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. Karin Cohn carries a genetic defect that led a half-dozen members of her family to develop early breast or ovarian cancer. She firmly supports allowing families like hers to screen embryos for the defect to ensure no future generations carry it. http://phys.org/news158155350.html Medicine & Health Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:03:38 EST news158155350 Researchers at the University of Westminster have used a simple and convenient method for screening female commercial sex workers (CSW) for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) without the need for them to attend clinics. The women were given tampons that they could use to collect their own samples and post them to the laboratory. The results showed that the women in the study found self-collection of samples very easy and much preferred this method of screening for STIs and in addition the testing methods used proved to be more accurate than traditional tests. http://phys.org/news157805087.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:46:27 EST news157805087 Understanding the tens of thousands of proteins that compose the human proteome has emerged as a key challenge of this century, and research efforts to date have already enabled major advances in drug discovery and understanding basic biology. But many potential avenues have been blocked by lack of information about how the majority of these proteins function. http://phys.org/news157559052.html Biology Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:24:43 EST news157559052 DNA from human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV16) and HPV type 18 (HPV18) were found in the majority of invasive cervical cancers in New Mexico in the 1980s and 1990s, according to a population-based study published in the March 24 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://phys.org/news157135239.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:41:17 EST news157135239 CD is a highly prevalent disease (1:100 to 1:300) which fulfils most of the criteria favoring mass screening. Despite this, screening for gluten sensitive enteropathy (GSE) is still controversial due to its dubious benefits and the acceptance of a gluten-free diet (GFD). http://phys.org/news157127956.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:39:49 EST news157127956 The biology of ovarian cancers discovered at an early stage may render them slower growing and less likely to spread than more aggressive cancers, which typically are discovered in an advanced stage, according to a study led by investigators in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. This finding has implications for the question of whether screening for ovarian cancer could save lives. http://phys.org/news157122604.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:10:37 EST news157122604 Screening for prostate cancer can reduce deaths by 20%, according to the results of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) published online 1700 hours CET, today 18 March (NEJM, Online First*). ERSPC is the world's largest prostate cancer screening study and provides robust, independently audited evidence, for the first time, of the effect of screening on prostate cancer mortality. http://phys.org/news156618899.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:15:56 EST news156618899 The prostate cancer screening tests that have become an annual ritual for many men don't appear to reduce deaths from the disease among those with a limited life-expectancy, according to early results of a major U.S. study involving 75,000 men. http://phys.org/news156614061.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:55:08 EST news156614061 (AP) -- Two big prostate cancer studies were intended to settle the question of whether screening for the disease really does save lives. Now the long-awaited results are in - but the debate goes on. http://phys.org/news156597154.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:16:15 EST news156597154 The discovery in common brewer's yeast of a new, infectious, misfolded protein -- or prion -- by University of Illinois at Chicago molecular biologists raises new questions about the roles played by these curious molecules, often associated with degenerative brain diseases like "mad cow" and its human counterpart, Creutzfeldt-Jakob. http://phys.org/news156180264.html Biology Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:25:13 EST news156180264 (Boston) Researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found that a single-screening question recommended by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) accurately identifies unhealthy alcohol use in primary-care patients. This research supports the use of the brief screen in the primary-care setting. The BMC study appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. http://phys.org/news156000293.html Medicine & Health Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:25:30 EST news156000293 (PhysOrg.com) -- Recent cocaine use may hide some of the cognitive deficits commonly experienced by individuals addicted to cocaine, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory report in a study published in the April 2009 issue of Neuropsychopharmacology — a special issue dedicated to cocaine research. The study was part of an effort to better understand individual differences among cocaine-addicted subjects to help clinicians develop more effective treatment plans. http://phys.org/news155317470.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:45:36 EST news155317470 Mailed reminders to patients appear to promote colon cancer screening, according to a report in the February 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, electronic reminders to physicians appear to increase screening among patients with more frequent primary care visits. http://phys.org/news154633206.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:41:08 EST news154633206 Colorectal cancer screening among patients with Medicare coverage is increasing, but a persistent gap remains between whites — who are screened most frequently — and all other racial and ethnic groups, according to a new study by researchers at UC Davis and the University of Washington. The study also showed that the biggest gap is between whites and Hispanics. http://phys.org/news154190146.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:36:09 EST news154190146 Regardless of where they are born in the United States, nearly all newborns now receive mandated screening for many life-threatening disorders, a remarkable public health advance of the last four years, according to a new report issued today by the March of Dimes. http://phys.org/news154162483.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Feb 2009 06:55:15 EST news154162483 Michigan State University researchers are dramatically speeding up identification of genes that affect the structure and function of chloroplasts, which could lead to plants tailored specifically for biofuel production or delivering high levels of specific nutrients. http://phys.org/news153761248.html Biology Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:27:45 EST news153761248 Great advances have been made in treating blockages in the arteries of the brain using angioplasty to widen the narrowed artery and a stent to hold the artery open. However, in-stent stenosis, or a re-blockage of the artery within the stent due to scar tissue or blood clots, is estimated to occur in up to 30 percent of patients and can cause a stroke or death. http://phys.org/news153579286.html Medicine & Health Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:57:41 EST news153579286 Parents of children with genetic conditions may avoid the need to choose whether to undergo pre-natal testing or to abort future pregnancies by simply avoiding subsequent pregnancy altogether, a study has found. http://phys.org/news153569300.html Medicine & Health Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:10:31 EST news153569300 Nearly 70 percent of minority women agree that health-care organizations sometimes deceive or mislead patients, one of the key findings of a Michigan State University study that researchers say can prevent women from getting breast cancer screenings. http://phys.org/news153063080.html Medicine & Health Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:31:41 EST news153063080 New computer software that will allow GPs to more accurately assess which patients are most at risk of developing heart disease has been released for clinical use. http://phys.org/news153062958.html Medicine & Health Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:29:56 EST news153062958 Arizona has the ability to expand colorectal cancer screening capacity; this potential increase was more pronounced in rural as compared to urban regions, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities. http://phys.org/news153059751.html Medicine & Health Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:36:23 EST news153059751 While it is known that patients with few primary care doctor's office visits are less likely to receive colorectal cancer screening, new research indicates that even patients who see their physicians regularly also do not receive screening. http://phys.org/news152892081.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:01:38 EST news152892081 A researcher at The University of Texas at Austin has found that secondary security screening at airports is mathematically flawed, and has identified a way to select people for screenings more efficiently and fairly. http://phys.org/news152818326.html Other Sciences Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:32:35 EST news152818326 A new study has found that in spite of their universal health care system which facilitates access to free dementia care, older adults in the United Kingdom are less willing to undergo dementia screening than their counterparts in the U.S. because the Britons perceive greater societal stigma from diagnosis of the disease than do Americans. http://phys.org/news151240539.html Medicine & Health Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:15:39 EST news151240539 The use of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing as an initial screening step followed by triage with a standard Pap test (cytology) and repeat HPV DNA testing may increase the accuracy of cervical cancer screening, according to a study in the Jan. 13 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Compared to cytology alone, the screening strategy improved detection of precancerous growths without a substantial increase in the number of false-positive tests. http://phys.org/news151090597.html Medicine & Health Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:36:37 EST news151090597 Digital mammograms take longer to interpret than film-screen mammograms, according to a study performed at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. http://phys.org/news150481185.html Medicine & Health Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:19:45 EST news150481185 If you're an asthma sufferer, make sure the medical history at your doctor's office includes your employment and recreation plans. A new screening tool developed by Tel Aviv University researchers may save you a trip to the emergency room later on. http://phys.org/news150383084.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:04:44 EST news150383084 Evaluation of chronic abdominal pain of luminal etiology is a challenging problem for the primary care physicians and gastroenterologists. The exact localization of lesion to either small or large bowel remains an elusive identity in many subjects. http://phys.org/news149775591.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:19:51 EST news149775591 Cancer screening programmes could increase attendance by inviting people for screening close to birthdays or other annual milestones such as Christmas and the New Year, finds a study in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today. http://phys.org/news148796763.html Medicine & Health Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:26:03 EST news148796763 Just under five per cent of the men who took part in the prostate cancer element of the USA's largest ever cancer screening trial were diagnosed with the disease and the majority of those were picked up by screening programmes, according to research published in the December issue of the urology journal BJU International. http://phys.org/news148561061.html Medicine & Health Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:57:41 EST news148561061