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Men who are overweight or obese have lower concentrations of prostate-specific antigen in their blood than their normal-weight counterparts, according to a new study. The finding echoes earlier results on PSA concentrations found in obese and overweight men with prostate cancer and highlights the need to reconsider PSA threshold values for heavier patients, and to encourage those patients to get serious about losing weight.

Scientists studying the cloudy emulsions produced by anise-flavored liquors such as Ouzo have discovered new molecular insights into their formation, findings that could lead to the design of better commercial emulsions used in making pharmaceuticals, food products, cosmetics and other materials.

By blasting a person's breath with laser light, scientists have shown that they can detect molecules that may be markers for diseases like asthma or cancer. Just as bad breath can indicate dental problems, excess methylamine may signal liver and kidney disease, ammonia may be a sign of renal failure, elevated acetone levels can indicate diabetes and nitric oxide levels can be used to diagnose asthma, Ye said.

Aiming to promote the best medical imaging practices nationwide and help ensure the health and safety of the millions of people who undergo computed tomography scans each year in the United States, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has issued a CT radiation dose management report this month recommending standardized ways of reporting doses and educating users on the latest dose reduction technology.

How did a failed contraceptive become the first targeted therapy for the treatment of breast cancer? The transformation of tamoxifen, from cast-off to lifesaver, laid the foundation for a new class of therapeutics -- selective estrogen receptor modulators. New efforts are underway to use the lessons from tamoxifen to develop new hormone receptor-related drugs for both women and men.

Although it's too soon to sound the death knell for the "senior moment," it appears that memory loss and thinking problems are becoming less common among older Americans. A new nationally representative study shows a downward trend in the rate of "cognitive impairment" -- the umbrella term for everything from significant memory loss to dementia and Alzheimer's disease -- among people aged 70 and older.

Human migration from Africa to Europe more than 30,000 years ago appears to have left a mark on the genes of Europeans today. A new study compared more than 10,000 sequenced genes from 15 African-Americans and 20 European-Americans. The results suggest that European populations have more harmful variations, though it is unclear what effects these variations actually may have on the overall health of Europeans.

Scientists know exposure to low levels of lead can result in learning disabilities, hearing loss, language impairments and vision loss, but a newly discovered side effect may be adult-onset obesity in men.

Previtamin D3 production varies depending on several factors including skin type and weather conditions. Excessive exposure to sunlight does not result in Vitamin D intoxification because previtamin D3 and vitamin D3 are photolyzed to several photoproducts. During the winter at altitudes above approximately 35 degrees, there is minimal if any previtamin D3 production in the skin.

Calling a primary care doctor instead of 9-1-1 at the first sign of a stroke can delay patients from reaching an emergency room during the most critical period -- the first three hours after onset of stroke symptoms, researchers reported.