2006 Highlights
20 September 2006
Study finds disparities in health between Asian Pacific Islander Americans and other Californians
When it comes to health indicators, major differences exist between California's more than 5 million Asian Pacific Islander Americans (APIAs) and other Californians, according to a new study released today by the UC Berkeley Center for Family and Community Health.
16 August 2006
New study links higher income with lower disability rates
Numerous studies have already established the link between extreme poverty and poor health, but a new study led by a public health researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that health disparities exist even between those with higher incomes.
05 July 2006
DDT in moms harmful to kids, study suggests
Since the 1970s, scientists have known that when DDT accumulates in a woman's tissues it can be transmitted to her developing fetus across the placenta. Now, a new study led by a team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that such in utero exposure is associated with developmental delays in the young child.
29 June 2006
Listeriosis's path to miscarriage traced to placental infection
For years, doctors have puzzled over why pregnant women are 20 times more likely than others to be infected by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, now think they have the answer, and it isn't pretty. Their research, conducted in guinea pigs, shows that the bacteria can invade the placenta, where - protected from the body's immune system - they proliferate rapidly before pouring out to infect organs such as the liver and spleen. The illness they cause often results in miscarriage or infection of the fetus.
12 June 2006
DNA database offers Salvadoran war orphans key to stolen past
A DNA database developed by the state Department of Justice and the University of California, Berkeley's Human Rights Center holds the key to the past for hundreds of children kidnapped by soldiers or otherwise separated from their families during El Salvador's 1980-1992 civil war.
06 June 2006
Study shows that genetic quality of sperm deteriorates as men age
New research indicates that the genetic quality of sperm worsens as men get older, increasing a man’s risk of being infertile, fathering unsuccessful pregnancies and passing along dwarfism and possibly other genetic diseases to his children. A study led by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the University of California, Berkeley, found a steady increase in sperm DNA fragmentation with increasing age of the study participants, along with increases in a gene mutation that causes achondroplasia, or dwarfism. The first changes were observed in men in their early reproductive years.
11 May 2006
Using relatives's DNA to find criminals is focus of study
We may not be our brother's keeper, but our brother's DNA could help land us in jail, according to a new report by researchers at University of California, Berkeley; Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston; and Harvard University. "Finding Criminals Through DNA of their Relatives," published in the journal Science, shows that investigators could reap a significant boost in leads if they were to use DNA kinship analysis methods to search offender DNA databases to aid in locating potential criminal suspects.
06 April 2006
Few women in California take pregnancy leave, study finds
Only one in three working women who qualify for pregnancy leave in California take advantage of the employee benefit, according to a new study by researchers at University of California, Berkeley. Those who do cite medical necessity, physical discomfort and stress or fatigue as the reason for taking time off from work before their baby is born.
28 March 2006
Old drug's new use will save Nigerian women's lives
When a shipment of round, white tablets of the generic drug misoprostol lands in Nigeria this week, that country will become the first ever to allow distribution of this effective, inexpensive and stable drug to prevent and treat post-partum hemorrhage, the devastating bleeding experienced by thousands of women after childbirth.
27 March 2006
Study finds in utero arsenic exposure tied to lung disease
Children who are exposed to high levels of arsenic in their drinking water are seven to 12 times more likely to die of lung cancer and other lung diseases in young adulthood, a new study by University of California, Berkeley, and Chilean researchers suggests.
14 March 2006
New report sets framework for California "green chemistry" policy
California should take the lead in establishing a comprehensive policy for chemical production and use or face a growing set of health and environmental problems and risk being left behind by the global economy, according to a new report by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
02 March 2006
Susceptibility to pesticides highly variable among Latina women and children
Some newborns may be 26 to 50 times more susceptible to exposure to certain organophosphate pesticides than other newborns, and 65 to 130 times more sensitive than some adults, according to a new study by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Washington.
08 February 2006
Brain scans predict cognitive decline in normal people, says new study
Brain scans may detect neurological changes in people who exhibit no outward signs of cognitive decline but who later develop dementia or mental impairment, according to the results of a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
