Health News:Hepatitis C investigation expands to second hospital ♦ Protein-RNA structure hints at how viruses commandeer human proteins

Hepatitis C investigation expands to second hospital  Davis Hospital and Medical Center in Layton will notify 2,369 patients November 12 stating that they may have been exposed to hepatitis C after a patient at McKay-Dee Hospital contracted the blood-borne pathogen allegedly from a former nurse who stole morphine and Dilaudid. Davis Hospital issued alerts after investigators discovered that the nurse was previously employed

Social media offers neuroscientists a treasure trove of research material Because social media is used so pervasively in modern society to tap into people's behaviors and thoughts, neuroscientists are finding Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms to be very useful tools in a broad range of research areas. A review describes some of the approaches that neuroscientists can use to gain valuable insights from social media.

Protein-RNA structure hints at how viruses commandeer human proteins Researchers have produced the first image of an important human protein as it binds with ribonucleic acid (RNA), a discovery that could offer clues to how some viruses, including HIV, control expression of their genetic material. That information could lead to new strategies to block viruses from replicating, thereby limiting or halting infection.

Medical marijuana should be held to same standard as other drugs. Medical marijuana needs to be studied like any other drug. No one is opposed to the active ingredients in it, but we need to have some data. That is what we would expect from any other drug.

Health Research:Robot controlled remotely with thoughts ♦ Medical marijuana 'edibles' mostly mislabeled ♦ Many doctors misunderstand key facets of opioid abuse,

Many doctors misunderstand key facets of opioid abuse, Many primary care physicians -- the top prescribers of prescription pain pills in the United States -- don't understand basic facts about how people may abuse the drugs or how addictive different formulations of the medications can be.

Trial could impact older myelodysplastic syndrome population's access to bone marrow transplants An America-wide clinical trial analyzes outcomes after two common treatments: bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy. The results could lead to wider access to transplants.

Medical marijuana 'edibles' mostly mislabeled: Many too weak, some surprisingly strong The vast majority of edible cannabis products sold in a small sample of medical marijuana dispensaries carried labels that overstated or understated the amount of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a proof-of-concept study shows. Though the scope of the study was small, the researchers say, the results of the study suggest some medical cannabis patients could be unintentionally overdosing or are being cheated by mislabeled products.

Mixed findings regarding quality of evidence supporting benefit of medical marijuana In an analysis of the findings of nearly 80 randomized trials that included about 6,500 participants, there was moderate-quality evidence to support the use of cannabinoids (chemical compounds that are the active principles in cannabis or marijuana) for the treatment of chronic pain and lower-quality evidence suggesting that cannabinoids were associated with improvements in nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, sleep disorders, and Tourette syndrome.

Robot controlled remotely with thoughts For someone suffering from paralysis or limited mobility, visiting with other people is extremely difficult. Scientists have been working on a revolutionary brain-machine approach in order to restore a sense of independence to the disabled. The idea is to remotely control a robot from home with one's thoughts. The research, involving numerous subjects located in different countries, produced excellent results in both human and technical terms.

Health News: FDA rejects snack foods from India for contaminants ♦ Legalizing medical marijuana does not increase use among adolescents ♦ Vitamin D status related to immune response to HIV-1

FDA  rejects several snack foods from India for contaminants The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected a number of snack imports made by Indian company Haldiram Snacks for concerns over high levels of pesticides, mold and bacteria. The move comes as global food corporation Nestlé has been subjected to a nationwide ban in India of its Maggi noodles that have allegedly tested for high levels

Legalizing medical marijuana does not increase use among adolescents Nationwide study analyzing 24 years of data (1991 to 2014) from over one million American adolescents in the 48 contiguous states has found no evidence that legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes leads to increased use among teenagers.

Personal experience a major driver in decision for or against flu vaccination Convincing someone to receive the annual flu vaccine goes beyond clever messaging and well-written public service announcements, research finds. A study outlines both the barriers and facilitators that motivate people in their flu vaccine decisions.

More dialysis patients living in poor neighborhoods The percentage of adults beginning kidney dialysis who lived in zip codes with high poverty rates increased from 27.4 percent during the 1995-2004 time period to 34 percent in 2005-2010.

Vitamin D status related to immune response to HIV-1 Vitamin D plays an important part in the human immune response and deficiency can leave individuals less able to fight infections like HIV-1. Now an international team of researchers has found that high-dose vitamin D supplementation can reverse the deficiency and also improve immune response

Health Research: Persistence yields progress in AIDS vaccine research ♦ Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy achieves better survival for early lung cancer

Fish and other animals produce their own sunscreen: Copied for potential use in humans

Fish can produce their own sunscreen, scientists have discovered. Following suit, the researchers have copied the method used by fish for potential use in humans.

Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy achieves better overall survival than surgery for early lung cancer Patients with operable stage I non-small cell lung cancer could achieve better overall survival rates if treated with Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy rather than the current standard of care – invasive surgery – according to research.

Medical marijuana pill may not be effective in treating behavioral symptoms of dementia

Medical marijuana pills may not help treat behavioral symptoms of dementia, such as aggression, pacing and wandering, a new study concludes. However, researchers did find that the drug dosage used in the clinical trial was safe and well-tolerated.

When it comes to testosterone, more isn't always better Increased diabetes risk has been connected to higher levels of testosterone to prostate enlargement. Anthropologists suggests that to muchtestosterone may be a prime culprit. Building on previous research they conducted with the Tsimane, an isolated indigenous population in central Bolivia, researchers examined the prevalence of BPH among a group of approximately 350 adult males.

Persistence yields progress in AIDS vaccine research

After 30 years of working on AIDS research, an American lab has developed new vaccine candidates that appear promising enough to consider advancing into clinical trials within the next two years.

Childrens Health:Medical marijuana helps children with severe epilepsy ♦ Children with neurological disorders need flu vaccine ♦ Brain activity in infants predicts language outcomes in autism

Likely genetic source of muscle weakness found in six previously undiagnosed children Using state-of-the-art genetic technology, researchers have discovered the likely cause of a child's rare type of severe muscle weakness. The child was one of six cases in which investigators decoded the genes of patients with Neuromuscular Disease and was then able to identify the genetic source,of each child's symptoms.

Children with neurological disorders need flu vaccine but don't always get it Children with neurologic or neurodevelopmental disorders (NNDDs) are at increased risk of complications from influenza. Although experts have recognized NNDDs as high-risk conditions for influenza complications since 2005, little is known about influenza vaccination practices in this population.

Brain activity in infants predicts language outcomes in autism spectrum disorder Autism spectrum disorder can produce different clinical outcomes in young children, with some having strong conversation abilities and others not talking at all. A new study reveals at the first signs of possible autism in infants and toddlers, neural activity in language-sensitive brain regions is already similar to normal in those autism spectrum disorder toddlers who eventually go on to develop good language ability but nearly absent in those who later have a poor language outcome.

Medical marijuana liquid extract may bring hope for children with severe epilepsy A medicinal liquid form of marijuana may show promise as a treatment for children with severe epilepsy that is not responding to other treatments.