(Medical Xpress)—Are there more than biophysical factors at play in addiction? A new study by Xiaosi Gu and Terry Lohrenz from Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute in Roanoke shows that cognitive beliefs play a significant role in a person's neurological response to an addictive substance and that belief can diminish the neurological effects of an addictive drug. Their research is reported in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Just as households have garbage disposals and recycling bins for getting rid of everyday waste, the cell has its own system for cleaning up unnecessary or defunct components. This process, known as autophagy, is also an efficient method of eliminating unwanted visitors like viruses, bacteria, and parasites.

In one of the largest research undertakings of its kind, a team of geneticists and neuroscientists has uncovered a number of genetic variations that influence the size of some key brain structures, including the hippocampus and the putamen. The result may advance understanding of such devastating neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's.

Researchers have identified five genetic variants that influence the size of structures within the brain, a discovery that could help determine the genetic processes that underlie neuropsychiatric diseases.

Scientists have identified a gene that helps regulate how well nerves of the central nervous system are insulated, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report.

Many clinicians have pinned their hopes on stem cells. Stem cells could, for example, replace nerve cells after a stroke. However, until now it has not been possible to observe the process of live stem cells developing into fully functional nerve cells. Now, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne have developed a novel method for studying such processes in the living brain, enabling them to observe how human stem cells transplanted into the cerebral cortex of mice develop into mature functional nerve cells.

For people suffering from diabetes, managing blood sugar can be like walking a tightrope - if too high they run the risk of serious long term complications such as blindness, kidney failure, limb gangrene and premature heart disease, but allow it to drop too low and it can lead to a loss of consciousness which could be fatal.

As many as 1.4 million Americans suffer from uncomfortable abdominal cramping and diarrhea that come with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. These conditions, collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), are associated with an imbalance among the thousands of species of "good" bacteria that inhabit the gut. A University of Utah study published on Jan. 22, 2015, in Cell Host and Microbe demonstrates that mice deficient for a component of the immune system, a protein called MyD88, have an imbalanced gut bacterial community - with some species dominating over others - and are more susceptible to contracting a severe IBD-like illness. Further, fecal transplants from healthy donors alleviate IBD symptoms in these mice.

Upending decades-old dogma, a team of scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say enzymes long categorized as promoting cancer are, in fact, tumor suppressors and that current clinical efforts to develop inhibitor-based drugs should instead focus on restoring the enzymes' activities.

A team of scientists based at Brown University has found that reducing expression of a fundamentally important gene called Myc significantly increased the healthy lifespan of laboratory mice, the first such finding regarding this gene in a mammalian species.

E. coli usually brings to mind food poisoning and beach closures, but researchers recently discovered a protein in E.. coli that inhibits the accumulation of potentially toxic amyloids—a hallmark of diseases such as Parkinson's.

A research article published today in Science presents the first major analysis based on the Human Protein Atlas, including a detailed picture of the proteins that are linked to cancer, the number of proteins present in the bloodstream, and the targets for all approved drugs on the market.

Washington State University researchers have found a direct link between the plastics component bisphenol A, or BPA, and disrupted sperm production. Writing in the journal PLOS Genetics, they say the chemical disrupts the delicate DNA interactions needed to create sperm.

A new study has identified genes involved in long-term memory in the worm as part of research aimed at finding ways to retain cognitive abilities during aging.

Too much sitting has been shown to increase the risk of chronic diseases, particularly diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer. Current guidelines suggest adults do 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week, but more than a third (35.6%) of adults worldwide are sufficiently inactive.

Teenagers with brothers and sisters who exhibit severe antisocial behaviour share a similar impairment with their siblings in recognising emotions, according to a new study from the University of Southampton.

The amount of time children spend using screens, such as televisions and computers, on a daily basis exceeds recommended guidelines, according to research published in open access journal BMC Public Health. These guidelines were drawn up at a time when tablets, cell phones and other mobile devices were not as present in everyday life, which suggests they need to be redrafted.

California health officials say the number of people in the state infected with measles is now up to 59.

Video-based therapy for families with babies at risk of autism improves infants' engagement, attention and social behavior, and might reduce the likelihood of such children developing autism, according to new research published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.

California public health officials say unvaccinated people and children too young to be immunized against measles should avoid Disneyland after new infections were linked to the theme park.

UN recommendations that people should do at least two-and-a-half hours' physical activity a week are unworkable for some individuals, health experts argued Wednesday.

Taking antibiotics for diarrhea may put travelers visiting developing parts of the world at higher risk for contracting superbugs and spreading these daunting drug-resistant bacteria to their home countries, according to a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and now available online. The study authors call for greater caution in using antibiotics for travelers' diarrhea, except in severe cases, as part of broader efforts to fight the growing public health crisis of antibiotic resistance and the spread of highly resistant bacteria worldwide.

Taking a hormonal contraceptive for at least five years is associated with a possible increase in a young woman's risk of developing a rare tumour, glioma of the brain. This project focussed on women aged 15 -49 years and the findings are published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

A new preservation system that pumps cooled, oxygen-rich fluid into donor livers not only keeps the organs in excellent condition for as long as nine hours before transplantation, but also leads to dramatically better liver function and increases survival of recipients, according to a series of animal studies by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The system could be tested with transplant patients at UPMC later this year.

A major research study has uncovered several new genetic mutations that could drive testicular cancer - and also identified a gene which may contribute to tumours becoming resistant to current treatments.

The National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) has launched a clinical trial of a new cancer vaccine administered to human patients for the first time in the world. Cancer immunotherapy (the harnessing of the body's defence system to fight the patient's cancer, has emerged as one of the most exciting medical breakthroughs in the past two years.

A four-year-old Australian boy has been fitted with an artificial pancreas in what researchers said was a world first treatment for managing type 1 diabetes.

The British government said Wednesday it would seek a vote on forcing tobacco firms to sell cigarettes in plain packaging before the current parliament ends ahead of a May election.

Two years after the calorie content of menu items first started appearing on the menus of Seattle chain restaurants, just 1 in 4 customers who frequented those establishments said they used that nutritional information to guide their consumption choices, a new study finds.

Should a woman prescribed antidepressants continue taking them while pregnant? The question is fraught—her health and that of her unborn child is at stake. Yet research to help her and her doctor make that decision is incomplete.

Axons connect neurons with each other to form the neural networks that underpin the vital functions of perception, motility, cognition, and memory. In many neurodegenerative disorders, from traumatic injury or toxic damage to diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, axonal degeneration represents an essential pathological feature.

Small businesses are prepared to adopt workplace wellness programs and, based on the kinds of health risks facing employees, are a good target for such health interventions according to new research published in this month's issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine from the Colorado School of Public Health.

Visual distortions and hallucinations related to an elevated risk of psychosis are linked to self-destructive thought processes among adolescents with psychological symptoms, according to a recent Finnish study. Early indications of the risk of psychosis can usually be detected long before the onset of a full-blown disorder.

Inorganic arsenic is carcinogenic and found in a variety of food and beverage products, but not at levels that are considered dangerous, analyses suggest.

In a discovery that could dramatically affect the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries, researchers at the University of Virginia and elsewhere have identified a previously unknown, beneficial immune response that occurs after injury to the central nervous system. By harnessing this response, doctors may be able to develop new and better treatments for brain and spinal cord injuries, develop tools to predict how patients will respond to treatment, and better treat degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma and Lou Gehrig's disease.

Cancer deaths in children and young people have fallen by 58 per cent in the past 40 years, according to new figures announced by Cancer Research UK today.

A drug therapy for diabetes treatment is being developed by an international research team led by WA scientists, which combines an existing anti-diabetic drug with bile acids to improve the drug's delivery and prolong release.

To better understand what happens during immune reactions in the body, researchers at Tübingen University have developed a new way of labeling T-cells, allowing them to track the T-cell movement in mice using non-invasive positron emission technology (PET). The researchers, led by Professor Bernd Pichler at the Werner Siemens Imaging Center, worked with dermatologists, pathologists and immunologists at the University hospitals and at the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research. They describe the new technique in the latest issue of PNAS.

Two articles published in today's issue of The BMJ argue physical activity guidelines should focus on getting inactive people to move a little rather than having the entire population meet the 150 minutes of moderate activity a week target. The papers may give heart to those who can already see their new year's resolution to get fit slipping away.

Researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, have shown for the first time why protein mutations lead to the familial form of Parkinson's disease.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi implored his country to stop killing unborn girls on Thursday, warning that its growing gender imbalance would have serious consequences.

Being able to predict that a patient will adversely react to a drug that's meant to be treating them is a key aim of personalised medicine, and could help to improve the patient's overall treatment.

A study led by a James Cook University marketing expert has raised concerns over the ethics of the marketing of skin-whitening products, widely available in Australia.

Melanoma, the most aggressive of all skin cancer strains, is often fatal for patients due to the pronounced formation of metastases. Until now, a melanoma's rampant growth was mainly attributed to genetic causes, such as mutations in certain genes. However, researchers from the University of Zurich now reveal that so-called epigenetic factors play a role in the formation of metastases in malignant skin cancer. This opens up new possibilities for future cancer treatments.

Try putting an ice-cube in your mouth. The insides of your mouth and tongue instantly turn numb. Hold it in still and you will feel pain. Now try sucking on peppermint. The mint itself is at room temperature, but your mouth instantly feels cold and numb. How did it do that? The answer is menthol, the ingredient that instantly tricks your brain into sensing that the food is cold.

Tying shoelaces, stirring coffee, writing letters, playing the piano. From the usual daily routine to demanding activities: Our hands are used more frequently than any other body part. Through our highly developed fine motor skills, we are able to perform grasping movements with variable precision and power distribution. This ability is a fundamental characteristic of the hand of primates. Until now, it was unclear how hand movements are planned in the brain.

An eye-catching and appealing graphic on a mobile phone or website helps people perform tasks quicker and more easily as the job gets more demanding. Investing a little bit extra to design aesthetically pleasing visuals for electronic devices, websites or anything people need to interact with will be beneficial in the long run. This is the advice from British researchers Irene Reppa of Swansea University and Siné McDougall of Bournemouth University. The results of their study on how the aesthetic appeal of visuals enhances performance are published in Springer's journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

Childhood is one of the stages of life with the greatest risk of suffering violence, despite the greater social awareness and more specialised training of professionals. A study looking into over a thousand Spanish teenagers concludes that 83% of them claim to have fallen victim to at least one form of violence over the course of their lives; 68.6% in the last year.

Inflammatory bowel diseases are associated with a decrease in the diversity of bacteria in the gut, but a new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has linked the same illnesses to an increase in the diversity of viruses.

In a new study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, a research group led by James A. Hamilton, PhD, professor of Physiology, Biophysics and Radiology at Boston University School of Medicine, applied novel methods to detect binding of fatty acids to CD36 and their effect on internalization of oxidized LDL. Although other research groups have characterized a fatty acid binding site on CD36 and postulated CD36 to be a gatekeeper for fatty acid entry into cells, the Hamilton lab previously found that CD36 did not increase fatty acid translocation across the plasma membrane.

An international research team led by scientists at McGill University has found that excessive salt intake "reprograms" the brain, interfering with a natural safety mechanism that normally prevents the body's arterial blood pressure from rising.

Researchers from Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center, led by Casey S. Greene, PhD, reported in Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing on the use of denoising autoencoders (DAs) to effectively extract key biological principles from gene expression data and summarize them into constructed features with convenient properties.

"Can he hear me?" family members are desperate to know when a loved one with a traumatic brain injury is in a coma.

Improving oral health is a leading population health goal; however, curricula preparing health professionals have a dearth of oral health content and clinical experiences.  Funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA), New York University College of Nursing's (NYUCN) Teaching Oral-Systemic Health (TOSH) Program is working to build interprofessional oral health workforce capacity which addresses a significant public health issue, increases oral health care access, and improves oral-systemic health across the lifespan.

An article published online today in the International Journal of Epidemiology pools data from 25 case-control studies and conducts separate analyses to show that head and neck cancers (HNC) in young adults are more likely to be as a result of inherited factors, rather than lifestyle factors such as smoking or drinking alcohol.

Children under two years old can learn certain communication skills from a video, such as how to use signs in sign language, and perform similarly in tests when compared to babies taught by their parents, according to a new paper in the journal Child Development.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has awarded Dr. Hans Clevers, senior author on two important papers published recently in the scientific journal Cell, the society's McEwen Award for Innovation. The papers describe the development of a culturing system for human liver stem cells, as well as stem cells from pancreatic cancer, discoveries with the potential to revolutionize liver transplantation and aid in the fight against pancreatic cancer, respectively.

New research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem shows that the most common form of white blood cells, called neutrophils, contain many different subtypes, of which some fight the development of cancer and others promote its progression. The research could help pave the way to new therapies that fight cancer by increasing anti-tumor neutrophils while limiting pro-tumor neutrophils.

The tiniest babies need special follow-up care when they go home from the hospital after birth. But, of the thousands of very-low-birth-weight babies born in California during 2010 and 2011, 20 percent were not referred to the state's high-risk infant follow-up program, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

A measles outbreak traced to Disney theme parks in California led to warnings against visiting the happiest place on Earth if tourists or their children have not been vaccinated against the highly contagious respiratory disease that has sickened 70 people.

Lori Simons took the bright orange pill at 3 a.m. Eight hours later, doctors sliced into her brain, looking for signs that the drug was working.

Use of the injectable progestin contraceptive depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) is linked to an increased risk for HIV infection, according to an article published by Charles Morrison of FHI 360 and colleagues in this week's PLOS Medicine. The researchers did not find a significantly increased risk for HIV infection in women who used a different injectable progestin, norethisterone enanthate (NET-EN), nor in those who used combined oral contraceptives (COC).

More than one-fourth of privately-insured and one-third of Medicaid-enrolled women of childbearing age filled prescriptions for opioid-based (narcotic) painkillers between 2008 and 2012, according to a new analysis published today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Ian Duncan is a Scotsman with the iron discipline and stamina of a competitive marathoner, triathlete and cross-country skier. As a neuroscientist at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he's applied his tenacity to a rare genetic disorder.

Low-income boys fare worse, not better, when they grow up alongside more affluent neighbors, according to new findings from Duke University. In fact, the greater the economic gap between the boys and their neighbors, the worse the effects, says the new article based on 12 years of research.

Sound sleep in young and middle-aged people helps memory and learning, but as they hit their seventh, eighth and ninth decades, they don't sleep as much or as well—and sleep is no longer linked so much to memory, a Baylor researcher says.

(HealthDay)—More than three-quarters of Americans live close to at least one park or recreational facility, giving many people opportunity to exercise, a new study finds.

(HealthDay)—Many American children can't afford to participate in school sports, a new survey finds.

(HealthDay)—Ebola virus-infected pregnant women are at risk for adverse maternal and fetal outcomes, according to an article published online Jan. 14 in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

(HealthDay)—For postangiography patients, metabolic syndrome is associated with increased mortality, especially in patients with stable angina, according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.

(HealthDay)—Lower ultraviolet (UV) light is associated with increased rate of diverticulitis admissions, according to a study published online Jan. 21 in JAMA Surgery.

(HealthDay)—For patients with acute shoulder pain, ultrasound imaging can be used by primary care physicians to rationalize treatment, according to a study published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

(HealthDay)—Researchers have summarized and clarified what is known about depression treatment in primary care. The reports have been published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

(HealthDay)—Physicians have ranked electronic health record (EHR) systems based on five key performance areas, according to a report published in Medical Economics.

Falls in blood pressure and total cholesterol staved off more than 20,000 deaths from coronary heart disease in England between 2000 and 2007, shows a mathematical analysis published in the online journal BMJ Open.

Livers and other organs begin lacking oxygen the moment they are removed from the donor and may have damaged tissue by the time a transplant occurs.

Inflammation has long been studied in Alzheimer's, but in a counterintuitive finding reported in a new paper, University of Florida researchers have uncovered the mechanism by which anti-inflammatory processes may trigger the disease.

Analyzing every marijuana-related Twitter message sent during a one-month period in early 2014, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that the "Twitterverse" is a pot-friendly place. In that time, more than 7 million tweets referenced marijuana, with 15 times as many pro-pot tweets sent as anti-pot tweets.

It has been described as an epidemic of modern times and perhaps felt more acutely in Canada's First Nations communities than anywhere else. Over the past several decades diabetes has become a prevalent health concern among Aboriginal Canadians, but it wasn't always so.

A new study by researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles has shown that neonatal mouse hearts have varying regenerative capacities depending upon the severity of injury. Using cryoinjury - damaging the heart through exposure to extreme cold in order to mimic cellular injury caused by myocardial infarction - investigators found that neonatal mouse hearts can fully recover normal function following a mild injury, though fail to regenerate after a severe injury.

A major measles outbreak traced to Disneyland has brought criticism down on the small but vocal movement among parents to opt out of vaccinations for their children.

Jamaica's Cabinet has approved a much-anticipated bill of drug law amendments that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot and pave the way for a legal medical marijuana industry on the Caribbean island, the justice minister said Wednesday.

The deadly Ebola epidemic is slowing significantly in the three west African countries at its epicentre, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, adding that those countries were now adequately equipped to stem the tide.

Greece's economic woes mean that paramedics on the picturesque island of Samos are increasingly faced with the terrible dilemma of who to save and who to leave to die.

Pregnant women shop for fit, comfort and style, but Cornell University fashion design student Blake Uretsky has delivered a whole new look: chic maternity wear that wirelessly monitors the mother's health.

To identify and reduce barriers perceived by people to enroll in health insurance requires a deep understanding of their perceptions on illness, care and insurance in their own socio-cultural context. This is important as trust between healthcare client, provider and insurer is key for the success of a health insurance, concluded Christine Fenenga in her PHD-thesis 'A matter of trust – Clients' perspective on healthcare and health insurance services in Ghana'. Fenenga successfully defended her thesis in the grand hall of the Academy building of the University of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands.

New research from the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry may help millions stick to a common resolution: quitting smoking.

Sierra Leone said on Thursday it would reopen schools across the country in March, with the deadly Ebola epidemic slowing throughout west Africa.

A team from the Catalan Institute of Oncology and Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (ICO-IDIBELL) has developed a new animal models that reproduce faithfully the evolution and malignancy of different human tumors.

Older age of a patient does not appear to be an issue when revision cochlear implantation is warranted because of device failure, according to a report published online by JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

The hundred trillion bacteria living in an adult human—mostly in the intestines, making up the gut microbiome—have a significant impact on behavior and brain health. The many ways gut bacteria can impact normal brain activity and development, affect sleep and stress responses, play a role in a variety of diseases, and be modified through diet for therapeutic use are described in a comprehensive Review article in Journal of Medicinal Food.

Transoral fundoplication is an effective treatment for patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), especially for patients with persistent regurgitation despite proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy, according to a new study1 published in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

Dental researchers hope to vastly improve oral health in children by countering a common misperception that dental care for baby teeth isn't important because they just fall out anyway.

Screening for and counseling women exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) is part of the free preventive services covered within the U.S. Affordable Care Act, but changes in the healthcare delivery system are needed to achieve this across diverse clinical settings and to improve health outcomes. This issue was the focal point of 2013 Intimate Partner Violence Screening and Counseling Research Symposium hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health. This symposium brought together researchers, medical practitioners, federal agency staff, and other stakeholders to identify gaps in research on screening and counseling for IPV in primary health care settings.

An American health care worker who has been under observation at an Omaha hospital after he was exposed to the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone did not develop the disease and has been released.

Elevated blood levels of calcium and phosphorus are linked with an increased risk of premature death in kidney disease patients on dialysis, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). Additional studies are needed to see whether lowering the levels of these blood minerals may improve patients' health.

Medicare is adding a visual tool to help kidney patients compare the quality of dialysis centers: Star ratings.

U.S. officials say a long-awaited major study of possible Ebola vaccines is set to begin in Liberia within a couple of weeks.

Research combining experimental work and detailed molecular simulations has revealed, for the first time, the complex role that water plays in collagen—a protein that is a component of tendons, bone, skin and other structural tissues in the body.

University of Minnesota researchers have identified the structure of the key intermediate "Q" in the enzyme methane monooxygenase (MMO), which converts methane (natural gas) and oxygen into methanol and water.

(Phys.org)—A team of researchers working at the University of California, has found a way to create stable gold(III) catalysts using oxidative addition of a carbon–carbon bond. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the team describe how they developed a technique that allowed for a carbon–carbon bond split at room temperature by an Au(I) complex that generated a stable Au(III) cationic complex. Christopher Kourra and Nicolai Cramer with école Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne offer a News & Views piece in the same journal issue describing the work by the team at UC.

Researchers at University of California, San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Bridge Institute at the University of Southern California report the first crystal structure of the cellular receptor CXCR4 bound to an immune signaling protein called a chemokine. The structure, published Jan. 22 in Science, answers longstanding questions about a molecular interaction that plays an important role in human development, immune responses, cancer metastasis and HIV infections.

The 2011 Fukushima disaster was a stark reminder of the continuing dangers posed by nuclear fallout, highlighting the need for an approved drug that can be taken after radiation exposure to protect against organ injury and death.