The BIG LoVE (Utah Better Identification of Germs-Longitudinal Viral Epidemiology) study, led by scientists at the University of Utah School of Medicine, finds that each bundle of joy puts the entire household at increased risk for infection with viruses that cause colds, flu, and other respiratory illnesses.
Read MoreAug. 3, 2015 – As grasses grew more common in Africa, most major mammal groups tried grazing on them at times during the past 4 million years, but some of the animals went extinct or switched back to browsing on trees and shrubs, according to a study led by the University of Utah. “It’s […]
Read MoreIn a global study of drought impacts, forest trees took an average of two to four years to resume normal growth rates, a revelation indicating that Earth’s forests are capable of storing less carbon than climate models have assumed.
Read MoreNot every mom and dad agree on how their offspring should behave. But in genetics as in life, parenting is about knowing when your voice needs to be heard, and the best ways of doing so. Typically, compromise reigns, and one copy of each gene is inherited from each parent so that the two contribute equally to the traits who make us who we are. Occasionally, a mechanism called genomic imprinting, first described 30 years ago, allows just one parent to be heard by completely silencing the other.
Read MoreA new study,l ed by the Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System and the University of Utah and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that differences in the routines of individual providers drives variation in antibiotic prescribing more than differences in patient characteristics, standards of practice at different hospitals, or clinical settings (emergency department, primary care, urgent care). The findings are an important step toward understanding the problem of antibiotic overuse, a major public health concern given the rise in antibiotic-resistant “superbugs”.
Read MoreMore than a quarter of the rain and snow that falls on continents reaches the oceans as runoff. Now a new study helps show where the rest goes.
Read MoreA woman coping with the burden of familial breast cancer can’t help but wonder if her young daughter will suffer the same fate. Has she inherited the same disease-causing mutation? Is it best to be prepared for the future, or to wait? During the last decade, genetic tests have been through a sea change, both in their availability and the technologies behind them. Today there are at least 34 companies that offer direct to consumer (DTC) DNA testing, some of which return health results. And now it is possible to sequence someone’s entire genetic code for the price of a laptop.
Read MoreUp to 22 percent of surgical patients experience unexpected complications and must be readmitted for post-operative care. A study led by the University of Utah suggests that returning to the same hospital is important for recovery. Readmission to a different hospital was associated with a 26 percent increased risk for dying within 90 days.
Read MoreThe same gene that creates elaborate head crests in domestic rock pigeons also makes head and neck feathers grow up instead of down in domesticated doves to give them head crests, although theirs are much simpler and caused by a different mutation, University of Utah researchers found.
Read MoreA remarkably detailed picture of the climate and ecology during the Triassic Period explains why dinosaurs failed to establish dominance near the equator for 30 million years.
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