Public Release: 9-Feb-2009
Tobacco Control
Smokers would rather give up for their pooch's health rather than their own
Smokers are more likely to quit smoking for the sake of their pets' health than they are for their own, suggests research published ahead of print in Tobacco Control.
Contact: Emma Dickinson
edickinson@bmj.com
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Public Release: 9-Feb-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
UF study: Rapid burst of flowering plants set stage for other species
A new University of Florida study based on DNA analysis from living flowering plants shows that the ancestors of most modern trees diversified extremely rapidly 90 million years ago, ultimately leading to the formation of forests that supported similar evolutionary bursts in animals and other plants.
Contact: Paul Ramey
pramey@flmnh.ufl.edu
352-273-2054
University of Florida
Public Release: 9-Feb-2009
Radiology
Stroke therapy window might be extended past nine hours for some
Some patients who suffer a stroke as a result of a blockage in an artery in the brain may benefit from a clot-busting drug nine or more hours after the onset of symptoms.
Contact: Linda Brooks
lbrooks@rsna.org
630-590-7762
Radiological Society of North America
Public Release: 9-Feb-2009
PLoS ONE
Women who drink lots of soda at higher risk for early kidney disease
Women who drink two or more cans of soda pop per day are nearly twice as likely to show early signs of kidney disease, a recent study has found. However, researchers did not find an elevated risk for men, or for people who drink diet soda.
Contact: Jim Ritter
jritter@lumc.edu
708-216-2445
Loyola University Health System
Asteroid bound for Earth! Warn your grandchildren
An asteroid that had initially been thought harmless might just hit Earth 160 years from now
THIS WEEK:  11:05 09 February 2009
Public Release: 9-Feb-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
Autism Consortium members publish in PNAS: Mechanism, treatment for Rett syndrome -- top cause autism girls
Several Autism Consortium members from MIT and the Whitehead Institute published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science that demonstrates for the first time a mechanism for Rett syndrome, the leading cause of autism in girls, and a therapeutic that could be directly applicable to humans. As a result, a clinical trial in humans is in development.
Contact: Kathryn Morris
kathryn@kmorrispr.com
845-635-9828
Autism Consortium
Chemical drink breathes life into damaged hearts
Patients weakened from heart attacks could get a boost from a chemical that liberates more oxygen from their red blood cells
22:00 09 February 2009
Public Release: 10-Feb-2009
Journal of Neural Engineering
Canadian scientists read minds with infrared scan
Researchers at Canada's largest children's rehabilitation hospital have developed a technique that uses infrared light brain imaging to decode preference -- with the goal of ultimately opening the world of choice to children who can't speak or move.
Contact: Louise Kinross
416-424-3866
University of Toronto
Public Release: 10-Feb-2009
Archives of Internal Medicine
Clinicians override most electronic medication safety alerts
A new study reveals that clinicians using electronic prescribing often override the alerts and rely instead on their own judgment. The study, led by investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, suggests that most clinicians find the current medication alerts more of an annoyance than a valuable tool. The authors conclude that if electronic prescribing is to effectively enhance patient safety, significant improvements are necessary.
Physicians' Foundation for Health Systems Excellence
Contact: Bill Schaller
william_schaller@dfci.harvard.edu
617-632-5357
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Public Release: 10-Feb-2009
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Study: Fluid buildup in lungs is part of the damage done by the flu
In a fight against respiratory infections, the body typically produces a little fluid to help the lungs generate a productive cough. But new research suggests that the influenza virus can tip the balance toward too much fluid in the lungs, interfering with the supply of oxygen to the rest of the body. An immune response ultimately is needed to eliminate the virus, but this research suggests that it's not the presence of the virus alone that does all the harm to a sick person
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Ian Davis
Davis.2448@osu.edu
614-292-2954
Ohio State University
Public Release: 10-Feb-2009
Journal of American Geriatrics Society
Mayo Clinic research shows that improving brain processing speed helps memory
Mayo Clinic researchers found that healthy, older adults who participated in a computer-based training program to improve the speed and accuracy of brain processing showed twice the improvement in certain aspects of memory, compared to a control group.
Contact: John Murphy
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic
Public Release: 11-Feb-2009
Nature
Did increased gene duplication set the stage for human evolution?
Roughly 10 million years ago, a major genetic change occurred in a common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans. Segments of DNA in its genome began to form duplicate copies at a greater rate than in the past, creating an instability that persists in the genome of modern humans and contributes to diseases like autism and schizophrenia. But that gene duplication also may be responsible for a genetic flexibility that has resulted in some uniquely human characteristics.
Contact: Jim Keeley
keeleyj@hhmi.org
301-215-8858
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Public Release: 11-Feb-2009
Journal of Biology
Pubic hair provides evolutionary home for gorilla lice
There are two species of lice that infest humans: pubic lice, Pthirus pubis, and human head and body lice, Pediculus humanus. A new article in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Biology suggests one explanation for the separation of the two species.
Contact: Graeme Baldwin
graeme.baldwin@biomedcentral.com
44-020-707-94804
BioMed Central
Public Release: 11-Feb-2009
Molecular Biology and Evolution
Y chromosome and surname study challenges infidelity 'myth'
Our surnames and genetic information are often strongly connected, according to a study funded by the Wellcome Trust. The research, published this week in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, may help genealogists create more accurate family trees even when records are missing. It also suggests that the often quoted "one in ten" figure for children born through infidelity is unlikely to be true.
Wellcome Trust
Contact: Craig Brierley
c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk
44-207-611-7329
Wellcome Trust
Public Release: 11-Feb-2009
Concrete International
Viscosity-enhancing nanomaterials may double service life of concrete
NIST engineers are patenting a method that is expected to double the service life of concrete. The key is a nano-sized additive.
Contact: Evelyn Brown
evelyn.brown@nist.gov
301-975-5661
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Public Release: 11-Feb-2009
Neuron
Penn study shows why sleep is needed to form memories
In research published this week in Neuron, Marcos Frank, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, postdoctoral researcher Sara Aton, PhD, and colleagues describe for the first time how cellular changes in the sleeping brain promote the formation of memories.
National Institutes of Health, National Sleep Foundation, L'Oreal USA
Contact: Karen Kreeger
karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu
215-349-5658
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Public Release: 12-Feb-2009
Science
Researchers crack the code of the common cold
Scientists have begun to solve some of the mysteries of the common cold by putting together the pieces of the genetic codes for all the known strains of the human rhinovirus. The researchers say this work provides a powerful tool that may lead to the development of the first effective treatments against the common cold.
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Contact: Bill Seiler
bseiler@umm.edu
410-328-8919
University of Maryland Medical Center
Public Release: 12-Feb-2009
2009 AAAS Annual Meeting
Astronomers unveiling life's cosmic origins
The foundations for life on Earth were laid by the processes of star and planet formation, and the production of complex, prebiotic molecules in interstellar space. Those processes are yielding their secrets to astronomers with powerful research tools and better tools are on the way.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Dave Finley
dfinley@nrao.edu
575-835-7302
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Public Release: 12-Feb-2009
Science
Psychoactive compound activates mysterious receptor
A hallucinogenic compound found in a plant indigenous to South America and used in shamanic rituals regulates a mysterious protein that is abundant throughout the body, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have discovered.
Contact: Dian Land
dj.land@hosp.wisc.edu
608-261-1034
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public Release: 12-Feb-2009
British Medical Journal
Publication of flu vaccines studies in prestigious journals are determined by the sponsor
Industry-sponsored studies on influenza vaccines are published in journals with higher rankings (impact factors) and are cited more than studies with other sponsors, but this is not because they are bigger or better, finds a study published on bmj.com today.
Contact: Emma Dickinson
edickinson@bmj.com
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Public Release: 12-Feb-2009
Angewandte Chemie International
A pocketful of uranium
Researchers led by Chuan He at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have developed a protein that binds to uranium selectively and tightly -- a simple, effective methods for the sensitive detection and effective treatment of uranium poisoning.
US Department of Energy
Contact: Chuan He
chuanhe@uchicago.edu
773-702-5061
Wiley-Blackwell
Public Release: 12-Feb-2009
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
Chewing gum helps treat hyperphosphatemia in kidney disease patients
Chewing gum made with a phosphate-binding ingredient can help treat high phosphate levels in dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease, according to a study appearing in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The results suggest that this simple measure could maintain proper phosphate levels and help prevent cardiovascular disease in these patients.
CM&D Pharma Limited, UK
Contact: Shari Leventhal
sleventhal@asn-online.org
202-416-0658
American Society of Nephrology
Public Release: 12-Feb-2009
MIT shock absorber increases fuel economy
A team of MIT undergraduate students has invented a shock absorber that harnesses energy from small bumps in the road, generating electricity while it smooths the ride more effectively than conventional shocks. The students hope to initially find customers among companies that operate large fleets of heavy vehicles. They have already drawn interest from the US military and several truck manufacturers.
Contact: Elizabeth Thomson
thomson@mit.edu
617-258-5402
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ancient virus gave wasps power over caterpillar DNA
A historical viral infection gave some insects new tools with which to parasitise their caterpillar hosts, a new study finds.
12:50 13 February 2009
Public Release: 13-Feb-2009
American Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation Meeting
Unrelated and mismatched cord blood transplantation can still help children with deadly conditions
An unrelated cord blood transplant, even from a mismatched donor, can be effective in treating children with a host of life-threatening diseases and disorders including cancer, sickle cell anemia, and other genetic diseases, according to researchers in the Duke Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program. Unrelated cord blood may be easier to obtain than adult bone marrow, allowing for the treatment of more patients.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Lauren Shaftel Williams
lauren.shaftel@duke.edu
919-684-4966
Duke University Medical Center
Cotton candy makes sweet blood vessel copies
The tangled structure of the spun sugar sold at fairgrounds is helping researchers with the creation of artificial tissue
15:13 13 February 2009
Why Chemical Warfare Is Ancient History
A British archaeologist's recent find offers a reminder that chemical weapons are nothing new - in fact, they are nearly 2,000 years old. Simon James, claims to have found the first physical evidence of chemical weaponry, dating from A.D. 256 at an ancient Roman fortress. James concluded that 20 Roman soldiers unearthed beneath the town's ramparts did not die of war wounds, as previous archaeologists had assumed, but from poison gas.
By Ishaan Tharoor Friday, Feb. 13, 2009
Public Release: 13-Feb-2009
PLoS Genetics
Periodontitis and myocardial infarction: A shared genetic predisposition
A mutual epidemiological relationship between aggressive periodontitis and myocardial infarction has already been shown in the past. Scientists at the universities of Kiel, Dresden, Amsterdam and Bonn have now presented the first evidence of a shared genetic variant on chromosome 9, which maps to a genetic region that codes for the "antisense RNA" Anril, as reported in the latest edition of the specialist journal PLoS Genetics.
Contact: Dr. Arne Schaefer
a.schaefer@ikmb.uni-kiel.de
49-043-159-73882
Kiel University
Public Release: 14-Feb-2009
2009 AAAS Annual Meeting
Cosmologist Paul Davies explores notion of 'alien' life on Earth
Astrobiologists have often pondered "life as we do not know it" in the context of extraterrestrial life, says Paul Davies, an internationally acclaimed theoretical physicist and cosmologist at Arizona State University. But has there been a blind spot to the possibility of "alien" life on Earth? Davies will challenge the orthodox view that there is only one form of life in a lecture titled "Shadow Life: Life As We Don't Yet Know It" at the annual AAAS meeting.
Contact: Carol Hughes
carol.hughes@asu.edu
480-965-6375
Arizona State University
Complex clues in a kiss
When you share a kiss with your lover on Valentine's Day, you may be revealing a lot more than you realise.
By James Morgan Science reporter, BBC News, Chicago
14 February 2009
Public Release: 14-Feb-2009
2009 AAAS Annual Meeting
Climate change likely to be more devastating than experts predicted, warns top IPCC scientist
Without decisive action, global warming is likely to accelerate at a much faster pace and cause more environmental damage than predicted, says Stanford scientist Chris Field, a leading member of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Field warns that higher temperatures could ignite tropical forests and melt the Arctic tundra, releasing billions of tons of greenhouse gas that could raise temperatures even more -- a vicious cycle that could spiral out of control.
Contact: Mark Shwartz
mshwartz@stanford.edu
650-723-9296
Stanford University
Public Release: 14-Feb-2009
2009 AAAS Annual Meeting
Radioimmunotherapy: Promising treatment for HIV infection and viral cancers
Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have piggybacked antibodies onto radioactive payloads to deliver doses of radiation that selectively target and destroy microbial and HIV-infected cells. The experimental treatment -- called radioimmunotherapy, or RIT -- holds promise for treating various infectious diseases, including HIV and cancers caused by viruses.
Contact: Michael Heller
sciencenews@aecom.yu.edu
718-430-4186
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Galaxy has 'billions of Earths'
There could be one hundred billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, a US conference has heard.
15 February 2009
Public Release: 15-Feb-2009
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
Study finds behavioral link between insomnia and tension-type headaches
A study in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that the use of sleep or napping to relieve chronic pain caused by tension-type headaches could have the unwanted effect of decreasing the homeostatic drive for sleep, leading to reduced ability to initiate and maintain sleep at night. Use of sleep as a coping mechanism for pain over time could lead to the development of poor sleep hygiene and serve as a perpetuating factor for chronic insomnia.
Contact: Kelly Wagner
kwagner@aasmnet.org
708-492-0930
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Public Release: 15-Feb-2009
2009 AAAS Annual Meeting
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
Researchers shed new light on connection between brain and loneliness
Social isolation affects how people behave as well as how their brains operate, a new shows. The research, presented Sunday at a briefing at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is the first to use fMRI scans to study connections between perceived social isolation (or loneliness) and activity in the brain. Combining fMRI scans with data relevant to social behavior is part of an emerging field examining brain mechanisms.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, NIH/National Institute on Aging
Contact: William Harms
w-harms@uchicago.edu
773-702-8356
University of Chicago
Ice oceans 'are not poles apart'
At least 235 marine species are living in both polar regions, despite being 12,000km apart, a census has found.
By Mark Kinver Science and environment reporter, BBC News
15 February 2009
Science intends to tag all life
Scientists are to establish a giant catalogue of life - to, in effect, "barcode" every species on Earth, from tiny plankton to the mighty blue whale.
By Jonathan Amos BBC News science reporter
10 February 2005, 00:02 GMT
First gravity map of Moon's far side unveiled
The map, produced by Japan's Kaguya mission, reveals striking differences between craters on the two faces of the Moon
00:00 16 February 2009