A study shows that hypothermia occurs in around half of patients undergoing surgery, despite national guidelines for its prevention.
Category: Research
Computer games help stroke survivors get back on their feet
Computer games are being used to boost independence for patients recovering from strokes, brain injuries and amputations in trials in Sydney and Adelaide.
Who Let The Dogs In? We Did, About 30,000 Years Ago
A new study suggests that canis familiaris split from wolves much earlier than the 11,000 to 16,000 years ago that was long assumed.» E-Mail This
Human stem cell model reveals molecular cues critical to neurovascular unit formation
Crucial bodily functions we depend on but don’t consciously think about—things like heart rate, blood flow, breathing and digestion—are regulated by the neurovascular unit. The neurovascular unit is made up of blood vessels and smooth muscles under the control of autonomic neurons. Yet how the nervous and vascular systems come together during development to coordinate these functions is not well understood. Using human embryonic stem cells, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute created a model that allows them to track cellular behavior during the earliest stages of human development in real-time. The model reveals, for the first time, how autonomic neurons and blood vessels come together to form the neurovascular unit.
Oxidative stress is an aggravating factor in Lafora rare disease
Neurodegenerative Lafora disease usually becomes apparent through seizures during adolescence and puberty and occurs as a consequence of defects in glycogen metabolism and in the cellular mechanisms that are responsible for its disposal. Researchers at the University of Valencia have led a study in which they propose that Lafora could be aggravated by oxidative stress. These ideas have been put forward in a review article recently published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine.
Researchers call for more fairness in using testosterone levels to judge femaleness of elite athletes
(Medical Xpress)—A pair of researchers, one with Stanford University, the other Barnard College, has published a Policy Forum piece in the journal Science, calling for changes to the way female athletes are judged on their fitness to compete as women in major sporting events. Katrina Karkazis and Rebecca Jordan-Young note that thus far there have only been two serious studies done on the topic and they came back with conflicting results, which suggests that sports organizations that use testosterone levels to exclude women from competing with other women are unfair.
Breakthrough brain implant helps paralysed people gain independence
A new kind of brain implant that can sense a patient’s intent to move a robotic arm is being hailed as a breakthrough in harnessing mind power to help paralysed people gain more independence.
How Do You Motivate Kids To Stop Skipping School?
A study in an Indian slum tried promising a reward: Improve your attendance, and you’ll get a small treat. But for third-graders, sometimes these incentive schemes can do more harm than good.» E-Mail This
Pot kills crippling pain, medical marijuana user says
Cancer-sufferer Paul Lawrence says he survives crippling daily pain with medical marijuana, including a breakfast marijuana smoothie, joints and hash oil throughout the day.
New biotechnology for high efficiency purification of live human cells
One of the reasons pluripotent stem cells are so popular in medical research is that they can be differentiated into any cell type.
Blood to feeling: McMaster scientists turn blood into neural cells
Adult sensory neurons made from human patients blood sampleScientists at McMaster University have discovered how to make adult sensory neurons from human patients simply by having them roll up…