By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY Heart patients with an optimistic outlook are more likely to be healthier down the road and survive longer than those with less rosy views, new research suggests. A study in Archives of Internal Medicine, out Monday, that followed 2,800 heart patients shows that those with more positive attitudes about their recovery had about a 30% greater chance of survival after 15 years than patients with pessimistic leanings. Although other studies have looked at how long it was before patients returned to normal activities, this is the longest, largest study to track survival,...

(Reuters) – An experimental gel containing a prescription HIV drug has been shown for the first time to protect rectal tissue against the virus that causes AIDS, according to new research. The gel, containing Gilead Sciences Inc’s AIDS drug tenofovir, has previously been shown to sharply reduce HIV infections in women when applied inside the vagina. The latest study, which involved rectal tissue biopsies taken from HIV-negative men and women who used the product daily for one week, provides the first evidence that tenofovir gel could help reduce the risk of HIV from anal sex. The researchers,...

Extended use of a cellular telephone causes increased activity in parts of the brain next to the phone’s antenna, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. However, Nora Volkow, author of the paper, says it’s unclear what the clinical significance of that finding is. This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I’m Ira Flatow. There has been much talk about whether cell phones may have some deleterious effect on our brains from the radio waves coming out of the antenna being held right up against your head. Well, studies have gone back and forth on whether or...

In a promising science-fictionmeets-real-world juxtaposition, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Centre have discovered that the mammalian newborn heart can heal itself completely. A cure for heart disease? Researchers, working with mice, found that a portion of the heart removed during the first week after birth grew back wholly and correctly – as if nothing had happened. “This is an important step in our search for a cure for heart disease, the number one killer in the developed world,” said Hesham Sadek, assistant professor of internal medicine and senior author of the study...

Chronic fatigue syndrome study finds more people recover if they are helped to try to do more than they think they can The biggest-ever study of treatments for ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, has found that more people recover if they are helped to try to do more than they think they can – rather than adapting to a life of limited activity. The findings of the study, published in the Lancet, are clear, but attracted immediate controversy. One of the biggest patient groups, Action for ME, said it was surprised and disappointed, while others denounced the trial in its entirety. The...

By TARA PARKER-POPE Mouse researchers conducting stress hormone experiments have stumbled onto a surprising new discovery — a potential treatment for hair loss. Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Veterans Administration were working with genetically altered mice that typically develop head-to-tail baldness as a result of overproducing a stress hormone. The experiment wasn’t focused on hair loss. Instead, it was designed to study a chemical compound that blocks the effects of stress on the gut. The researchers treated the bald mice for five days with the compound...

British team’s success with jab that targets proteins common to every type of flu virus Scientists at Oxford University have successfully tested a universal flu vaccine that could work against all known strains of the illness, taking a significant step in the fight against a disease that affects billions of people each year. The treatment – using a new technique and tested for the first time on humans infected with flu – targets a different part of the flu virus to traditional vaccines, meaning it does not need expensive reformulation every year to match the most prevalent virus that...

By Rebekah Cavanagh A NEW wrinkle cream derived from a tropical plant will go on sale after receiving backing by scientists, claim its makers. Millions of people use over-the-counter creams which promise to deliver a rejuvenated and youthful look. But most products, despite promising results, have no scientific basis. Now cosmetics giant L’Oreal claims it has developed an anti-ageing serum validated by formal scientific research. The L’Oreal product, to be called Lift-Activ, is based on the sugar compound rhamnose extracted from the flowering plant species uncaria. Read more…

Having smartphones like Blackberry is fun for some people. With smartphones, the activity of exchanging e-mails, chatting, or surfing the internet can be done simultaneously, anytime and anywhere. But think carefully before using this technology. Cosmetic doctor stated that smartphone users will get old faster characterized by premature wrinkles. Wrinkle as a sign of one being old is usually experienced by someone in their middle age 30. However, younger women are now having wrinkles more quickly due to overuse of smartphones. Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh says that staring at the phone screen which has...

Children with Type 1 diabetes are nearly 10 times as likely to also have a viral infection than healthy children, Australian research suggests. Childhood diabetes has been linked to enteroviruses, which can lead to cold, flu and even meningitis. However the review of 26 existing studies by a group in Australia, published in the BMJ, does not prove that the virus causes diabetes. Diabetes UK said more research was needed to pinpoint the cause of Type 1. The illness typically appears in childhood, when the pancreas stops producing the hormone insulin and the body cannot control the level of sugar...