Tag: and

To the beat of electronic dance music, men and women inside a slate-gray building harvested marijuana plants festooned with radio-frequency identification tags. In another room, an employee entered the tag numbers into a government database. The cannabis tracking system used by Avitas, a marijuana company with a production facility in Salem, is the backbone of

A study performed by an international team led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the “la Caixa” Foundation, reports a link between exposure to blue light at night and higher risk of developing breast and prostate cancer. Blue light is a range of the visible light spectrum emitted by

Mobile health applications (apps) for improving diagnostic decision-making often lack clinical evaluation, but one app that has undergone testing by researchers is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention PTT Advisor. In a recently published study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and the CDC evaluated

Gun deaths have fallen in California over a 16-year period ending in 2015, driven largely by a decline in gang violence and falling homicide rates among black and Hispanic male victims, a recent study of firearm violence has found. Researchers at the University of California, Davis published their findings in the May issue of the

Farmers worldwide face mounting pressure to increase agricultural yields to keep up with human population growth. Consequently, chemical use is on the rise – in many cases a cocktail of chemicals, from fertilizers to herbicides to insecticides. But in countries where human population growth is highest, including China, South East Asia and South America, these

There has been a recent global rise in “green fever”, with various jurisdictions either decriminalising or legalising cannabis. But alongside relaxing the rules comes concern about the health implications of cannabis use. We often hear of a link between cannabis use and psychosis. So how strong is the link, and who is at risk? What

In a student-led study, one hour of mindfulness meditation shown to reduce anxiety and some cardiovascular risk markers. It sounds like a late-night commercial: In just one hour you can reduce your anxiety levels and some heart health risk factors. But a recent study with 14 participants shows preliminary data that even a single session

Scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have for the first time found direct causal links between the neurotransmitter dopamine and avoidance—behavior related to pain and fear. Researchers have long known that dopamine plays a key role in driving behavior related to pleasurable goals, such as food, sex and social interaction. In general,

A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has determined that poorer childhood cognition occurred, particularly in memory and learning, when pregnant women or their offspring consumed greater quantities of sugar. Substituting diet soda for sugar-sweetened versions during pregnancy also appeared to have negative effects. However, children’s fruit consumption had beneficial effects

New research from Lund University in Sweden shows that inflammatory, unstable atherosclerotic plaque has a metabolism that differs from that of stable plaque – and is similar to that of cancer cells. Future research will therefore investigate whether cancer drugs could potentially be used to treat cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerotic plaque builds up gradually in the

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a new disease model for neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and MS that can be used to develop new immunotherapies. The model is described in a publication in the scientific journal Nature Immunology. All of the body’s organs contain macrophages, which, as part of the immune system,

With each new version of the widely-used manual of mental disorders, the number of mental health conditions increases. The latest version (DSM-5) lists around 300 disorders. To complicate things, many share common features, such as depression and anxiety. The manual is a useful guide for doctors and researchers, but making a diagnosis is not a

Seeking the feel good factor? Go natural. That is the simple message from University of Otago researchers who have discovered raw fruit and vegetables may be better for your mental health than cooked, canned and processed fruit and vegetables. Dr. Tamlin Conner, Psychology Senior Lecturer and lead author, says public health campaigns have historically focused

In a study of more than 15,000 girls and their mothers—all Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California—maternal overweight and hyperglycemia were linked to the earlier onset of puberty in girls 6 to 11 years old. Early puberty has been linked to multiple adverse health developments as girls grow up. The study, “Associations between maternal obesity

New research published in The Journal of Physiology has indicated why people with paralysis of their limbs and torso are more likely to suffer from sleep apnoea. This knowledge could be used to develop much-need targeted therapies. Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a sleep disorder in which the upper airway (ranging from the back of

The hippocampus is an area of the brain commonly linked with memory and dementia. But new U of T Scarborough research finds that it may also yield important clues about a range of mental health illnesses including addiction, anxiety and depression. The research, authored by a team of neuroscientists, found that a specific part of

An analysis of outcomes and costs for German patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) who develop compensated cirrhosis was presented today at The International Liver Congress 2018 in Paris, France. Healthcare costs for this population spiked in the first year after compensated cirrhosis diagnosis. Comorbidities were common and one in five patients

People who grow up with a greater variety of pets are significantly more likely to follow a vegetarian diet as adults, according to research by a professor-student team in the University at Albany psychology department. Sydney Heiss, graduate student in the department of psychology, worked with assistant professor Julia Hormes to gain a better understanding

Alpha-gal allergy has commonly been referred to as “the red meat” allergy, but doctors at the Vanderbilt Asthma, Sinus and Allergy Program (ASAP) helped uncover that not only red meat, but some medications, can contain alpha-gal. Cosby Stone, MD, a fellow in the ASAP clinic, said recent patients have led researchers to take a deeper

A large register-based study conducted in Sweden has found that statins are associated with a markedly reduced risk of all-cause mortality, liver transplantation, liver cancer, and variceal bleeding in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). The study, which reviewed the records of almost 3,000 patients diagnosed with PSC between 2005 and 2016, also reported a