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Programs targeting at-risk kids must tackle a constellation of issues in order to be effective. "To really improve adolescent health, programs should seek to reduce risk taking, improve social capital and improve levels of affluence," said co-author of a new study.

Coccidia are single-celled intestinal parasites that currently represent one of the greatest challenges to the broiler industry. To keep the level of infection low, farmers commonly add coccidia-inhibiting chemicals (coccidiostats) to broiler feed. While this does not kill the parasites, it greatly reduces the incidence of overt sickness and death from infection. While clinical coccidiosis is therefore not a problem, veterinary authorities have never been able to gauge the extent of subclinical coccidiosis and the consequences this may have for animal welfare issues and production costs.

There is a strong link between obesity and asthma and as the prevalence of both conditions has been increasing steadily, epidemiologists have speculated that there is an underlying condition that connects the two. But one long-suspected link, the systemic inflammation associated with obesity, has been essentially ruled out by a recent study that found no evidence of its involvement.

The age-old advice to routinely clean out earwax is discouraged under the first published guidelines from health care professionals about removing wax from the ear.

Bipolar disorder is one of the most important psychiatric diseases, often associated with considerable treatment needs and tremendous social and occupational burden for both the individual and family (Pini et al., 2005). Previously also labeled manic-depressive illness, bipolar disorder is typically referred to as an episodic, yet lifelong and clinically severe mood (or affective) disorder.

Scientist have presented the latest findings on how brain cells can be adversely affected by stress and depression. They have explained how the adult brain is generating new cells. These findings will impact the development of novel antidepressant drugs.

Many nursing mothers who have been hospitalized for breast abscesses are afflicted with the "superbug" methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, but according to new research, conservative treatment can deal with the problem.

Researchers have deciphered the structure of the active region of telomerase, an enzyme that plays a major role in the development of nearly all human cancers. The landmark achievement opens the door to the creation of new, broadly effective cancer drugs, as well as anti-aging therapies.

Body weight and fertility have long known to be related to each other -- women who are too thin, for example, can have trouble becoming pregnant. Now, a master switch has been found in the brain of mice that controls both, and researchers say it may work the same way in humans.

Using a novel technique, medical and engineering researchers have discovered a vulnerable step in the virus' reproduction process that in lab testing could be effectively targeted with an obsolete antihistamine.