Public Release: 14-Dec-2008
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
CSIRO scientists announce Alzheimer's disease breakthrough
Australian scientists at CSIRO, have developed a new system to screen for compounds that can inhibit one of the processes that takes place during the progression of Alzheimer's disease. In a paper published in the November issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, folate is shown to be beneficial in the screening system.
Contact: Astrid Engelen
a.engelen@iospress.nl
31-206-883-355
IOS Press
Public Release: 15-Dec-2008
Cancer Research
GUMC researchers find gene function 'lost' in melanoma and glioblastoma
Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have found a gene they say is inactivated in two aggressive cancers -- malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer, and glioblastoma multiforme, a lethal brain tumor. They add that because this gene, known as PTPRD, has recently been found to be inactivated in several other cancers as well, their discovery suggests that PTPRD may play a tumor suppressor role in a wide variety of different cancers.
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Contact: Karen Mallet
km463@georgetown.edu
414-312-7085
Georgetown University Medical Center
Public Release: 15-Dec-2008
Annals of Internal Medicine
Colonoscopy significantly reduces death from left-sided colon cancer but not from right-sided
A new study finds that colonoscopy is strongly associated with fewer deaths from colorectal cancer. However, the risk reduction appears to be entirely due to a reduction in deaths from left-sided cancers. According to the study, colonoscopy shows almost no mortality prevention benefit for cancer that develops in the right side of the colon.
Contact: Angela Collom
acollom@acponline.org
215-351-2653
American College of Physicians
Public Release: 15-Dec-2008
Archives of Surgery
Certain factors associated with attrition during graduate medical education training
Graduates from a single medical school who began graduate medical education (residency) programs appear more likely to change specialty or discontinue graduate medical education training if they are academically highly qualified or are pursuing training in general surgery or a five-year surgical specialty, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Contact: Caroline Arbanas
314-286-0109
JAMA and Archives Journals
Public Release: 15-Dec-2008
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Diet may cut second breast cancers in women without hot flashes
A secondary analysis of a large, multicenter clinical trial has shown that a diet loaded with fruits, vegetables and fiber and somewhat lower in fat compared to standard federal dietary recommendations cuts the risk of recurrence in a subgroup of early-stage breast cancer survivors -- women who didn't have hot flashes -- by approximately 31 percent. These patients typically have higher recurrence and lower survival rates than breast cancer patients who have hot flashes.
Contact: Steve Benowitz
sbenowitz@ucsd.edu
619-543-6163
University of California - San Diego
Public Release: 15-Dec-2008
British Pharmacological Society Winter Meeting
Drug tests will prevent repeat of Northwick Park trial
Scientists investigating the 2006 Northwick Park drug-trial disaster that left six healthy volunteers hospitalized say they have developed new preclinical tests that could have stopped the trial from ever going ahead.
Contact: Aeron Haworth
aeron.haworth@manchester.ac.uk
44-771-788-1563
University of Manchester
Public Release: 15-Dec-2008
Journal of Marriage and Family
Unmarried dads' involvement with child secured during pregnancy, study says
The best chance of "reeling-in" an unmarried father and building the foundations for a stable family life are the critical months of pregnancy, says new research from the University of Maryland. "Unmarried dads are less likely to drift away if they are involved with their partner during this vital period when a family can begin to bond," says University of Maryland human development professor Natasha J. Cabrera, the principal investigator. The study is published in the December Journal of Marriage and Family.
Contact: Neil Tickner
ntickner@umd.edu
301-405-4622
University of Maryland
Public Release: 15-Dec-2008
Polar Biology
Goose eggs may help polar bears weather climate change
Polar bears -- especially the marginal individuals like some sub-adult males -- could adapt to changes in ice and the ability to hunt seals by eating snow goose eggs. According to new calculations, bear movement should coordinate more and more with nesting as the Arctic warms, especially near Hudson Bay.
Hudson Bay Project, American Museum of Natural History
Contact: Kristin Elise Phillips
kphillips@amnh.org
212-496-3419
American Museum of Natural History
Public Release: 15-Dec-2008
Psychological Science
Pain hurts more if the person hurting you means it
Psychologists at Harvard University have found that pain hurts more when we think that someone intended to cause hurt. Intentional pain also seems to have a fresh sting every time, whereas we get used to unintentional pain.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Institute for Humane Studies
Contact: Amy Lavoie
amy_lavoie@harvard.edu
617-496-9982
Harvard University
Public Release: 15-Dec-2008
Oxford Journal: Schizophrenia Bulletin
Does a younger dad mean a healthier child?
A father's age is associated with decreased social abilities in boys, Tel Aviv University researchers say.
Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Public Release: 15-Dec-2008
2008 AGU Fall Meeting
Ancient magma 'superpiles' may have shaped the continents
Two giant plumes of hot rock deep within the earth are linked to the plate motions that shape the continents, researchers have found. The two superplumes, one beneath Hawaii and the other beneath Africa, have likely existed for at least 200 million years, explained Wendy Panero, assistant professor of earth sciences at Ohio State University.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Wendy Panero
Panero.1@osu.edu
614-292-6290
Ohio State University
Public Release: 15-Dec-2008
Journal of Communication in Healthcare
University of Denver uses 'gross' messaging to increases handwashing, fight Norovirus
Research conducted by University of Denver Associate Professor Renée Botta suggests that it takes "gross" messaging to get undergraduate students to wash their hands more frequently after going to the bathroom.
Contact: Kristal Griffith
Kristal.Griffith@du.edu
303-871-4117
University of Denver
Public Release: 16-Dec-2008
American Society for Cell Biology's 47th Annual Meeting
Female genital tissue not foolproof barrier to HIV sexual transmission
Contrary to a widely held assumption about heterosexual transmission of HIV, the normal mucosal lining of the female genital tract is not a foolproof barrier to viral penetration.
Contact: Cathy Yarbrough
sciencematter@yahoo.com
858-243-1814
American Society for Cell Biology
Public Release: 16-Dec-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Scientists fool bacteria into killing themselves to survive
Like firemen fighting fire with fire, researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have found a way to fool a bacteria's evolutionary machinery into programming its own death.
Contact: James E. Kloeppel
diya@illinois.edu
217-333-5802
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Public Release: 16-Dec-2008
Psychiatic Genetics
MU researcher identifies possible genetic causes of borderline personality disorder
In a new study, a University of Missouri researcher and Dutch team of research collaborators found that genetic material on chromosome nine was linked to BPD features, a disorder characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image and behavior, and can lead to suicidal behavior, substance abuse and failed relationships.
Contact: Jeffrey Beeson
BeesonJ@missouri.edu
573-882-9144
University of Missouri-Columbia
Public Release: 16-Dec-2008
Animal Behavior
Quiet bison sire more calves than louder rivals
During bison mating season, the quietest bulls score the most mates and sire the most offspring while studs with the loudest bellows see the least action, according to a surprising new study by researchers at University of California, Davis, and Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. The researchers also found that the volume of a bull's bellow was not related to its weight or age.
National Science Foundation, American Society for Mammalogists, Animal Behavior Society, Marjorie and Charles Elliott Fellowship Fund
Contact: Liese Greensfelder
lgreensfelder@ucdavis.edu
530-752-6101
University of California - Davis
Galaxy clusters' stunted growth confirms dark energy
Dark energy's repulsive effect on space has slowed the development of galaxy clusters over the past 5.5 billion years, astronomers report
22:59 16 December 2008
Public Release: 16-Dec-2008
Nano Letters
Pitt researchers create nontoxic clean-up method for potentially toxic nano materials
University of Pittsburgh researchers have developed the first natural, nontoxic method for biodegrading carbon nanotubes, a finding that could help diminish the environmental and health concerns that mar the otherwise bright prospects of the super-strong materials commonly used in products, from electronics to plastics.
Contact: Morgan Kelly
mekelly@pitt.edu
412-624-4356
University of Pittsburgh
Public Release: 16-Dec-2008
Physical Review D
Caltech researchers interpret asymmetry in early universe
The Big Bang is widely considered to have obliterated any trace of what came before. Now, astrophysicists at the California Institute of Technology think that their new theoretical interpretation of an imprint from the earliest stages of the universe may also shed light on what came before.
US Department of Energy, California Institute of Technology
Contact: Martin Voss
mvoss@caltech.edu
626-395-8733
California Institute of Technology
Enceladus has 'spreading surface'
A US space agency (Nasa) probe has witnessed a moon of Saturn do something very unusual and Earth-like.
By Jonathan Amos Science reporter, BBC News, San Francisco
Personal Health
Query for Aging Patients: How Much Do You Drink?
For older people alcohol has the potential to be a health benefit or a life-shortening hazard.
* For the Office Visit, 10 Questions on Alcohol Abuse
* Health Guide: Alcoholism »
By JANE BRODY
Opinion
Defeating Bedlam
Olivia Judson discusses two new software programs that can help scientists get organized.
Looking Under the Hood and Seeing an Incubator
The creators of the car parts incubator, which can be built for less than $1,000, say it could prevent millions of newborn deaths in the developing world.
By MADELINE DREXLER
A Coat of Many Proteins May Be This Parasite’s Downfall
Scientists have learned how giardia dodges the immune system and are applying the knowledge to develop a potential vaccine.
* Health Guide: Giardiasis »
By NICHOLAS WADE
Public Release: 17-Dec-2008
British Medical Journal
Medical myths for the holiday season: True, false or unproven?
In new study published in British Medical Journal, Indiana University School of Medicine researchers applied rigorous search methodology to explore the science behind six myths commonly associated with the holidays yet relevant year-round.
Contact: Cindy Fox Aisen
caisen@iupui.edu
317-274-7722
Indiana University
Public Release: 17-Dec-2008
Icarus
Moon's polar craters could be the place to find lunar ice, scientists report
Scientists have discovered where they believe would be the best place to find ice on the moon.
Royal Society University Research Fellowship, Leverhulme Research Fellowship, NASA
Contact: Leighton Kitson
leighton.kitson@durham.ac.uk
44-019-133-46074
Durham University
Public Release: 17-Dec-2008
Autism and schizophrenia share common origin
Schizophrenia and autism probably share a common origin, hypothesizes Dutch researcher Annemie Ploeger following an extensive literature study. The developmental psychologist demonstrated that both mental diseases have similar physical abnormalities which are formed during the first month of pregnancy.
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research
Contact: Annemie Ploeger
a.ploeger@uva.nl
31-205-256-082
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research
How to make cheap wine taste like a fine vintage
Briefly blasting vin ordinaire with an electric field can make it taste like a vintage tipple – good enough to fool even the experts
COVER STORY:  18:00 17 December 2008
Public Release: 17-Dec-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Researchers compile 'molecular manual' for 100s of inherited diseases
An international research team has compiled the first catalog of tissue-specific pathologies underlying hundreds of inherited diseases. These results provide information that may help treat conditions such as breast cancer, Parkinson's disease, heart disease and autism.
Villum Kann Rasmussen Foundation, Simon Spies Foundation, NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Development, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Sue McGreevey
smcgreevey@partners.org
617-724-2764
Massachusetts General Hospital
Public Release: 17-Dec-2008
Psychological Science
Are power and compassion mutually exclusive?
A new study in Psychological Science reveals that individuals with a higher sense of power experience less compassion and distress when confronted with another's suffering, compared to low-power individuals. In addition, powerful people were not motivated to establish a relationship with distressed individuals. The authors suggest that powerful people's tendency to show less compassion and distress towards others reinforces their social power.
Contact: Barbara Isanski
bisanski@psychologicalscience.org
Association for Psychological Science
Public Release: 17-Dec-2008
Nature
Earth's original ancestor was LUCA, not Adam nor Eve
An evolutionary geneticist from the University of Montreal, together with researchers from the French cities of Lyon and Montpellier, have published a ground-breaking study that characterizes the common ancestor of all life on Earth, LUCA (last universal common ancestor). Their findings, presented in a recent issue of Nature, show that the 3.8-billion-year-old organism was not the creature usually imagined.
Action Concertee Incitative IMPBIO-MODELPHYLO, ANR PlasmoExplore
Contact: Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins
sylvain-jacques.desjardins@umontreal.ca
514-343-7593
University of Montreal
Public Release: 17-Dec-2008
Brain and Cognition
Sex difference on spatial skill test linked to brain structure
Men consistently outperform women on spatial tasks, including mental rotation, which is the ability to identify how a 3-D object would appear if rotated in space. A University of Iowa study shows a connection between this sex-linked ability and the structure of the parietal lobe, the brain region that controls this type of skill.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
Contact: Becky Soglin
becky-soglin@uiowa.edu
319-335-6660
University of Iowa
Public Release: 18-Dec-2008
2008 AGU Fall Meeting
Science
Life on Mars? Brown-led research team says elusive mineral bolsters chances
A research team led by Brown University has found evidence of a long-sought mineral that shows Mars was home to a variety of watery environments, including regional pockets of neutral or alkaline water. The finding, detailed in the Dec. 19 edition of Science, bolsters the chances that primitive life sprang up in those benign spots.
NASA and the National Science Foundation
Contact: Richard Lewis
richard_lewis@brown.edu
401-863-3766
Brown University
Public Release: 18-Dec-2008
Immunology
Mouse trap? Stanford immunologist calls for more research on humans, not mice
The fabled laboratory mouse -- from which we have learned so much about how the immune system works -- can teach us only so much about how we humans get sick and what to do about it, says a leading researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Contact: Bruce Goldman
goldmanb@stanford.edu
650-725-2106
Stanford University Medical Center
Public Release: 18-Dec-2008
BMC Evolutionary Biology
Find the aphid
By leaving the remains of their old exoskeletons, called 'exuviae', in and around their colonies, aphids gain some measure of protection from parasites. Research published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology has shown that parasitoid wasps are likely to attack the empty shells, resulting in a lower attack rate on their previous occupants -- much like in the popular 'shell game' confidence trick.
Contact: Graeme Baldwin
graeme.baldwin@biomedcentral.com
44-020-707-94804
BioMed Central
Public Release: 18-Dec-2008
Geophysical Research Letters
Public Release: 18-Dec-2008
Science
Blocking the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria
It's as simple as A, T, G, C. Northwestern University scientists have exploited the Watson-Crick base pairing of DNA to provide a defensive tool that could be used to fight the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. They discovered that a special DNA sequence found in certain bacteria can impede the spread of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic staphylococci. It blocks DNA molecules that move from one cell to another, spreading antibiotic resistance genes.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Megan Fellman
fellman@northwestern.edu
847-491-3115
Northwestern University
Where did Venus's water go?
Venus Express has made the first detection of an atmospheric loss process on Venus's day-side. Last year, the spacecraft revealed that most of the lost atmosphere escapes from the night-side. Together, these discoveries bring planetary scientists closer to understanding what happened to the water on Venus, which is suspected to have once been as abundant as on Earth.
Contact: Hakan Svedhem
Hakan.Svedhem@esa.int
31-715-653-370
European Space Agency
Public Release: 18-Dec-2008
Medical Acupuncture
Medical acupuncture gaining acceptance by the US Air Force
Medical acupuncture, which is acupuncture performed by a licensed physician trained at a conventional medical school, is being used increasingly for pain control. Richard Niemtzow, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., Editor-in-Chief of Medical Acupuncture, a peer-reviewed journal and the official journal of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, is at the forefront of these efforts in the military.
Contact: Vicki Cohn
vcohn@liebertpub.com
914-740-2156
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News
Public Release: 18-Dec-2008
Cancer Letters
Not just for depression anymore
Tel Aviv University research shows Prozac can fight cancer drug resistance.
Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Public Release: 18-Dec-2008
Neurology
MRI brain scans accurate in early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease
Based on findings of a new study, researchers at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Center conclude that MRI brain scans should be included as a diagnostic test for early Alzheimer's disease.
National Institute on Aging
Contact: Anne DeLotto Baier
abaier@health.usf.edu
813-974-3300
University of South Florida Health
Public Release: 18-Dec-2008
Journal of Biological Chemistry
A simple fusion to jump-start evolution
With the aid of a straightforward experiment, researchers have provided some clues to one of biology's most complex questions: how ancient organic molecules came together to form the basis of life.
Contact: Nick Zagorski
nzagorski@asbmb.org
301-634-7366
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Public Release: 19-Dec-2008
Anticancer Research
New study shows that a cough medicine ingredient could effectively treat prostate cancer
A study published today in the December issue of the European medical journal Anticancer Research demonstrates that an ingredient used in a common cough suppressant may be useful in treating advanced prostate cancer. Researchers found that noscapine, which has been used in cough medication for nearly 50 years, reduced tumor growth in mice by 60 percent and limited the spread of tumors by 65 percent without causing harmful side effects.
Prostate Cancer Research and Educational Foundation
Contact: Dr. Israel Barken
drbarken@pcref.org
619-461-8181
MedInsight Research Institute
Public Release: 19-Dec-2008
Breathing life into injured lungs: World-first technique will expand lung donor organ pool
For the first time in the world, transplant surgeons at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network used a new technique to repair an injured donor lung that was unsuitable for transplant, and then successfully transplanted it into a patient. The use of this technique could significantly expand the lung donor organ pool and improve outcomes after transplantation.
Contact: Linda Domenichini
linda.domenichini@uhn.on.ca
41-634-048-006-309
University Health Network
Public Release: 19-Dec-2008
November meeting of the Acoustical Society of America
Groundbreaking, inexpensive, pocket-sized ultrasound device can help treat cancer, relieve arthritis
A prototype of a therapeutic ultrasound device, developed by a Cornell graduate student, fits in the palm of a hand, is battery-powered and packs enough punch to stabilize a gunshot wound or deliver drugs to brain cancer patients. It is wired to a ceramic probe, called a transducer, and it creates sound waves so strong they instantly cause water to bubble, spray and turn into steam.
NSF
Contact: Blaine Friedlander
bpf2@cornell.edu
607-254-8093
Cornell University Communications
Public Release: 19-Dec-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition
Caltech scientists create titanium-based structural metallic-glass composites
Scientists from the California Institute of Technology have created a range of structural metallic-glass composites, based in titanium, that are lighter and less expensive than any the group had previously created, while still maintaining their toughness and ductility -- the ability to be deformed without breaking.
US Office of Naval Research, US Department of Defense
Contact: Lori Oliwenstein
lorio@caltech.edu
626-395-3631
California Institute of Technology
Flexible bridge bounces back after quake test
A bridge with supports that spring back into place after a devastating earthquake could remain usable afterwards – boosting aid efforts and local economies
16:02 19 December 2008
Public Release: 19-Dec-2008
Roger Penrose and Frank Wilczek lectures now available online
Sir Roger Penrose and Prof. Frank Wilczek share their scientific views in two new presentations, now viewable online.
Contact: John Matlock
jmatlock@perimeterinstitute.ca
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Judges junk bogus neuroscience
A group of 50 US judges decide that a brain scan cannot determine a state of guilt
UPFRONT:  10:00 21 December 2008
Public Release: 21-Dec-2008
Nature Nanotechnology
New 'smart' materials for the brain
Research done by scientists in Italy and Switzerland has shown that carbon nanotubes may be the ideal 'smart' brain material. Their results, published Dec. 21 in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, are a promising step forward in the search to find ways to 'bypass' faulty brain wiring.
Contact: Michele Giugliano
michele@tnb.ua.ac.be
323-820-2616
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Public Release: 21-Dec-2008
Nature Cell Biology
Two cardiovascular proteins pose a double whammy in Alzheimer's
Researchers have found that two proteins which work in tandem in the brain's blood vessels present a double whammy in Alzheimer's disease. Not only do the proteins lessen blood flow in the brain, but they also reduce the rate at which the brain is able to remove amyloid beta, the protein that builds up in toxic quantities in the brains of patients with the disease.
National Institute on Aging
Contact: Tom Rickey
tom_rickey@urmc.rochester.edu
585-275-7954
University of Rochester Medical Center
Public Release: 19-Dec-2008
Archaeological discovery: Earliest evidence of our cave-dwelling human ancestors
A research team led by Professor Michael Chazan, director of the University of Toronto's Archaeology Center, has discovered the earliest evidence of our cave-dwelling human ancestors at the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa.
Contact: Michael Chazan
mchazan@me.com
University of Toronto
Public Release: 21-Dec-2008
Nature Genetics
Ancient African exodus mostly involved men, geneticists find
Modern humans left Africa over 60,000 years ago in a migration that many believe was responsible for nearly all of the human population that exist outside Africa today.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: David Cameron
david_cameron@hms.harvard.edu
617-960-7221
Harvard Medical School