Robot Playmates Monitor Emotional State Of Children With Autism

— The day that robot playmates help children with autism learn the social skills that they naturally lack has come a step closer with the development of a system that allows a robot to monitor a child's emotional state.

There is a lot of research going on around the world today trying to use robots to treat children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It has shown that the children are attracted to robots, raising the promise that appropriately designed robots could play an important role in their treatment," says Nilanjan Sarkar, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University. "However, the efforts so far have been quite limited because they haven't had a way to monitor the emotional state of the children, which would allow the robot to respond automatically to their reactions."

Can Exercising Your Brain Prevent Memory Loss?

Can Exercising Your Brain Prevent Memory Loss? Participating in certain mental activities, like reading magazines or crafting in middle age or later in life, may delay or prevent memory loss, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American

Stem Cell Therapy Boy Develops Tumors

A newly published medical article by researchers in Israel describes the case of a boy who developed tumors in his brain and spine four years after receiving fetal stem cell therapy for a rare genetic disease.

Laser Acupuncture System

Developing a user-friendly, intelligent laser acupuncture system that can be controlled and monitored remotely over the Internet.
Laser Acupuncture System
Traditional acupuncture places needles on meridian points beneath the skin for therapeutic purposes. More recently, laser acupuncture (using therapeutic lasers to stimulate meridian points) has proven effective. It has definite advantages over using needles – it is aseptic, noninvasive, and painless, and if used properly, has no reported side effects
The Solution:
Using National Instruments LabVIEW software, data acquisition, and NI IMAQ Vision to control and monitor laser acupuncture treatment with an automated intelligent system that automatically recognizes the meridian points and compensates for body movement

Weight Loss in Overweight and Obese Women Reduces Urinary Incontinence

Reducing urinary incontinence can now be added to the extensive list of health benefits of weight loss, according to a clinical trial funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), both part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The paper reporting the results of the trial will be published in the January 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine

Researchers Find Abnormal Cells in the Blood Years before Leukemia is Diagnosed

Researchers have shown that abnormal white blood cells can be present in patients’ blood more than six years prior to the diagnosis of a chronic form of lymphocytic leukemia. This finding may lead to a better understanding of the cellular changes that characterize the earliest stages of the disease and how it progresses. The study, led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, was published in the Feb. 12, 2009, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Time of Day Can Be Critical in Chemotherapy

The time of day that chemotherapy drugs are taken may be a major factor in the effectiveness of the treatment and the extent of its side effects, according to a new study. The results have important implications for cancer treatment.

New Telomerase Protein Discovered

New Telomerase Protein Discovered
Scientists have discovered a novel part of the telomerase enzyme that helps it reach the ends of chromosomes, where it adds protective DNA sequences called telomeres. The finding suggests a promising new target for anti-tumor therapies.

Biomatrix Polymers Show Promise for Cancer Vaccines

Researchers have developed a new kind of cancer vaccine using biomatrix polymers. When tested in mice with melanoma cancer, the vaccine yielded up to a 90% survival rate

What Fine Teeth You Have!

Keeping kids’ teeth healthy requires more than brushing and flossing twice a day. Optimal nutrition and a healthy lifestyle are equally important when it comes to ensuring that your child’s teeth grow strong and straight and remain free of decay

Body clinic

Mix and match the relevant toning exercises below to create a workout that fits your body.The most common problem areas are:
backs of the upper arm
chest
tummy
buttocks
backs of the thighs.The exercises can be done in any order - try mixing with some cardiovascular exercise such as jogging or cycling, or tag them on to your usual workout.

Herbal medicine

Plants and their extracts have been used to treat illnesses throughout history. Western herbalism is based on knowledge from Greek, Roman and medieval times. Herbal remedies can be based on one ingredient (eg valerian) or a combination (eg Kalms for stress). Common remedies include echinacea for colds, valerian for anxiety and sleeplessness, gingko biloba for mental alertness and St John's wort for depression.

Lose Weight Without Dieting

Have you ever thought about why we are so fat? Do you think it is our sedentary consumer driven lifestyle that piles on the pounds? Or, is it more fundamental—something genetic perhaps? Either way, the unsolved medical mystery of obesity has been handed over to what I define as false promises—also know as “diet disasters”!

Compulsive Skin Picking

Complicating diagnosis of the skin picking disorder are the circumstances under which different people feel compelled to pick. Stress-provoking situations are the trigger that leads some people to begin or resume aggressive skin picking. Others seem to be unconscious of their picking, as it often occurs as a passive activity while mentally occupied with other relaxing activities, such as watching TV, reading, even driving.
Another mystifying aspect of the diagnosis is the underlying reason to begin picking at skin in the first place.

Healthy Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a very special time in a person's life. Educating yourselves to be good consumers, knowing your options, and how to provide yourselves with the best possible care are essential to a healthy pregnancy.

FOOD & NUTRITION

A 14-lesson, certificate course about the science of nutrition

Explore the fundamental science behind food and nutrition in relation to health and wellness studies

HEALING WITH HERBS

A nine-lesson, self-study certificate course about healing with herbs

Learn about the gentle and natural healing properties of herbs, homeopathic remedies, and aromatherapy

THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC

The Obesity EpidemicExcessive body fat accumulates when we take in more calories than we expend. But the expanding North American waistline is caused by a complex relationship between environment and genes. This month Research Watch explores the causes of the obesity epidemic

7 Things You Need to Know about Proper Stretching Techniques

7 Things You Need to Know about Stretching Dynamic stretching and sport-specific warmups can help boost your performance and cut injuries.

5 Ways to Stay Safe

5 Ways to Stay Safe Worried about STDs? Learn how to talk to your partner about his sexual health.

Cervical Cancer Facts

Cervical Cancer Facts
Invasive cervical cancer accounts for 2.5 percent of all cancers that afflict women in the U.S -- click above to learn more about it.

QUIT SMOKING

Quit SmokingUse our online guide for the first days and the first year

Fight Cancer

She's Young. She's Fit. She's Got Cancer.
They should be primping for dates, building their careers, or chasing after toddlers. Instead, a surprising number of women spend their 20s and 30s battling cancer. Here, a look at the disease's "orphan generation"

Heart Health Overview

A strong, healthy heart is vital for longevity. Heart health problems include coronary heart disease, an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia), heart valve disease, as well as cardiomyopathy and aorta problems, such as aortic aneurysm, and aortic valve problems.

excellent women’s health information

After twelve years of providing access to excellent women’s health information to consumers we are discontinuing the annual Women’s Health Matters Forum & Expo.

Cardiovascular Health

Cardiovascular disease, once considered a ‘man's disease,’ is the number one killer of women in Canada and worldwide.
Consider:
Women are more likely than men to die of a heart attack or stroke.
Women are ten times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than from any other disease.
Women are six times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than from breast cancer. Cardiovascular disease kills more women 65 years of age and older than all cancers combined.
One in eight women between the ages of 45 and 64 lives with cardiovascular disease.
One in four women over 65 lives with some form of cardiovascular disease

Spotlight on Women's Health

Spotlight on Women's Health
Interview with a woman with heart disease
At 47, Lois was diagnosed with heart disease. Although her father died at an early age from heart disease, she never thought she was at risk. Now she teaches women about heart health, the warning signs of heart attacks, and how they can be advocates for their own health

Heart Tips

19 Amazing Foods for Your Heart
Put items rich in sterols and stansols at the top of your grocery list
1,500+ Heart-Healthy Recipes Prevent heart disease with low-cholesterol, low-fat, and low-sodium options that still taste great
How Does Fiber Help Your Heart? Preventive cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston explains the crucial link
Get More Healthy-Heart Tips Visit our Healthy Living Center for more expert advice, nutrition tips, and cardio-specific workouts

25 Flat Belly Meals

25 Flat Belly Meals
Streamline your waistline with these simple and satisfying recipe ideas

Food That Fight Pain

Foods don’t just hide your pain like drugs. They can heal the cause of you pain in four powerful ways. Foods help you:
1) Stop damage at the site of injury. If you have chest pain, for example, foods can increase circulation and help stop pain.
2) Cool your body’s inflammatory response. If you have arthritis, foods can help cool the inflammation that causes joint damage and pain.
3) Relieve pain in the nerves. If you have shingles, diabetic nerve pains, or carpal tunnel syndrome, foods can relieve pain within the nerves themselves.
4) Work within the brain to reduce pain sensitivity. If you have a chronic backache, headaches, abdominal pain, or menstrual cramps, you just want the pain to disappear. Foods and supplements can reduce the sensation of pain.

Secrets to a Flat Stomach

If you’re like most women, you are forever feeling overbooked and overfed. Here's a solution: quick meals made from healthy, delicious packaged foods that follow the rules of our bestselling Flat Belly Diet! These 25 meals, developed by Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, coauthor and creator of Flat Belly Diet, will leave you satisfied on fewer calories, which makes it much easier to lose weight without feeling hungry.

The Many Faces of Depression

For some people, depression is a matter of feeling sad, restless, or having trouble concentrating or making decisions. For others, aches, pains, fatigue and other physical problems are part of their depression, too.

Pediatric Heart Centre

Pediatric Heart Center -->-->
Pediatric heart disease includes many congenital conditions (present at birth). Some involve holes or defects in the heart muscle or holes that should close (patent foramen ovale or patent truncus arteriosis). Others involve problems with the heart valves (pulmonary atresia, tricuspid atresia or Ebstein's anomaly). Many procedures are used to correct pediatric heart problems.