IQ Archives

Zebrafish offer useful screening tool for genes, drugs that protect against hearing loss

A small striped fish is helping scientists understand what makes people susceptible to a common form of hearing loss, although, in this case, it?s not the fish?s ears that are of interest. – A small striped fish is helping scientists understand what makes people susceptible to a common form of hearing loss, although, in this case, it’s not the fish’s ears that are of interest. In a study published in the Feb. 29 issue of the journal PLoS Genetics, researchers at the University of Washington have developed a research method that relies on a zebrafish’s lateral line-the faint line running down each side of a fish that enables it to sense its surroundings-to quickly screen for genes and chemical compounds that protect against hearing loss from some medications.

Quest Diagnostics & Google provide patients electronic access to their diagnostic laboratory data

Quest Diagnostics & Google provide patients electronic access to their diagnostic laboratory data, as a result of a new collaboration. – US patients may soon have easy and secure access to their own medical diagnostic laboratory records as a result of a new collaboration between Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the nation’s leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, and Google, the world’s leading Internet search company.

Possible treatment target for alcohol dependence identified

A brain circuit that underlies feelings of stress and anxiety shows promise as a new therapeutic target for alcoholism. – A brain circuit that underlies feelings of stress and anxiety shows promise as a new therapeutic target for alcoholism, according to new studies by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Antidepressant and psychotherapy work for depressed teens

Teens with treatment-resistant depression more likely to get better with switch to combination therapy – antidepressant and psychotherapy. – Teens with difficult-to-treat depression who do not respond to a first antidepressant medication are more likely to get well if they switch to another antidepressant medication and add psychotherapy rather than just switching to another antidepressant, according to a large, multi-site trial funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Antidepressants only benefit severely depressed patients

Antidepressant medications appear to help only severely depressed people, a new analysis has found. – Who benefits from antidepressant drugs? A new study from from the University of Hull published today in PLoS Medicine suggests that antidepressant medicines only benefit some, very severely depressed patients.

Aquatic exercise could benefit fibromyalgia sufferers

The addition of an aquatic exercise programme to the usual care for fibromyalgia in women, is cost-effective in terms of both health care costs and societal costs. – Patients suffering from fibromyalgia could benefit significantly from regular exercise in a heated swimming pool, a study published today in the open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy shows. The findings suggest a cost effective way of improving quality of life for patients with this often-debilitating disorder.

Gene changes after smoking affects lung cancer

Smoking?s effects on genes may play a role in lung cancer development and survival; changes in gene expression persisted in people who had quit smoking many years earlier. – Smoking plays a role in lung cancer development, and now scientists have shown that smoking also affects the way genes are expressed, leading to alterations in cell division and regulation of immune response. Notably, some of the changes in gene expression persisted in people who had quit smoking many years earlier.

Do animals think like autistic savants?

Autism gives special insight into the inner workings of the animal mind. – When Temple Grandin argued that animals and autistic savants share cognitive similarities in her best-selling book Animals in Translation (2005), the idea gained steam outside the community of cognitive neuroscientists.

Many maternal deaths worldwide are preventable

A study published in PLoS Medicine this week suggests that of women who die during pregnancy and childbirth in sub-Saharan Africa, more may die from treatable infectious diseases than from conditions directly linked to pregnancy. – Women who die during pregnancy and childbirth in sub-Saharan Africa, more may die from treatable infectious diseases than from conditions directly linked to pregnancy, revealed by researchers.

Laser to detect potential diseases via breath

By blasting a person’s breath with laser light, scientists have shown that they can detect molecules that may be markers for diseases like asthma or cancer. – By blasting a person’s breath with laser light, scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder have shown that they can detect molecules that may be markers for diseases like asthma or cancer.

Heavy cell phone users subject to cancers

Cell Phone – Cancer Link Found by Tel Aviv University Scientist; A new study finds an association between heavy cell phone use and tumors – An Israeli scientist, Dr. Siegal Sadetzki, has found a link between cell phone usage and the development of tumors. Dr. Sadetzki, a physician, epidemiologist and lecturer at Tel Aviv University, published the results of a study recently in the American Journal of Epidemiology, in which she and her colleagues found that heavy cell phone users were subject to a higher risk of benign and malignant tumors of the salivary gland.

Genetic breakthrough boosting natural immunity

Genetic breakthrough supercharges immunity to flu and other viruses; McGill researchers discover way to boost cells’ natural anti-virus defences. – Researchers at McGill University have discovered a way to boost an organism’s natural anti-virus defences, effectively making its cells immune to influenza and other viruses.