Newest
Science News Blog 20090817
Public
Release: 9-Aug-2009
Nature Genetics
Unlikely
genetic suspect implicated in common brain defect
A genetic search using patients
and mouse models has uncovered an
unlikely gene critically involved in Dandy-Walker malformation, a
common birth defect which causes mental retardation, motor delays and
sometimes autism. This newly discovered function of the gene, which is
never expressed in the brain, reveals a previously unknown role of the
skull in directing brain development.
National Institutes of Health, Autism
Speaks, Alberta Heritage for
Medical Research, Canadian Institute for Health Research, March of
Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
Contact: Rob
Mitchum
robert.mitchum@uchospitals.edu
773-702-6241
University of
Chicago Medical Center
Public Release: 9-Aug-2009
Advanced
Functional Materials
An
HIV-blocking gel for women
University of Utah scientists
developed a new kind of "molecular
condom" to protect women from AIDS in Africa and other impoverished
areas. Before sex, women would insert a vaginal gel that turns
semisolid in the presence of semen, trapping AIDS virus particles in a
microscopic mesh so they can't infect vaginal cells.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Lee
Siegel
leesiegel@ucomm.utah.edu
801-581-8993
University of Utah
Public Release: 9-Aug-2009
Journal of
NeuroImage
Chinese
acupuncture affects brain's ability to regulate pain, UM study shows
Acupuncture has been used for
over two millenia in East-Asian medicine
to treat pain. Using brain imaging, researchers at the Chronic Pain and
Fatigue Research Center are the first to provide evidence that
traditional Chinese acupuncture effects the brain's long-term ability
to regulate pain. Their findings show acupuncture acts as more than a
placebo, and can activate receptors in the brain that process and
dampen pain signals.
US Army, National Institutes of Health
Contact:
Shantell M. Kirkendoll
smkirk@umich.edu
734-764-2220
University of Michigan
Health System
Ditching
binary will make quantum computers more powerful
16:42 10 August 2009
The
dream of quantum computing could be realised by handling
data broken into five basic states, not just ones and zeros
Public
Release: 10-Aug-2009
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Doctors'
opinions not always welcome in life support decisions
Some caregivers of critical care
patients prefer doctors to keep their
opinions on life support decisions to themselves, according to new
research that challenges long-held beliefs in the critical care
community.
Contact:
Keely Savoie
ksavoie@thoracic.org
212-315-8620
American Thoracic
Society
Public Release: 10-Aug-2009
American
Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Misuse
of common antibiotic is creating resistant TB
Use
of a common antibiotic may be undercutting its utility as a
first-line defense against drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Fluoroquinolones are the most commonly prescribed class of antibiotics
in the US and are used to fight a number of different infections such
as sinusitis and pneumonia. They are also an effective first line of
defense against TB infections that show drug resistance. New research
shows, however, that widespread general use of fluoroquinolones may be
creating a strain of fluoroquinolone-resistant TB.
Contact:
Keely Savoie
ksavoie@thoracic.org
212-315-8620
American Thoracic
Society
Public Release: 10-Aug-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences
Avian
influenza strain primes brain for Parkinson's disease
At least one strain of the H5N1
avian influenza virus leaves survivors
at significantly increased risk for Parkinson's disease and possibly
other neurological problems later in life, according to new research
from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
NIH/ National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, National
Parkinson's Foundation, Michael J. Fox Foundation, National Institutes
of Health, American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities
Contact:
Summer Freeman
summer.freeman@stjude.org
901-595-3061
St. Jude Children's
Research Hospital
Public Release: 10-Aug-2009
PLoS ONE
Einstein
researchers identify potential target for metastatic cancer
The deadliest part of the cancer
process, metastasis, appears to rely
on help from macrophages, potent immune system cells that usually
defend vigorously against disease, researchers at Albert Einstein
College of Medicine of Yeshiva University report.
Contact:
Deirdre Branley
sciencenews@aecom.yu.edu
718-430-2923
Albert Einstein College
of Medicine
Public
Release: 11-Aug-2009
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental
Research
A
synthetic derivative of the kudzu vine can reduce drinking and prevent
relapse
Kudzu extracts have been used in
Chinese folk medicine to treat
alcoholism for about 1,000 years.
Daidzin is an anti-drinking substance in kudzu.
A synthetic form of daidzin, called CVT-10216, can successfully reduce
drinking and prevent relapse in preclinical rodent models.
Contact: Ivan
Diamond, M.D., Ph.D.
ivan.diamond@gilead.com
650-384-8579
Alcoholism:
Clinical & Experimental Research
Public Release: 11-Aug-2009
New
England Journal of Medicine
Denosumab
increases bone density, cuts fracture risk in prostate cancer survivors
Twice-yearly treatment with
denosumab, a new targeted therapy to stop
bone loss, increased bone density and prevented spinal fractures in men
receiving androgen-deprivation therapy for prostate cancer.
Amgen Inc., National Institutes of Health,
Prostate Cancer Foundation
Contact:
Katie Marquedant
kmarquedant@partners.org
617-726-0337
Massachusetts
General Hospital
Public Release: 11-Aug-2009
Molecular
Psychiatry
Antibodies
to strep throat bacteria linked to obsessive compulsive disorder in mice
A new study by researchers at
Columbia University Mailman School of
Public Health's Center for Infection and Immunity indicates that
pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette syndrome and/or
tic disorder may develop from an inappropriate immune response to the
bacteria causing common throat infections. The mouse model findings
support the view that this condition is a distinct disorder, and
represent a key advance in tracing the path leading from an ordinary
infection in childhood to the surfacing of a psychiatric syndrome.
Contact:
Randee Sacks Levine
rs363@columbia.edu
212-305-8044
Columbia
University's Mailman School of Public Health
Public Release: 11-Aug-2009
Jefferson
Headache Center study shows novel, orally inhaled migraine therapy
effective
A new study conducted at the
Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas
Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shows an
investigational, orally-inhaled therapy is effective in treating
migraines. The multi-center, phase three FREEDOM-301 trial for the
orally-inhaled migraine therapy, LEVADEX, shows study participants had
significant relief from symptoms such as pain, nausea and light and
sound sensitivity when compared to placebo treatment.
Contact: Ed
Federico
ed.federico@jefferson.edu
Thomas
Jefferson University
Public
Release: 11-Aug-2009
Pediatrics
New
groundbreaking treatment for oxygen-deprived newborns
Until now immediate cooling of
the newborn infant was the only
treatment that could possibly prevent brain damage following oxygen
deprivation during delivery. New research findings from the Sahlgrenska
Academy at the University of Gothenburg and Sahlgrenska University
Hospital, Sweden, in collaboration with Zhengzhou University in China,
open up the possibility of a new and effective treatment that can be
started as late as two days after birth.
Contact: Klas
Blomgren
klas.blomgren@neuro.gu.se
46-031-786-3376
University of Gothenburg
Public
Release: 11-Aug-2009
JAMA
NIAID
scientists study past flu pandemics for clues to future course of 2009
H1N1 virus
A
commonly held belief that severe influenza pandemics are preceded by
a milder wave of illness arose because some accounts of the flu
pandemic of 1918-19 suggested that it may have followed such a pattern.
But two NIAID scientists say the existing data are insufficient to
conclude decisively that the 1918-19 pandemic was presaged by a milder
spring wave, or that the responsible virus had increased in lethality
between the beginning and end of 1918.
NIH/National Insitute of Allergy and
Infection Diseases
Contact:
NIAID Office of Communications
niaidnews@niaid.nih.gov
301-402-1663
NIH/National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Planetary
smashup leaves trail of frozen lava
17:42 11 August 2009
Volcanic
glass and vaporised rock has been found around a young star – it is
thought to be the detritus of a collision between two rocky bodies at
least as big as the moon
Public Release: 11-Aug-2009
Nature Medicine
McGill/JGH
researchers successfully reverse multiple sclerosis in animals
A
new experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis completely reverses
the devastating autoimmune disorder in mice, and might work exactly the
same way in humans, say researchers at the Jewish General Hospital Lady
Davis Institute for Medical Research and McGill University in Montreal.
Canadian Institutes for Health Research,
Fonds de Recherches en Sante du Quebec
Contact: Mark
Shainblum
mark.shainblum@mcgill.ca
514-398-2189
McGill University
Bipedal Humans Came
Down From The Trees, Not Up From The Ground
A
detailed examination of the wrist bones of several primate species
challenges the notion that humans evolved their two-legged upright
walking style from a knuckle-walking ancestor.
ScienceDaily Aug.
11, 2009)
Public Release:
11-Aug-2009
Nature Biotechnology
Caltech
scientists help launch the first standard graphical notation for biology
Researchers
at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and
their colleagues in 30 laboratories worldwide have released a new set
of standards for graphically representing biological information -- the
biology equivalent of the circuit diagram in electronics. This visual
language should make it easier to exchange complex information, so that
biological models are depicted more accurately, consistently and in a
more readily understandable way.
New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization, Beckman Institute
Contact:
Kathy Svitil
ksvitil@caltech.edu
626-395-8022
California Institute of
Technology
Public
Release: 11-Aug-2009
American Naturalist
Parasite
causes zombie ants to die in an ideal spot
A study in the September issue of
the American Naturalist describes new
details about a fungal parasite that coerces ants into dying in just
the right spot -- one that is ideal for the fungus to grow and
reproduce. The study, led David P. Hughes of Harvard University, shows
just how precisely the fungus manipulates the behavior of its hapless
hosts.
Contact:
Kevin Stacey
kstacey@press.uchicago.edu
773-834-0386
University of
Chicago Press Journals
Public
Release: 11-Aug-2009
NeuroReport
Oxygen
treatment hastens memory loss in Alzheimer's mice
Researchers at the University of
South Florida and Vanderbilt
University suspect the culprit precipitating Alzheimer's disease in
some elderly patients may be high concentrations of oxygen administered
during or after major surgery -- a hypothesis borne out in a recent
animal model study. The findings are published online this month in
NeuroReport.
Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center,
NIH/National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health Merit
Award
Contact: Gary
Arendash, PhD
arendash@cas.usf.edu
813-732-9040
University of South
Florida Health
Public
Release: 11-Aug-2009
PLoS ONE
Discovery
may lead to powerful new therapy for asthma
University of Texas Medical
Branch at Galveston researchers have found
that a single enzyme is apparently critical to most allergen-provoked
asthma attacks -- and that activity of the enzyme, known as aldose
reductase, can be significantly reduced by compounds that have already
undergone clinical trials as treatments for complications of diabetes.
American Asthma Foundation, NIH/National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Contact: Jim
Kelly
jpkelly@utmb.edu
409-772-8791
University of Texas Medical
Branch at Galveston
Five-Second Touch Can Convey
Specific Emotion, Study Finds
By
NICHOLAS BAKALAR
Researchers have found
experimental evidence that a touch can be worth a thousand words.
Giant 'meat-eating' plant found
A new species of giant
carnivorous plant has been discovered in the highlands of the central
Philippines.
Matt
Walker Editor, Earth News
'Alien scene' of tadpoles' feast
"Alien-like" scenes of tadpoles
feasting on eggs emerging from their mother have been caught on camera.
By
Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC News
Do Single Women Seek Attached Men?
Researchers have debated for
years whether men or women are likelier to engage in “mate poaching.”
Now there’s experimental evidence that single women are particularly
drawn to other people’s partners
By
John Tierney
August 13, 2009, 11:51 am
Public
Release: 12-Aug-2009
New England Journal of Medicine
Stanford
researchers call for drug labels to disclose lack of comparison with
existing medications
The labeling information that
comes with prescription drugs tells you
what's known about the medication, but researchers from the Stanford
University School of Medicine think it's high time that the labeling
tell you what isn't known.
Contact:
Susan Ipaktchian
susani@stanford.edu
650-725-5375
Stanford
University Medical Center
Public Release: 12-Aug-2009
FASEB
Journal
Do
high-fat diets make us stupid and lazy?
Short-term memory getting worse?
Exercise getting harder? Examine your
diet. New research published online in The FASEB Journal showed that in
less than 10 days of eating a high-fat diet, rats had a decreased
ability to exercise and experienced significant short-term memory loss.
These results show an important link between what we eat, how we think,
and how our bodies perform.
Contact: Cody
Mooneyhan
cmooneyhan@faseb.org
301-634-7104
Federation of American
Societies for Experimental Biology
Public Release: 12-Aug-2009
Journal
of Educational Psychology
Parental
influences differ in determing child's later academic success
Mothers and fathers play
different roles and make different
contributions to a child's upbringing, but a father's influence upon a
child's academic success later in life is felt the most when he's
involved from the very beginning, says Brent McBride, a University of
Illinois expert in early childhood education.
Contact: Phil
Ciciora
pciciora@illinois.edu
217-333-2177
University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign
Public Release: 12-Aug-2009
Journal
of Biological Chemistry
Carnitine
supplements reverse glucose intolerance in animals
Supplementing obese rats with the
nutrient carnitine helps the animals
to clear the extra sugar in their blood, something they had trouble
doing on their own, researchers at Duke University Medical Center
report.
National Institutes of Health, American
Diabetes Association, John A. Hartford Duke Center for Excellence
Contact: Mary
Jane Gore
mary.gore@duke.edu
919-660-1309
Duke University
Medical Center
Public
Release: 12-Aug-2009
PLoS ONE
Worth
the effort? Not if you're depressed
New research indicates that
decreased cravings for pleasure may be at
the root of a core symptom of major depressive disorder. The research
is in contrast to the long-held notion that those suffering from
depression lack the ability to enjoy rewards, rather than the desire to
seek them.
NIH/Nationa Institute on Drug Abuse
Contact: Melanie Moran
melanie.moran@vanderbilt.edu
615-322-2706
Vanderbilt
University
Seafood
gave us the edge on the Neanderthals
14:14
12 August 2009
Differences
in the diet of Neanderthals andHomo sapiens could have hastened the
Neanderthals' demise and the ascendancy of modern humans
Public
Release: 13-Aug-2009
Current Biology
Facial
expressions show language barriers too
People from East Asia
tend to have a tougher time than those from
European countries telling the difference between a face that looks
fearful versus surprised, disgusted versus angry, and now a new report
published online on Aug. 13 in Current Biology, a Cell Press
publication, explains why. Rather than scanning evenly across a face as
Westerners do, Easterners fixate their attention on the eyes.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Cave Complex Allegedly Found
Under Giza Pyramids
An enormous system of caves,
chambers and tunnels lies hidden beneath the Pyramids of Giza,
according to a British explorer who claims to have found the lost
underworld of the pharaohs.
Rossella
Lorenzi, Discovery News Aug. 13, 2009
Pay-per-email
plan to beat spam and help charity
08:45 13 August 2009
Yahoo!
researchers are resurrecting the idea that paying to send emails will
hurt spammers – this time with a charitable twist they hope will make
it succeed
Public
Release: 13-Aug-2009
First
compound that specifically kills cancer stem cells found
The cancer stem cells that drive
tumor growth and resist chemotherapies
and radiation treatments that kill other cancer cells aren't invincible
after all. Researchers reporting online on August 13 in the journal
Cell, a Cell Press publication, have discovered the first compound that
targets those cancer stem cells directly.
Contact:
Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 13-Aug-2009
New
Phylotologist
Why
are autumn leaves red in America and yellow in Europe?
Walking outdoors in the fall, the
splendidly colorful leaves adorning
the trees are a delight to the eye. In Europe these autumn leaves are
mostly yellow, while the United States and East Asia boast lustrous red
foliage. But why is it that there are such differences in autumnal hues
around the world? A new theory, published in the Journal New
Phytologist, proposes taking a step 35 million years back to solve the
color mystery.
Contact:
Rachel Feldman
rfeldman@univ.haifa.ac.il
972-482-88722
University of Haifa
Public Release: 13-Aug-2009
Cell
Metabolism
Impact
of cannabis on bones changes with age, study finds
Scientists investigating the
effects of cannabis on bone health have found that its impact varies
dramatically with age.
Arthritis Research Campaign
Contact: Anna
Smyth
anna.smyth@ed.ac.uk
44-131-651-4400
University of Edinburgh
Earliest
fired knives improved stone age tool kit
13:30 13 August 2009
People were using fire to make
sharp blades out of poor stone 164,000
years ago – much earlier than we thought
Public
Release: 13-Aug-2009
Neuron
Brain
innately separates living and non-living objects for processing
For unknown reasons, the human
brain distinctly separates the handling
of images of living things from images of non-living things, processing
each image type in a different area of the brain. For years, many
scientists have assumed the brain segregated visual information in this
manner to optimize processing the images themselves, but new research
shows that even in people who have been blind since birth the brain
still separates the concepts of living and non-living objects.
Contact:
Jonathan Sherwood
jonathan.sherwood@rochester.edu
585-273-4726
University of Rochester
Public
Release: 13-Aug-2009
Biochemical Pharmacology
Bypassing
bypass surgery
Dr.
Britta Hardy of TAU's Sackler School of Medicine has shown the
potential for an injected protein to regrow blood vessels in the heart,
eliminating the need for risky surgery.
Contact:
George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel
Aviv University
Public
Release: 13-Aug-2009
Science
First
human gene implicated in regulating length of human sleep
Scientists have discovered the
first gene involved in regulating the
optimal length of human sleep, offering a window into a key aspect of
slumber, an enigmatic phenomenon that is critical to human physical and
mental health.
National Institutes of Health, a Conte Center
grant, and by the Sandler Neurogenetics fund.
Contact:
Jennifer O'Brien
jobrien@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California -
San Francisco
DNA 'organises itself' on silicon
Shapes of DNA have been used to
enhance the production of circuits for next-generation computer chips.
17 August 2009 11:57 UK
Public
Release: 14-Aug-2009
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Studies
do not support unhealthful relation between animal foods and breast
cancer
These studies provide no evidence
that animal-food consumption
increases (or decreases) risk of breast cancer, although CLA
supplementation may decrease adiposity (a major risk factor for this
disease).
Contact:
Suzanne Price
sprice@nutrition.org
American Society for
Nutrition
Public
Release: 16-Aug-2009
American Chemical Society 238th National Meeting
'Killer
spices' provide eco-friendly pesticides for organic fruits and veggies
Researchers are reporting that
well-known spices such as rosemary,
thyme, clove and mint are becoming organic agriculture's key weapons
against insect pests as the industry tries to satisfy demands for
fruits and veggies among the growing portion of consumers who want food
produced in more natural ways. A study on these so-called "killer
spices" is scheduled for presentation in August at the 238th National
Meeting of the American Chemical Society, held in Washington, D.C.
Contact:
Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Public
Release: 16-Aug-2009
American Chemical Society 238th National Meeting
Needle-free,
inhalant powder measles vaccine could save thousands of lives
The
first inhalable vaccine for measles is moving toward clinical
trials next year in India, where the disease still sickens millions of
infants and children and kills almost 200,000 annually, according to
researchers. The dry-powder vaccine is a perfect fit for use in
back-roads areas of developing countries that may lack access to
electricity and needles, the scientists say. Their report is scheduled
for presentation at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical
Society.
Contact:
Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Public
Release: 17-Aug-2009
Quaternary Science Reviews
Agricultural
methods of early civilizations may have altered global climate, study
suggests
Massive burning of forests for
agriculture thousands of years ago may
have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide enough to alter global
climate and usher in a warming trend that continues today, according to
a new study that appears online Aug. 17 in the journal Quaternary
Science Reviews.
Contact:
William Ruddiman
Rudds2@ntelos.com
540-348-1963
University of Virginia
