The notion that cutting or burning oneself could provide relief from emotional distress is difficult to understand for most people, but it is an experience reported commonly among people who compulsively hurt themselves.

The disruption of a structural component in heart muscle cells, which is associated with heart failure, appears to occur even before heart function starts to decline, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. The new findings may point to new ways to diagnose or treat heart failure.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Health Sciences have succeeded in decoding the genetic key that gives particular intestinal cells their identity. With this knowledge of the complex network of genes the researchers now hope to stop colon cancer by activating special anti-cancer genes.

Canadian teenagers enjoy more freedom than French and Italian peers, according to a new study published in the Journal of Adolescence. The investigation, which examined how parents fashion emotional bonds and exert behavioural control with adolescents, was led by scientists from the University of Montreal, the Universite de Rennes in France and the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy.

A city's size no longer is the key factor in building vibrant local economies, according to a study by a Michigan State University sociologist.

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that genetics play a key factor in whether someone is willing to take a survey.

When given a choice, older people prefer to read negative news, rather than positive news, about young adults, a new study suggests. In fact, older readers who chose to read negative stories about young individuals actually get a small boost in their self-esteem, according to the results.

A new study in mice shows how social support can help minimize some of the worst physical damages to the brain caused by a heart attack. From cell death to depressive symptoms to regulation of the heart, mice that lived with a partner after a heart attack suffered less damage than did similar mice that were housed alone.

Max Planck scientists succeed in filming organs and joints in real time using magnetic resonance imaging.

The medicinal use of cannabis has been debated by clinicians, researchers, legislators and the public at large for many years as an alternative to standard pharmaceutical treatments for pain, which may not always be effective and may have unwanted side effects. A new study by the McGill University Health Centre and McGill University researchers provides evidence that cannabis may offer relief to patients suffering from chronic neuropathic pain.

A new study from Hasbro Children's Hospital finds visits to emergency departments for concussions that occurred during organized team sports have increased dramatically over a 10-year period, and appear to be highest in ice hockey and football. The number of sports-related concussions is highest in high school-aged athletes, but the number in younger athletes is significant and rising. The study is published in the September 2010 issue of Pediatrics, now available online ahead of print.

The fear that global temperature can change very quickly and cause dramatic climate changes is great around the world. But what causes climate change and is it possible to predict future climate change? New research from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen shows that it may be due to an accumulation of different chaotic influences and as a result would be difficult to predict. The results are published in Geophysical Research Letters.

A growing epidemic of the world's most common heart rhythm disorder is resulting in an alarming number of hospital admissions in Australia, according to cardiology researchers.

Specifically asking young women during visits to family planning clinics whether their partners had attempted to force them to become pregnant -- a type of intimate-partner violence called reproductive coercion -- dramatically reduced the likelihood that the women would continue to experience such pressures, according to a new pilot study led by researchers at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

It may soon be possible to identify patients who will develop tuberculosis, as scientists have identified changes in the blood specific to the disease. These findings are from an international study published in the Aug. 19 issue of Nature and conducted by doctors and researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital using blood profiling techniques to understand infections.

Iowa State University astronomers Massimo Marengo and Charles Kerton are now using the Spitzer Space Telescope to study stars in the outer regions of our Milky Way galaxy. Marengo studies big, cool-temperature stars and the dusty disks that form around them. Kerton is using Spitzer data to study star-forming regions of the galaxy.

Clinical descriptors can assist clinicians in identifying patients with various stages of atherothrombosis (abnormal fatty deposits in an artery) who are at high-risk of future cardiovascular events, according to a study that will appear in the Sept. 22 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Stockholm.

For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have identified and isolated adult mammary stem cells in mice. Long-term implications of this research may include the use of such cells to regenerate breast tissue, provide a better understanding of the role of adult stem cells in breast cancer development, and develop potential new targets for anti-cancer drugs.

A collaborative effort between the library, horticulture and English departments develop a course to teach communication relevant to a discipline.

African-American race is among the risk factors for developing dangerous blood clots after receiving a drug-coated stent. Despite taking anti-clotting medications as directed, African-Americans had more than double the rate of clotting compared to other races.