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College Students Find Comfort In Their Pets During Hard Times

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© iStockphoto/Sean LockeStudents who chose to live with at least one dog, one cat, or a combination of the two were less likely to report feeling lonely and depressed; something they directly attributed to their beloved pet.
A new study suggests that college students may handle stressful situations better if they have a pet.

Research has already shown that pets can improve the quality of life for people who are aging or those who are chronically ill. But researchers at Ohio State University recently found that many college students may also benefit from owning a cat or a dog.

A survey of students at a large university and other adults in the area found that nearly a quarter of college students surveyed believed their pets helped them get through difficult times in life. Students who chose to live with at least one dog, one cat, or a combination of the two were less likely to report feeling lonely and depressed; something they directly attributed to their beloved pet.

Health

We Are Better Able To Detect Racial Tension In Members Of Our Racial Group

In March of 2008, in a speech addressing contemporary racial tensions in America, then-Senator Barack Obama suggested that there is a "chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races." Could this be true? Is it more difficult for members of different races to understand each others' emotions and intentions?

Psychologist Heather M. Gray from Boston University, along with Wendy Berry Mendes and Carrigan Denny-Brown of Harvard University, investigated whether the ability to detect a person's anxiety declines when perceptions are made across the racial divide.

Health

Chink Found In Armor Of Viral 'Tummy Bug'

Researchers at Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Melbourne have moved a step closer to identifying a broad spectrum treatment for the dreaded 'viral tummy bug' or rotavirus.

These highly-infectious viruses are the leading cause of severe diarrhoea in young children, responsible for thousands of hospitalisations in the developed world, and hundreds of thousands of deaths each year in developing countries.

Institute Executive Director Professor Mark von Itzstein said research findings published in the world-leading Chemical Biology journal Nature. Chemical Biology this week demanded a total rethink of how these viruses work.

"Rotaviruses are thought to infect the bodies by sticking to certain types of sugars called sialic acids on the surface of our stomach cells. They then enter cells and reproduce rapidly, causing illness," he said.

Health

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Can Have Genetic Causes

Irritations of the bowel can have genetic causes, according to new research from the Institute of Human Genetics at Heidelberg University Hospital. The causes of what is known as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), one of the most common disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, are considered unclear - making diagnosis and treatment extremely difficult.

The results from Heidelberg improve the outlook for an effective medication against a disease that is frequently played down as a functional disorder.

Health

Too Sick to Work? Need Health Care? Take a Number

Master toolmaker John McClain built machine parts with details so small they couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Then a lump on his neck turned out to be cancer.

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New Anti-cancer Components Of Extra-virgin Olive Oil Revealed

extra-virgin olive oil
© iStockphoto/Carolina Garcia ArandaGood quality extra-virgin olive oil contains health-relevant chemicals, 'phytochemicals', that can trigger cancer cell death.
Good quality extra-virgin olive oil contains health-relevant chemicals, 'phytochemicals', that can trigger cancer cell death. New research sheds more light on the suspected association between olive oil-rich Mediterranean diets and reductions in breast cancer risk.

Javier Menendez from the Catalan Institute of Oncology and Antonio Segura-Carretero from the University of Granada in Spain led a team of researchers who set out to investigate which parts of olive oil were most active against cancer. Menendez said, "Our findings reveal for the first time that all the major complex phenols present in extra-virgin olive oil drastically suppress overexpression of the cancer gene HER2 in human breast cancer cells".

Extra-virgin olive oil is the oil that results from pressing olives without the use of heat or chemical treatments. It contains phytochemicals that are otherwise lost in the refining process. Menendez and colleagues separated the oil into fractions and tested these against breast cancer cells in lab experiments. All the fractions containing the major extra-virgin phytochemical polyphenols (lignans and secoiridoids) were found to effectively inhibit HER2.

Health

Medical Myths For The Holiday Season: True, False Or Unproven?

In a study published in the Christmas 2008 issue of the British Medical Journal, Aaron Carroll, M.D., M.S., and Rachel Vreeman, M.D., M.S., of the Indiana University School of Medicine, explore the science behind six myths commonly associated with the holidays yet relevant year-round.

1. Sugar makes kids hyperactive.
2. Suicides increase over the holidays.
3. Poinsettias are toxic.
4. You lose most of your body heat through your head.
5. Eating at night makes you fat.
6. You can cure a hangover with...

These beliefs are commonly accepted as true, not only by the general public, but also by many physicians. To the surprise of the authors, who are health services researchers with the Indiana University Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research, the Regenstrief Institute, and Indiana Children's Health Services Research, they found all six myths to be false or unsupported by medical research.

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Colonoscopy Significantly Reduces Death From Left-sided Colon Cancer But Not From Right-sided

A new study finds that colonoscopy is strongly associated with fewer deaths from colorectal cancer. However, the risk reduction appears to be entirely due to a reduction in deaths from left-sided cancers. According to the study, colonoscopy shows almost no mortality prevention benefit for cancer that develops in the right side of the colon. Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in North America.

The study appears today on the Annals of Internal Medicine Web site and will be printed in the January 6, 2009, issue.

"While colonoscopy remains the gold standard for evaluation of the colon, our study sheds light on some of the real-world limitations of this practice for screening and prevention," said Nancy Baxter, MD, PhD, Colorectal Surgeon and a Researcher at St. Michael's Hospital, who is lead author on the study.

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Flashback: Group Members' Insecurity Can Foster Being a Jerk

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© unknownAuthentic pride or hubristic?
If you arrogantly proclaim "We're No. 1," it's probably because you know darn well you're not.

It's a familiar sight at sporting events, and it recently reared its head on the campaign trail. A healthy pride in a group we belong to or identify with - be it a football team, an ethnic identity or a political party - morphs into an aggressive nastiness. Rooting for the home team turns into taunting the opposing players; a commitment to one candidate inspires cries that his opponent is a terrorist.

How and why does this shift occur?

According to new research by a group of psychologists at the University of California, Davis, the answer seems to lie at the intersection of intensity and insecurity. Lead researcher Cynthia Pickett presented their findings Thursday at the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology.

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F.D.A. to Reconsider Plastic Bottle Risk

Weeks after its own advisory board accused the Food and Drug Administration of failing to adequately consider research about the dangers of bisphenol-A, found in many plastic baby bottles, plastic food containers and metal can linings, the agency has agreed to reconsider the issue.
NYT BPA
© David McNew/Getty ImagesSAFE OR NOT? Questions surround the chemical bisphenol-A, found in bottles like these.

The F.D.A.'s draft risk assessment in August, finding the chemical safe as it is now used, stood out against a tide of recent scientific opinion. The National Toxicology Program, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, has said there was reason to be concerned that BPA, as the chemical is called, could harm the brain, behavior and the prostate gland in fetuses, infants and children. Canada added the chemical to its list of toxic substances this year and has said it will ban BPA from polycarbonate baby bottles.