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.
Human embryonic stem cell-based therapies have the potential to help treat stroke disease. – Neural cells derived from human embryonic stem cells helped repair stroke-related damage in the brains of rats and led to improvements in their physical abilities, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Mental health in the military: Majority of troops avoid couch talk; First Canadian study to examine mental health among armed forces and barriers to help. – Mental disorders ranging from depression to alcoholism need to be de-stigmatized among military personnel to encourage troops to seek support when needed, according to a national investigation published in the February edition of the research journal, Medical Care.
CDC releases results of formaldehyde level tests; FEMA to expedite relocation of residents from temporary housing units. – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released preliminary results from recent testing that found higher than typical indoor exposure levels of formaldehyde in travel trailers and mobile homes used as emergency housing in the Gulf Coast Region.
One day doctors may recommend using high efficiency particle air (HEPA) filters along with weight loss, smoking cessation, and exercise to improve cardiovascular health, according to researchers in Denmark. – Using HEPA filters for just two days significantly improved a key measure of cardiovascular health in healthy, non-smoking elderly individuals, revealed by researchers in a recent study.
NIH Collaborates with EPA to Improve the Safety Testing of Chemicals; New Strategy Aims to Reduce Reliance on Animal Testing. – Testing the safety of chemicals ranging from pesticides to household cleaners will benefit from new technologies and a plan for collaboration, according to federal scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who announced a new toxicity testing agreement.
This research is the first to show that the birth of a boy reduces several dimensions of the mothers’ quality of life. Further research needs to explore the effectiveness of programmes targeting the construction of parenting skills as a preventative measure against PND, especially for parents of boys. – Giving birth to a boy can lead to higher levels of severe post-natal depression (PND) and reduced quality of life than having a girl, according to research published in the February issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing.
India caught in catastrophic smoking epidemic, researchers predict 1M tobacco deaths a year during the 2010s – India is in the midst of a catastrophic epidemic of smoking deaths, which is expected to cause about one million (10 lakh) deaths a year during the 2010s ? including one in five of all male deaths and one in 20 of all female deaths at ages 30-69.
PriCara, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. said that all lots of 25 microgram/hour (mcg/hr) DURAGESIC (fentanyl transdermal system) CII patches sold by PriCara in the United States and all 25 mcg/hr fentanyl patches sold by Sandoz Inc. in the United States are being voluntarily recalled as a precaution from wholesalers and pharmacies. – DURAGESIC 25 mcg/hr (fentanyl transdermal system) CII patches for pain have been recalled because of a cut along one side of the drug reservoir within the patch. Fentanyl patches that are cut or damaged in any way may lead to serious adverse events.
New campaign warns ‘No tan is worth dying for’, Big fall in teens seeking a tan, says Cancer Council: Yet a quarter still get sunburnt on summer weekends. – New research from The Cancer Council, Australia has shown a big fall in the number of teens deliberately tanning, down 45 per cent over the past three years. Yet despite the promising trend, almost a quarter of teens are still getting sunburnt over a typical summer weekend.
