People experiencing a first episode of psychosis are three times more likely to smoke tobacco than healthy controls, according to researchers, suggesting that smoking plays a role in the development of psychotic disorders. Clinicians have generally attributed the link between smoking and psychosis to patients using smoking as a method of self-medication, however a study published in The Lancet PsychiatryRead more

Despite eating a "normal" diet, animals can still become obese if their ancestors were undernourished for several generations because of genetic adaptations controlling the way their bodies store fat, according to a new study. Researchers said the potential for these changes is the reason that 70 percent of people with type 2 diabetes by 2030 will be residents of developingRead more

With the help of big data, researchers found that life expectancy for people with a history of both cardiovascular disease and diabetes was substantially lower than for people with just one condition or no disease, according to a paper published Tuesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Previous studies have estimated that around 10 million adults in theRead more

Reading is our source of knowledge, our ‘door’ to the outside world and the explorative tool of different fields. Unfortunately, in the last few years book reading for children has been replaced by digital technology and new gadgets and if they do read, it will be books that are commercialized and media hyped. This trend may leave parents wondering howRead more

In a study that seems to defy conventional dietary wisdom, University of Iowa scientists have found that adding high salt to a high-fat diet actually prevents weight gain in mice. As exciting as this may sound to fast food lovers, the researchers caution that very high levels of dietary salt are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease in humans.Read more

Academic researchers in Iran succeeded in the production of a nanosensor by using a simple method and cheap materials to measure some types of drugs concurrently. Results of the research have applications in foodstuff and medical industries. Dopamine, melatonin, methionine and caffeine are drugs or foodstuff, which cannot be measured on normal electrodes of gold, platinum or graphite at theRead more

Iranian researchers proposed a simple and cheap method to produce hydroxyapatite nanoparticles and improve its mechanical properties. Hardystonite was used in this method as a new ceramic material to increase the mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite and to conserve the biocompatibility of the final product. Hydroxyapatite is a very commonly-used material in tissue engineering. This material has great compatibility with humanRead more

A study tying the aging process to the deterioration of tightly packaged bundles of cellular DNA could lead to methods of preventing and treating age-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, experts say. In the study, scientists at the Salk Institute and the Chinese Academy of Science found that the genetic mutations underlying Werner syndrome, a disorder thatRead more

Longer schooling seems to be an effective and affordable way to cut the risk of HIV infection in AIDS-endemic countries, according to the results of a study in Botswana published Monday. Data collected among 7,018 people in Botswana found that an extra year of secondary schooling lowered the risk of HIV infection over the following decade by eight percentage pointsRead more

Neuroscientists discovered brain circuitry for encoding positive and negative learned associations in mice. After finding that two circuits showed opposite activity following fear and reward learning, the researchers proved that this divergent activity causes either avoidance or reward-driven behaviors. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, they used cutting-edge optical-genetic tools to pinpoint these mechanisms critical to survival, which areRead more