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Children exposed to second hand tobacco smoke are more likely to get severe infectious diseases and have to be admitted to hospital. These children are at greater risk of a whole range of infectious illnesses, such as meningococcal disease, and not just respiratory illness, the results showed. Exposure to smoke in the first few months of life did the most harm, especially if they had a low birth weight or had been born prematurely.

A new calcium scoring method may better predict a person's risk of heart attack, according to a new multicenter study. Calcium coverage scoring takes into account not only the amount of calcified plaque build-up in the coronary arteries, but also its distribution.

There was no significant increase in the prevalence of obese children and teens in the US between 1999 and 2006, in contrast to the increase that had been reported in prior years.

A monkey has fed itself with fluid, well-controlled movements of a human-like robotic arm by using only signals from its brain, researchers report. Use of the robotic arm, complete with working joints, is directly controlled by the monkey, a significant advance that could benefit prosthetics for people with paralysis and spinal cord injuries, particularly those with "locked-in" conditions such as Lou Gehrig's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

"Flat" carbonated drinks should not be used as an alternative for oral rehydration solution to prevent dehydration in children with acute vomiting and diarrhea, according to advice in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

The current recommended daily allowance of vitamin D for children is 200 International Units, but new research reveals that children may need and can safely take ten-times that amount. According to a recent article in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, this order-of-magnitude increase could improve the bone health of children worldwide and may have other long-term health benefits.

Scientists report that a new form of electroconvulsive therapy is just as effective as older forms in treating depression but without any of the cognitive side effects found in the older forms.

The molecular profile of cancer stem cells that initiate metastatic colon tumors is significantly different from those responsible for primary tumors, according to new research. New data, generated by analysis of human colon cancer cells and mice, have shed doubt on the recently proposed designation of the protein CD133 as a marker of colon cancer stem cells -- a term given to the small number of cells within a colon cancer that are thought to be able to give rise to a new tumor and that therefore are responsible for tumor recurrence and metastasis.

A new technique improves the ability of scientists to target individual genes for inactivation -- a technique with broad potential implications for both basic science research and human disease.

Workers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do 22 days less work per year than people who do not have the disorder, finds new research. So much work is being lost that the researchers recommend employers consider screening staff for ADHD and providing treatment for those affected, because it would be more cost-effective for their businesses.