Public Release: 21-Jun-2009
Nature Genetics
DNA template could explain evolutionary shifts
Rearrangements of all sizes in genomes, genes and exons can result from a glitch in DNA copying that occurs when the process stalls at a critical point and then shifts to a different genetic template, duplicating and even triplicating genes or just shuffling or deleting part of the code within them, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a recent report in the journal Nature Genetics.
Charcot Marie Tooth Association, NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Contact: Glenna Picton
picton@bcm.edu
713-798-4710
Baylor College of Medicine
Earth's coastlines after sea-level rise, 4000 AD
18:00 21 June 2009
Even if we could freeze-frame the atmosphere as it is today, sea levels would still rise by 25 metres, says the latest study into the effects of climate change on melting ice sheets
Brain could adapt well to cyborg enhancements
17:00 22 June 2009
Perceptions of arm length change after people handle a mechanical tool, according to a study that has implications for amputees, as well as prospective cyborgs
Public Release: 22-Jun-2009
Cancer
Study finds cancer is the second most frequent cause of death in individuals with schizophrenia
People with schizophrenia die from cancer four times as often as people in the general population.
Contact: Claire Greenwell
claire.greenwell@cancer.org
404-417-5883
American Cancer Society
Public Release: 22-Jun-2009
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Drinking milk in the morning may help stave off lunchtime hunger
Now there's a new reason for the weight-conscious to drink fat free milk at breakfast time, suggests a new study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers in Australia found that drinking fat free milk in the morning helped increase satiety, or a feeling of fullness, and led to decreased calorie intake at the next meal, as compared with a fruit drink. The milk drinkers ate about 50 fewer calories (or nearly 9 percent less food) at lunch.
Fonterra Brands Pty. Ltd.
Contact: Gloria Delgadillo
gdelgadillo@webershandwick.com
312-988-2382
Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Public Release: 22-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Subseafloor sediment in South Pacific Gyre
An international oceanographic research expedition to the middle of the South Pacific Gyre found so few organisms beneath the seafloor that it may be the least inhabited sediment ever explored for evidence of life.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Todd McLeish
tmcleish@uri.edu
401-874-7892
University of Rhode Island
Public Release: 22-Jun-2009
Archives of Internal Medicine
Less frequent social activity linked to more rapid loss of motor function in older adults
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found that, among the elderly, less frequent participation in social activities is associated with a more rapid decline in motor function. The data raise the possibility that motor decline can be slowed, and its adverse health consequences possibly delayed, by supporting social engagement -- a relatively low-cost solution to a very large public health problem.
NIH/National Institute on Aging, Illinois Department of Public Health, Robert C. Borwell Endowment Fund
Contact: Sharon Butler
Sharon_Butler@rush.edu
312-942-7816
Rush University Medical Center
Public Release: 22-Jun-2009
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Adults with asthma not getting their flu shots
Because of increased risk of complications from influenza, vaccination of adults and children with asthma is recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. However, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigators have determined that the vaccination levels among asthma sufferers falls well short of this guideline. The results of their study are published in the August 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Contact: AJPM Editorial Office
eAJPM@ucsd.edu
858-534-9340
Elsevier Health Sciences
When cows attack
Why do these gentle giants suddenly charge?
'Secret' questions leave accounts vulnerable
17:16 22 June 2009
Email services often protect accounts with security questions that make life simple for hackers – but getting your best friends' help in unlocking frozen accounts could provide a solution
Public Release: 22-Jun-2009
Biophysical Journal
Toxic molecule may help birds 'see' north and south
Researchers at the University of Illinois report that a toxic molecule known to damage cells and cause disease may also play a pivotal role in bird migration. The molecule, superoxide, is proposed as a key player in the mysterious process that allows birds to "see" Earth's magnetic field.
Contact: Diana Yates
diya@illinois.edu
217-333-5802
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Really?
The Claim: Heat Should Be Applied to a Sprained Ankle
How should you treat a sprained ankle?
* Health Guide: Sprains ?
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
Public Release: 23-Jun-2009
13th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference
Feather fibers fluff up hydrogen storage capacity
Scientists in Delaware say they have developed a new hydrogen storage method -- carbonized chicken feather fibers -- that can hold vast amounts of hydrogen, a promising but difficult to corral fuel source, and do it at a far lower cost than other hydrogen storage systems under consideration.
Contact: Marvin Coyner
m_coyner@acs.org
202-872-4493
American Chemical Society
Public Release: 23-Jun-2009
JAMA
Common ECG finding may indicate serious cardiac problems
A common electrocardiogram finding that has largely been considered insignificant may actually signal an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, the future need for a permanent pacemaker and an increased risk for premature death.
NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Boston University
Contact: Jennifer Gundersen
jgundersen1@partners.org
617-724-6433
Massachusetts General Hospital
Basics
When an Ear Witness Decides the Case
In ways that researchers are just beginning to appreciate, we humans are beholden to our ears.
By NATALIE ANGIER
Warning over 'superbug' risk from pets
17:59 23 June 2009
Contact with cats and dogs is becoming increasingly hazardous as drug-resistant pathogens spread to pets – probably from their owners
Facedown Burials Widely Used to Humiliate the Dead
National Geographic
Q & A
What a Sweat I’m In
How can you distinguish between night sweats that indicate a serious medical condition and those that don’t?
By C. CLAIBORNE RAY
Public Release: 23-Jun-2009
British Medical Journal
Longer life linked to specific foods in Mediterranean diet
Some food groups in the Mediterranean diet are more important than others in promoting health and longer life according to new research published on bmj.com today.
Contact: Emma Dickinson
edickinson@bmj.com
44-207-383-6529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Public Release: 23-Jun-2009
World Journal of Gastroenterology
How to confirm the causes of iron deficiency anemia in young women
A research group from Italy showed that a pre-endoscopic serological screening for Helicobacter pylori and celiac disease may help to confirm the causes of iron deficiency anemia in young women. This screening permits the identification of patients at higher risk of iron malbsorption related disease such as Helicobacter pylori-related gastritis and celiac disease and to select patients to submit for gastroscopy.
Italian Ministry for Universities and Research, University Sapienza Roma, Centro Diagnostico Italiano
Contact: Lai-Fu Li
wjg@wjgnet.com
86-105-908-0039
World Journal of Gastroenterology
Public Release: 23-Jun-2009
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Waste water treatment plant mud used as 'green' fuel
Catalan scientists have shown that using mud from waste water treatment plants as a partial alternative fuel can enable cement factories to reduce their CO2 emissions and comply with the Kyoto Protocol, as well as posing no risk to human health and being profitable. These are the results of an environmental impact assessment.
Contact: SINC
info@plataformasinc.es
34-914-251-820
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
Public Release: 23-Jun-2009
Naturwissenschaften
Need something? Talk to my right ear!
We humans prefer to be addressed in our right ear. In a series of three studies, looking at ear preference in communication between humans, Dr. Luca Tommasi and Daniele Marzoli from the University Gabriele d'Annunzio in Chieti, Italy, show that a natural side bias manifests itself in everyday human behavior. Their findings were just published online in Springer's journal Naturwissenschaften.
Commission of the European Communities
Contact: Joan Robinson
joan.robinson@springer.com
49-622-148-78130
Springer
Public Release: 23-Jun-2009
New therapy found to prevent heart failure
A landmark study has successfully demonstrated a 29 percent reduction in heart failure or death in patients with heart disease who received an implanted cardiac resynchronization therapy device with defibrillator (CRT-D) vs. patients who received only an implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD-only).
Boston Scientific
Contact: Greg Williams
Greg_Williams@urmc.rochester.edu
585-273-1757
University of Rochester Medical Center
Public Release: 23-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Notre Dame study describes evidence of world's oldest known granaries
A new study co-authored by Ian Kuijt, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, describes recent excavations in Jordan that reveal evidence of the world's oldest known granaries.
Notre Dame, National Science Foundation, British Academy
Contact: Ian Kuijt
kuijt.1@nd.edu
01-135-387-240-6334
University of Notre Dame
Public Release: 23-Jun-2009
Nano Letters
Salt block unexpectedly stretches in Sandia experiments
To stretch a supply of salt generally means using it sparingly. But researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Pittsburgh were startled when they found they had made the solid actually physically stretch.
Contact: Neal Singer
nsinger@sandia.gov
505-845-7078
DOE/Sandia National Laboratories
Public Release: 24-Jun-2009
BMC Geriatrics
American elderly thrash English at 'brain training' test
Americans over 65 scored significantly better than their English counterparts at a memory and awareness test. The authors of the research, published in the open-access journal BMC Geriatrics, suggest that differences in relative levels of depression, education and the aggressiveness of treatment for heart disease may be to blame.
Contact: Graeme Baldwin
graeme.baldwin@biomedcentral.com
44-203-192-2165
BioMed Central
Hidden cancer threat to wildlife revealed
09:00 24 June 2009
Scientists who have for the first time listed all the animal species that are threatened by cancer say "untold numbers" could be under threat
Observatory
Reading Pigeons’ Brains as They Fly
Ever wonder what goes on inside the minds of pigeons? Researchers in Europe have.
* Shrews Use Sounds the Way Bats Do
By HENRY FOUNTAIN 5:16 PM ET
Public Release: 24-Jun-2009
Physical Review Letters
First acoustic metamaterial 'superlens' created by University of Illinois researchers
A team of Illinois researchers led by Nicholas X. Fang, left, a professor of mechanical science and engineering, have created the world's first acoustic metamaterial "superlens."
US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Contact: Phil Ciciora
pciciora@illinois.edu
217-333-2177
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Public Release: 24-Jun-2009
Geophysical Research Letters
Space shuttle science shows how 1908 Tunguska explosion was caused by a comet
The mysterious 1908 Tunguska explosion that leveled 830 square miles of Siberian forest was almost certainly caused by a comet entering the Earth's atmosphere, says new Cornell University research. The conclusion is supported by an unlikely source: the exhaust plume from the NASA space shuttle launched a century later.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Blaine Friedlander
bpf2@cornell.edu
607-254-8093
Cornell University
Public Release: 24-Jun-2009
EMBO Molecular Medicine
Anti-inflammatory drugs may defeat a treatment-resistant type of cancer
Effective drugs for treating a chemotherapy-resistant form of lymphoma might already be on the market according to a study that has pieced together a chemical pathway involved in the disease. By following the trail of several molecular flags that mark this type of cancer, researchers have discovered that anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat arthritis will shrink lymphoma tumors in mice.
NIH/National Cancer Institute, Novo Nordisk Foundation
Contact: Michael David
midavid@ucsd.edu
University of California - San Diego
'Misty caverns' on Saturn's moon
BBC
Public Release: 24-Jun-2009
BMC Neuroscience
Tiny levels of carbon monoxide damage fetal brain
A UCLA study has discovered that chronic exposure during pregnancy to minuscule levels of carbon monoxide damages the cells of the fetal brain, resulting in permanent impairment.
University of California
Contact: Elaine Schmidt
eschmidt@mednet.ucla.edu
310-794-2272
University of California - Los Angeles
Stoned wallabies 'make crop circles' in Tasmania
BBC
Flutes Offer Clues to Stone-Age Music
Archaeologists said a bone flute and two fragments of ivory flutes discovered last fall represent the earliest known flowering of music-making in Stone Age culture.
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Public Release: 25-Jun-2009
Artificial liver for drug tests
The liver is one of the most important metabolizing organs in humans. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a model of the liver, which is viable outside the body and which is suitable for testing drugs.
Contact: Heike Mertsching
heike.mertsching@igb.fraunhofer.de
49-711-970-4117
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Public Release: 25-Jun-2009
Journal of Zoology
New research shows dinosaurs may have been smaller than we thought
For millions of years, dinosaurs have been considered the largest creatures ever to walk on land. While they still maintain this status, a new study suggests that some dinosaurs may actually have weighed as little as half as much as previously thought.
Contact: Catherine Ferraro
cferraro@gmu.edu
703-993-8813
George Mason University
Solar X-rays may create DNA building blocks on Titan
23:26 25 June 2009
One of DNA's four building blocks, adenine, has been created in a lab experiment modelling Saturn's moon Titan
Public Release: 25-Jun-2009
American Journal of Roentgenology
What should a teenage girl do if she finds a lump in her breast?
If a lump is found in the breast of an adolescent girl, she often will undergo an excisional biopsy. However, breast cancer is rare in adolescents, and the vast majority of teenage breast lumps are benign. A recent study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology suggests that a breast ultrasound might eliminate the need for biopsy in many cases.
Contact: Jim Ritter
jritter@lumc.edu
708-216-2445
Loyola University Health System
Public Release: 25-Jun-2009
Laryngoscope
U-M study finds voice box can be preserved, even with the largest cancers
Some patients with large tumors on their larynx can preserve their speech by opting for chemotherapy and radiation over surgery to remove the voice box. A new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center found that a single round of chemotherapy could identify those patients most likely to benefit from this approach.
National Institutes of Health, U-M Head and Neck Cancer SPORE grant, U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center support grant
Contact: Nicole Fawcett
nfawcett@umich.edu
734-764-2220
University of Michigan Health System
Public Release: 25-Jun-2009
Journal of American Geriatric Society
Partner issues significantly influence women's sexual activity in later years, UCSF study shows
As a woman gets older, physical problems are less likely to influence whether she is sexually active than her partner's health or interest in sex, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente.
NIH/National Center of Research Resources
Contact: Lauren Hammit
lhammit@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco
Public Release: 25-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
A penny for your prions
North Carolina State University researchers have discovered a link between copper and the normal functioning of prion proteins, which are associated with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases such as Cruetzfeldt-Jakob in humans or "mad cow" disease in cattle. Their work could have implications for patients suffering from these diseases, as well as from other prion-related diseases such as Alzheimers or Parkinson's.
Contact: Tracey Peake
tracey_peake@ncsu.edu
919-515-6142
North Carolina State University
Legless frogs mystery solved
Scientists think they have resolved one of the most controversial environmental issues of the past decade: the curious case of the missing frogs' legs.
Matt Walker Editor, Earth News
Pigeons make the grade at art appreciation
12:18 26 June 2009
Everyone's a critic: several birds have learned to tell the difference between well-executed and crude paintings as judged by a human panel
Europeans' sweet tooth may have been survival trait
12:08 26 June 2009
People from Europe are among the most sugar-sensitive people in the world, a new genetic analysis concludes – a trait that could have helped ancient populations spot energy-rich foods
Africa alone could feed the world
The doom-mongers may have got it wrong, there is enough land to produce the food needed to feed a growing population, reports say – and most of it is in Africa
UPFRONT:  10:00 27 June 2009
Public Release: 28-Jun-2009
Nature
Scientists create first electronic quantum processor
A team led by Yale University researchers has created the first rudimentary solid-state quantum processor, and used the two-qubit superconducting chip to successfully run elementary algorithms, demonstrating quantum information processing with a solid-state device for the first time.
Contact: Suzanne Taylor Muzzin
suzanne.taylormuzzin@yale.edu
203-432-8555
Yale University
Public Release: 28-Jun-2009
Nature Medicine
New trigger for chronic inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis discovered
A signal molecule made by the human body that triggers the immune system into action may be important in rheumatoid arthritis, according to new research published today in Nature Medicine. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London, say that if scientists could block this signal, it may be possible to develop more effective arthritis treatments.
Arthritis Research Campaign, Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Trustees, Medical Research Council
Contact: Lucy Goodchild
lucy.goodchild@imperial.ac.uk
44-207-594-6702
Imperial College London
Pictures: Prehistoric European Cave Artists Were Female
National Geographic
Rome catacomb reveals 'oldest' image of St Paul
Reuters
Pope Says Tests ‘Seem to Conclude’ Bones Are the Apostle Paul’s
Scientists tested fragments at what is believed to be Paul’s tomb and have determined that they date from the first or second century.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS