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| Residency match results not encouraging for adults needing primary care Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
The number of US medical students choosing internal medicine residencies inched higher from 2009 but not enough to significantly impact the shortage of primary care physicians. |
| Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute physicians present findings at ACC scientific meeting Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
A study questions the effectiveness of routine aspirin therapy in preventing heart disease, while another suggests that LVADs may aid in weight loss for obese patients awaiting a heart transplant. |
| Tryptophan-enriched diet reduces pig aggression Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Feeding the amino acid tryptophan to young female pigs as part of their regular diet makes them less aggressive and easier to manage, according to a study by Agricultural Research Service scientists and cooperators. |
| Studies examine Third Eye Retroscope during colonoscopy Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Two new studies show an increase in polyp detection rates using the Third Eye Retroscope (TER), a retrograde viewing device, during colonoscopy. The first study found that TER added to standard colonoscopy detected 13.2 percent more polyps than colonoscopy alone, including 11 percent additional adenomas (precancerous polyps). A second study examined endoscopist experience using TER and its impact on polyp detection rates, concluding that polyp detection rates improved significantly with TER. |
| Shift workers at more risk for irritable bowel syndrome, U-M study says Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Nurses participating in shift work, especially those working rotating shifts, face a significantly increased risk of developing irritable bowel syndrome and abdominal pain compared to those working a standard day-time schedule, according to research published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. |
| Females shut down male-male sperm competition in leafcutter ants Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Danish researchers who have studied ants at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama since 1992 discovered that in both ant and bee species in which queens have multiple mates, a male's seminal fluid favors the survival of its own sperm over the other males' sperm. However, once sperm has been stored, leafcutter ant queens neutralize male-male sperm competition with glandular secretions in their sperm-storage organ. |
| Study details machinery of immune protection against inflammatory diseases like colitis Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists report a protein made by a gene already associated with a handful of human inflammatory immune diseases plays a pivotal role in protecting the intestinal tract from colitis. |
| Engineers: Weak laser can ignite nanoparticles, with exciting possibilities Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
University of Florida engineering researchers have found they can ignite certain nanoparticles using a low-power laser, a development they say opens the door to a wave of new technologies in health care, computing and automotive design. |
| Manufacturing antibodies Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
New antibodies and recombinant proteins with a key signaling role in immune response to disease have been produced through collaboration between molecular immunology institutes in the Czech Republic and Germany and a private company. The proteins have their own direct uses in immunization and are also the starting point for production of novel, highly specific antibodies with a wide range of biomedical applications. All of the new products are already being marketed commercially. |
| HSBC Climate Partnership yields initial research findings Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Rapid increases in tree growth in the US, slower tree growth in the tropics, new ideas about biodiversity, new methods for monitoring forest carbon stocks: Researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Earthwatch met in Panama from Mar. 1-5 to present mid-term research results from the HSBC Climate Partnership. |
| Multifunctional polymer neutralizes both biological and chemical weapons Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
In an effort to mirror the ability of biological tissues to respond rapidly and appropriately to changing environments, scientists from the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and its clinical partner UPMC, have synthesized a single, multifunctional polymer material that can decontaminate both biological and chemical toxins. They described the findings recently in Biomaterials. |
| Looming unemployment harms older workers' health Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Downsizing and demotions at the workplace can be a health hazard for people over age 50, according to research reported in a recent issue of the Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological and Social Sciences. |
| Research reveals frequency and cost of copying college homework Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Young-Jin Lee, assistant professor of educational technology at KU, and colleagues from MIT spent four years seeing how many copied answers MIT students submitted to an online homework tutoring system. |
| Nano-based RFID tags could replace bar codes Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Rice researchers, in collaboration with a team led by Gyou-jin Cho at Sunchon National University in Korea, have come up with an inexpensive, printable transmitter that can be invisibly embedded in packaging. It would allow a customer to walk a cart full of groceries or other goods past a scanner on the way to the car. |
| Stem cells used to model infant birth defect Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston recently discovered that infantile hemangiomas originate from stem cells, and have used these stem cells to better understand this tumor in the laboratory. In the March 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, they show that steroids target hemangioma stem cells specifically, reveal their mechanism of their action and suggest other possible ways to halt and shrink hemangiomas. |
| Medicare patients 5.5 times more likely to get cataract surgery than VA patients, study finds Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Patients seen at private facilities reimbursed by Medicare were more than 550 percent more likely to have routine cataract surgery than those who received their care from the Department of Veterans Affairs, a strong indication that frequency of cataract surgery may be responsive to financial incentives to either or both the medical facility and physicians who perform the procedure. |
| Global database needed to guarantee identification of victims in mass disasters Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
An expert in forensic anthropology argues that the database should include computer records of citizens such as anthropological data, physiognomic characteristics, medical information, radiographic files, dental records and numbers of different identity documents. Tzipi Kahana believes that radiographic techniques, together with information from this database, are a reliable mechanism for identifying bodies after natural disasters or attacks. |
| Some bullies are just the shy type: New research shows a darker side to social anxiety disorder Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
When you think of people suffering from social anxiety, you probably characterize them as shy, inhibited and submissive. However, new research from psychologists Todd Kashdan and Patrick McKnight at George Mason University suggests that there is a subset of socially anxious people who act out in aggressive, risky ways -- and that their behavior patterns are often misunderstood. |
| Cultural divide in ability to recognize sensual sounds Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
An F1000 evaluation looks at a British study of how the six basic human emotions are universally recognized but other positive emotions are culturally specific.A team from University College London's psychology department studied a range of non-verbal emotional vocalizations, such as screams and laughs, in two very different cultural groups. |
| Bailout stenting successful treatment for infants with constricted aortas Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Cardiac interventionalists and surgeons at University Clinic in Leuven, Belgium have achieved successful stent implantation and follow-up coarctectomy in premature infants suffering from aortic coarctation. Full findings are published in the March issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, the official journal of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. |
| A bleak outlook for social science? Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Social science is at the center of every major challenge the world faces, yet faces a tough future, according to a panel of senior academics and politicians speaking in London this week. They were taking part in a debate hosted by the British Academy and SAGE to explore how social science research can strengthen its involvement in policy-making, increase its impact, and combat potential public expenditure cuts. |
| Breakthrough for babies born with severe cleft palates after experiments at ISIS Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Scientists working on a treatment for babies born with cleft palates have made a promising breakthrough and the first clinical trials are planned for early next year. Clefts are the most common birth defect in Britain, with one in every 700 babies affected; currently in severe cases radical surgery is required to correct the problem, and in addition future complications can occur as the child grows into an adult. |
| Newly discovered planet could hold water Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
The Corot satellite strikes again with another fascinating planet discovery. This time, the newly discovered gas giant planet may have an interior that closely resembles those of Jupiter and Saturn in our own solar system. |
| What makes us unique? Not only our genes Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg and Yale and Stanford Universities have found that we differ from each other mainly because of differences not in our genes, but in how they're regulated -- turned on or off, for instance. |
| Cat-calls are detrimental to everyone Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
For every woman who is a direct target of sexism, there are others who witness the event and are also affected. The actions of one sexist man affect how female bystanders feel and behave towards men in general. Stephenie Chaudoir and Diane Quinn, from the University of Connecticut in the US, publish their work on the effects of bystander sexism and group-level reactions to sexism in Springer's journal Sex Roles. |
| Giant sequoias yield longest fire history from tree rings Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
A 3,000-year record from 52 of the world's oldest trees shows that California's western Sierra Nevada was droughty and often fiery from 800 to 1300, according to new research. Scientists reconstructed the region's history of fire by dating fire scars on ancient giant sequoia trees, Sequoiadendron giganteum, in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park. Individual giant sequoias can live more than 3,000 years and are considered the world's largest trees by volume. |
| The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science applauds IUCN's reclassifcation of beluga sturgeon Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature today formally announced the reclassification of beluga sturgeon in the Caspian Sea as "critically endangered" on its Red List, providing strong evidence that fishing and international trade should be halted and a stock-rebuilding plan should be initiated immediately. Beluga sturgeon populations have been decimated in part due to unrelenting exploitation for black caviar -- the sturgeon's unfertilized eggs -- considered the finest in the world. |
| Feedback loop explains inflammatory effect on intestinal lining Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Signals released by immune cells during a bout of inflammatory bowel disease interfere with intestinal cells' ability to regenerate. Yet people with inflammatory bowel diseases have a higher risk of developing colon cancer: a hyper-activation of growth in those same intestinal cells.Researchers have identified a feedback loop involving a growth-regulating circuit in intestinal cells, which helps explain these apparently contradictory observations. Interfering with one component of the feedback loop -- a protein called "dickkopf 1" -- may aid in controlling inflammatory bowel diseases. |
| Study probes evolution of fairness and punishment Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
A new study co-authored by University of California, Davis, anthropologist Richard McElreath and published in Science magazine suggests that the cooperative nature of each society is at least partly dependent upon historical forces -- such as religious beliefs and the growth of market transactions. |
| Cassini shows Saturnian roller derby Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
The seemingly serene orb of Saturn is in fact a gas giant with extraordinary patterns of charged particles and rough and tumble roller derbies for rings. Such are the findings of NASA's Cassini spacecraft since its arrival at Saturn in 2004 - they are combined in two review papers to be published in the March 19 issue of the journal Science. |
| SU biologists' work with 'glow-in-the-dark' sperm sheds light on sexual selection Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
By genetically altering fruit flies so that the heads of their sperm were fluorescent green or red, Belote and his colleagues were able to observe in striking detail what happens to live sperm inside the female. The findings may have huge implications for the fields of reproductive biology, sexual selection and speciation. |
| Bacteria divide like clockwork Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
A team of researchers at MIT and the University of California at San Diego has shown how cell division in a type of bacteria known as cyanobacteria is controlled by the same kind of circadian rhythms that govern human sleep patterns. Previous studies have shown that even though cyanobacteria do not "sleep" in the same way that humans do, they cycle through active and resting periods on a 24-hour schedule. Cyanobacteria depend on sunlight for photosynthesis, so they are most active during the day. |
| Markets and religion shaped norms of fairness, punishment in complex societies: UBC study Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Members of large-scale, complex human societies have learned to play nice with strangers through the norms that are associated with market participation and world religions, and not solely due to an evolved psychology for cooperation in small groups as previously believed, according to UBC-led research. |
| Learning deficits in adolescence linked to novel brain receptor Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Recent work published in the journal Science by Sheryl Smith, Ph.D., professor of physiology and pharmacology, and colleagues at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn shows that a novel brain receptor, alpha4-beta-delta, emerges at puberty in the hippocampus, part of the brain that controls learning and memory. |
| China and India: Neighbors need to collaborate for sake of global environment Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
With large and growing economies and populations, China and India will strongly influence the quality of the global environment for years to come. While their political relationship is strained, it's critical the two countries work together to slow global warming, deforestation, water shortages and other environmental issues, says a Michigan State University scientist and colleagues. |
| New technique reduces tobacco smoke damage to lungs in mice Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Researchers in Australia have demonstrated that blocking a certain protein can reduce or prevent cigarette smoke-induced lung inflammation in mice. Inflammation underlies the disease process of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and many other smoking-related ailments. |
| Stress during pregnancy may increase offspring's risk of asthma Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Stress during pregnancy may raise the risk of asthma in offspring, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. The researchers investigated differences in immune function markers in cord blood between infants born to mothers in high stress environments and those born to mothers with lower stress and found marked differences in patterns that may be associated with asthma risk later in life. |
| Deep brain stimulation reduces epileptic seizures in patients with refractory partial and secondarily generalized seizures Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
A recent study organized by Stanford University researchers found patients with refractory partial and secondarily generalized seizures had a reduction in seizures after deep brain stimulation. This multi-center clinical trial determined that the benefits of stimulation of the anterior nuclei of thalamus for epilepsy persisted and by 2 years there was a 56 percent reduction in seizure frequency. Full findings of this study are available early online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy. |
| Stanford advances vastly expand versatility of optogenetics brain-research technique Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Recently, brain researchers have gained a powerful new way to troubleshoot neural circuits associated with depression, Parkinson's disease and other conditions in small animals such as rats. They use an optogenetics technology, invented at Stanford University, that precisely turns select brain cells on or off with flashes of light. Although useful, the optogenetics tool set has been limited. |
| What makes you unique? Not genes so much as surrounding sequences, says Stanford study Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
The key to human individuality may lie not in our genes, but in the sequences that surround and control them, according to new research by scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Yale University. |
| France's national program to reduce HAIs reports important successes; uses mandatory reporting Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Researchers evaluating France's national infection control program for health-care facilities found significant decreases in the rates of health-care-associated infections (HAIs) since 2004. The drop in HAIs, including MRSA and surgical site infections, could be attributed to important changes in the national infection control system. France's national, regional and local coordinating centers have been reorganized to help facilities throughout the country comply and conform with mandatory public reporting requirements and key program objectives. |
| New statistical method for genetic studies could cut computation time from years to hours Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
In a new study to be published in the April edition of Nature Genetics, Eleazar Eskin, associate professor of computer science at UCLA Engineering, and his research group unveil a new computational strategy for genome-wide association studies that corrects for population structure and is both faster and easier to use. |
| Prescribed burns may help reduce US carbon footprint Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
The use of prescribed burns to manage western forests may help the United States reduce its carbon footprint.Results of a new study find that such burns, often used by forest managers to reduce underbrush and protect bigger trees, release substantially less carbon dioxide emissions than wildfires of the same size. |
| Researchers find new chemotherapy combination shows promise in endometrial cancer Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Researchers from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report that in a small study of women with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, gemcitabine and cisplatin, when used in combination, produced a response rate in fifty percent of patients. |
| Chemists influence stem-cell development with geometry Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
University of Chicago scientists have successfully used geometrically patterned surfaces to influence the development of stem cells. The new approach is a departure from that of many stem-cell biologists, who focus instead on uncovering the role of proteins in controlling the fate of stem cells. |
| Targeting blood vessels, immune system may offer way to stop infection-caused inflammation Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Treating virulent influenza, sepsis, and other potentially deadly infections long has focused on looking for ways to kill viruses and bacteria. But new research from the University of Utah and Utah State University shows that modulating the body's own overeager inflammatory response to infection may help save more lives. |
| First parasitic nematodes reported in biofuel crops Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Researchers at the Energy Biosciences Institute at the University of Illinois have discovered widespread occurrence of plant-parasitic nematodes in the first reported nematode survey of Miscanthus and switchgrass plants used for biofuels. |
| Getting turned on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Scientists have identified a mechanism that switches on an extremely important process for the proper functioning and survival of our body's cells. Specifically, the fast-track transportation pathway of "cargo" to and from the surface of the cell |
| DNA nanotechnology breakthrough offers promising applications in medicine Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
A team of McGill Chemistry Department researchers led by Dr. Hanadi Sleiman has achieved a major breakthrough in the development of nanotubes. |
| Duke technique is turning proteins into glass Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Duke University researchers have devised a method to dry and preserve proteins in a glassified form that seems to retain the molecules' properties as workhorses of biology. |
| Layered graphene sheets could solve hydrogen storage issues Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Stacked sheets of graphene may be a promising material for capturing and storing hydrogen for future fuel-cell systems according to recent research at NIST and the University of Pennsylvania. |
| International team of scientists reports discovery of a new planet Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
An international team of scientists, including several who are affiliated with UC Santa Barbara, has discovered a new planet the size of Jupiter. The finding is published in the March 18 issue of the journal Nature. |
| Modified home video game shows promise for improving hand function in teens with cerebral palsy Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Rutgers engineers have modified a popular home video game system to help teenagers with cerebral palsy improve their hand functions. In a pilot trial conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine, the system improved the teens' abilities to perform a range of daily personal and household activities. The modified system with custom-developed software and games provided exercise routines aimed at improving hand speed and range of finger motion. |
| Spider silk reveals a paradox of super-strength Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Since its development in China thousands of years ago, silk from silkworms, spiders and other insects has been used for high-end, luxury fabrics as well as for parachutes and medical sutures. Now, National Science Foundation-supported researchers are untangling some of its most closely guarded secrets, and explaining why silk is so super strong. |
| Tomas moving away from Fiji Islands after causing damages Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Cyclone Tomas hit the north and east areas of Fiji as a Category 4 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, and has now moved south of them. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite captured an image of the heavy rains that were falling in Tomas during his swath of destruction in the Fiji Islands. |
| Feeling lonely adds to rate of blood pressure increase in people 50 years old and older Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Chronic feelings of loneliness take a toll on blood pressure over time, causing a marked increase after four years. A new study shows, for the first time, a direct relation between loneliness and larger increases in blood pressure four years later -- a link that is independent of age and other factors that could cause blood pressure to rise, including body-mass index, smoking, alcohol use and demographic differences such as race and income. |
| Difficulty trusting and reaching out to others may shorten diabetes patients' lives Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
Being overly cautious or dismissive in relating to others, including health-care providers, may shorten the lives of people with diabetes. In a five-year study, diabetes patients who had a lower propensity to reach out to others had a higher mortality rate than those who felt comfortable seeking support. There are approaches that health-care professionals might try to improve collaboration with patients who have an independent relationship style. |
| High levels of mercury found in Cataraqui River: Queen's study Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
The Inner Harbour on the Cataraqui River in Kingston, Ont., has mercury levels in sediment more than two times the Canadian government's most severe effect limits, according to a Queen's University study. |
| A blue mystery Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
As one of the "generic geologists" on a dig called the Dakhleh Oasis Project, associate professor Jennifer Smith was asked to sample the alum from ancient mines and to determine whether it could be the source of the blue in the "blue painted pottery" found at sites dating from the New Kingdom. It was a small question but an intriguing one. |
| Prescribed burns may help reduce US carbon footprint Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT |
The use of prescribed burns to manage Western forests may help the United States reduce its carbon footprint. A new study finds that such burns, often used by forest managers to reduce underbrush and protect bigger trees, release substantially less carbon dioxide emissions than wildfires of the same size. |
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