Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
PLoS Biology
Social amoeba seek kin association
Starving "social amoebae" called Dictyostelium discoideum seek the support of "kin" when they form multi-cellular organisms made up of dead stalks and living spores, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University in Houston in a report that appears online today in the open-access journal Public Library of Science Biology.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Glenna Picton
picton@bcm.edu
713-798-4710
Baylor College of Medicine
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Pharmacotherapy
14 drugs identified as most urgently needing study for off-label use, Stanford professor says
Physicians and policy-makers know that drugs are frequently prescribed to treat certain diseases despite a lack of FDA approval, a practice known as off-label prescribing. In a paper to be published in the December issue of Pharmacotherapy, a group of researchers has developed a list of 14 widely prescribed medications most urgently in need of additional study to determine how effective and safe they are for their off-label uses. Antidepressants and antipsychotics are the most prominent classes of drugs on the list.
Contact: Susan Ipaktchian
susani@stanford.edu
650-725-5375
Stanford University Medical Center
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
PLoS Medicine
ACTs may achieve malaria transmission reductions comparable to insecticide treated nets
In low-transmission areas, if widely used, artemisinin combination therapy may reduce malaria transmission as effectively as the widespread use of insecticide-treated bed nets, says a new study published in next week's PLoS Medicine. The study also finds that the use of longer-acting antimalarial regimens with or without artemisinin components may be an effective way to reduce transmission in high-transmission areas, provided the development of parasite resistance can be avoided.
Contact: Andrew Hyde
press@plos.org
44-122-346-3330
Public Library of Science
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
PLoS Medicine
New study finds publication bias among trials submitted to FDA
A quarter of drug trials submitted in support of new drug applications to the US Food and Drug Administration remain unpublished five years after the fact, says new research published in the open access journal PLoS Medicine.
Contact: Andrew Hyde
press@plos.org
44-122-346-3330
Public Library of Science
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Archives of Internal Medicine
Mammograms may detect some cancers that would have otherwise regressed
Breast cancer rates increased significantly in four Norwegian counties after women there began undergoing mammography every two years, according to a report in the Nov. 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Rates among regularly screened women remained higher than rates among women of the same age who were screened only once after six years, suggesting that some of the cancers detected by mammography may have spontaneously regressed had they not been discovered and treated.
Contact: Betty Acheson
802-295-9363 x5391
JAMA and Archives Journals
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Bacterial biofilms as fossil makers
Bacterial decay was once viewed as fossilization's mortal enemy, but new research suggests bacterial biofilms may have actually helped preserve the fossil record's most vulnerable stuff -- animal embryos and soft tissues.
Indiana University
Contact: David Bricker
brickerd@indiana.edu
812-856-9035
Indiana University
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Circulation
Gasping helps cardiac arrest victims survive
People who witness an individual collapse suddenly and unexpectedly should perform uninterrupted chest compressions even if the patient gasps or breathes in a funny way, research from the Resuscitation Research Group at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center shows. The authors hope their findings lead to greater willingness of untrained bystanders to jump in and perform continuous chest compressions.
Arizona Department of Health Services
Contact: Daniel Stolte
stolte@email.arizona.edu
520-626-4083
University of Arizona Health Sciences Center
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Physical Review Letters
Los Alamos observatory fingers cosmic ray 'hot spots'
A Los Alamos National Laboratory cosmic-ray observatory has seen for the first time two distinct hot spots that appear to be bombarding Earth with an excess of cosmic rays. The research calls into question nearly a century of understanding about galactic magnetic fields near our solar system.
US Department of Energy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Science Foundation
Contact: James E. Rickman
jamesr@lanl.gov
505-665-9203
DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Journal of Biological Chemistry
A scientific breakthrough on the control of the bad cholesterol
A study performed by the team of Dr. Nabil G. Seidah, director of the Biochemical Neuroendocrinology Research Unit at the IRCM, shows for the very first time that the degradation by PCSK9 of the LDLR receptor, which is responsible for removing the bad cholesterol from the bloodstream, may be inhibited by a third protein, annexin A2. This major study was published on Nov. 14 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada Research Chair
Contact: Nabil G. Seidah
seidahn@ircm.qc.ca
514-987-5609
Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Adult brain neurons can remodel connections
Overturning a century of prevailing thought, scientists are finding that neurons in the adult brain can remodel their connections.
NIH/National Eye Institute
Contact: Teresa Herbert
therbert@mit.edu
617-258-5403
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
American Journal of Clinical Pathology
Researchers identify new leprosy bacterium
A new species of bacterium that causes leprosy has been identified through intensive genetic analysis of a pair of lethal infections, a research team reports in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Pathology.
Contact: Scott Merville
smerville@mdanderson.org
713-792-0665
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Old flies can become young moms
Female flies can turn back the biological clock and extend their lifespan at the same time, USC biologists report. Study casts doubt on the old notion of a trade off between reproduction and longevity.
Contact: Carl Marziali
marziali@usc.edu
213-219-6347
University of Southern California
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Ocean growing more acidic faster than once thought
University of Chicago scientists have documented that the ocean is growing more acidic faster than previously thought. In addition, they have found that the increasing acidity correlates with increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The increasingly acidic water harms certain sea animals and could reduce the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
Contact: Greg Borzo
gregborzo@uchicago.edu
773-702-8366
University of Chicago
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Obesity
Sealing off portion of intestinal lining treats obesity, resolves diabetes in animal model
Lining the upper portion of the small intestine with an impermeable sleeve led to both weight loss and restoration of normal glucose metabolism in an animal model of obesity-induced diabetes. Investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center and Gastrointestinal Unit report in the journal Obesity that the procedure reproducing several aspects of gastric bypass surgery led to a significant reduction in the animals' food intake and a resolution of diabetes symptoms.
National Institutes of Health, GI Dynamics
Contact: Sue McGreevey
smcgreevey@partners.org
617-724-2764
Massachusetts General Hospital
Public Release: 24-Nov-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Mammals can be stimulated to regrow damaged inner retina nerve cells
For the first time the mammalian retina has now shown the capacity to regenerate new neurons after damage. This research in mice shows that at least some types of retinal damage can be repaired. The loss of neurons in the retina in people in conditions like glaucoma or macular degeneration leads to visual loss and blindness. This new research shows there might someday be a way to restore vision in people with these conditions.
IH/National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, National Research Service Award, German Research Foundation, ProRetina Travel Grant
Contact: Leila Gray
leilag@u.washington.edu
206-685-0381
University of Washington
Video: Astronaut's tool bag seen from Earth
An astronaut's lost tool bag is probably not what you would expect to see when you look up at the night sky. But that's just what a man in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, captured on videotape from his backyard observatory last...
12:50 24 November 2008 - updated 12:53 24 November 2008
Public Release: 25-Nov-2008
JAMA
Use of inhaled corticosteroids for COPD does not appear to improve survival
An analysis of randomized trials indicates that use of inhaled corticosteroids for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease does not improve the rate of survival after one year, but is associated with an increased risk of pneumonia, according to an article in the Nov. 26 issue of JAMA.
Contact: David March
410-955-1534
JAMA and Archives Journals
Public Release: 25-Nov-2008
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Sweet molecule could lead us to alien life
Scientists have detected an organic sugar molecule that is directly linked to the origin of life, in a region of our galaxy where habitable planets could exist.
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Contact: Julia Short
julia.short@stfc.ac.uk
44-017-934-42012
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Solar-powered sea slug harnesses stolen plant genes
A sea slug that gains the ability to turn sunlight into energy from the algae it eats is arguably the first functional plant-animal hybrid found in nature
17:24 24 November 2008
Public Release: 25-Nov-2008
Study: Want to be happier? Be more grateful
Want to quickly improve your happiness and satisfaction with life? Then the pen may be a mighty weapon, according to research done by Kent State University's Dr. Steven Toepfer. Toepfer, an assistant professor of family and consumer studies at university's Salem Campus, says that expressive writing is something that has been available to mankind since ink first appeared in Egypt more than 4,000 years ago.
Contact: Scott Rainone
srainone@kent.edu
330-672-8595
Kent State University
Public Release: 25-Nov-2008
Human Nature
Life is a highway: Study confirms cars have personality
No one needs to tell Disney, which brought the likes of Herbie the Love Bug and Lightning McQueen to the big screen, that cars have personality.
Contact: Dennis Slice
dslice@fsu.edu
850-645-1325
Florida State University
The Evidence Gap
New Arena for Testing of Drugs: Real World
There is a growing movement to gather evidence to explore what treatment is best for typical patients with complex symptoms.
By GINA KOLATA
A Whisper, Perhaps, From the Universe’s Dark Side
Recent results from a number of experiments have led some scientists to suspect that they are getting signals from a shadow universe of dark matter.
* Graphic: Searching for Dark Matter
By DENNIS OVERBYE
Public Release: 26-Nov-2008
Cell
Yale researchers enlist a new recruit in battle of the bulge
In the battle against obesity, Yale University researchers may have discovered a new weapon -- a naturally occurring molecule secreted by the gut that makes rats and mice less hungry after fatty meals.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Contact: Bill Hathaway
william.hathaway@yale.edu
203-432-1322
Yale University
Public Release: 26-Nov-2008
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Stanford/Packard study shows no benefit from drug widely used to prevent premature births
When a pregnant woman goes into early labor, her obstetrician may give her drugs to quiet the woman's uterus and prevent premature birth. New research shows, however, that one popular drug works no better than a placebo at maintaining pregnancy after the initial bout of preterm labor is halted.
Contact: Erin Digitale
digitale@stanford.edu
650-724-9175
Stanford University Medical Center
Public Release: 26-Nov-2008
Neuron
Baffling chronic pain linked to rewiring of brain
Scientists peered at the brains of people with a baffling chronic pain condition and discovered something surprising. Their brains looked like an inept cable guy had changed the hookups, rewiring the areas related to emotion, pain perception and the temperature of their skin. The new finding by scientists at Northwestern University begins to explain a mysterious condition that the medical community had doubted was real.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Marla Paul
Marla-Paul@northwestern.edu
312-503-8928
Northwestern University
Public Release: 26-Nov-2008
Nature
Plate tectonics started over 4 billion years ago, geochemists report
A new picture of the early Earth is emerging, including the surprising finding that plate tectonics on Earth may have started more than four billion years ago -- much earlier than scientists had believed, according to new research by UCLA geochemists reported Nov. 27 in the journal Nature.
Contact: Stuart Wolpert
swolpert@support.ucla.edu
310-206-0511
University of California - Los Angeles
Has universal ageing mechanism been found?
A protein that causes yeast to age seems to have a similar effect in mice too – the finding might lead to drugs to reverse age-related diseases
17:00 26 November 2008
THIS WEEK
Pig organs: Ready for humans at last?
Problems associated with implanting animal organs in humans had seemed insurmountable, but new research could soon bring about the first clinical trials
18:05 26 November 2008
Public Release: 26-Nov-2008
New England Journal of Medicine
New approaches make retinal detachment highly treatable
In a new study in today's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading ophthalmologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center writes that a high probability of reattachment and visual improvement is possible by using one of three currently available surgical techniques.
Contact: Andrew Klein
ank2017@med.cornell.edu
212-821-0560
New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College
Public Release: 26-Nov-2008
Journal of Neurophysiology
Route to obesity passes through tongue
Obesity gradually numbs the taste sensation of rats to sweet foods and drives them to consume larger and ever-sweeter meals, according to neuroscientists. Findings from the Penn State study could uncover a critical link between taste and body weight, and reveal how flab hooks the brain on sugary food.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Amitabh Avasthi
axa47@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State
THIS WEEK
Down's symptoms may be treatable in the womb
Fetal mouse pups with a Down's-like syndrome suffered fewer developmental delays when treated with nerve-protecting chemicals – similar treatments might help in humans
New hope for Down's syndrome
18:14 26 November 2008
Public Release: 27-Nov-2008
Science
Experimental TB drug explodes bacteria from the inside out
An international team of biochemists has discovered how an experimental drug unleashes its destructive force inside the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. The finding could help scientists develop ways to treat dormant TB infections, and suggests a strategy for drug development against other bacteria as well.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Contact: Anne A. Oplinger
aoplinger@niaid.nih.gov
301-402-1663
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Public Release: 27-Nov-2008
Science
CSHL scientists discover a new way in which epigenetic information is inherited
CSHL scientists report that small RNA molecules called piRNAs can be passed directly from one generation to the next in fruit flies, thereby passing the trait of fertility from the mother to progeny. This process occurs independently of genomic DNA via direct deposits of maternal piRNAs into developing oocytes. The piRNAs suppress the expression of DNA sequences called "transposons" that would otherwise lead to infertility in the progeny fruit flies.
Contact: Hema Bashyam
bashyam@cshl.edu
516-367-6822
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Did Neanderthal cells cook as the climate warmed?
Neanderthals may have gone extinct because adaptations to an Ice Age climate meant their bodies couldn't cope as temperatures climbed
15:49 27 November 2008
Public Release: 27-Nov-2008
British Medical Journal
Parents of new babies should be considered for a whooping cough booster, say experts
A booster vaccination for parents of new babies and other household members may be the most effective way of preventing the fatal form of whooping cough in young infants, say a group of paediatric intensive care doctors on bmj.com today.
Contact: Rachael Davies
rdavies@bma.org.uk
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Perfect athlete's 100m sprint time calculated
As scientific training brings athletes to the limits of the human body, it will become almost impossible to beat this landmark time, say researchers
13:32 28 November 2008
Researchers find oldest-ever stash of marijuana
Researchers say they have located the world's oldest stash of marijuana, in a tomb in a remote part of China.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2008
American Journal of Medicine
New study indicates smallpox vaccination effective for decades
There is concern that bioterrorists might obtain smallpox from a laboratory and release it into the population. In a study published in the December 2008 issue of the American Journal of Medicine, researchers found that lifetime protection is obtained from just one vaccination, even when that vaccination occurred as much as 88 years ago. They conclude that in the event of a smallpox bioterrorist attack, vaccinia smallpox vaccine should be used first on individuals who have not been vaccinated previously.
Contact: Pamela Poppalardo
ajmmedia@elsevier.com
212-633-3944
Elsevier Health Sciences