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Two University of North Carolina medical professionals explain the “spring fever” phenomenon and how seasons affect our mood.

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April's warm, sunny days mark the beginning of ozone season. UNC Health Care expert David Peden, MD, the director of the Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma and Lung Biology at the UNC School of Medicine, explains what his research shows about ozone pollution and how you can protect yourself.

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The new department will be chaired by Matthew G. Ewend, MD, who currently serves as chief of the Division of Neurosurgery within the Department of Surgery.

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A new study led by UNC scientists shows that a common cancer drug can activate a viral infection that, paradoxically, can help anti-viral medications eradicate virus-associated cancer.

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In a paper published in the journal Nature, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have shown that a particular protein – called Ku – is particularly adept at healing damaged strands of DNA.

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Sean E. McLean, MD, has been selected as a 2010-2014 Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program scholar. The Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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Biofeedback is more effective than two other treatments for a type of chronic rectal pain called levator ani syndrome, according to a study published in the journal Gastroenterology. UNC's William E. Whitehead, Ph.D., is a co-author of the study.

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“I think that Judge Sweet showed an impressive understanding of genetics and some of the nuances involved. I agree with him," says Jim Evans, who led an HHS task force on gene patenting and a school to teach judges about genetics.

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These findings give physicians more reason to search for a more specific diagnosis and could possibly lead to more precise treatments, says UNC's Susan Girdler, Ph.D.

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UNC's John B. Buse, M.D., Ph.D., has been selected to receive a Clinical Excellence award at the Castle Connolly National Physician of the Year Awards ceremony.

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The study, published online by the journal Biological Psychiatry, is the first study done with monkeys that examines the effects of flu during pregnancy.

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Leigh Callahan, Ph.D., a member of UNC’s Thurston Arthritis Research Center, has been working as part of the 12-member steering committee for the past two years to develop this new initiative. The agenda makes 10 recommendations designed to dramatically reduce the impact of osteoarthritis on Americans.

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A one-page, 27-item questionnaire that is available free online is a valid and effective tool to help primary care doctors screen patients for four common psychiatric illnesses, a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers concludes.

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Children who have been abused psychologically, physically or sexually are more likely to suffer unexplained abdominal pain and nausea or vomiting than children who have not been abused, a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers concludes.

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QUANTEC review replaces 20-year old guidelines.

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A study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers found that obese children as young as 3 years old have elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation that in adults is considered an early warning sign for possible future heart disease.

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New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggests that the addition or removal of a certain type of chemical tag – called an acetyl group – onto metabolic enzymes plays a key role in how cellular metabolism is regulated.

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In developing countries, where millions of babies die in the womb or soon after birth, research has shown that providing training in newborn care and resuscitation to birth attendants significantly increases the likelihood of a baby’s survival. The study was conducted in six countries. Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine took part in the study in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in partnership with the Kinshasa School of Public Health.

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Physicians who conducted a pilot study at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center found that therapy before surgery with the drug sorafenib can reduce the size of large tumors and could be safely undertaken administered without adding significantly to the risks of surgery. Their results are published in the Feb. 16, 2010 online issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

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Andrew Hooge, a certified personal trainer at the UNC Wellness Center at Meadowmont and founder of FitSkiing.com, explains three simple exercises you can do to improve your skiing.

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Together with colleagues in Barcelona, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have generated a complete map of the areas of the genome that control which genes are “turned on” or “off.” The discovery, made in pancreatic islet cells, opens new avenues for understanding the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes and other common illnesses.

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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has joined more than 51 research institutions around the United States in making information about its clinical research trials available on ResearchMatch, the country’s first registry for recruiting research participants.

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Nearly 500,000 women in the U.S. die from heart disease each year. It is the number one killer of all women. However, women who have heart attacks tend not to seek help from doctors as quickly as men do. Women often wait an hour longer than men to seek help, and that hour can sometimes be too late. Dr. Paula Miller, Cardiac Rehabilitation Director of the UNC Heart Center, says it's time that women take heart and take care of their cardiovascular health. In this video, she explains five things every woman should know about heart health.

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Systemic pre-exposure administration of antiretroviral drugs provides protection against intravenous and rectal transmission of HIV in mice with human immune systems, according to a new study published January 21, 2010 in the online journal PLoS ONE. “These results provide evidence that a universal approach to prevent all forms of HIV transmission in all settings might be possible,” said J. Victor Garcia-Martinez, Ph.D., professor in the department of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and senior author of the study.

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Exercise is key to preventing heart disease, but many people think they don't have time for it. For American Heart Month, two UNC Health Care experts explain why exercise matters and share creative tips for working it into tight schedules.

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Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine have discovered a protein complex that appears to play a significant role in erasing epigenetic instructions on sperm DNA, essentially creating a blank slate for the different cell types of a new embryo to develop.

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Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered that a single atom – a calcium, in fact – can control how bacteria walk. The finding identifies a key step in the process by which bacteria infect their hosts, and could one day lead to new drug targets to prevent infection.

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It’s impossible to know, unless you’re Urban Meyer or one of his doctors, what exactly caused the two-time college football championship winner to see-saw decisions about his prestigious professional career and his family life. But the scenario is all too common among Americans of all walks of life, says Dr. Cam Patterson, chief of cardiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

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In an annual supplement to the journal Diabetes Care, published Dec. 29 by the American Diabetes Association, the A1C test is given a prominent role in the 2010 guidelines for diabetes screening, diagnosis and prevention.

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Delores Evans of Durham, N.C., received a kidney from her own adult son at UNC Hospitals after he died in November 2008. On New Year's Day Delores will honor her son, and help promote organ sharing, as a participant in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., riding on the Donate Life float sponsored by OneLegacy, the Los Angeles-area organ and tissue donor services organization.

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Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine say a recent discovery suggests that inherited genetic variations exist between whites and blacks living in the U.S., leading to less efficient metabolism of glucose and predisposition to diabetes in blacks.

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The study is designed to determine if diabetic patients exposed to insulin glargine have a higher incidence of cancer than diabetic patients exposed to other insulins or to other glucose-lowering medications.

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A team of experts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine say that Santa is tanned, rested and ready for the big ride he has coming up.

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Being irritable, grumpy and seeking social isolation are also hallmarks of depression, and could explain the Grinch’s disdain for the Who – the tall and the small – his mistreatment of his dog Max and, ultimately, why he tried to stop Christmas from coming.

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Navigating your way through countless holiday parties can wreak havoc on the person watching his/her waistline. UNC's Dr. Cynthia Bulik offers some key ways to beat the holiday bulge.

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With the holiday party season at hand, UNC's Dr. James C. Garbutt offers these tips about how to enjoy a few drinks responsibly -- while sparing yourself and those around you from the potentially disastrous consequences of overdoing it.

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Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D., director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explains how the holidays can be fraught with difficulties for people with eating disorders, and offers tips for handling these issues.

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Calling his work “one of the most important findings in breast cancer and health disparities in the last decade,” the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has named Charles M. Perou, Ph.D. the 2009 Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research, funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

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The Graduate Training Program in Translational Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been awarded a four-year, $700,000 “Med into Grad” renewal grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

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UNC emergency physician Abhi Mehrotra, M.D., explains how you can avoid the most common injuries that land people in a hospital emergency department during the four-day Thanksgiving holiday period.

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Dr. Jonathan Abramowitz, an expert in anxiety disorders and professor of psychiatry and psychology in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine and College of Arts & Sciences, offers five tips for coping with holiday-related stress.

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Pooled results from three separate clinical trials of flibanserin, a drug originally created as an antidepressant, show it is effective in treating women with acquired hypoactive sexual desire disorder. These trials were the first ever to test a therapy that works at the level of the brain to enhance libido in women reporting low sexual desire.

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Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco have developed and experimentally tested a technique to predict new target diseases for existing drugs.

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Hugh “Chip” McAllister, M.D., an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, has made a three-part gift to establish the UNC McAllister Heart Institute.

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At the University of North Carolina Hospitals, the Interpreter Services department has dumped both pagers and cell phones in favor of a device they find to be much more effective in meeting their needs: the Apple iPod touch.

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A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has identified a key player in a molecular process essential for DNA replication within cells.

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People who are overweight and lose just 5 percent of their weight reduce their risk of osteoarthritis of the knee, while maintaining weight has little benefit, a study from the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine shows.

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Student research, fellowship training and mentorship awards go to the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at UNC Chapel Hill.

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Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have found that the 22q11 gene deletion – a mutation that confers the highest known genetic risk for schizophrenia – is associated with changes in the development of the brain that ultimately affect how its circuit elements are assembled.

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UNC's Morgan Giddings, Ph.D. and Xian Chen, Ph.D., have been awarded a $1.6 million 2-year “Grand Opportunities” (GO) grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute to accelerate this research. Their effort will be part of a consortium of investigators studying the human genome blueprint, titled the “ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements” (ENCODE). The consortium’s overall goal is to assemble a comprehensive catalog of functional elements in the human genome.