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Researchers show that brief motion exercises build bone strength for a healthier start for infants and toddlers. When a child is born premature -- and more than one in ten infants in the U.S. is -- its future is already compromised. One of the common problems associated with premature births is "brittle bones," or osteopenia of prematurity (OOP). It can cause bone fractures and rickets in the infant, and osteoporosis later in life. Now pediatric physicians are championing a training program that aims to make preemies' bones stronger.

Biologist in the tick-infested woods of the Hudson Valley are challenging the widely held belief that mice are the main animal reservoir for Lyme disease in the US. Chipmunks and two shrew species, not just mice, are the four species that account for major outbreaks.

One way to alleviate the pain of banging your shin while on a hike is to encounter a grizzly bear -- a well-known phenomenon called stress-induced analgesia. Now, researchers have elucidated a key mechanism by which the stress hormone noradrenaline -- which floods the bloodstream during grizzly encounters and other stressful events -- affects the brain's pain-processing pathway to produce such analgesia.

A DNA-based therapy could slash the development time of new drugs to combat antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Scientists have proven that by taking a short stretch of DNA from a bacterium and delivering it with an existing antibiotic they can switch off antibiotic resistance. Together with technology transfer company PBL, the scientists have launched a spin-out company, Procarta Biosystems Ltd., to develop the technology.

Treatment with an investigational drug that induces the release of growth hormone significantly improved the symptoms of HIV lipodystrophy, a condition involving the redistribution of fat and other metabolic changes in patients receiving combination drug therapy for HIV infection.

Very low levels of lead in the blood -- previously believed to be safe -- could be contributing to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The research findings support a growing body of national evidence suggesting there is no safe level of lead in the blood. Other studies show a link between low-level lead exposure and lower IQ.

Transfusion-free medicine for Jehovah's Witnesses and patients wary of blood transfusions has been pioneered. Bloodless medicine practices have shown outcomes that can benefit the entire patient community, including shorter hospital stays, and the elimination of transfusion-related complications.

A new study has found strong evidence that recent respiratory infections increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, both of which are more common in the winter. It has for some years been recognized, using information from death certificates, that there is an excess of deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke during the winter months, over and above those directly attributable to deaths from respiratory disease.

A new study elucidates the connection between an enzyme involved in blood pressure control and symptoms of the metabolic syndrome. The researchers report that mice lacking the enzyme known as renin are lean and resistant to gaining weight on a high-fat diet, even though they continue to eat just as much and don't exercise more.

Dads break or fracture the bones of their children far more often than moms, and they tend to inflict their abusive rage on infants younger than five months old, according to a study in Child Abuse & Neglect.