Psychologists at The University of Manchester are investigating the idea that out-of-body experiences, commonly thought of as paranormal phenomena, may in fact have their roots in how people perceive and experience their own bodies.

Around 10% of the population have an out-of-body experience (OBE) at some time, typically involving a sensation of floating and seeing the physical body from the outside. It isn’t uncommon for people to have more than one OBE, and they may also oc

Media reports of drug trials can lack accuracy and reliability, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC International Health and Human Rights. Researchers say that in controversial issues such as HIV/AIDS prevention drug trials, investigators and funders should engage with the media to avoid misinterpretation and inaccurate reporting.

The governments of Cameroon and Cambodia cancelled planned trials for the antiretroviral drug tenofovir in 2004 following a

Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Study published in New England Journal of Medicine

A Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh study finds that prompt insertion of tympanostomy tubes (small ear tubes) does not improve developmental outcomes of children at 6 years of age as once thought.

Lead investigator Jack L. Paradise, MD, pediatrician and otitis media expert at Children’s and professor of Pediatrics and Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh School of

A study examines the incidence and risk factors associated with Hepatitis C infection in rural Egypt

The prevalence of antibodies to Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in Egypt is among the highest in the world. From the 1950s until 1982 hundreds of thousands were infected during mass campaigns to control schistosomiasis (a parasitic disease) using mass therapy with intravenous antimony compounds, but little is known about current risk factors and rates of transmission. Studies of high risk p

Yerkes-based experiment confirms cultural transmission and conformity in chimpanzee communities

Humans are not alone in their desire to conform to cultural norms, according to new study findings that confirm, for the first time, chimpanzees share the same conformist tendencies. Researchers, in determining how chimpanzee communities share and maintain traditions, discovered they possess a natural motivation to copy their peers well into adulthood and say that although other speci

Increased publishing in peer-reviewed journals could impact patient care, outcome; researchers need commitment, set time devoted to effort

Phase I cancer studies, trials that are conducted to determine the safety and maximum dose of a new agent, are under-reported in peer-reviewed journals – a trend that could ultimately delay scientific progress and negatively affect patient care, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in a new study out on Mon.,

Adult patients taking the antidepressant drug paroxetine are at higher risk of attempting to commit suicide than those not taking medication. A new analysis, published in BMC Medicine, of previous clinical data on paroxetine use adds the antidepressant to the list of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) that have been shown to increase suicidal tendencies in adult patients with depression.

Ivar Aursnes and colleagues from the University of Oslo, Norway, reanalysed data from 16

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report they have discovered a potential oncogene in ovarian cancer, which is the leading cause of gynecological cancer death in U.S. women.

They say that levels of the protein produced by this suspected oncogene, known as atypical protein kinase C iota (PKCi), in combination with a second protein, Cyclin E, strongly predict outcome in non-serous ovarian cancer, which accounts for 40 percent of ovarian cancer

Epidemiological survey study links heart protection with non-aspirin, non-steroidal drugs

It is well known that aspirin, a non-selective, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX), reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. Non-aspirin non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NANSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen may reduce this same risk, but studies have shown conflicting results. Some have shown no association between NANSAIDs and heart

May help identify heart disease in patients who have no symptoms

The Mayo Clinic research report appears online and in the August issue of the American Journal of Hypertension. The Mayo Clinic collaborative study with researchers from the University of Michigan looked at 214 men and women with an average age of 59, who had no history of heart attack or stroke. Results suggest that low grade inflammation is associated with arterial stiffness (hardening). This inflammation may be a

The Volkswagen Foundation has approved funding worth €361,000 for a three-year research project to study the effects of demographic change in cities. Czech and Polish cities are to be used as case studies to aid in identifying the experiences from the Eastern German Länder which are transferable and those characteristics which are not comparable. The UFZ Centre for Environmental Research (Umweltforschungszentrum Leipzig-Halle) is working closely on this project with the Czech and Polish Academi

Wirtschaftliche Aspekte werden in der Medizin stets wichtiger: Professionelles Personalmanagement, Kosten-, Liquiditäts- oder Qualitätsmanagement – immer mehr betriebswirtschaftliche Komponenten fließen in die täglichen Aufgaben eines Klinik- und niedergelassenen Arztes ein. Im Medizinstudium sind jedoch strategische Führungsaufgaben und unternehmerisches Handeln praktisch kein Thema. Eine Zusatzqualifikation in angewandter Ökonomie zum Master of Business Administration, kurz MBA, kann Abhilfe s

Despite gains in the training of women scientists and the implementation of programs to help women overcome ingrained barriers, the career path of most women scientists at universities remains a difficult trek, fraught with roadblocks of bias, a sometimes chilly campus climate and the challenge of balancing family and work.

That, in short, is the conclusion of a group of prominent women scientists and administrators, including chancellors and provosts, in an analysis of the issue

Children who survive brain cancer struggle for years with the malevolent echo of the disease and its treatment, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Nearly one-third of former brain tumor patients require special education services, and many suffer from chronic headaches, nausea and seizures. Only about half of those old enough to drive do so.

Those who received radiation to cure their cancers fare

New research has provided further support for UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s call for Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to be reformed. It concludes that the current distribution of over 90 billion Euros in farming subsidies will lead to even greater inequalities between rich and poor regions of Europe.

In the first comprehensive study of the effect of CAP on Europe’s regions, a team from the Universities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Aberdeen found that, eve

When it’s dry, it’s dry all over, according to a new analysis of more than 400 years of annual streamflow in the Upper Colorado and Salt and Verde river basins.

By using data from tree rings, University of Arizona researchers conclude that water supply for those western rivers fluctuated in synchrony during periods of severe drought. The study goes back almost 800 years in the Salt-Verde basin and covers waterways from the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.