Introducing a simple risk assessment tool could increase the number of patients receiving vital medication for dangerous blood clots, according to a paper just published online by IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

Venous thromboembolisms (VTEs) kill more than 25,000 people in the UK every year according to a report released by the Commons Health Committee earlier this month. But a multi-disciplinary team of NHS researchers from Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS T

Significantly different approaches to key public policy issues have emerged in Scotland and Wales since devolution, as the new administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff have rejected consumer choice and diversity in favour of professionalism and uniformity.

This is one of the key findings in a new study by researchers from the University of Aberdeen and Cardiff University. Their research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, as part of its Devolution and Constitu

Poverty alleviation and conservation must go hand-in-hand, survey finds

Even a small increase in the wealth of poor, rural families in Gabon may cause a substantial increase in the consumption of bushmeat, according to a study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in a recent issue of Conservation Biology. The results of the study, the authors said, underline the importance of coordinating poverty alleviation efforts with conservation to avoid depleting natural resources in Cen

Kingston University is offering the next generation of engineers a passport to a career carrying out aircraft safety checks. Potential students now have the chance to apply to complete Kingston’s Foundation Degree in Aircraft Engineering at British Airways’ Heathrow Airport base.

The two-year programme, which begins in July, will see 20 students training alongside qualified engineers at Heathrow. It also offers participants the chance to gain a European Aviation Safety Agency (EAS

Employees with diabetes are not automatically more tired due to a combination of work and illness. However, Dutch researcher Iris Weijman found that employees with diabetes who have several chronic conditions and those who experience inconvenience from their illness do have a higher risk of fatigue.

Employees with diabetes become tired more frequently because their energy balance is more easily disrupted. Due to the double burden of illness and work, researchers expected that empl

The presence of drug-resistant, pathogenic bacteria on uncooked poultry products varies by commercial brand and is likely related to antibiotic use in production, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their study is the first to directly compare bacterial contamination of poultry products sold in U.S. supermarkets from food producers who use antibiotics and from those who claim they do not. The study focused on antibiotic resistance, specifically fluoroq

New York University biologists have uncovered how the innate immune system in mice’s brains fights viral infection of neurons. The findings, published as the cover study in the latest issue of Virology, show that proteins in neurons fight the virus at multiple stages–by preventing the formation of viral RNA and proteins, and blocking the virus’ release, which could infect other cells in the brain.

“There is no magic bullet in fighting viral infections in neurons,” sai

American Society of Plastic Surgeons Reports Annual Statistics

Hispanics had nearly 553,000 cosmetic plastic surgery procedures in 2004, an increase of 49 percent from 2000 and a 7 percent increase from 2003, according to statistics released today by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Hispanics led all minority groups in the number of procedures performed, comprising 6 percent of the 9.2 million cosmetic surgery procedures performed in 2004, followed by African Americ

Experiments on ceria (cerium oxide) nanoparticles carried out at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory may lead to catalytic converters that are better at cleaning up auto exhaust, and/or to more-efficient ways of generating hydrogen — a promising zero-emission fuel for the future. Brookhaven chemist Jose Rodriguez will present results from two studies exploring the composition, structure, and reactivity of these versatile nanoparticles during the 229th National Mee

In the largest and most comprehensive prospective study of its kind, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have concluded that the risk of ischemic heart disease and, ultimately, cardiac death following radiation treatment for breast cancer has steadily declined over the last quarter century, according to a new study published in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

This study offers scientific evidence to what was long

A study in the April issue (currently available online) of Nature Genetics establishes a model that may take scientists closer to understanding how cells in the human body determine their own fate.

Researchers, led by Anthony Firulli, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics and of medical and molecular genetics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, investigated the interaction of proteins responsible for Saethre-Chotzen Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder associated wit

Erik Thiessen’s research also sheds light on why adults may struggle to learn a second language

Adults may feel silly when they talk to babies, but those babies will learn to speak sooner if adults talk to them like infants instead of like other adults, according to a study by Carnegie Mellon University Psychology Professor Erik Thiessen published in the March issue of the journal Infancy.

Most adults speak to infants using so-called infant-directed speech: short, s

Researchers have developed an analytical model that explains why the internet may actually be bad for consumers in some cases.

Many experts had argued that the internet will be a boon to consumers, forcing businesses to compete more aggressively on prices as customers effortlessly compare prices on the web.

There’s just one problem: actual empirical studies have shown mixed results, with prices on the web sometimes no better than brick-and-mortar competitors. “We’re chal

Experiments with liposomes – cell-like “water balloons” composed of artificially created phospholipid bilayers similar to natural cell membranes – have revealed unexpected behavior in the presence of electrical fields that may provide a paradigm-shifting change in science’s understanding of biomembrane function in operating living systems.

Arizona State University chemists Mark Hayes and Michele Pysher have found that liposomes have a tendency to form tube-like extensions in t

You have to learn to crack eggs if you’re going to cook an omelet. You have to jump in the water if you’re going to learn to swim. And you have to get your hands on telescopes that can search for signs of life beyond Earth if you’re going to study extraterrestrial biology. That’s why 14 University of Washington graduate biology students will be at Kitt Peak National Observatory this week (March 17 – 21) to learn observing techniques from University of Arizona and N

Women prefer men with deep voices, research from Northumbria University has discovered.

Sarah Evans, a part-time psychology lecturer and PhD student, found that women consider deep voices more attractive, dominant, masculine, sexy, assertive, confident and friendly.

Male listeners also rated deep male voices higher than high-pitched voices for attributes such as dominance, masculinity and confidence.

Men’s voices are significantly deeper than women’s due to the