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Public Release: 17-Aug-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Inexpensive hypertension drug could be multiple sclerosis treatment, Stanford study shows
Turning serendipity into science, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a link, in mice and in human brain tissue, between high blood pressure and multiple sclerosis. Their findings suggest that a safe, inexpensive drug already in wide use for high blood pressure may have therapeutic value in multiple sclerosis, as well.
Contact: Bruce Goldman
goldmanb@stanford.edu
650-725-2106
Stanford University Medical Center
Public Release: 17-Aug-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
MIT study: Heavier rainstorms ahead
Heavier rainstorms lie in our future. That's the clear conclusion of a new MIT and Caltech study on the impact that global climate change will have on precipitation patterns.
Contact: Jen Hirsch
jfhirsch@mit.edu
617-253-1682
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Photos of cake can keep you slim, say psychologists
Rather than encouraging indulgence, appetising images of junk food may actually encourage dieters to eat more healthily
11:49 17 August 2009
As Arctic Ocean warms, megatonnes of methane bubble up
17:02 17 August 2009
Research ship finds methane bubbling up from the Arctic seabed – probably released from ice that is melting because of the warming climate
Public Release: 17-Aug-2009
Deutsches Ärzteblatt International
Children with headache
Family quarrels and a lack of free time can promote headaches in children. This is what Jennifer Gassmann and her co-authors concluded in their study on risk factors, which appears in the current issue of the Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.
Contact: E. Bartholomaeus
49-223-470-11133
Deutsches Aerzteblatt International
Public Release: 17-Aug-2009
Nature
Faster, cheaper way to find disease genes in human genome passes initial test
Researchers have successfully developed a novel genomic analysis strategy for faster, cheaper discovery of gene-disease links. The strategy was tested on the genomes of unrelated individuals with the same inherited disorder. The method might be extended to common medical conditions with complex genetics by making it possible to study the genomes of large groups of people.
National Insitutes of Health, NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Washington Research Foundation, Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research
Contact: Leila Gray
leilag@u.washington.edu
206-685-0381
University of Washington
Public Release: 17-Aug-2009
Ear and Hearing
Taking up music so you can hear
Anyone with an MP3 device has a notion of the majesty of music, of the primal place it holds in the human imagination. But musical training should not be seen simply as stuff of the soul -- a frill that has to go when school budgets dry up, according to a new Northwestern University study. It is the first demonstration of musical training offsetting the deleterious effects of background noise, and the implications are provocative.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Pat Vaughan Tremmel
p-tremmel@northwestern.edu
847-491-4892
Northwestern University
Public Release: 17-Aug-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Researchers find genetic link between physical pain and social rejection
UCLA psychologists have determined for the first time that a gene linked with physical pain sensitivity is associated with social pain sensitivity as well. The research gives weight to the common notion that rejection "hurts" by showing that a gene that regulates the body's most potent painkillers are involved in socially painful experiences too.
Contact: Stuart Wolpert
swolpert@support.ucla.edu
310-206-0511
University of California - Los Angeles
Public Release: 17-Aug-2009
Behavioral Neuroscience
Excessive exercise can be addicting, new study says
Although exercise is good for your health, extreme exercise may be physically addicting. Rats given a drug that produces withdrawal in heroin addicts went into withdrawal after running excessively in exercise wheels, according to new research. Rats that ran the hardest had the most severe withdrawal symptoms.
Contact: Public Affairs Office
public.affairs@apa.org
202-336-5700
American Psychological Association
Public Release: 17-Aug-2009
Meteoritics & Planetary Science
NASA researchers make first discovery of life's building block in comet
NASA scientists have discovered glycine, a fundamental building block of life, in samples of comet Wild 2 returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft.
NASA
Contact: Bill Steigerwald
William.a.steigerwald@nasa.gov
301-286-5017
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Public Release: 17-Aug-2009
 Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
Study shows how to boost value of Alzheimer's-fighting compounds
The polyphenols found in red wine are thought to help prevent Alzheimer's disease, and new research from Purdue University and Mount Sinai School of Medicine has shown that some of those compounds in fact reach the brain.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Brian Wallheimer
bwallhei@purdue.edu
765-496-2050
Purdue University
Public Release: 18-Aug-2009
American Chemical Society 238th National Meeting
Tobacco plants yield the first vaccine for the dreaded 'cruise ship virus'
Scientists have used a new vaccine production technology to develop a vaccine for norovirus, a dreaded cause of diarrhea and vomiting that may be the second most common viral infection in the United States after the flu. Sometimes called the "cruise ship virus," this microbe can spread like wildfire through passenger liners, schools, offices and military bases.
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Public Release: 18-Aug-2009
Circulation: Heart Failure
Doctor-pharmacist partnership reduces hospitalization for heart failure
Collaborative medication management between doctors and pharmacists cut the heart failure hospitalization rate by nearly half. The striking difference in hospitalization rates may have been underestimated in this study because patients who received the collaborative medicine review were sicker than those who didn't receive it.
Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs
Contact: Maggie Francis
maggie.francis@heart.org
214-706-1382
American Heart Association
Public Release: 18-Aug-2009
JAMA
Overall antibiotic prescription rates for respiratory tract infections decreasing
From 1995 to 2006 the rate of antibiotic prescriptions for acute respiratory tract infections decreased significantly, attributable in part to a decline in ambulatory visits for ear infections in young children, according to a study in the Aug. 19 issue of JAMA. But prescription rates for broad spectrum antibiotics, namely azithromycin and quinolones, increased substantially during the study period.
Contact: John Howser
john.howser@vanderbilt.edu
615-322-4747
JAMA and Archives Journals
Public Release: 18-Aug-2009
Human Reproduction
At last -- a quick and accurate way of diagnosing endometriosis
A quick and accurate test for endometriosis that does not require surgery has been developed by researchers from Australia, Jordan and Belgium, according to new research published online on Wednesday August 19 in Human Reproduction journal. The test involves testing a biopsy sample taken from the endometrium for the presence of nerve fibers. It is nearly 100 percent accurate.
Contact: Emma Mason
wordmason@mac.com
44-077-112-96986
European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology
Why humans can't navigate out of a paper bag
FEATURE:  10:19 18 August 2009
Birds, rats and even hamsters are able to find their way around with ease, without maps or satnav. So how come we get lost so often?
Science ponders 'zombie attack'
If zombies actually existed, an attack by them would lead to the collapse of civilisation unless dealt with quickly and aggressively.
By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News
Well
Weight Lifting May Help to Avert Lymph Problem
Restricting activity may not be the best strategy against lymphedema.
By TARA PARKER-POPE
DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show
With fabricated blood or saliva, “you can just engineer a crime scene,” said the lead author of a new study.
By ANDREW POLLACK
Basics
Brain Is a Co-Conspirator in a Vicious Stress Loop
Chronic stress changes the brain, but relaxation can change it back.
By NATALIE ANGIER
Adding Layers of Skills to a Science Background
Many continuing education students are trying to broaden their appeal by adding business and communications skills, or bringing their expertise to new fields.
By STEVE LOHR
Pterosaur tracks show it touched down like a bird
Jurassic-period footprints show the flying reptile landed on its hind legs, like a modern bird – although the animals mostly walked on all fours
00:01 19 August 2009
Public Release: 18-Aug-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The greenhouse gas that saved the world
A newly formed Earth was warmed by a weak young sun, a sun too weak to keep water fluid on Earth. Now a professor in atmospheric chemistry explains how a powerful greenhouse gas helped keep young earth warm enough to be a cradle for life.
Danish Natural Science Foundation, Willum Kann Rasmussen Fund, Ministry of Education, Culture Sports, Technology and Science, Japan, Environment Research Fund, Ministry of Environment, Japan, Mext Program, Kakenhi
Contact: Jes Andersen
jean@science.ku.dk
453-050-6582
University of Copenhagen
Public Release: 18-Aug-2009
Journal of Neuroscience
Neural pathway missing in tone-deaf people
Nerve fibers that link perception and motor regions of the brain are disconnected in tone-deaf people, according to new research in the Aug. 19 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. Experts estimate that at least 10 percent of the population may be tone deaf -- unable to sing in tune. The new finding identifies a particular brain circuit that appears to be absent in these individuals.
Contact: Kat Snodgrass
ksnodgrass@sfn.org
202-962-4090
Society for Neuroscience
Public Release: 18-Aug-2009
BMC Genomics
Key feature of immune system survived in humans, other primates for 60 million years
A new study has concluded that one key part of the immune system, the ability of vitamin D to regulate anti-bactericidal proteins, is so important that is has been conserved through almost 60 million years of evolution and is shared only by primates, including humans -- but no other known animal species.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Adrian Gombart
adrian.gombart@oregonstate.edu
541-737-8018
Oregon State University
Public Release: 18-Aug-2009
Free Radical Biology and Medicine
Scientists help explain effects of ancient Chinese herbal formulas on heart health
New research at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston suggests that ancient Chinese herbal formulas used primarily for cardiovascular indications including heart disease may produce large amounts of artery-widening nitric oxide. Findings of the preclinical study by scientists in the university's Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases appear in the Sept. 15 print issue of the journal Free Radical Biology & Medicine.
Contact: Robert Cahill
Robert.Cahill@uth.tmc.edu
713-500-3030
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Public Release: 19-Aug-2009
American Chemical Society 238th National Meeting
Romantic, candle-lit dinners: An unrecognized source of indoor air pollution
Burning candles made from paraffin wax -- the most common kind used to infuse rooms with romantic ambiance, warmth, light and fragrance -- is an unrecognized source of exposure to indoor air pollution, including the known human carcinogens, scientists are reporting. Their study 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: 19-Aug-2009
American Chemical Society 238th National Meeting
Hidden treasure: Technique reveals buried image in famed illustrator's painting
Researchers are reporting the use of a new X-ray imaging technique to reveal unprecedented details of a painting hidden beneath another painting by famed American illustrator N.C. Wyeth. The nondestructive technique could reveal new insights into the artist's technique, and potentially reveal hidden images in hundreds of Old Master paintings, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for presentation in August at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C.
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Public Release: 19-Aug-2009
American Chemical Society 238th National Meeting
New approach to wound healing may be easy on skin, but hard on bacteria
In a presentation today to the American Chemical Society meeting, Ankit Agarwal, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, described an experimental approach to wound healing that could take advantage of silver's antibacterial properties, while sidestepping the damage silver can cause to cells needed for healing.
Wisconsin Institutes of Discovery
Contact: Ankit Agarwal
agarwal5@wisc.edu
515-708-1330
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public Release: 19-Aug-2009
New England Journal of Medicine
Warning over codeine use after tonsillectomy
A report out of the University of Western Ontario, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, warns the use of codeine to treat pain following a tonsillectomy could prove fatal for some children. Dr. Gideon Koren, who holds the Ivey Chair in Molecular Toxicology at Western, zeroed in on the danger after investigating the death of a 2-year-old boy following a relatively easy operation to remove his tonsils.
Contact: Kathy Wallis
kwallis3@uwo.ca
519-661-2111 x81136
University of Western Ontario
Public Release: 19-Aug-2009
Nature
Major insights into evolution of life reported by UCLA molecular biologist
Humans might not be walking on the face of the Earth were it not for the ancient fusing of two prokaryotes -- tiny life forms that do not have a cellular nucleus. Important new insights about prokaryotes and the evolution of life are published by UCLA molecular biologist James A. Lake, Aug. 20 in the journal Nature.
Contact: Stuart Wolpert
swolpert@support.ucla.edu
310-206-0511
University of California - Los Angeles
Where does white skin come from?
Conventional wisdom says it evolved as humans migrated north to help them make enough vitamin D under a weaker sun – but not everyone is convinced
THIS WEEK:  18:00 19 August 2009
Public Release: 19-Aug-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Geobiologists propose that the earliest complex organisms fed by absorbing ocean buffet
Research at Virginia Tech has shown that the oldest complex life forms -- living in nutrient-rich oceans more than 540 million years ago -- likely fed by osmosis.
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, NASA, National Science Foundation, Bateman Fellowship
Contact: Susan Trulove
STrulove@vt.edu
540-231-5646
Virginia Tech
Not Exactly Rocket Science
Do lost people really go round in circles?
It seems that with some sort of reference point, we're entirely capable of walking in a straight line, even in a featureless desert where dunes obscure the horizon or a busy forest that's riddled with obstacles. Without any such cues, we quickly veer off course.
Posted on: August 20, 2009 12:00 PM, by Ed Yong
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
Our nostrils share a rivalry too, study finds
Your nostrils may seem to be a happy pair, working together to pick up scents. However, a study published online on August 20 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, reveals that there can actually be a kind of rivalry between the two.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Ink found in Jurassic-era squid
Palaeontologists have drawn with ink extracted from a preserved fossilised squid uncovered during a dig in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.
19 August 2009 12:37 UK
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
Science
Scientists discover bioluminescent 'green bombers' from the deep sea
In the latest proof that the oceans continue to offer remarkable findings and much of their vastness remains to be explored, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and their colleagues have discovered a unique group of worms that live in the depths of the ocean.
Contact: Mario Aguilera or Annie Reisewitz
scrippsnews@ucsd.edu
858-534-3624
University of California - San Diego
Faster-growing flu vaccine could speed production
New strains come too late to beat the expected autumn wave of swine flu but could speed up vaccine production from mid-November
UPFRONT:  15:00 20 August 2009
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
Science
Chinese culture at the crossroads
Recent archaeological discoveries from far-flung corners of China are forcing scientists to reconsider the origins of ancient Chinese civilization -- and a new crop of young archaeologists are delving into the modern nation's roots.
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Contact: Natasha Pinol
npinol@aaas.org
202-326-7088
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
PLoS Pathogens
Parasites persuade immune cells to invite them in for dinner, says new research
The parasites that cause leishmaniasis use a quirky trick to convince the immune system to effectively invite them into cells for dinner, according to a new study published today in PLoS Pathogens. The researchers, from Imperial College London, say their findings improve understanding of the way Leishmania parasites establish an infection and could aid the search for a vaccine against this neglected tropical disease.
Wellcome Trust
Contact: Lucy Goodchild
lucy.goodchild@imperial.ac.uk
44-207-594-6702
Imperial College London
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes linked to immune response to wheat
Scientists at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Ottawa have discovered what may be an important clue to the cause of type 1 diabetes. Dr. Fraser Scott and his team tested 42 people with type 1 diabetes and found that nearly half had an abnormal immune response to wheat proteins. The study is published in the August 2009 issue of the journal Diabetes.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Contact: Jennifer Paterson
jpaterson@ohri.ca
613-798-5555 x73325
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
A step closer to 'synthetic life'
In what has been described as a step towards the creation of a synthetic cell, scientists have created a new "engineered" strain of bacteria.
By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News
20 August 2009 20:38 UK
Bizarre newt uses ribs as weapons
One amphibian has evolved a bizarre and gruesome defence mechanism to protect itself against predators.
Matt Walker Editor, Earth News
21 August 2009 10:11 UK
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
American Journal of Physiology
Acupuncture may bring relief for a common condition in women
Polycystic ovary syndrome, a common condition among women, can be relieved by the use of acupuncture and exercise. This has been shown by a recent study at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Contact: Elisabet Stener-Victorin
elisabet.stener-victorin@neuro.gu.se
46-031-786-3557
University of Gothenburg
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
Study: Contrary to popular belief, parents OK with kids' homework loads
A recent study's findings should squelch sentiments that homework is robbing children of free time and that parents are opposed to homework practices.
Contact: Ken Kiewra
kkiewra1@unl.edu
402-472-3233
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
Science
Princeton team learns why some drugs pack such a punch
By studying the intricate mechanisms at work in protein production, a Princeton-led team has discovered why certain kinds of antibiotics are so effective. In doing so, they also have discovered how one protein protects against cell death, shedding light on a natural cancer-fighting process.
NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research, Canton de Geneve, Swiss National Science Foundation
Contact: Kitta MacPherson
kittamac@princeton.edu
609-258-5729
Princeton University
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation
Night home hemodialysis shown to be as good as transplant in treating kidney failure
For the first time, it has been shown that patients who receive night home hemodialysis live just as long as those who receive kidney transplants from deceased donors.
Contact: Alex Radkewycz
alexandra.radkewycz@uhn.on.ca
416-340-3895
University Health Network
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
Obesity
Increase in visceral fat during menopause linked with testosterone
In middle-aged women, visceral fat, more commonly called belly fat, is known to be a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but what causes visceral fat to accumulate? The culprit is likely not age, as is commonly believed, but levels of active testosterone during the menopausal transition, according to researchers at Rush University Medical Center.
National Institutes of Health, Charles J. and Margaret Roberts Trust
Contact: Sharon Butler
Sharon_Butler@rush.edu
312-942-7816
Rush University Medical Center
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Universal influenza vaccination may reduce antibiotic use
We all know that influenza vaccination helps prevent disease, but a new study from Canada suggests it may also prevent another public health problem: inappropriate antibiotic use. The findings come from a new study in the Sept. 1, 2009, issue of Clinical Infectious Disease, which is now available online.
Contact: John Heys
jheys@idsociety.org
703-299-0412
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Public Release: 20-Aug-2009
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
Evolution of the appendix: A biological 'remnant' no more
Writing in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Duke scientists and collaborators from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University conclude that Charles Darwin was wrong: The appendix is a whole lot more than an evolutionary remnant. Not only does it appear in nature much more frequently than previously acknowledged, but it has been around much longer than anyone had suspected.
Contact: Michelle Gailiun
michelle.gailiun@duke.edu
919-724-5343
Duke University Medical Center