Featured Articles

Rock-Climbing Injuries Soar

As more people rise to the challenge of rock climbing for fun and exercise, the number of injuries related to the sport also increases, according to the first national study on the subject. 

More than 40,000 people sought treatment in U.S. emergency rooms from 1990 to 2007 for fractures, sprains and other ailments related to rock-climbing -- a 63 percent increase during that time.

Scientists ID First Human With Gorilla Strain Of HIV

For the first time, researchers have found evidence that the AIDS virus traveled from gorilla to human, another confirmation that the disease continues to evolve even as scientists race to vanquish it. 

French scientists reported that a woman in the West African country of Cameroon carried a strain of the AIDS virus that is closely related to a similar virus found in gorillas.

Report Finds More Than One-Half of Nurses Experience On-the-Job Violence

A new survey by the Emergency Nurses Association suggests that more than one-half of emergency department (ED) nurses experience physical violence in the workplace. The report, which was based on an online survey conducted in spring 2007 of 3,465 ED nurses nationwide, also finds that one in four ED nurses reports being physically assaulted while on the job more than 20 times during the past three years. In addition, the report finds that one in five ED nurses reports having been verbally abused in the workplace more than 200 times during the last three years. 

First Genetic Evidence For Why Placebos Work

Placebos are a sham - usually mere sugar pills designed to represent "no treatment" in a clinical treatment study. The effectiveness of the actual medication is compared with the placebo to determine if the medication works. 

And yet, for some people, the placebo works nearly as well as the medication. How well placebos work varies widely among individuals. Why that is so, and why they work at all, remains a mystery, thought to be based on some combination of biological and psychological factors.

Genetic Link Between Physical Pain And Social Rejection

UCLA psychologists have determined for the first time that a gene linked with physical pain sensitivity is associated with social pain sensitivity as well. 

Their study indicates that variation in the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1), often associated with physical pain, is related to how much social pain a person feels in response to social rejection.

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