Journal

Scientists using smartphone app warn of ‘global sleep crisis’

Social pressures are forcing people to cut back on their sleep, contributing to a “global sleep crisis,” according to a new study based on research collected through a smartphone app. It enabled scientists from the University of Michigan to track sleep patterns around the world — gathering data about how age, gender and the amount of natural light to which people are exposed affect sleep patterns in 100 countries — and better understand how cultural pressures can override biological rhythms. “The effects of society on sleep remain largely unquantified,” says the study published Friday in the journal Science Advances.

After Ebola, two other tropical diseases pose new threats

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – A little-known bacterial disease may be killing as many people worldwide as measles, scientists said on Monday, while a mosquito-borne virus known as Zika is also raising global alarm. The spread of Ebola in West Africa last year shows how poorly-understood diseases can emerge and grow rapidly while researchers race to design and conduct the scientific studies needed to combat them. Researchers in the journal Nature Microbiology called for the bacterial infection meliodosis, which is resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, to be given a higher priority by international health organizations and policy makers.

Partners may not spot penis repair for common birth defect

By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Men don’t need to live in fear of ridicule over the appearance of their penis after getting surgery to correct a birth defect that causes urine to come out in the wrong place, a Swiss study suggests. Researchers focused on a condition known as hypospadias, a birth defect that affects around 1 in 200 boys and causes the urethra to form abnormally with an opening for urine anywhere from just below the end of the penis to the scrotum. Men with corrected hypospadias – a surgery typically done between ages 3 months and 18 months – often suffer from sexual inhibition and fear of being ridiculed for their penile appearance, researchers note in the Journal of Pediatric Urology.

US scientists report promising new melanoma vaccines

Experimental tailor-made vaccines targeting melanoma patients' individual genetic mutations have given encouraging preliminary results, researchers have said. The clinical test on three patients with this form of aggressive skin cancer in an advanced stage is unprecedented in the United States. The vaccines appear to boost the number and diversity of T-cells, which are key to the human immune system and attack tumors, researchers said in a report published Thursday in the journal Science. Melanoma accounts for around five percent of all new cancer cases diagnosed in the United States, but that proportion is rising.

Guidance and research on mobile, interactive media for kids needed

By Reuters Staff (Reuters Health) – Mobile and interactive media offer a range of education and entertainment options for toddlers and parents, but more research on their impact is needed, according to a review of existing studies. “Mobile devices, because of their portability and interactive components, are introducing media into all aspects of children’s experience and deserve serious attention and research,” write Dr. Jenny Radesky and her colleagues from Boston Medical Center in the journal Pediatrics. …

Online life for teens may lead to real-life problems

By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) – Teen’s online behaviors may create real-life problems like relationship abuse and negative thoughts on body image, according to two new studies. The studies, published in the journal Pediatrics, suggest that education and monitoring by parents may help reduce these behaviors and their negative consequences. Both studies confirm “what we’re finding out in research, that the online behaviors seem to mimic offline behaviors,” Jeff Temple told Reuters Health. …

Are wireless phones linked with brain cancer risk?

By Ronnie Cohen (Reuters Health) – Swedes who talked on mobile or cordless phones for more than 25 years had triple the risk of a certain kind of brain cancer compared to those who used wireless phones for less than a year, a new study suggests. The odds of developing glioma, an often deadly brain cancer, rose with years and hours of use, researchers reported in the journal Pathophysiology. “The risk is three times higher after 25 years of use. We can see this clearly,” lead researcher Dr. Lennart Hardell told Reuters Health in a telephone interview. …

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