Public Release: 13-Jun-2009
EULAR 2009
Increased levels of certain cytokines and chemokines predict onset of rheumatoid arthritis
Up-regulation of certain cytokines and chemokines (signaling molecules involved in the functioning of the immune system) can predict the development of rheumatoid arthritis three years before the onset of symptoms, according to the results of a new study presented today at EULAR 2009, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Contact: Rory Berrie
eularpressoffice@uk.cohnwolfe.com
44-789-438-6425
European League Against Rheumatism
Public Release: 13-Jun-2009
New Journal of Physics
The Earth's magnetic field remains a charged mystery
Professor Gregory Ryskin from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University in Illinois, US, has defied the long-standing convention by applying equations from magnetohydrodynamics to our oceans' salt water (which conducts electricity) and found that the long-term changes (the secular variation) in the Earth's main magnetic field are possibly induced by our oceans' circulation.
Contact: Joe Winters
joseph.winters@iop.org
44-794-632-1473
Institute of Physics
Public Release: 14-Jun-2009
Nature Neuroscience
Huntington's disease deciphered
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered how the mutated Huntington gene acts on the nervous system to create the devastation of Huntington's disease.
Huntington's Disease Society of America, National Institutes of Health, Muscular Dystrophy Association, ALS Association, Marine Biological Laboratory
Contact: Jeanne Galatzer-Levy
jgala@uic.edu
312-996-1583
University of Illinois at Chicago
Hungarian Researcher on the Trial of the Hun Tribes
Digital Journal
Public Release: 14-Jun-2009
Nature Cell Biology
NYU Langone Medical Center researchers identify key gene in deadly inflammatory breast cancer
Aggressive, deadly and often misdiagnosed, inflammatory breast cancer is the most lethal form of primary breast cancer, often striking women in their prime and causing death within 18 to 24 months. Now, scientists from the Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified a key gene -- eIF4G1 -- that is overexpressed in the majority of cases of IBC, allowing cells to form highly mobile clusters that are responsible for the rapid metastasis that makes IBC such an effective killer.
US Department of Defense, Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Contact: Lauren Woods
lauren.woods@nyumc.org
212-404-3555
NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine
'Resurrection bug' revived after 120,000 years
00:01 15 June 2009
An ultrasmall bacterium brought back to life after being recovered from the Greenland ice sheet could resemble extraterrestrial life, say researchers
Typhoons take the pressure off earthquake zones
IN BRIEF:  09:59 15 June 2009
Storms in Taiwan may be able to trigger benign, "slow" earthquakes that relieve stress without juddering
Public Release: 15-Jun-2009
PLoS Biology
What limits the size of birds?
In a forthcoming article in PLoS Biology, Sievert Rohwer and his colleagues at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington provide evidence that maximum body size in birds is constrained by the amount of time it takes to replace the flight feathers during molt.
Contact: Sally Hubbard
press@plos.org
Public Library of Science
Can university subjects reveal terrorists in the making?
ESSAY:  15:10 15 June 2009
Effective ways to profile for potential Islamic terrorists have proved elusive, but two sociologists think there may be clues in the subjects they choose to study
Basket Weaving May Have Taught Humans To Count
Science Daily
Public Release: 15-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
They are young and need the job: A second chance for dangerous T cells
Any of the immune system's T cells that could attack the body's own tissue are either driven to cell death or reeducated to become a kind of law enforcer that could actually be used in therapies. Which of these alternatives occurs may depend on the age of the cells, as researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich have now shown.
Contact: Dr. Ludger Klein
ludger.klein@med.uni-muenchen.de
49-089-218-075-696
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Sea gives up Neanderthal fossil-Part of a Neanderthal man's skull has been dredged up from the North Sea, in the first confirmed find of its kind
BBC News
Public Release: 15-Jun-2009
Energies
Is the sky the limit for wind power?
In the future, will wind power tapped by high-flying kites light up New York? A new study by scientists at the Carnegie Institution and California State University identifies New York as a prime location for exploiting high-altitude winds, which globally contain enough energy to meet world demand 100 times over.
Contact: Ken Caldeira
kcaldeira@ciw.edu
650-704-7212
Carnegie Institution
Public Release: 15-Jun-2009
Science Express
New exotic material could revolutionize electronics
Move over, silicon -- it may be time to give the Valley a new name. Physicists at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have confirmed the existence of a type of material that could one day provide dramatically faster, more efficient computer chips.
US Department of Energy, Chinese National Science Foundation
Contact: Melinda Lee
melinda.lee@slac.stanford.edu
650-926-8547
DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Public Release: 15-Jun-2009
Acta Neuropathologica
Popular Alzheimer's theory may be false trail
Researchers with the McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida discovered that inflammation of microglia -- an abundant cell type that plays an important supporting role in the brain -- does not appear to be associated with dementia in Alzheimer's disease. The finding could influence how scientists proceed with Alzheimer's therapies.
National Institutes of Health, German Research Council, Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute
Contact: April Frawley Birdwell
afrawley@ufl.edu
352-273-5817
University of Florida
Public Release: 15-Jun-2009
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied
'Shortcuts' of the mind lead to miscalculations of weight and caloric intake, says Penn study
Psychologists have identified a cognitive shortcut they call "Unit Bias," which causes people to ignore vital, obvious information in their decision-making process, points to a fundamental flaw in the modern, evolved mind and may also play a role in the American population's 30 years of weight gain.
University of Pennsylvania
Contact: Jordan Reese
jreese@upenn.edu
215-573-6604
University of Pennsylvania
Public Release: 15-Jun-2009
Nature Geoscience
New study closes in on geologic history of Earth's deep interior
By using a super-computer to virtually squeeze and heat iron-bearing minerals under conditions that would have existed when the Earth crystallized from an ocean of magma to its solid form 4.5 billion years ago, two UC Davis geochemists have produced the first picture of how certain forms of iron were initially distributed in the solid Earth.
US Department of Energy, NASA
Contact: Liese Greensfelder
lgreensfelder@ucdavis.edu
530-752-6101
University of California - Davis
Public Release: 15-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Why do we choose our mates? Ask Charles Darwin, prof says
Charles Darwin wrote about it 150 years ago: animals don't pick their mates by pure chance -- it's a process that is deliberate and involves numerous factors. After decades of examining his work, experts agree that he pretty much scored a scientific bullseye, but a very big question is, "What have we learned since then?" asks a Texas A&M University biologist who has studied Darwin's theories.
Contact: Adams Jones
ajones@mail.bio.tamu.edu
979-845-7747
Texas A&M University
Public Release: 16-Jun-2009
Physical Review Letters
Study gives clues to increasing X-rays' power
Three-dimensional, real-time X-ray images may be closer to reality because of research by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a pair of Russian institutes.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Steve Smith
ssmith13@unl.edu
402-472-4226
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Cases
A Time in a Life for Pie and Beer
Wishing I’d served my ailing father a little less yogurt and wheat germ.
By JUDITH WOODBURN 
First Mention: X-Rays, 1896
Cases
Dad's overworked and tired while mom's potentially fired
If dad looks exhausted this Father's Day it could be due to his job, suggests new research that found many male employees are now pressured to work up to 40 hours of overtime -- often unpaid -- per week to stay competitive.
Contact: Jessica Holden Sherwood
jessicasherwood@mail.uri.edu
401-874-9510
Sociologists for Women in Society
Public Release: 16-Jun-2009
University of Leicester geologists demonstrate extent of ancient ice age
Geologists at the University of Leicester have shown that an ancient ice age, once regarded as a brief "blip," in fact lasted for 30 million years.
Contact: Alex Page
aap30@esc.cam.ac.uk
University of Leicester
Public Release: 16-Jun-2009
Government of Canada supports research to help address medical isotope shortage
The Honorable Leona Aglukkaq, minister of health, announced today that the Government of Canada is supporting research to find alternatives to nuclear-produced Technetium-99m, the principal medical isotope affected by the current shutdown at the Chalk River nuclear reactor. Health professionals use medical isotopes in combination with imaging technologies to diagnose and treat conditions such as cancer and heart disease.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Contact: Veronique Perron
veronique.perron@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Alcohol’s Good for You? Some Scientists Doubt It
By now, it is a familiar litany. Study after study suggests that alcohol in moderation may promote heart health and even ward off diabetes and dementia. The evidence is so plentiful that some experts consider moderate drinking ― about one drink a day for women, about two for men ― a central component of a healthy lifestyle. But what if it’s all a big mistake?
By RONI CARYN RABIN
June 16, 2009
Public Release: 16-Jun-2009
Providing health insurance for US children would be cheaper than expected, study says
Extending health insurance coverage to all children in the US would be relatively inexpensive and would yield economic benefits that are greater than the costs, according to new research conducted at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Contact: David Ruth
druth@rice.edu
713-348-6327
Rice University
Public Release: 17-Jun-2009
Nature
When palm trees gave way to spruce trees
One long-standing climate puzzle relates to the Late Eocene and Early Oligocene. Profound changes were underway. Globally, carbon dioxide levels were falling and the hothouse warmth of the dinosaur age and Eocene Period was waning. In Antarctica, ice sheets had formed and covered much of the southern polar continent. But what exactly was happening on land, in northern latitudes? An international team that included Dr. David Greenwood, an NSERC-funded researcher at Brandon University, now provides some of the very first detailed answers.
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Contact: David Greenwood
greenwoodd@brandonu.ca
204-571-8543
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
New Glimpses of Life’s Puzzling Origins
Researchers find new ways for biochemicals to self-assemble, using the lab to replicate the conditions of early earth.
By NICHOLAS WADE
June 16, 2009
Public Release: 16-Jun-2009
Advanced Materials
Crustacean shell with polyester creates mixed-fiber material for nerve repair
Weaving chitosan, found in the shells of crabs and shrimp, with an industrial polyester creates a promising new material for biomedical applications, including the tiny tubes that support repair of a severed nerve.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Hannah Hickey
hickeyh@u.washington.edu
206-543-2580
University of Washington
Public Release: 17-Jun-2009
Geological Journal
New discovery suggests mammoths survived in Britain until 14,000 years ago
Research which finally proves that bones found in Shropshire, England, provide the most geologically recent evidence of woolly mammoths in northwestern Europe publishes today in the Geological Journal. Analysis of both the bones and the surrounding environment suggests that some mammoths remained part of British wildlife long after they are conventionally believed to have become extinct.
Contact: Ben Norman
Benorman@wiley.com
44-124-377-0375
Wiley-Blackwell
Monkey 'IQ test' hints at intelligent human ancestor
01:00 17 June 2009
Individual monkeys perform consistently on different tests of intelligence – a hallmark of human IQ and, perhaps, an indication that human intellect has an ancient history
Public Release: 17-Jun-2009
Laterality
Brain detects happiness more quickly than sadness
People make value judgments about others based on their facial expressions. A new study, carried out be Spanish and Brazilian researchers, shows that -- after looking at a face for only 100 milliseconds -- we can detect expressions of happiness and surprise faster than those of sadness or fear.
Contact: SINC
info@plataformasinc.es
34-914-251-820
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
Lung-on-a-chip could replace countless lab rats
FEATURE:  10:06 17 June 2009
Tiny "microlungs" grown from human tissue could help to replace the vast numbers of rats used to test the safety of drugs
Public Release: 17-Jun-2009
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Wrong type of help from parents could worsen child's OCD
Soothing anxiety and helping with behaviors linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder could lead to more severe symptoms in children.
Contact: April Frawley Birdwell
afrawley@ufl.edu
352-273-5817
University of Florida
Public Release: 17-Jun-2009
Geophysical Research Letters
University of Colorado team finds definitive evidence for ancient lake on Mars
A University of Colorado at Boulder research team has discovered the first definitive evidence of shorelines on Mars, an indication of a deep, ancient lake there and a finding with implications for the discovery of past life on the Red Planet.
NASA
Contact: Gaetano Di Achille
Gaetano.Diachille@colorado.edu
303-735-6513
University of Colorado at Boulder
Like a hole in the head: The return of trepanation
FEATURE:  13:15 17 June 2009
Our ancestors used to drill holes in the skull to expel demons – now the technique is making a comeback as a cure for dementia
Cash machines hacked to spew out card details
FEATURE:  18:00 17 June 2009
A forensics team has stunned banks and security analysts by revealing that some cash machines have been compromised by "malware" planted by insiders
Giant sperm stretch back millions of years
19:00 18 June 2009
Gigantic reproductive cells many times longer than the minute animals that produce them existed way back in the geological record, scans show
Public Release: 18-Jun-2009
PLoS Computational Biology
Using math to take the lag out of jet lag
Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the University of Michigan have developed a software program that prescribes a regimen for avoiding jet lag using timed light exposure. The method is described in an article published June 19 in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology.
Contact: Lori J. Shanks
ljshanks@partners.org
617-534-1604
Public Library of Science
Health clues found in Big Tobacco's files
THIS WEEK:  15:50 18 June 2009
Secret research by the tobacco industry designed to pump up sales to "social smokers" is being used to plan anti-smoking strategies
Could the orang-utan be our closest relative?
THIS WEEK:  18:00 17 June 2009
Despite the similarities in our genomes, chimps might not be humanity's closest cousins after all, claims a controversial paper
Why some monkeys are better liars
16:21 18 June 2009
Some monkeys use deceit to fool other group members, and the ability varies from species to species – now researchers think they know why
Public Release: 18-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Discovery of a water snake that startles fish in a way that makes them flee into its jaws
Forget the old folk tales about snakes hypnotizing their prey. The tentacled snake from South East Asia has developed a more effective technique. The small water snake has found a way to startle its prey so that the fish turn toward the snake's head to flee instead of turning away.
National Science Foundation
Contact: David F. Salisbury
david.salisbury@vanderbilt.edu
615-343-6803
Vanderbilt University
Sleeping on a complex decision may be a bad choice
THIS WEEK:  13:55 19 June 2009
Going to sleep on a complex decision may not help you make the best choice after all – so say two studies that question the evidence for unconscious decision-making
Public Release: 19-Jun-2009
Nature Materials
Research explores interactions between nanomaterials, biological systems
Tremendous growth in the development of nanomaterials with enhanced performance characteristics which are being used for commercial and medical applications prompts UCLA researchers along with colleagues in academia and industry take a proactive role in examining the nano-bio interface to identify potential risks of engineered nanomaterials and explore methods for safer designs for use in drug delivery therapeutics and commercial products.
Contact: Jennifer Marcus
jmarcus@cnsi.ucla.edu
310-267-4839
University of California - Los Angeles
Grey hair may be protecting us from cancer
IN BRIEF:  09:00 21 June 2009
Loss of hair colour may be unwelcome, but the processes that produce it could be protecting us from damaged DNA
Flu Finding Supports 'One World, One Health' View of People and Animals
A new study of the evolution of the H1N1 strain of influenza virus that moved from pigs to people this spring and has since spread worldwide reveals the need for taking a “one health” approach to humans and the animals around us
June 11, 2009
Observatory
Getting Mosquitoes to Poison Their Own Larvae
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
With so many potential breeding sites, spreading pesticide can be a painstaking, door-to-door activity, so why not let the mosquitoes do the work?