can help heal heart tissue. A research team led by UW-Madison stem cell researcher Timothy Kamp reports embryonic stem cells transplanted into mouse hearts damaged by experimentally induced heart attacks, morph into functional forms of the major types of cells composing the healthy heart.
A University of Kentucky study finds that low-income women can be treated effectively for depression with a short course of cognitive therapy.
Bee sting therapy is not effective in treating the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), and does not improve quality of life, according to the first controlled study to investigate the alternative treatment in MS patients.
Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes scaling and swelling. Skin cells grow deep in the skin and slowly rise to the surface. This process is called cell turnover, and it takes about a month. With psoriasis, it can happen in just a few days because the cells rise too fast and pile up on the surface.
The objective of treatment is to eliminate the infection and prevent the development of chronic infection in Osteomyelitis.
Stress can cause cholesterol levels to climb, researchers here have found. A study of 199 men and women here found that “a person’s reaction to stress is one mechanism through which higher lipid levels may develop,” said epidemiologist Andrew Steptoe, D.Sc., of University College London.
Following are the best health articles in August 2005, arranged as per viewed frequency:
Following are the best health articles in July 2005, arranged as per viewed frequency:
A new study shows that treatment with a lifestyle modification program of diet, exercise and behavioral therapy when used in combination with the weight loss medication sibutramine (Meridia?) resulted in significantly greater weight loss among obese adults than treatment with the medication alone.