Modafinil is well-tolerated in the treatment of excessive sleepiness associated with disorders of sleep and wakefulness such as shift work sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnea and narcolepsy, and does not affect cardiovascular or sleep parameters. Read more…
Self-reports of total sleep times, both habitually and on the morning after a polysomnogram, or a sleep test, tend to be higher than objectively measured sleep times. Read more…
Patients have on average a 71 percent lower chance of dying at the nation's top-rated hospitals compared with the lowest-rated hospitals across 18 procedures and conditions analyzed in the 10th annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study. Read more…
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth can emerge after gastric bypass surgery, which can impact the absorption of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients, such as calcium and zinc, causing potentially serious complications. Read more…
New studies highlight the risks and significant health care costs of GI injury and bleeding from the use of NSAIDs. According to a new survey 22 percent of respondents did not think NSAIDs were important to mention to their doctor, revealing a common misperception about these over-the-counter remedies. Read more…
Acid reflux into the esophagus can present as other symptoms such as chronic cough or chest pain. Two new studies highlight the little-known connection between acid reflux and seemingly unrelated problems. Read more…
Where does the benefit lie in an afternoon nap? Is it in the nap itself -- or in the anticipation of taking a snooze? Researchers have found that the time just before you fall asleep is where beneficial cardiovascular changes take place. Read more…
A modified plastic material greatly improves the ability to separate global warming-linked carbon dioxide from natural gas as the gas is prepared for use, according to engineers who have analyzed the new plastic's performance. Read more…
The enzyme TPPII may contribute to obesity by stimulating the formation of fat cells, suggests a new study. The enzyme, TPPII, has previously been linked to making people feel hungry, but now researchers show that it may be even more deeply involved in causing obesity. Read more…
Nitrogen pollution from agriculture and fossil fuels is known to be seriously damaging grasslands in the UK. A new European study is starting to show that the effect is Europe-wide, confirming that current policies to protect ecosystems may need a rethink. Read more…
Playing with toy blocks may lead to improved language development in middle- and low-income children, according to a new article. Read more…
Persons with multiple sclerosis who smoke risk increasing the amount of brain tissue shrinkage, a consequence of MS, and the subsequent severity of their disease, new research has shown. Read more…
The sequencing of Neanderthal nuclear DNA from fossil bone held promise for finally answering the question of whether the Neanderthals are ancestors of ours. However, two recent studies came to very different conclusions regarding the ancestral role of Neanderthals. Read more…
Some nanotechnology fanciers suggest that, like proverbial birds of a feather, engineered nanoscale materials will flock -- or clump -- together. This tendency, they maintain, should reduce or eliminate risks as nanotechnology manufacturing increases and the number of nanotechnology-enabled products grows. Think again, cautions nanoparticle expert Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies in a new article. Read more…
Canadians are awash in toxic chemicals -- and it is costing our health care system up to $9.1 billion and 1.5 million hospital days annually, according to a new study. The research is the first to measure the magnitude of adverse health effects caused by exposure to environmental hazards such as air pollution, pesticides, dioxins, heavy metals, flame retardants and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for Canada. The study estimates that environmental pollutants cause as many as 25,000 deaths, 24,000 new cases of cancer and 2,500 low birth-weight babies in Canada every year. Read more…
Women who overcome breast cancer have every reason to celebrate. But a heart filled with joy may also be a heart damaged by life-saving cancer therapies, a growing body of research shows. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among American women, accounting for more than 200,000 new cases each year. Thanks to new and better therapies, death rates from breast cancer are falling dramatically -- by nearly 24 percent between 1990 and 2000, for example. Read more…
A new portable detection system will enable veterinarians to carry out on-site diagnosis of animal diseases in less than 90 minutes rather than having to send samples for laboratory analysis. It should be available mid-2008. Read more…
STATUS REPORT Date Released: Friday, October 12, 2007 Source: Kennedy Space Center NASA Solicitation: KSC Ground Support Office Project Management Services Contract Synopsis - Oct 12, 2007 General Information Solicitation Number: NNK08223161L Posted Date: Oct 12, 2007 FedBizOpps Posted Date: Oct... Read more…
PRESS RELEASE Date Released: Friday, October 12, 2007 Source: European Southern Observatory Take an umbrella if you plan to visit Titan! Read more…
AP - Truckloads of illegal timber cross the Myanmar border to sawmills in China, while markets along the Thai border openly sell bear paws, tiger skins and elephant tusks. Read more…
AP - Yuichiro Miura has an unusual routine for a man who just turned 75. At dawn, the veteran adventurer wakes after a night in a private low-oxygen chamber. He straps weights onto his ankles, hoists a 44-pound backpack onto his shoulders and hikes for hours around Tokyo. Sometimes he adds a stroll on his treadmill. Read more…
AP - When this quiet city in southern Sweden decided in 1996 to wean itself off fossil fuels, most people doubted the ambitious goal would have any impact beyond the town limits. A few melting glaciers later, Vaxjo is attracting a green pilgrimage of politicians, scientists and business leaders from as far afield as the United States and North Korea seeking inspiration from a city program that has allowed it to cut CO2 emissions 30 percent since 1993. Read more…
AP - He spent decades trying to get the world to listen and believe as he did that global warming would destroy the planet unless people changed their behavior, and fast. Read more…
AP - At Rutgers University's animal farm, where future veterinarians train, male piglets are pulled squealing from their mother to be castrated — without anesthesia — before they are 10 days old. Read more…
Reuters - An Australian woman fought off a Great White Shark on Monday after it knocked her into the water from her surf ski at a popular tourist beach. Read more…