Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery
Back to normal: Surgery improves outcomes for spine patients
People with the spine disease called degenerative spondylolisthesis -- who choose surgical treatment -- experience substantially greater relief from pain over time compared to those who do not have surgery, according to a study published in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
National Institute of Health
Contact: Kristina K. Findlay
findlay@aaos.org
847-384-4034
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
Journal of Genetic Counseling
Cancer patients want genetic testing to predict metastasis risk
If you had cancer and a genetic test could predict the risk of the tumor spreading aggressively, would you want to know -- even if no treatments existed to help you? An overwhelming majority of eye cancer patients would answer yes, according to a new UCLA study published in the June edition of the Journal of Genetic Counseling.
University of California -- Los Angeles Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Contact: Elaine Schmidt
eschmidt@mednet.ucla.edu
310-597-5767
University of California - Los Angeles
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
Nature Medicine
Model for new generation of blood vessels challenged
In-growth and new generation of blood vessels, which must take place if a wound is to heal or a tumor is to grow, have been thought to occur through a branching and further growth of a vessel against a chemical gradient of growth factors. Now Swedish researchers have shown that mechanical forces are considerably more important than was previously thought. The findings, published today in the journal Nature Medicine, open up a new field for developing treatments.
Contact: Pär Gerwins
Par.Gerwins@imbim.uu.se
46-073-984-8207
Uppsala University
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
Expert Systems with Applications
Endless original, copyright-free music
A group of researchers from the University of Granada has developed Inmamusys, a software program that can create music in response to emotions that arise in the listener. By using Artificial Intelligence techniques, the program means that original, copyright-free and emotion-inspiring music can be played continuously.
Contact: SINC
info@plataformasinc.es
0091-425-1820
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
Genes help us make sweet music together
Musical ability is linked to gene variants that help control social bonding, strengthening the notion that music evolved to cement human relationships
IN BRIEF:  17:48 02 June 2009
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
FASEB Journal
Scientists explain how 'death receptors' designed to kill our cells may make them stronger
In a review article published in the June 2009 print issue of the FASEB Journal, scientists from the Mayo Clinic explain how cell receptors (called "death receptors") used by the body to shut down old, diseased, or otherwise unwanted cells (called "apoptosis") may also be used to make cells heartier when facing a wide range of illnesses, from liver disease to cancer.
Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
cmooneyhan@faseb.org
301-634-7104
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
FASEB Journal
Wet ear wax and unpleasant body odors signal breast cancer risk
If having malodorous armpits (called osmidrosis) and goopy earwax isn't bad enough, a discovery by Japanese scientists may add a more serious problem for women facing these cosmetic calamities. That's because they've found that a gene responsible for breast cancer causes these physical symptoms. The report describing this finding is featured on the cover of the FASEB Journal's June 2009 print issue, and should arm physicians with another clue for detecting breast cancer risk.
Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
cmooneyhan@faseb.org
301-634-7104
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Long odds on space viruses seeding life
The theory that extraterrestrial microbes brought in by meteorites started life on Earth is challenged by a new study
THIS WEEK:  13:00 01 June 2009
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
Journal of Bacteriology
Newly discovered reactions from an old drug may lead to new antibiotics
A mineral found at health food stores could be the key to developing a new line of antibiotics for bacteria that commonly cause diarrhea, tooth decay and, in some severe cases, death. Selenium is found in a number of proteins. University of Central Florida Associate Professor William Self's research shows that interrupting the way selenoproteins are made can halt the growth of the super bug Clostridium difficile and Treponema denticola, a major contributor to gum disease.
National Institutes of Health, Florida Department of Health
Contact: Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala
zkotala@mail.ucf.edu
407-823-6120
University of Central Florida
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Squid 'sight': Not just through eyes
It's hard to miss the huge eye of a squid. But now it appears that certain squids can detect light through an organ other than their eyes as well.
Contact: Dian Land
dj.land@hosp.wisc.edu
608-261-1034
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
Geology
CU-Boulder study shows 53-million-year-old high Arctic mammals wintered in darkness
Ancestors of tapirs and ancient cousins of rhinos living above the Arctic Circle 53 million years ago endured six months of darkness each year in a far milder climate than today that featured lush, swampy forests, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Jaelyn Eberle
jaelyn.eberle@colorado.edu
303-492-8069
University of Colorado at Boulder
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
Journal of Neuroscience
Drug's epilepsy-prevention effect may be widely applicable
A drug with potential to prevent epilepsy caused by a genetic condition may also help prevent more common forms of epilepsy caused by brain injury, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
National Institutes of Health, Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance
Contact: Michael C. Purdy
purdym@wustl.edu
314-286-0122
Washington University School of Medicine
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
Arthritis Care & Research
Cost shifting may make arthritis medications too expensive for medicare beneficiaries
Biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) such as adalimumab, etanercept and infliximab are effective at reducing symptoms and slowing progression of rheumatoid arthritis. These drugs act more quickly, require less laboratory monitoring, and are better tolerated than nonbiologic DMARDs, but they are also up to 100 times more expensive.
Contact: Sean Wagner
medicalnews@bos.blackwellpublishing.com
781-388-8550
Wiley-Blackwell
Public Release: 2-Jun-2009
Digestive Disease Week
Improved DNA stool test could detect digestive cancers in multiple organs
Mayo Clinic researchers have demonstrated that a noninvasive screening test can detect not only colorectal cancer but also the common cancers above the colon -- including pancreas, stomach, biliary and esophageal cancers. This is one of more than 100 Mayo Clinic studies being presented at Digestive Disease Week 2009 in Chicago, May 30 through June 4.
Contact: Amy Tieder
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic
Public Release: 2-Jun-2009
PLoS ONE
UF study finds ancient mammals shifted diets as climate changed
A new University of Florida study shows mammals change their dietary niches based on climate-driven environmental changes, contradicting a common assumption that species maintain their niches despite global warming.
Contact: Larisa DeSantis
larisa.desantis@gmail.com
203-494-0442
University of Florida
Public Release: 2-Jun-2009
Journal of Molecular Cell Biology
World first: Chinese scientists create pig stem cells
Scientists have managed to induce cells from pigs to transform into pluripotent stem cells -- cells that, like embryonic stem cells, are capable of developing into any type of cell in the body. It is the first time that this has been achieved using somatic cells (cells that are not sperm or egg cells) from any animal with hooves (known as ungulates). It is the first research paper to be published online on Wednesday, June 3, in the newly launched Journal of Molecular Cell Biology.
Contact: Emma Mason
wordmason@mac.com
44-077-112-96986
Oxford University Press
Public Release: 2-Jun-2009
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Bleeding disorders going undiagnosed; new guidelines to help
Nearly one percent of the population suffers from bleeding disorders, yet many women don't know they have one because doctors aren't looking for the condition, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.
CSL Behring
Contact: Debbe Geiger
Debbe.Geiger@duke.edu
919-660-9461
Duke University Medical Center
New Hominid 12 Million Years Old Found In Spain, With 'Modern' Facial Features
Researchers have discovered a fossilized face and jaw from a previously unknown hominoid primate genus in Spain dating to the Middle Miocene era, roughly 12 million years ago.
ScienceDaily (June 2, 2009)
Public Release: 2-Jun-2009
Women faring well in hiring process for science faculty jobs at research universities
Although women are still underrepresented in the applicant pool for faculty positions in math, science, and engineering at major research universities, those who do apply are interviewed and hired at rates equal to or higher than those for men, says a new report from the National Research Council. Similarly, women are underrepresented among those considered for tenure, but those who are considered receive tenure at the same or higher rates than men.
Contact: Sara Frueh
news@nas.edu
202-334-2138
National Academy of Sciences
Public Release: 2-Jun-2009
PLoS ONE
Be your best friend if you'll be mine: Penn's Alliance Hypothesis for Human Friendship
University of Pennsylvania psychologists have determined that how you rank your best friends is closely related to how you think your friends rank you. The results are consistent with a new theory called the Alliance Hypothesis for Human Friendship, distinct from traditional explanations for human friendship that focused on wealth, popularity or similarity.
International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics
Contact: Jordan Reese
jreese@upenn.edu
215-573-6604
University of Pennsylvania
Public Release: 2-Jun-2009
New England Journal of Medicine
NEJM study finds radiofrequency ablation can reverse Barrett's esophagus, reduce cancer risk
Patients who have gastroesophageal reflux disease for a prolonged period have an increased risk of developing Barrett's esophagus, a pre-cancerous condition where the tissue lining the esophagus becomes damaged by stomach acid and transformed into something like the inside of the stomach. New research finds that radiofrequency ablation -- an endoscopic procedure involving targeted thermal energy -- was very successful at restoring the esophagus and reducing risk for cancer.
Contact: Jennifer Homa
jeh9057@nyp.org
212-305-5587
New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center
Methanol challenges hydrogen to be fuel of the future
Despite intense research, the hydrogen economy remains an elusive dream, but a greener way to manufacture methanol is a reminder there are other options
18:03 02 June 2009
Public Release: 2-Jun-2009
IEEE Electron Device Letters
Memory with a twist: NIST develops a flexible memristor
Electronic memory chips may soon gain the ability to bend and twist as a result of work by engineers at NIST, who have found a way to build a flexible memory component out of inexpensive, readily available materials.
Contact: Chad Boutin
boutin@nist.gov
301-975-4261
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Mind
Hold Your Head Up. A Blush Just Shows You Care.
By BENEDICT CAREY
Those red cheeks can help smooth over betrayals and blunders.
Findings
In That Tucked Tail, Real Pangs of Regret?
By JOHN TIERNEY
From brain scans and other data, more signs of animal ruefulness.
* TierneyLab: What Do Animals Regret?
Public Release: 2-Jun-2009
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism
While you were sleeping
It has been linked to learning impairment, stroke and premature death. Now research from the University of New South Wales has found that snoring associated with sleep apnea may impair brain function more than previously thought. Sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea experience similar changes in brain biochemistry as people who have had a severe stroke or who are dying, the research shows.
Contact: Steve Offner
s.offner@unsw.edu.au
61-293-858-107
University of New South Wales
Well
Better Running Through Walking
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Walk breaks, it turns out, may speed a marathon.
Public Release: 2-Jun-2009
Psychological Science
Women may not be so picky after all about choosing a mate
Men and women may not be from two different planets after all when it comes to choosiness in mate selection, according to new research from Northwestern University. Women, it turned out, were not any pickier than men in choosing that special someone to date, according to the speed dating study.
Contact: Pat Vaughan Tremmel
p-tremmel@northwestern.edu
847-491-4892
Northwestern University
Health workers may flee in pandemic panic
THIS WEEK:  10:20 03 June 2009
Surveys of healthcare workers suggest psychological and safety issues need to be addressed to encourage people to show up for work in extreme situations
Public Release: 3-Jun-2009
Human Nature
Single women gaze longer
A study by neuroscientist Heather Rupp and her team found that a woman's partner status influenced her interest in the opposite sex.
Contact: Renate Bayaz
renate.bayaz@springer.com
49-622-148-78531
Springer
Public Release: 3-Jun-2009
Journal of Neuroscience
Simple drug treatment may prevent nicotine-induced SIDS: Study
A new study has identified a specific class of pharmaceutical drugs that could be effective in treating babies vulnerable to Sudden Infant Death syndrome (SIDS), because their mothers smoked during pregnancy.
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Focus on Stroke
Contact: Michelle Donovan
donovam@mcmaster.ca
905-525-9140
McMaster University
Public Release: 3-Jun-2009
Neuroscience
People who wear rose-colored glasses see more, University of Toronto study shows
A University of Toronto study provides the first direct evidence that our mood literally changes the way our visual system filters our perceptual experience suggesting that seeing the world through rose-colored glasses is more biological reality than metaphor.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada Research Chairs Program
Contact: Christine Elias
christine.elias@utoronto.ca
University of TorontoPublic Release: 3-Jun-2009
Journal of Medical Ethics
Hospitalized patients need better understanding of CPR and outcomes
Many hospitalized patients overestimate their chance of surviving an in-hospital cardiac arrest and do not know what CPR really involves, a University of Iowa study has shown.
Veterans Administration National Quality Scholars Program
Contact: Jennifer Brown
jennifer-l-brown@uiowa.edu
319-335-9917
University of Iowa
Public Release: 3-Jun-2009
Molecular Cell
Scientists uncover mode of action of enzyme linked with several types of cancer
Scientists at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer of the University of Montreal have discovered a key mechanism used by cells to efficiently distribute chromosomes to new cells during cell multiplication.
Terry Fox Foundation
Contact: Carolyne Lord
carolyne.lord@umontreal.ca
514-343-7282
University of Montreal
Foreign accent syndrome doesn't mean brain damage
14:03 03 June 2009
People who sound foreign but aren't may have been born that way
Hybrid hearts could solve transplant shortage
THIS WEEK:  18:00 03 June 2009
Stripped-down pig tissue seeded with human cells has the potential to create a virtually limitless supply of human-compatible organs
Public Release: 3-Jun-2009
Nano Letters
A billion-year ultra-dense memory chip
Berkeley Lab researchers have created a unique new memory storage medium that can pack thousands of times more data into one square inch of space than conventional chips, and preserve this data for more than a billion years.
US Department of Energy
Contact: Lynn Yarris
lcyarris@lbl.gov
510-486-5375
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
 Mammoths Roasted in Prehistoric Kitchen Pit
Discovery
Public Release: 4-Jun-2009
Current Biology
Zimmermann et al.: 'Report: Reconstructing the evolution of laughter in great apes and humans'
Like human infants, young apes are known to hoot and holler when you tickle them. But is it fair to say that those playful calls are really laughter? The answer to that question is yes, say researchers reporting online on June 4 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
London's magical history uncorked from 'witch bottle'
00:01 04 June 2009
An old bottle dug up in the suburb of Greenwich turns out to be a charm against witchcraft
Public Release: 4-Jun-2009
Science
High population density triggers cultural explosions
Increasing population density, rather than boosts in human brain power, appears to have catalyzed the emergence of modern human behavior, according to a new study by University College London scientists published in the journal Science. High population density leads to greater exchange of ideas and skills and prevents the loss of new innovations. It is this skill maintenance, combined with a greater probability of useful innovations, that led to modern human behavior appearing at different times in different parts of the world.
Contact: Jenny Gimpel
j.gimpel@ucl.ac.uk
44-020-767-99726
University College London
Public Release: 4-Jun-2009
Science
A new lead for autoimmune disease
A major challenge in treating autoimmune disorders has been suppressing inflammatory attacks on body tissues without generally suppressing immune function. Now, a drug from Chinese medicine shows potential for easing these disorders. In both mice and humans, it selectively inhibits development of Th17 cells, newly recognized immune cells that were recently implicated in inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, eczema and psoriasis. It also eased a multiple-sclerosis-like autoimmune disease in mice.
National Institutes of Health, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Cancer Research Institute
Contact: Rob Graham
rob.graham@childrens.harvard.edu
617-919-3110
Children's Hospital Boston
Public Release: 4-Jun-2009
American Journal of Human Genetics
New 'molecular clock' aids dating of human migration history
Researchers at the University of Leeds have devised a more accurate method of dating ancient human migration -- even when no corroborating archaeological evidence exists.
European Union, Bradshaw Foundation
Contact: Jo Kelly
jokelly@campuspr.co.uk
44-113-258-9880
University of Leeds
Public Release: 4-Jun-2009
American Journal of Medicine
Illness, medical bills linked to nearly two-thirds of bankruptcies
Medical problems contributed to nearly two-thirds of all bankruptcies in 2007, according to a study in the August issue of the American Journal of Medicine that will be published online Thursday. The data were collected prior to the current economic downturn and hence likely understate the current burden of financial suffering. Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of all bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 49.6 percent.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Contact: Mark Almberg
mark@pnhp.org
312-782-6006
Physicians for a National Health Program
Public Release: 4-Jun-2009
Retrovirology
'Shock and kill' research gives new hope for HIV-1 eradication
Latent HIV genes can be "smoked out" of human cells. The so-called "shock and kill" technique, described in a preclinical study in BioMed Central's open-access journal Retrovirology, might represent a new milestone along the way to the discovery of a cure for HIV/AIDS.
Contact: Graeme Baldwin
graeme.baldwin@biomedcentral.com
44-787-741-1853
BioMed Central
Public Release: 4-Jun-2009
Journal of American Geriatrics Society
1 in 4 nursing home residents carry MRSA
MRSA is a major problem in nursing homes with one in four residents carrying the bacteria, a study by Queen's University Belfast and Antrim Area Hospital has found.
Contact: Andrea Clements
a.clements@qub.ac.uk
44-289-097-5391
Queen's University Belfast
Ancient warfare: Fighting for the greater good
19:00 04 June 2009
Lethal warfare drove the evolution of altruistic behaviour among ancient humans, claims a new study
Donor organ 'personality' worry
Most people have a strong aversion to the idea of receiving a donor organ from a killer, a study suggests.
5 June 2009 11:17 UK
Public Release: 5-Jun-2009
Comprehensive Psychiatry
FSU study links 'warrior gene' to gang membership, weapon use
Boys who carry a particular variation of the gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), sometimes called the "warrior gene," are more likely not only to join gangs but also to be among the most violent members and to use weapons, according to a new study from the Florida State University that is the first to confirm an MAOA link specifically to gangs and guns.
Contact: Kevin Beaver
kbeaver@fsu.edu
850-644-9180
Florida State University