Fish evolve a longer lifespan by evolving a longer reproductive period, researchers find
A UC Riverside-led research team has found that as some populations of an organism evolve a longer lifespan, they do so by increasing only that segment of the lifespan that contributes to "fitness" ?the relative ability of an individual to contribute offspring to the next generation. Focusing on guppies, small fresh-water fish biologists have studied for long, the researchers found that gu...Psychotropic drug prescriptions for teens surge 250 percent over 7 year period
Psychotropic drug prescriptions for teenagers skyrocketed 250 percent between 1994 and 2001, rising particularly sharply after 1999, when the federal government allowed direct-to-consumer advertising and looser promotion of off-label use of prescription drugs, according to a new Brandeis University study in the journal Psychiatric Services. This dramatic increase in adolescent visits to h...New study challenges 'critical period' in childhood vision development
Understanding how the human brain learns to perceive objects is one of the ultimate challenges in neuroscience. In 2003, Pawan Sinha, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, launched an initiative with the hopes of shedding some light on the acquisition of visual skills. The goal of his "Project Prakash" is to find, treat, and study congenitally blind children in India. A uniq...Heart disease correlation to periodontal disease
Higher levels of C-reactive protein, induced by periodontal disease, could carry increased risk of heart disease, according to US researchers.Previous research has suggested that bacteria responsible for oral infections could cause the liver to release increased levels of C-reactive protein and other inflammatory agents associated with cardiovascular disease, but a definite link between the t...Irregular Periods Linked to Diabetes
Women who have irregular or very long menstrual cycles have a higher risk of developing diabetes. Women with such menstrual abnormalities needn't panic because the risk can be reduced markedly by lifestyle measures, most notably regular exercise and weight control. // Menstrual cycles 40 days or longer or irregular cycles appear to be markers for some sort of underlying metabolic abno...Mothers with periodontitis may deliver premature babies
The more the mouth affected with periodontal disease, the more likely a woman is to deliver a premature baby, according to an ongoing study of more than 1500 pregnant women.// Past studies have shown that women with periodontal disease may be up to seven times more likely to deliver a preterm low birth weight baby. The women in the study had no other major risk factors for preterm bir...Periodontitis a common problem in patients with arthritis
Arthritis and periodontitis often go hand in hand, according to a new study in the Journal of Periodontology. In the Australian study of 154 people, the 77 people who had// rheumatoid arthritis were more than twice as likely to have periodontal disease with moderate to severe jawbone loss as the control subjects. In addition, they averaged 12 missing teeth, compared to 6.7 in the control group.<b...Periodic limb movement disorder
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