ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Despite warnings, health food stores recommend over-the-counter dietary supplements to minors

Posted: 26 Apr 2015 08:05 AM PDT

Fifteen year olds are not only able to buy over-the-counter dietary supplements from a sampling of health food stores across the country, the staff at those stores actually went so far as to recommend certain products, despite labels reading 'for adult use only.'

Serving healthy foods with a smile may entice students to eat better

Posted: 26 Apr 2015 08:05 AM PDT

Labeling healthy foods with smiley faces and offering small prizes for buying nutritious items may be a low-cost way to get students to make healthy choices in the school lunch line, according to a new study.

Some children lose autism diagnosis but still struggle

Posted: 26 Apr 2015 08:05 AM PDT

About one in 14 toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder no longer met the diagnostic criteria in elementary school, but most continued to have emotional/behavior symptoms and required special education supports, according to a new study.

Parents sound off on mobile device use by children

Posted: 26 Apr 2015 08:05 AM PDT

Smartphones and tablets have become part of everyday life, but parents still worry that mobile devices may not be the best thing for their children, according to a new study.

Program puts a dent in summer hunger

Posted: 26 Apr 2015 08:05 AM PDT

When schools close their doors for the summer, many low-income children who rely on subsidized breakfasts and lunches don't know when they will get their next meal. An innovative program to fill this gap could serve as a model for communities looking to help feed struggling families when school is out.

Electronic cigarettes gaining in popularity among teens

Posted: 26 Apr 2015 08:04 AM PDT

Teens no longer smoke just cigarettes. They have branched out to using alternative tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes, hookahs and little cigars. In fact, e-cigarette use is rising rapidly among both cigarette smokers and nonsmokers, according to a new study.

Researchers harness the power of mobile devices to teach kids about safety

Posted: 26 Apr 2015 08:04 AM PDT

Since it's nearly impossible to keep mobile devices out of the hands of children, they might as well learn something worthwhile using these devices. That was the idea behind the development of a game app to teach youngsters about bicycle and dog bite safety.

We are family: Adult support reduces youths' risk of violence exposure

Posted: 26 Apr 2015 08:04 AM PDT

Adults can have a bigger influence on youths growing up in poor, violent neighborhoods than they may realize.

Just an hour of TV a day linked to unhealthy weight in kindergartners

Posted: 26 Apr 2015 08:04 AM PDT

Kindergartners and first-graders who watched as little as one hour of television a day were more likely to be overweight or obese compared to children who watched TV for less than 60 minutes each day, according to a new study.

Use of pocket-sized ultrasound device reduces need for further testing in clinical settings

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 07:37 PM PDT

The use of a pocket-sized ultrasound device (PUD) helps to reduce the need for further testing in both the inpatient and outpatient setting.

Better evidence needed to guide EU efforts to increase hep B and C testing

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 07:37 PM PDT

The apparent dearth of research on hepatitis B and C testing in many European countries could be hampering efforts to identify infected individuals, according to results from a comprehensive review of 136 studies presented today at The International Liver CongressTM 2015.

Sofosbuvir/daclatasvir combination effective treatment for difficult-to-treat hep C patients

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:57 PM PDT

New results show that the sofosbuvir (SOF)/daclatasvir (DCV) treatment combination is effective amongst hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype-1 mono-infected patients. These results are significant because whilst other combinations have been widely reported on, there have been few data until now regarding the use of SOF/DCV combination in real world situations.

Alcohol use disorders - stronger predictor of mortality than chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:57 PM PDT

Scientists show that alcohol use disorders (AUD) have a serious, negative prognostic outcome with higher mortality risks in the general population and patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in particular.

Sofosbuvir and peginterferon/ribavirin demonstrates virologic response rates in G3 hep C patients

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:57 PM PDT

New results demonstrate that hepatitis C (HCV)-infected genotype-3 (GT-3) patients, with and without cirrhosis, receiving 24 weeks of sofosbuvir (SOF) in combination with ribavirin (RBV) and peginterferon (PEG) achieved the highest sustained virologic response rates at 12 weeks (SVR12), observed in a Phase 3 study, to date.

One third of teens admit to texting while driving: State laws help

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:56 PM PDT

State laws banning texting while driving led to significant reductions in the number of teens using their cell phones while behind the wheel, but nearly one-third still admitted to engaging in this risky behavior, according to new research.

Cell phones take parents' attention away from kids on playgrounds

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:56 PM PDT

Parents who take their kids to the playground may be tempted to pull out their cell phone to send a quick text or check Facebook. It may be more prudent, however, to stay focused on their child to ensure he or she plays safely. More than 200,000 children ages 14 and younger are treated in U.S. emergency rooms each year for playground-related injuries.

Giving books to kids before summer break can stem reading losses

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:56 PM PDT

A new study shows that giving students books at the end of the school year can help stem losses in reading skills.

Babies as young as six months using mobile media

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:56 PM PDT

More than one-third of babies are tapping on smartphones and tablets even before they learn to walk or talk, and by one year of age, one in seven toddlers is using devices for at least an hour a day, according to a new study.

MRI shows association between reading to young children and brain activity

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:56 PM PDT

There is evidence that reading to young children is in fact associated with differences in brain activity supporting early reading skills.

Magazine, Internet images fail to promote infant sleep safety

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:56 PM PDT

Images of infants sleeping in unsafe environments are pervasive in women's magazines and on stock photo websites, which could create confusion among parents and put babies at risk, according to a new study.

Youths who survive self-poisoning continue to be at risk of suicide for years

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:56 PM PDT

Teenagers who are hospitalized after intentionally poisoning themselves are at a significantly increased risk of dying by suicide in the following decade, according to a new study.

How hospitals can improve outcomes of weekend surgeries

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:56 PM PDT

Studies have shown that patients who undergo surgeries on weekends tend to experience longer hospital stays and higher mortality rates and readmissions. For the first time, a new study has identified five resources that can help hospitals overcome this 'weekend effect': increased nurse-to-bed ratio; full adoption of electronic medical records; inpatient physical rehabilitation; a home-health program; and a pain management program.

Brachytherapy improves survival for inoperable early stage endometrial cancer

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:44 PM PDT

Women who have early stage endometrial cancer and are inoperable tend to live longer if they have been treated with brachytherapy with or without external beam radiation, according to new research.

High radiotherapy dose improves prospects for children with brain cancer

Posted: 25 Apr 2015 06:44 PM PDT

Researchers have found that increasing the dose of radiotherapy given to children with an intracranial ependymoma, a form of cancer of the central nervous system, can significantly improve their survival.

Mental disorders don't predict future violence, study suggests

Posted: 24 Apr 2015 06:31 PM PDT

Most psychiatric disorders -- including depression -- do not predict future violent behavior, reports a new longitudinal study of delinquent youth. The only exception is substance abuse and dependence.

Grazoprevir/elbasvir combo shows high cure rate for patients with chronic HCV

Posted: 24 Apr 2015 05:56 AM PDT

Once-daily oral grazoprevir/elbasvir combination therapy, taken without interferon or ribavirin for 12 weeks, demonstrated high sustained virologic response rates for treatment-naive patients with cirrhotic or non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1, 4, or 6. These findings suggest that once-daily oral grazoprevir/elbasvir represents a new therapeutic option for chronic HCV infection.