Archive for May 4th, 2012
More U.S. teenage girls delay sexual activity
May 4th, 2012 | 
Author: A survey of 2,300 adolescent girls ages 15 to 19 in the U.S. found 57% said they had not had vaginal intercourse, an increase from 49% in 1995, CDC researchers wrote in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Usage of the most effective forms of birth control among sexually active teens increased from 47% in 1995 to about 60% between 2006 and 2010. The birth rate for teens ages 15 to 19 declined 44% from 1990 to 2010.
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Marijuana use soars among U.S. teens
A survey by the Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation showed that almost 1 in 10 U.S. teens smoked marijuana at least 20 or more times a month, an 80% increase in past-month pot use among teens since 2008. However, teen use of cocaine and methamphetamine has stabilized, researchers said.
NIH & Big Pharma will test candidate drugs in various diseases
The NIH is collaborating with large drugmakers Eli Lilly and Co., AstraZeneca and Pfizer in a project to develop medicines for various diseases. The NIH will grant researchers $20 million each year to find new uses for 24 compounds that the drugmakers abandoned after they failed to work against targeted diseases.
Vitamin D May Be of Help in Fibromyalgia
Only 15 percent of fibromyalgia patients in a small study had adequate levels of vitamin D, suggesting implications for treatment.
Early North Americans Lived With Extinct Giant Beasts, Study Shows
A new study that determined the age of skeletal remains provides evidence humans reached the Western Hemisphere during the last ice age and lived alongside giant extinct mammals.
The study published online May 3 in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology addresses the century-long debate among scientists about whether human and mammal remains found at Vero Beach in the early 1900s date to the same time period. Using rare earth element analysis to measure the concentration of naturally occurring metals absorbed during fossilization, researchers show modern humans in North America co-existed with large extinct mammals about 13,000 years ago, including mammoths, mastodons and giant ground sloths.
Heart Disease in Ireland: “Western Way of Death”
Ireland, a land of "happy wars and sad love songs," is also a nation that "learned the western way of death from the United States, learned to overeat from the United States," and is struggling to unlearn those lessons.
Massive rise in Asian eye damage
Up to 90% of school leavers in major Asian cities are suffering from myopia – short-sightedness – a study suggests.
Researchers say the "extraordinary rise" in the problem is being caused by students working very hard in school and missing out on outdoor light.
The scientists told the Lancet that up to one in five of these students could experience severe visual impairment and even blindness.
In the UK, the average level of myopia is between 20% and 30%.