Using chemistry and nanotechnology, researchers at Harvard and Brigham and Women’s Hospital designed a super-sized Cisplatin molecule able to deliver toxic platinum atoms to tumors while proving nontoxic to kidneys.  The research was conducted on laboratory animals.
Cisplatin is a powerful anti-cancer drug used in first-line chemotherapy but with limited use because of its toxicity. The team designed a polymer what would bind to Cisplatin, making it wrap itself into a 100 nanometers ball, too large to enter the kidneys, lungs, liver and spleen.  Once the molecule reached the tumor it …

Listening to an MP3 player can be harmful to your hearing sensitivity, according to a recent study at the Ghent University, involving 10 men and 11 women with ages between 19 and 28 years.
According to the study authors: “Excessive noise exposure can lead to metabolic and/or mechanical effects resulting in alterations of the structural elements of the organ of Corti [the inner ear organ in mammals that contains auditory sensory cells or 'hair cells']. The primary damage is concentrated on the outer hair cells, which are more vulnerable to acoustic …

Eating processed meats leads to higher risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, shows a recent study by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health. After reviewing almost 1600 studies the researchers concluded that people who eat processed meats such as salami, bacon, hot dogs, sausages or processed deli meats have a 19 percent higher risk of developing diabetes and a 42 percent higher risk of developing heart disease.
“When we looked at average nutrients in unprocessed red and processed meats eaten in the United States, we found that they …

It is a known fact that high-fat meals are bad for the heart, but a recent study showed that the lungs have to suffer also.  Australian researchers tested 40 asthmatic patients before and after a high-fat meal or after a low-fat meal, and found that the high-fat meal increased inflammation and reduced lung function.
“Subjects who had consumed the high-fat meal had an increase in airway neutrophils and TLR4 mRNA gene expression from sputum cells, that didn’t occur following the low fat meal,” said Dr. Lisa Wood, Ph.D., research fellow of …

People who sleep less than 6 hours per night have a shorter life, according to a recent study.  After reviewing 16 studies conducted on more than 1.3 million people, a team of researchers from two universities1 found that people who sleep for less than the recommended 6-8 hours each night have a 12% higher risk of dying prematurely.
Previous research showed that sleep deprivation may be associated with heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol level.
The study also showed that consistent over long sleeping can be …