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Patients have an increased risk of heart attack and stroke up to three months after being diagnosed with shingles, according to a new study conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The research, published in PLOS Medicine, showed the risk is greatest during the early stages of shingles, with a 2.4 fold increase in the rate of stroke and a 1.7 fold increase in the rate of heart attacks in the first week after shingles, compared to time periods when the patient did not have recent shingles. more »

The wealth of US families plunged as home prices began a rapid descent in 2006. By 2013, overall median wealth had decreased to $82,756, a loss of 40% in the space of just six years. Almost all of this erasure took place from 2007 to 2010, but there was no sign of a recovery from 2010 to 2013. Over the entire span from 1983 to 2013, the median wealth of US families was up only 6%. more »

When it comes to licensing, the nursing profession works almost exactly the way it does with driving a car — at least in half the states. A nurse with a license from one of those 25 states can practice in any other state that has signed on to a reciprocal licensing compact. Contrast that with doctors. A doctor licensed in one state who wants to practice in another still needs a license from the other state but doctors are creating their own multistate compacts.   © The Associated Press Nursing graduates at the University of Texas. In half the states, one state license is all a nurse needs to practice in the others. Several medical professions are moving to license port… more »

Here are some images from the Institutes gallery that remind us of the winter holidays — and showcase important findings and innovations in biomedical research. Researchers made a snowflake pattern from DNA. They used a method called DNA origami that takes advantage of DNA's natural folding property. more »