Medical Newsroom

Delivering the latest medical news, studies and press releases.

U.S. Will Enforce Marijuana Laws, State Vote Aside
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is the latest establishment figure to line up against a marijuana legalization initiative.
Published by NYT on: 2010-10-16

Low Beta Blocker Dose Can Put Patients At Risk For Subsequent Heart Attacks
For nearly 40 years a class of drugs known as beta blockers have been proven to increase patients' survival prospects following a heart attack by decreasing the cardiac workload and oxygen demand on the heart. In a breakthrough study released in the American Heart Journal, Northwestern Medicine cardiologist Jeffrey J. Goldberger found the majority of patients are frequently not receiving a large enough dose of these drugs, which can put their recovery from heart attacks and overall health into ...
Published by Medical News Today on: 2010-10-16

New Study Highlights Need To Address Both The Overuse And Underuse Of Recommended Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests
Only one-fifth of primary care physicians in the US follow practice guidelines for colorectal cancer screening for all the tests they recommend, according to Dr. Robin Yabroff from the National Cancer Institute and her colleagues. About 40 percent followed guidelines for some of the tests they recommended and the remaining 40 percent did not follow guidelines for any of the screening tests they recommended. Furthermore, their analysis (1) of physician screening recommendations for colorectal ...
Published by Medical News Today on: 2010-10-16

Surprising TAU Research Finds Common Stress Levels In Social Groups
Anxiety, or the reaction to a perceived danger, is a response that differs from one animal or human to another - or so scientists thought. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University are challenging what we know about stress, and their study has implications for helping clinicians better treat victims of terrorism or natural disasters. Prof. David Eilam and his graduate student Rony Izhar of Tel Aviv University's Department of Zoology are spearheading a study designed to investigate the anxieties ...
Published by Medical News Today on: 2010-10-16

Improved 'Molecular Fingerprinting' For Trace Gas Detection Unveiled By JILA
Scientists at JILA and collaborators have demonstrated an improved laser-based "molecular fingerprinting" technique that picks out traces of key hydrogen-containing and other molecules from a billion other particles in a gas in just 30 seconds or less - performance suitable for breathalyzers for diagnosing disease, measuring trace gases in the atmosphere, detecting security threats and other applications. JILA is jointly operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and ...
Published by Medical News Today on: 2010-10-16

NIST Chemical Microscopy Shows Potential For Cell Diagnostics
A paper by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may breathe new life into the use of a powerful - but tricky - diagnostic technique for cell biology. The paper,* appearing this week in the Biophysical Journal, demonstrates that with improved hardware and better signal processing, a powerful form of molecular vibration spectroscopy can quickly deliver detailed molecular maps of the contents of cells without damaging them. Earlier studies have suggested that to ...
Published by Medical News Today on: 2010-10-16

New Small Business Law Could Have Big Effect On Retirement Accounts
A new law aimed at helping stimulate small business job growth through tax deductions could have major consequences for anyone with a retirement savings account at work, a University of Illinois expert on taxation and elder law notes. Law professor Richard L. Kaplan says an obscure provision in the recently enacted Small Business Jobs Act allows 401(k), 403(b) or 457 account holders to convert their retirement savings into a tax-advantaged Roth-version of the same account...
Published by Medical News Today on: 2010-10-16

Method Developed For Curbing Growth Of Crystals That Form Kidney Stones
Researchers have developed a method for curbing the growth of crystals that form cystine kidney stones. Their findings, which appear in the latest issue of the journal Science, may offer a pathway to a new method for the prevention of kidney stones. The study was conducted by researchers at New York University's Department of Chemistry and its Molecular Design Institute, NYU School of Medicine, and the Medical College of Wisconsin. Kidney stones comprised of L-cystine affect at least 20,000 ...
Published by Medical News Today on: 2010-10-16

Push And Pull Get Eyes To Work Together
Researchers appear to have found a better way to correct sensory eye dominance, a condition in which an imbalance between the eyes compromises fine depth perception. The key is a push-pull training method in which the weak eye is made to work while vision in the strong eye is actively suppressed, according to a report published online on October 14 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication...
Published by Medical News Today on: 2010-10-16

Common Causes In Worms And Women For Reproductive Decline With Age
In worms as in women, fertility declines at a rate that far exceeds the onset of other aging signs. And now a new report in the October 15th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, suggests that worms' and humans' biological clocks may wind down over time for similar underlying reasons. "For us, what's most important is that there are so many shared genes involved," said Coleen Murphy of Princeton University. "This isn't just about worms and how they reproduce...
Published by Medical News Today on: 2010-10-16