http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The use of a digital checklist for patients being administered emergency drugs during a pandemic or following a biological terrorist attack reduces the fatigue factor, according to a report in the International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management, and could save lives. http://www.physorg.com/news180706525.html Medicine & Health Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:40:04 EST news180706525 It's a common scene: Mom brings aching child with some bug to the doctor's office, expecting the doctor to do, well, something. http://www.physorg.com/news179741749.html Medicine & Health Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:30:01 EST news179741749 Herpes zoster, also known as shingles, is very rare among children who have been vaccinated against chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente study in the December issue of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal. http://www.physorg.com/news179133924.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:50:01 EST news179133924 Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that exaggerated responses of the immune system explain why the elderly succumb to viral infections more readily than younger people. Published in the November 19 Cell Host & Microbe, the study bucks the general belief that declining immune responses are to blame for susceptibility to viral infections. http://www.physorg.com/news177772301.html Biology Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:50:05 EST news177772301 A Henry Ford Hospital study found that hepatitis B does not increase the risk for pancreatic cancer - and that only age is a contributing factor. http://www.physorg.com/news176266146.html Medicine & Health Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:49:33 EST news176266146 Each year 3-5 million people have severe cases and 250-500,000 die from complications of seasonal influenza world-wide. This year, the novel 2009 H1N1 (nH1N1) influenza, previously called swine flu, has reached pandemic status. Since novel 2009 H1N1 is a viral infection of the respiratory tract, there are additional challenges for cardiopulmonary transplant recipients and donors, as well as for the healthcare workers involved in the transplant process. In an article published online today in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, physicians representing the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) Infectious Disease Council issue an advisory for all programs in cardiothoracic transplantation. http://www.physorg.com/news175500879.html Medicine & Health Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:15:25 EST news175500879 A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has identified a key player in a molecular process essential for DNA replication within cells. http://www.physorg.com/news175435791.html Biology Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:20:04 EST news175435791 (PhysOrg.com) -- Viruses like Hepatitis C proliferate by tricking cellular machinery into manufacturing the parts for duplicate viral particles. http://www.physorg.com/news173549327.html Chemistry Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:09:14 EST news173549327 Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified a genetic mutation that accounts for a perplexing condition found in people with an inherited immunodeficiency. The disorder, called combined immunodeficiency, is characterized by a constellation of severe health problems, including persistent bacterial and viral skin infections, severe eczema, acute allergies and asthma, and cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news173008791.html Medicine & Health Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:30:03 EST news173008791 More than seventy percent of people who contract Hepatitis C will live with the virus that causes it for the rest of their lives and some will develop serious liver disease including cancer. However, 30 to 40 percent of those infected somehow defeat the infection and get rid of the virus with no treatment. In this week's Advanced Online Publication at Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers working as part of an international team report the discovery of the strongest genetic alteration associated with the ability to get rid of the infection. http://www.physorg.com/news172337905.html Medicine & Health Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:00:03 EST news172337905 Scientists have used a new vaccine production technology to develop a vaccine for norovirus, a dreaded cause of diarrhea and vomiting that may be the second most common viral infection in the United States after the flu. Sometimes called the "cruise ship virus," this microbe can spread like wildfire through passenger liners, schools, offices and military bases. http://www.physorg.com/news169815192.html Chemistry Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:20:03 EST news169815192 Scientists have identified a genomic "signature" in circulating blood that reveals exposure to common upper respiratory viruses, like the cold or flu, even before symptoms appear. http://www.physorg.com/news168788338.html Medicine & Health Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:39:39 EST news168788338 Condom use is associated with a reduced risk of contracting herpes simplex virus 2, according to a report based on pooled analysis of data from previous studies in the July 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news166721309.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:29:40 EST news166721309 Going out like a brilliant flame is one way to get attention. If physicians could watch tumor cells committing a form of programmed suicide called apoptosis, a desired effect of workhorse cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, they could more quickly pick the most effective treatment. Now scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a way to do just that, by lighting up cells as they die. http://www.physorg.com/news166711615.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:47:29 EST news166711615 Eczema patients at risk for serious viral infections have more severe disease, are more likely to be allergic to food and other allergens, and have a frequent history of staph infections, according to researchers at National Jewish Health and other institutions in the NIH-funded Atopic Dermatitis Vaccinia Network. The findings, published June 25 in the online version of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, could help identify people at risk for serious complications of smallpox vaccinations, and point to defects in the skin barrier and antimicrobial-protein production as possible causes for the increased susceptibility. http://www.physorg.com/news165146799.html Medicine & Health Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:30:01 EST news165146799 The reason deadly infections like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C never go away is because these viruses disarm the body`s defense system. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have discovered that a key immunity protein must be present for this defense system to have a chance against chronic infection. http://www.physorg.com/news164081303.html Medicine & Health Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:20:01 EST news164081303 A new study finds the cross-talk between 'killer T-cells' and 'helper T-cells' can only happen in the presence of interleukin-21, a powerful immune-system protein. UAB researchers say if interleukin-21 is missing, the immune system's anti-viral efforts fail. The study mice were treated for lymphocytic choriomeningitis. http://www.physorg.com/news161529565.html Medicine & Health Thu, 14 May 2009 14:19:50 EST news161529565 A main reason why viruses such as HIV or hepatitis C persist despite a vigorous initial immune response is exhaustion. The T cells, or white blood cells, fighting a chronic infection eventually wear out. http://www.physorg.com/news161454772.html Medicine & Health Wed, 13 May 2009 17:33:37 EST news161454772 A team of Princeton University scientists may have found a better way to make a vaccine against the flu virus. http://www.physorg.com/news161365680.html Medicine & Health Tue, 12 May 2009 16:48:33 EST news161365680 As the swine flu continues its global spread, researchers from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have discovered important clues about why influenza is more severe in some people than it is in others. http://www.physorg.com/news160659764.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 May 2009 12:43:21 EST news160659764 Like a sleeper agent, the flu virus causes its damage from within, turning an organism's cells against itself. A single virus can hijack a healthy cell and transform it into a virus factory, making thousands of copies in a couple of hours. The cell then bursts, allowing the copies to infect other healthy cells and start the process anew. http://www.physorg.com/news160411270.html Medicine & Health Fri, 01 May 2009 15:41:38 EST news160411270 As the number of swine flu cases grows, so do the questions about how the virus is transmitted and what people can do to prevent it. Here are answers from interviews with doctors and from public-health Web sites. http://www.physorg.com/news160218868.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:15:01 EST news160218868 (PhysOrg.com) -- Generally speaking, patients with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) deteriorate suddenly, in bursts, often as a result of bacterial or viral infections. http://www.physorg.com/news159551174.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:46:49 EST news159551174 The side effects of an experimental "gene-silencing" treatment that is currently being investigated for a variety of diseases are even more wide-ranging than previously discovered, according to a study by a University of Kentucky researcher. http://www.physorg.com/news158257334.html Medicine & Health Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:22:36 EST news158257334 Finding molecules that block the activity of the oncogene Stat 3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription) required screening literally millions of compounds, using computers that compared the structure of the cancer-causing gene to those of the small molecules, said a Baylor College of Medicine researcher in a report that appears in the current online issue of the journal PLoS One (Public Library of Science ONE). http://www.physorg.com/news155938280.html Medicine & Health Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:11:39 EST news155938280 A new article appearing in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology may lead to improvements in the efficacy of the current tuberculosis vaccine. Specifically, a team of Italian researchers discovered a new role for type I interferon, in which it improves the ability of dendritic cells to stimulate an immune response against the bacterium known to cause tuberculosis. The researchers speculate that type I interferon may give the current vaccine the "boost" necessary to elicit a protective immunity against the mycobacterium tuberculosis. http://www.physorg.com/news154874438.html Biology Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:41:32 EST news154874438 A new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine could explain why the cold and flu virus symptoms that are often mild and transient in non-smokers can seriously sicken smokers. Published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the study also identified the mechanism by which viruses and cigarette smoke interact to increase lung inflammation and damage. http://www.physorg.com/news136139749.html Medicine & Health Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:35:49 EST news136139749