Program Allows Virtual Tour of Ancient Roman Cologne
A team of archaeologists, scientists and software programmers has created a 3D virtual model of the city of Cologne as it was 2,000 years ago. Though not yet online, the software allows visitors to fly through the city in its Roman glory.
19 October 2008
Scientists want to know more about the brain changes that lead to Alzheimer's
Controlling the level of a fatty acid in the brain could help treat Alzheimer's disease, an American study has suggested.
19 October 2008 00:03 UK
Public Release: 20-Oct-2008
Archives of Surgery
Study examines link between beta-blocker use and risks of death and heart attack after surgery
Some patients who received beta-blockers before and around the time of undergoing non-cardiac surgery appear to have higher rates of heart attack and death within 30 days of their surgery, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Contact: Diane Keefe
857-203-5879
JAMA and Archives Journals
Public Release: 20-Oct-2008
Archives of Dermatology
Light-activated therapy may change skin at molecular level
Photodynamic therapy -- which involves a light-activated medication and exposure to a light source -- appears to produce changes at the molecular level in aging skin, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. These changes are consistent with increased collagen production and improved appearance of the skin.
Contact: Katie Vloet
734-764-2220
JAMA and Archives Journals
Doctors get death diagnosis tips
Doctors are being given tips to help them diagnose when someone is dead.
20 October 2008 10:10 UK
Public Release: 20-Oct-2008
Palaios
'A dinosaur dance floor'
University of Utah geologists identified an amazing concentration of dinosaur footprints and tail-drag marks that they call "a dinosaur dance floor," located in a wilderness on the Arizona-Utah border where there was a sandy desert oasis 190 million years ago.
Contact: Lee Siegel
leesiegel@ucomm.utah.edu
801-581-8993
University of Utah
Public Release: 20-Oct-2008
Angewandte Chemie International
Blue bananas
Under UV light, ripening bananas appear in a bright blue color, which is is connected to the degradation of chlorophyll.
Wissenschaftsfonds, National Science Foundation
Contact: Bernhard Kräutler
bernhard.kraeutler@uibk.ac.at
43-512-507-5200
Wiley-Blackwell
Public Release: 20-Oct-2008
Study finds creating unique health ID numbers would improve health care quality, efficiency
Creating a unique patient identification number for every person in the United States would facilitate a reduction in medical errors, simplify the use of electronic medical records, increase overall efficiency and help protect patient privacy, according to a new study. Although the cost of such a system could reach $11 billion, the effort would likely return even more in benefits to the nation's health care system.
Cerner Corporation, Computer Programs and Systems, Inc., Intel, IBM, Microsoft, MISYS, Oracle, Siemens
Contact: Warren Robak
robak@rand.org
310-451-6913
RAND Corporation
Public Release: 20-Oct-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
'Dry cleaning effect' explained by forgetful Yale researcher
Yale researchers have described how dueling brain systems may explain why you forget to drop off the dry cleaning and may point to ways that substance abusers and people with obsessive compulsive disorder can overcome bad habits.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Bill Hathaway
william.hathaway@yale.edu
203-432-1322
Yale University
Jupiter produced greatest pounding in Earth's history
Four billion years ago, the hefty planet kicked many comets and asteroids out towards interstellar space – but then they came back...
15:59 20 October 2008
Really?
The Claim: Coffee Eases Headaches From Epidural Injections
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
Doctors and medical texts have long advocated a simple antidote to headaches caused by epidurals: a cup of Joe.
 * Health Guide:Headaches »Weight-Loss Surgery, No Cutting Required
By DENISE GRADY
An experimental stomach-stapling operation called Toga is part of a trend toward making surgery less invasive.
A Taste for Blood
By NATALIE ANGIER
Across the evolutionary tree, nature’s born phlebotomists have a difficult, dangerous meal plan.
* Photographs Slide Show: Nature’s Born Phlebotomists
Public Release: 20-Oct-2008
Acoustical Society of America
Study sheds new light on dolphin coordination during predation
Spinner dolphins have long been known for their teamwork in capturing prey but a new study using high-tech acoustics has found that their synchronization is even more complex than scientists realized and likely evolved as a strategy to maximize their energy intake.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Kelly Benoit-Bird
kbenoit@coas.oregonstate.edu
541-737-2063
Oregon State University
Public Release: 21-Oct-2008
JAMA
Study documents safety problems for biological products
Approximately one in four biological medicinal products (such as antibodies, enzymes and insulin) approved since 1995 in the US and Europe have had at least one safety-related regulatory action issued for them 10 years after their approval, including about 11 percent receiving a "black box" warning, according to a study in the Oct. 22/29 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on the Health of the Nation.
Contact: Mantel-Teeuwisse, Ph.D.
a.k.mantel@uu.nl
JAMA and Archives Journals
Public Release: 21-Oct-2008
British Medical Journal
Eating quickly and until full trebles the risk of being overweight
The combination of eating quickly and eating until full trebles the risk of being overweight, according to a study published today on bmj.com.
Contact: Rachael Davies
rdavies@bma.org.uk
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Public Release: 21-Oct-2008
British Medical Journal
Erectile dysfunction gives early warning of a heart attack, warns expert
Erectile dysfunction gives a two to three year early warning of a heart attack, warns an expert on bmj.com today.
Contact: Rachael Davies
rdavies@bma.org.uk
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Public Release: 21-Oct-2008
Journal of Infectious Diseases
RSV may hide in the lungs, lead to asthma, UT Southwestern researchers report
Conventional wisdom has been that respiratory syncytial virus -- a common virus that causes infection in the lungs -- comes and goes in children without any long lasting impact. A study conducted in mice by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers, however, suggests that RSV may hide in the lungs even after other symptoms abate, ultimately resurfacing to cause recurrent wheezing and chronic airway disease.
National Institutes of Health, American Lung Association, RGK Foundation
Contact: Kristen Holland Shear
kristen.hollandshear@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Public Release: 21-Oct-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Chronic inflammation can help nurture skin cancer, study shows
Inflammation, a frontline defense against infection or disease, can help nurture skin cancer, researchers have found. IDO, an enzyme that works like a firefighter to keep inflammation under control, can be commandeered to protect early malignant cells, say Medical College of Georgia researchers studying an animal model of chronic inflammation and skin cancer.
Contact: Toni Baker
tbaker@mcg.edu
706-721-4421
Medical College of Georgia
Public Release: 21-Oct-2008
UCSB researchers develop cross-protective vaccine
Doctors have always hoped that scientists might one day create a vaccination that would treat a broad spectrum of maladies. They could only imagine that there might be one vaccine that would protect against, say, 2,500 strains of Salmonella. And what if that same vaccine could help protect the elderly?
Contact: George Foulsham
george.foulsham@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-3071
University of California - Santa Barbara
From a Strip of Scotch Tape, X-Rays
In a tour de force of office supply physics, researchers have shown that it is possible to produce X-rays by simply unrolling Scotch tape.
By KENNETH CHANG
Public Release: 21-Oct-2008
20th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics
Assessing the quality of phase I clinical trial abstracts
Researchers have developed a method of assessing the quality of phase I clinical trial abstracts submitted to two different oncology conferences, and suggest authors of conference abstracts adopt guidelines for reporting phase I clinical trials.
Contact: Emma Mason
wordmason@mac.com
41-227-612-105
ECCO-the European CanCer Organisation
Public Release: 21-Oct-2008
48th Annual ICAAC/IDSA 46th Annual Meeting
X marks the spot: Sharpies get thumbs-up for marking surgery sites
Researchers from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta have found that Sharpies used to mark surgical sites do not pose a risk of bacterial infection since the ink has an alcohol base. It's standard practice to throw away marking pens used to mark operative sites after one use to prevent the spread of germs, costing thousands of dollars a year.
University of Alberta
Contact: Lindsay Elleker
lindsay.elleker@ualberta.ca
780-492-0647
University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Magnetic brain therapy gets US green light
A controversial treatment for depression, which involves stimulating brain tissue with an electromagnetic coil, now has FDA approval
11:45 21 October 2008
Job choice 'affects Alzheimer's'
Going to university, then choosing a mentally demanding job may help protect the brain from the devastating impact of Alzheimer's disease on memory.21 October 2008 10:24 UK
Public Release: 22-Oct-2008
Nature
Scientists unlock secret of death protein's activation
Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a previously undetected trigger point on a naturally occurring "death protein" that helps the body get rid of unwanted or diseased cells. They say it may be possible to exploit the newly found trigger as a target for designer drugs that would treat cancer by forcing malignant cells to commit suicide.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Bill Schaller
william_schaller@dfci.harvard.edu
617-632-5357
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Public Release: 22-Oct-2008
Biological Psychiatry
New study suggests that high-dose hormone treatment might reduce risk for PTSD
Cortisol helps our bodies cope with stress, but what about its effects on the brain? A new study by Cohen and colleagues, appearing in the Oct. 15 issue of Biological Psychiatry, suggests that the answer to this question is complex.
Contact: Jayne Dawkins
ja.dawkins@elsevier.com
215-239-3674
Elsevier
Public Release: 22-Oct-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Silencing a protein could kill T-Cells, reverse leukemia
Blocking the signals from a protein that activates cells in the immune system could help kill cells that cause a rare form of blood cancer, according to physicists and oncologists who combined computer modeling and molecular biology in their discovery.
National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation
Contact: Amitabh Avasthi
axa47@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State
Drug grenades explode right on target
Microscopic capsules that spread their contents by bursting open could accelerate the delivery of drugs to diseased tissue
13:25 22 October 2008
Drugs Found in Hair of Ancient Andean Mummies
The first hard evidence of psychoactive drug use in the ancient Andes has been discovered in mummies' hair, a new study says.
Charles Q. Choi for National Geographic News
October 22, 2008
Russians the first potters on earth?
Russian archeologists claim that the Russians were the first people on the planet to cultivate land, breed cattle and make earthenware.
Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:50:16 GMT
Public Release: 22-Oct-2008
New England Journal of Medicine
New hope for multiple sclerosis sufferers
A drug which was developed in Cambridge and initially designed to treat a form of leukemia has also proven effective against combating the debilitating neurological disease multiple sclerosis.
Contact: Genevieve Maul
Genevieve.Maul@admin.cam.ac.uk
44-077-740-17464
University of Cambridge
Public Release: 22-Oct-2008
UCSB study finds physical strength, fighting ability revealed in human faces
For our ancestors, misjudging the physical strength of a would-be opponent might have resulted in painful -- and potentially deadly -- defeat.
Contact: Andrea Estrada
andrea.estrada@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-4620
University of California - Santa Barbara
Public Release: 22-Oct-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Caltech geobiologists discover unique 'magnetic death star' fossil
An international team of scientists has discovered microscopic, magnetic fossils resembling spears and spindles, unlike anything previously seen, among sediment layers deposited during an ancient global-warming event along the Atlantic coastal plain of the United States.
NASA
Contact: Kathy Svitil
ksvitil@caltech.edu
626-395-8022
California Institute of Technology
Public Release: 23-Oct-2008
Science
With hot coffee, we see a warm heart, Yale researchers find
In the current issue of the journal Science, Yale University psychologists show that people judged others to be more generous and caring if they had just held a warm cup of coffee and less so if they had held an iced coffee. In a second study, they showed people are more likely to give something to others if they had just held something warm and more likely take something for themselves if they held something cold.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Bill Hathaway
william.hathaway@yale.edu
203-432-1322
Yale University
'Fart gas' link to blood pressure
The gas best known for being used in many stink bombs may also control blood pressure, say US researchers.
24 October 2008 01:30 UK
Public Release: 23-Oct-2008
Neuroscience 2008
Neuron
Gladstone scientists find potential strategy to eliminate poisonous protein from Alzheimer brains
Gladstone scientists discovered that the activity of a potent AB-degrading enzyme can be unleashed in mouse models of the disease by reducing its natural inhibitor cystatin C.
NIH/National Institute on Aging, California Department of Health and Human Services, Hellman Family Fund
Contact: Valerie Tucker
vtucker@gladstone.ucsf.edu
415-734-2019
Gladstone Institutes
Port Authority to Let Commuters Buy Emissions Credits
Drivers who commute by car between New York and New Jersey can assuage their guilt by buying credits from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to offset their vehicles’ carbon emissions.
By KEN BELSON
Published: October 23, 2008
Public Release: 23-Oct-2008
British Medical Journal
US doctors regularly prescribe real drugs as placebo treatments
Many rheumatologists and general internal medicine physicians in the US say they regularly prescribe "placebo treatments" including active drugs such as sedatives and antibiotics, but rarely admit they are doing so to their patients, according to a study on bmj.com today.
Contact: Rachael Davies
RDavies@bma.org.uk
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Public Release: 23-Oct-2008
Lancet
New promising obesity drug may have huge potential
According to trials, a new obesity drug, Tesofensine, which may be launched on the world market in a few years, can produce weight loss twice that of currently approved obesity drugs. The Danish company Neurosearch and a number of researchers at the Faculty of Life Sciences at University of Copenhagen are behind the promising findings.
Contact: Arne Astrup
ast@life.ku.dk
453-533-2476
University of Copenhagen
Public Release: 23-Oct-2008
American Dietetic Association's Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo
Research identifies new link between tart cherries and risk factors for heart disease
New research continues to link tart cherries, one of today's hottest "super fruits," to lowering risk factors for heart disease. In addition to lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation, the study being presented by University of Michigan researchers at next week's American Dietetic Association annual meeting, found that a cherry-enriched diet lowered body weight and fat -- major risk factors for heart disease.
Contact: Katie Montiel
kmontiel@webershandwick.com
312-988-2117
Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Public Release: 23-Oct-2008
PLoS Genetics
Deprived of a sense of smell, worms live longer
Many animals live longer when raised on low calorie diets. But now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that they can extend the life spans of roundworms even when the worms are well fed -- it just takes a chemical that blocks their sense of smell.
National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Longer Life Foundation, Ellison Medical Foundation
Contact: Gwen Ericson
ericsong@wustl.edu
314-286-0141
Washington University School of Medicine
Public Release: 23-Oct-2008
World Journal of Gastroenterology
The risk factors of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in HCV patients
A group from Toranomon Hospital of Japan investigated the cumulative development incidence and predictive factors for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in HCV positive patients. They found that age, smoking and liver cirrhosis enhance the development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in HCV positive patients.
Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
Contact: Lai-Fu Li
wjg@wjgnet.com
0086-105-908-0039
World Journal of Gastroenterology
When did the Earth turn green?
Photosynthesis was thought to have evolved by 2.7 billion years ago – but it seems the original evidence was contaminated
16:00 23 October 2008
Public Release: 23-Oct-2008
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Female plant 'communicates' rejection or acceptance of male
Without eyes or ears, plants must rely on the interaction of molecules to determine appropriate mating partners and avoid inbreeding. In a new study, University of Missouri researchers have identified pollen proteins that may contribute to the signaling processes that determine if a plant accepts or rejects individual pollen grains for reproduction.
Contact: Kelsey Jackson
JacksonKN@missouri.edu
573-882-8353
University of Missouri-Columbia
Public Release: 23-Oct-2008
Psychological Science
Could your initials influence where you choose to work?
The "name-letter effect," is a phenomenon which shows that we have a preference for things that begin with the same letter as our first name. Belgian psychologists wanted to know if this effect is strong enough to affect where we work. The researchers found 12 percent more matches between employee initials and their company's name than was expected based on a probability estimate, indicating "name-letter effect" occurs between employee names and the company they work for.
Contact: Barbara Isanski
bisanski@psychologicalscience.org
Association for Psychological Science
Public Release: 23-Oct-2008
Journal of the American Chemical Society
JHU chemists devise self-assembling 'organic wires'
Chemists have created water-soluble electronic materials that spontaneously assemble themselves into tiny "wires" that can be used in the human body.
Johns Hopkins University
Contact: Lisa DeNike
Lde@jhu.edu
443-287-9960
Johns Hopkins University
Public Release: 23-Oct-2008
Life Sciences
Green tea may delay onset of type 1 diabetes
A powerful antioxidant in green tea may prevent or delay the onset of type 1 diabetes, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. Researchers were testing EGCG, green tea's predominant antioxidant, in a laboratory mouse with type 1 diabetes and primary Sjogren's syndrome, which damages moisture-producing glands, causing dry mouth and eyes.
Contact: Paula Hinely
phinely@mcg.edu
706-721-3646
Medical College of Georgia
Public Release: 24-Oct-2008
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Cold virus found to manipulate genes
Sneezing, runny nose and chills? You might blame the human rhinovirus, which causes 30 to 50 percent of common colds. But in reality, it's not the virus itself but HRV's ability to manipulate your genes that is the true cause of some of the most annoying cold symptoms.
Procter & Gamble
Contact: Keely Savoie
ksavoie@thoracic.org
212-315-8620
American Thoracic Society
Public Release: 24-Oct-2008
Psychological Science
Phony friends? Rejected people better able to spot fake smiles
All of us have "faked a smile" at some point. Now, a new study might make us think twice about sending out a phony grin. It has been shown that individuals who are experiencing rejection are better at picking up subtle social cues and according to a recent study published in Psychological Science, socially rejected people are particularly good at discerning fake smiles from real ones.
Contact: Barbara Isanski
bisanski@psychologicalscience.org
Association for Psychological Science
World's Oldest Cooked Cereal Was Instant
European diners around 8,000 years ago could enjoy a bowl of instant wheat cereal that, aside from uneven cooking and maybe a few extra lumps, wasn't very different from hot wheat cereals served today, suggests a new study that describes the world's oldest known cooked cereal.
Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News
Oct. 24, 2008
Public Release: 25-Oct-2008
Science in China Series G: Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy
Investigation of changes in properties of water under the action of a magnetic field
The properties of water and their changes under the action of a magnetic field were gathered by the spectrum techniques of infrared, Raman, visible, ultraviolet and X-ray lights, which may give an insight into molecular and atomic structures of water.
National Basic Research Program of China
Contact: Pang XiaoFeng
pangxf2006@yahoo.com.cn
86-288-320-2595
Science in China Press
Public Release: 25-Oct-2008
2008 ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting
A reversal of thinking: How women with lupus can increase chance for healthy pregnancies
In the not so distant past, women with systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease, were advised not to have children, and if they became pregnant, to have therapeutic abortions to prevent severe flares of their lupus. Research by rheumatologists at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, in patients with lupus who have had successful pregnancies is yielding insights that support a reversal of that thinking.
NIH/National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
Contact: Phyllis Fisher
fisherp@hss.edu
212-606-1197
Hospital for Special Surgery
Runners burn more calories – even at rest
Athletes burn more energy than couch potatoes when just sitting around – the discovery might lead to new treatments for diabetes
10:00 26 October 2008
Public Release: 26-Oct-2008
Nature Biotechnology
Purple tomatoes: The richness of antioxidants against tumors
Researchers from the John Innes Centre in Norwich, Great Britain, in collaboration with other European centers participating to the FLORA project, have obtained genetically modified tomatoes rich in anthocyanins, a category of antioxidants belonging to the class of flavonoids. These tomatoes, added to the diet of cancer-prone mice, showed a significant protective effect by extending the mice lifespan. The research has been published in the Oct. 26 issue of Nature Biotechnology.
European Commission
Contact: Americo Bonanni
bonanni@filemazio.net
39-347-930-5981
Catholic University
Public Release: 27-Oct-2008
American Journal of Pathology
Stress may make you itch
Current research suggests that stress may activate immune cells in your skin, resulting in inflammatory skin disease. The related report by Joachim et al., "Stress-induced Neurogenic Inflammation in Murine Skin Skews Dendritic Cells towards Maturation and Migration: Key role of ICAM-1/LFA-1 interactions," appears in the November issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
German Research Foundation, Charité
Contact: Angela Colmone
acolmone@asip.org
301-634-7953
American Journal of Pathology