Public Release: 22-Dec-2008
Current Biology
Blind man walking: With no visual awareness, man navigates obstacle course flawlessly
Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that people can successfully navigate an obstacle course even after brain damage has left them with no awareness of the ability to see and no activity in the visual cortex, a region of the brain's cortex that is primarily responsible for processing visual inputs.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 22-Dec-2008
Current Biology
Honeybees as plant 'bodyguards'
Honeybees are important to plants for reasons that go beyond pollination, according to a new study published in the Dec. 23 issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The insects' buzz also defends plants against the caterpillars that would otherwise munch on them undisturbed.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 22-Dec-2008
Disease Models & Mechanisms
Yeast mimics severity of mutations leading to fatal childhood illness
Scientists report that human gene mutations expressed in yeast cells can predict the severity of Batten Disease, a fatal nervous system disorder that begins during childhood.
Contact: Donna Perry
donna@biologists.com
44-012-234-33319
The Company of Biologists
Public Release: 22-Dec-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Research team reports how, when life on Earth became so big
In 3.5 billion years, life on earth went from single microscopic cells to giant sequoias and blue whales. Scientists have now documented quantitatively that the increase in maximum size of organisms was not gradual, but happened in two distinct bursts.
National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, National Science Foundation
Contact: Susan Trulove
STrulove@vt.edu
540-231-5646
Virginia Tech
Public Release: 22-Dec-2008
PLoS Biology
Cousin marriage laws outdated
Marriage between first cousins is highly stigmatized in the West and, indeed, is illegal in 31 US states. But is the hostility to such marriage scientifically well-grounded?
Contact: Hamish Spencer
h.spencer@otago.ac.nz
643-479-7981
Public Library of Science
Public Release: 22-Dec-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition
Activating the lung's antioxidant defense by targeting Nrf2 inhibits the development of emphysema
Using a molecule similar to one found in an experimental cancer drug, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health demonstrated that activation of a key component of the lung's antioxidant defense system, Nrf2, can prevent emphysema in mice. The researchers believe that activation of Nrf2 could be a novel target for therapies to prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which comprises emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
National Institutes of Health, NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH/National Cancer Institute, Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute, Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund, National Foundation for Cancer Research, Reata Pharm, others
Contact: Tim Parsons
tmparson@jhsph.edu
410-955-7619
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Public Release: 22-Dec-2008
Science in China Series B: Chemistry
Study on cytotoxicity of carbon nanotubes
Owing to the novel properties of carbon nanotubes, a series of problems associated with in vitro toxicity assessments of carbon nanotubes have appeared in a lot of literature. In order to properly evaluate the potential risk to human health, the cell toxicity assay of carbon nanotubes can not be conducted by traditional methods employed in common toxicology.
National Natural Science Foundation, Shanghai Municipal Commission for Science and Technology, MOST973 Program
Contact: Wen-Xin Li
liwenxin@sinap.ac.cn
0086-235-955-7530
Science in China Press
Public Release: 22-Dec-2008
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
New evidence that people make aspirin's active principle -- salicylic acid
Scientists in the United Kingdom are reporting evidence that humans can make their own salicylic acid -- the material formed when aspirin breaks down in the body. Salicylic acid, which is responsible for aspirin's renowned effects in relieving pain and inflammation, may be the first in a new class of bioregulators, according to a study scheduled for the Dec. 24 issue of ACS' biweekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Giant stinking flower reveals a hot secret
Being 3 metres tall and shaped like a phallus gets one of the world's largest flowers lots of human attention, but to attract night-time insects it has another trick
15:07 22 December 2008
Did warfare drive out-of-Africa migration?
Roving bands of men might have waged history's first traceable war against the ancestors of all non-Africans, some 60,000 years ago
17:08 22 December 2008
How godless geeks celebrate Christmas
'Tis the season for carols and nativity plays, but atheists no longer have to miss out on all the fun. In a twist on the traditional Christmas carol service, British comedian Robin Ince has come up with a show called...
16:35 22 December 2008 - updated 15:27 23 December 2008
Mosquito helps police grab car thief
It sounds like something from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Police in Finland say they have caught a car thief after making a DNA fingerprint of blood from a mosquito found in an abandoned car. Forensic investigators and prosecutors know only...
16:45 22 December 2008 - updated 16:48 22 December 2008
Scientists sniff out prion secret
The brain protein which has a hand, when defective, in the lethal disease CJD may also be involved in aiding our sense of smell.
Monday, 22 December 2008
Public Release: 22-Dec-2008
Biomaterials
Biomedical researchers create artificial human bone marrow in a test tube
Artificial bone marrow that can continuously make red and white blood cells has been created in a University of Michigan lab.
Contact: Nicole Casal Moore
ncmoore@umich.edu
734-647-1838
University of Michigan
Public Release: 23-Dec-2008
JAMA
Skipping sleep may signal problems for coronary arteries
One extra hour of sleep per night appears to decrease the risk of coronary artery calcification, an early step down the path to cardiovascular disease. Calcified arteries were found in 27 percent of those who slept less than five hours a night, 11 percent of those who slept five to seven hours and six percent of those who slept more than seven hours a night.
NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH/National Institute on Aging
Contact: John Easton
John.easton@uchospitals.edu
773-702-6241
University of Chicago Medical Center
Public Release: 23-Dec-2008
PLoS Biology
SUNY Downstate researchers find that memory storage molecule preserves complex memories
A molecule known to preserve memories -- PKMzeta -- specifically stores complex, high-quality memories that provide detailed information about an animal's location, fears and actions, but does not control the ability to process or express this information. This finding suggests that PKMzeta erasure that is designed to target specific debilitating memories could be effective against the offending memory while sparing the computational function of brain.
NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Science Foundation, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Contact: Andre Fenton, Ph.D.
andre.fenton@downstate.edu
718-270-1556
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Really?
The Claim: Holly and Its Decorative Berries Can be Deadly
Are some seasonal plants toxic?
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
Observatory
African Fish Need a Little Electricity for Love to Bloom
In the Congo River in Africa, there is a species of fish for which choosing a mate really depends on whether there's a certain spark.
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
Basics
A Highly Evolved Propensity for Deceit
Apparently, humans are not alone in their deceitful ways.
By NATALIE ANGIER
F.D.A. to Reconsider Plastic Bottle Risk
The agency was accused of failing to adequately consider research about the dangers of a substance known as bisphenol-A.
By JULIE SCELFO
Activists guilty of hate campaign
Four animal rights activists have been convicted of orchestrating a blackmail campaign against firms that supplied an animal testing research centre.
Tiny clues to collision in space
Evidence that a massive meteorite shower had an impact on Earth on a global scale 470 million years ago have been found on a Highlands beach.
Public Release: 24-Dec-2008
Cell
Recipe for capturing authentic embryonic stem cells may apply to any mammal, study suggests
Researchers have what they think may be a basic recipe for capturing and maintaining indefinitely the most fundamental of embryonic stem cells from essentially any mammal, including cows, pigs and even humans. Two new studies reported in the Dec. 26 issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, show that a cocktail first demonstrated to work in mice earlier this year, which includes inhibitory chemicals, also can be used to successfully isolate embryonic stem cells from rats.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 24-Dec-2008
Neuron
Brain starvation as we age appears to trigger Alzheimer's
A slow, chronic starvation of the brain as we age appears to be a major trigger of a biochemical process that causes some forms of Alzheimer's disease. A new study from Northwestern University has found when the brain doesn't get enough sugar glucose -- as when cardiovascular disease restricts blood flow to the brain -- a process is launched that produces the sticky clumps of protein that appear to be a cause of Alzheimer's.
NIH/National Institute on Aging, MetLife Foundation, Northwestern University
Contact: Marla Paul
Marla-Paul@northwestern.edu
312-503-8928
Northwestern University
Public Release: 24-Dec-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
Rice psychologist identifies area of brain key to choosing words
New research by a Rice University psychologist clearly identifies the parts of the brain involved in the process of choosing appropriate words during speech.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: David Ruth
druth@rice.edu
713-348-6327
Rice University
Public Release: 27-Dec-2008
Transplantation
Cancer drug effectively treats transplant rejections
University of Cincinnati researchers have discovered a new therapy for transplant patients, targeting the antibody-producing plasma cells that can cause organ rejection.
Contact: Katie Pence
katie.pence@uc.edu
513-558-4561
University of Cincinnati
Public Release: 29-Dec-2008
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Common food additive found to increase risk and speed spread of lung cancer
New research in an animal model suggests that a diet high in inorganic phosphates, which are found in a variety of processed foods including meats, cheeses, beverages and bakery products, might speed growth of lung cancer tumors and may even contribute to the development of those tumors in individuals predisposed to the disease.
Contact: Keey Savoie
ksavoie@thoracic.org
212-315-8620
American Thoracic Society
Public Release: 29-Dec-2008
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Family members of critically ill patients want to discuss loved ones' uncertain prognoses
Critically ill patients frequently have uncertain prognoses, but their families overwhelmingly wish that physicians would address prognostic uncertainty candidly, according to a new study out of the University of San Francisco Medical Center.
Contact: Keely Savoie
ksavoie@thoracic.org
212-315-8620
American Thoracic Society
Orangutans learn to trade favours
Orangutans can help each other get food by trading tokens, scientists have discovered - but only if the help goes in both directions.
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
Public Release: 29-Dec-2008
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Facial expressions of emotion are innate, not learned, says new study
Facial expressions of emotion are hardwired into our genes, according to a study published today in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The research suggests that facial expressions of emotion are innate rather than a product of cultural learning.
Contact: Nan Broadbent
nbroadbe@sfsu.edu
415-338-7108
San Francisco State University