Taking in such spine-tingling wonders as the Grand Canyon, Sistine Chapel ceiling or Schubert's "Ave Maria" may give a boost to the body's defense system, according to new research from UC Berkeley. Researchers have linked positive emotions - especially the awe we feel when touched by the beauty of nature, art and spirituality - with lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are proteins that signal the immune system to work harder.

People's perceptions of the cost of a drug may affect how much they benefit from the drug, even when they are receiving only a placebo, according to a new study of people with Parkinson's disease published in the January 28, 2015 online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the use of antiviral drugs to help treat influenza, in a year when the available vaccine is not a good match for the current strain. Now, new evidence about a popular antiviral - often criticized as ineffective - shows that it can alleviate symptoms and prevent respiratory complications.

Low doses of metformin, a widely used diabetes medication, and a gene inhibitor known as BI2536 can successfully halt the growth of late-stage prostate cancer tumors, a Purdue University study finds. Prostate cancer causes the second-highest number of cancer-related deaths in men in the U.S., and methods of treating advanced prostate cancer are limited.

A single gene that coordinates a network of about 400 genes involved in epilepsy could be a target for new treatments, according to research. Epilepsy is a common and serious disease that affects around 50 million people worldwide. The mortality rate among people with epilepsy is two to three times higher than the general population.

Taking a hormonal contraceptive for at least five years is associated with a possible increase in a young woman's risk of developing a rare tumour, glioma of the brain. This project focussed on women aged 15-49 years and the findings are published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Evidence already exists for the beneficial effects of drinking moderate amounts of alcohol on the risk of developing a number of heart conditions; however, the role it plays in the risk of developing heart failure has been under-researched with conflicting results. Now, a large study of nearly 15,000 men and women, published online in the European Heart Journal, shows that