http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Tiny metallic nanoparticles that shimmer in the light like the scales on a butterfly's wing are set to become the color-change components of a revolutionary new approach to point-of-care medical diagnostics, according to a study published in International Journal of Design Engineering. http://phys.org/news247748152.html Nanotechnology Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:56:05 EST news247748152 (AP) -- Check into the hospital and you may get a blood transfusion you didn't really need. http://phys.org/news228409771.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:09:45 EST news228409771 On June 5 1981, American epidemiologists reported a baffling event: five young gay men in Los Angeles, all previously healthy, had fallen ill with pneumonia. Two had died. http://phys.org/news225886499.html Medicine & Health Sun, 29 May 2011 11:17:09 EST news225886499 Scientists are reporting an "important step" toward development of a universal blood product that would eliminate the need to "type" blood to match donor and recipient before transfusions. A report on the "immunocamouflage" technique, which hides blood cells from antibodies that could trigger a potentially fatal immune reaction that occurs when blood types do not match, appears in the ACS journal, Biomacromolecules. http://phys.org/news218901923.html Chemistry Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:30:01 EST news218901923 In a finding that may potentially improve survival from war injuries and disasters, laboratory researchers report that refrigerated whole blood may have a shelf life well beyond the current standard of 24 to 48 hours. http://phys.org/news217688589.html Medicine & Health Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:03:21 EST news217688589 Tranexamic acid (TXA), a drug used to treat heavy menstrual periods, could save the lives of tens of thousands of bleeding accident victims each year and reduce combat deaths, say Cochrane researchers. The researchers carried out a systematic review of trials examining the effectiveness of tranexamic acid (TXA) in patients with bleeding after severe injury. http://phys.org/news214636168.html Medicine & Health Wed, 19 Jan 2011 05:30:10 EST news214636168 Patients with diabetes, kidney disease and anemia who don't respond to treatment with an anti-anemia drug have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease or death, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. http://phys.org/news212807441.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Dec 2010 01:20:02 EST news212807441 Monthly blood transfusions combined with daily medication to remove the resulting excess iron remains the best approach for reducing the risk of recurrent strokes in young patients with sickle cell anemia, according to a preliminary analysis of a multicenter trial that includes St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. http://phys.org/news210857264.html Medicine & Health Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:27:57 EST news210857264 (AP) -- China's Red Cross asked citizens around the country Friday to urgently donate blood because of an acute shortage that has prompted delays in some surgeries. http://phys.org/news207554841.html Medicine & Health Fri, 29 Oct 2010 07:20:01 EST news207554841 Use of stricter guidelines for the use of red blood cell transfusions for patients undergoing cardiac surgery was associated similar rates of death and severe illness compared to patients who received more transfusions, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA. Another study in this issue of JAMA examines the variation in the use of blood transfusions for patients undergoing cardiac surgery. http://phys.org/news206125106.html Medicine & Health Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:40:01 EST news206125106 Transfusion rates for blood products used in a common heart surgery range from no patients to nearly all patients, and vary by hospital, according to findings from a group of researchers from Duke University Medical Center. The study, which looked at data from 102,470 patients in 798 hospitals, examined the variation in transfusion rates for red blood cells (RBCs), plasma and platelets, but the team didn't reach conclusions about how well patients fared if they did or didn't get a transfusion. http://phys.org/news206123218.html Medicine & Health Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:27:29 EST news206123218 A Loyola University Hospital study has demonstrated how the hospital has improved patient safety and cut costs by reducing the number of blood transfusions. http://phys.org/news205668055.html Medicine & Health Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:10:01 EST news205668055 Two legal experts argue on bmj.com today that informed consent should be obtained from competent patients before blood transfusions takes place. http://phys.org/news201890458.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:00:04 EST news201890458 A community-based maternal health delivery strategy known as the MOM Project (mobile obstetric medics) dramatically increased access to maternal health care services for internally displaced woman in eastern Burma, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://phys.org/news200047316.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:00:05 EST news200047316 Viral hepatitis affects more than 500 million people worldwide and is a cause of liver failure and liver cancer. While vaccines are available for hepatitis A and B, this is not the case for hepatitis C, which affects as much as two percent of the population in the U.S. Scientists today are reporting discovery of a virus related to hepatitis C in Asian bats, which may provide insights into the origins of the hepatitis C virus and into the mechanisms by which infectious diseases move from other species to humans. http://phys.org/news197227946.html Medicine & Health Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:32:39 EST news197227946 A small genetic change can predict how people infected with hepatitis C react to treatment, paving the way to personalised therapy for this difficult to treat disease, the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics will hear today. Dr. Zoltan Kutalik, from the Department of Medical Genetics, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, will tell delegates that individuals with this change, in a gene encoding for the antiviral cytokine (cell-signalling molecule) interferon lamda, reacts less well to treatment. This knowledge could spare them the unpleasant side effects of a therapy which most likely would have little benefit for them, he says. http://phys.org/news195486287.html Medicine & Health Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:00:01 EST news195486287 The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has stopped a clinical trial evaluating a new approach to reduce the risk of recurrent stroke in children with sickle cell anemia and iron overload because of evidence that the new treatment was unlikely to prove better than the existing treatment. http://phys.org/news194876865.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:10:01 EST news194876865 Scientists are reporting development of the first "dipstick" test for instantly determining a person's blood type at a cost of just a few pennies. Their study on the test, which involves placing a drop of blood on a specially treated paper strip, appears in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry, where the authors say it could be a boon to health care in developing countries. The test also could be useful in veterinary medicine, for typing animals' blood in the field, they note. http://phys.org/news194696392.html Chemistry Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:20:11 EST news194696392 Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) - a group of serious blood cancers - are nearly five times more common in seniors than previously thought, according to a new study by researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. The study also showed for the first time that MDS patients are at much higher risk for heart attack, diabetes and other serious complications than other seniors, and that their health care costs are far higher. The study is published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. http://phys.org/news191523716.html Medicine & Health Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:40:03 EST news191523716 The recently discovered retrovirus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), has been identified in some prostate cancer patients. In light of conflicting data concerning XMRV, standardized diagnostic testing is important to identify patients in which XMRV is present and to determine whether it plays a role in the incidence of prostate cancer. An article published in the April issue of Urology is a step in this direction as researchers from Emory University report the successful development of an experimental clinical test for XMRV. http://phys.org/news189689188.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:40:01 EST news189689188 The left main coronary artery provides most of the blood to the heart, and current guidelines call for patients with blockages in this artery to undergo bypass surgery. http://phys.org/news187878859.html Medicine & Health Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:00:08 EST news187878859 (AP) -- Many Americans with leaky heart valves soon might be able to get them fixed without open-heart surgery. A study showed that a tiny clip implanted through an artery was safer and nearly as effective as surgery, doctors reported Sunday. http://phys.org/news187777176.html Medicine & Health Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:20:10 EST news187777176 If a team of American scientists are right, bone marrow transplants may become safer and more available to people in need of donations. In a new research paper appearing in the February 2010 print edition of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, they explain how an anti-inflammatory agent called "ATL146e" may significantly improve the likelihood of success for bone marrow transplants by preventing or halting the progression of graft-versus-host disease, a complication of bone marrow transplants in which the donor marrow attacks the host. Although very rare, graft-versus-host disease can also occur after blood transfusions. http://phys.org/news184246376.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:33:16 EST news184246376 The discovery of a major player in the body's regulation of iron levels should provide a new target for drugs that prevent common iron deficiency as well as rare, potentially deadly iron overload, researchers said. http://phys.org/news183899734.html Medicine & Health Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:16:01 EST news183899734 (PhysOrg.com) -- Physicians at UMC have started using a new technology to view and treat diseases of the small intestine previously inaccessible without major surgery. http://phys.org/news182440760.html Medicine & Health Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:59:51 EST news182440760 Stepped-up vaccination requirements, a boost in resources for prevention and treatment, and a public awareness campaign similar to the effort that dispelled the stigma of HIV/AIDS are needed to curb the health threats posed by hepatitis B and hepatitis C, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. http://phys.org/news182432636.html Medicine & Health Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:20:04 EST news182432636 A German research team has examined data on supply and demand for blood transfusions against a computer simulation of an influenza pandemic, and discovered that a severe pandemic scenario could quickly lead to a deficit of up to 96,000 red blood cell (RBC) transfusion units in Germany alone, creating potentially fatal outcomes. Their study is published today in the journal TRANSFUSION. http://phys.org/news179559269.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:00:01 EST news179559269 Infection with the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, causes more life-threatening complications than seasonal flu in children with sickle cell disease, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center. The findings, to be presented on Dec. 7 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, warn parents and caregivers that such children are more likely to need emergency treatment and stays in an intensive-care unit. http://phys.org/news179401986.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:20:01 EST news179401986 (PhysOrg.com) -- Have the blood supplies got too warm? Do they match the patient?s blood group? In the future, these kinds of questions will be answered by intelligent radio nodes attached to blood bags. These radio units will also greatly facilitate device management in hospitals. http://phys.org/news178913773.html Technology Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:00:03 EST news178913773 Historic manuscripts by Sir Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin and other ground-breaking scientists will be published online for the first time, Britain's Royal Society said Monday. http://phys.org/news178782363.html Technology Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:46:30 EST news178782363