Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2009
EKG can show false positive readings for diagnosing heart condition
The electrical measurements on the electrocardiogram can often mislead physicians in diagnosing the heart condition left ventricular hypertrophy, causing other screening tests to be ordered before a definitive conclusion can be made, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.
Henry Ford Hospital
Contact: David Olejarz
Dolejar1@hfhs.org
313-303-0606
Henry Ford Health System
Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2009
Migraine raises risk of most common form of stroke
Pooling results from 21 studies, involving 622,381 men and women, researchers at Johns Hopkins have affirmed that migraine headaches are associated with more than twofold higher chances of the most common kind of stroke: those occurring when blood supply to the brain is suddenly cut off by the buildup of plaque or a blood clot.
National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Scholars Program
Contact: David March
dmarch1@jhmi.edu
410-955-1534
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2009
Marker of oxidative stress predicts heart disease outcomes
Researchers have identified a substance in the blood that may be useful in predicting an individual's risk for heart disease. The substance is cystine, an oxidized form of the amino acid cysteine and an indirect measure of oxidative stress. In a study of more than 1,200 people undergoing cardiac imaging at Emory because of suspected heart disease, people with high levels of cystine in the blood were twice as likely to have a heart attack or die over the next few years.
Contact: Jennifer Johnson
jrjohn9@emory.edu
404-727-5696
Emory University
Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
UCI researchers create compound that boosts anti-inflammatory fat levels
UC Irvine pharmacology researchers have discovered a way to boost levels of a natural body fat that helps decrease inflammation, pointing to possible new treatments for allergies, illnesses and injuries related to the immune system.
Contact: Tom Vasich
tmvasich@uci.edu
949-824-6455
University of California - Irvine
Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
List makers take note: 10 technologies that made news in 2009 and warrant watching in 2010
A first-of-its kind inhalable measles vaccine for developing countries, where the disease remains a scourge. A "nanogenerator" that could recharge iPods and other electronic devices with a shake. And for Fido and Fluffy, a long-awaited once-a-month pill for both ticks and fleas. Those three advances are among hundreds publicized during 2009 by the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
Journal of American Chemical Society
Accidental discovery produces durable new blue pigment for multiple applications
An accidental discovery in a laboratory at Oregon State University has apparently solved a quest that over thousands of years has absorbed the energies of ancient Egyptians, the Han dynasty in China, Mayan cultures and more -- the creation of a near-perfect blue pigment.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Mas Subramanian
mas.subramanian@oregonstate.edu
541-737-8235
Oregon State University
Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2009
Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association
Researchers discover heart disease in 3,500-year-old mummies
CT scans of mummies revealed calcium deposits in their artery walls. These deposits are an indication of clogged or hardened arteries, a sign of heart disease. Heart disease was not unusual in humans living 3,000 years ago, researchers said.
Siemens, National Bank of Egypt, Mid-America Heart Institute
Contact: News Media Staff Dallas
karen.astle@heart.org
214-706-1396
American Heart Association
Toddlers insensitive to fear go on to commit crimes
11:20 17 November 2009
Adult criminals tend to be fearless, but whether this quality emerges before or after their crimes wasn't clear until now
Really?
The Claim: A Person Can Contract Two Colds at One Time
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
Can a person be sick with two colds at once?
Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2009
Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association
How fish is cooked affects heart-health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids
Baked or boiled fish is associated with more benefit from heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids than fried, salted or dried fish. Caucasian, Japanese-American and Latino men may be more likely to get the health benefits of fish than African-American or Hawaiian men, perhaps because of how their fish is prepared or genetic predisposition. Omega-3s from plant sources such as soy may do more to improve women's heart health than fish sources.
American Heart Association
Contact: News Media Staff Dallas
karen.astle@heart.org
214-706-1396
American Heart Association
Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
JAMA
Treatment with folic acid, vitamin B12 associated with increased risk of cancer, death
Patients with heart disease in Norway, a country with no fortification of foods with folic acid, had an associated increased risk of cancer and death from any cause if they had received treatment with folic acid and vitamin B12, according to a study in the Nov. 18 issue of JAMA.
Contact: Marta Ebbing, M.D.
marta.ebbing@helse-bergen.no
JAMA and Archives Journals
Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Genome Research
Common herbal medicine may prevent acetaminophen-related liver damage, says Stanford researcher
A well-known Eastern medicine supplement may help avoid the most common cause of liver transplantation, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding came as a surprise to the scientists, who used a number of advanced genetic and genomic techniques in mice to identify a molecular pathway that counters acetaminophen toxicity, which leads to liver failure.
Contact: Krista Conger
kristac@stanford.edu
650-725-5371
Stanford University Medical Center
Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Current Biology
Bigger not necessarily better, when it comes to brains
Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London. Animals with bigger brains are not necessarily more intelligent. This begs the important question: what are they for?
Contact: Simon Levey
s.levey@qmul.ac.uk
44-207-882-5404
Queen Mary, University of London
Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Anesthesia & Analgesia
Need for emergency airway surgery for hard-to-intubate patients reduced
Be prepared, that old Boy Scout motto, is being applied with great success to operating room patients whose anatomy may make it difficult for physicians to help them breathe during surgery, Johns Hopkins researchers report in a new study.
Medic Alert Foundation, MCIC Vermont Inc.
Contact: Stephanie Desmon
sdesmon1@jhmi.edu
410-955-8665
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Journal of Consumer Research
When East meets West: Why consumers turn to alternative medicine
Alternative health remedies are increasingly important in the health care marketplace. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research explores how consumers choose among the many available remedies.
Contact: Mary-Ann Twist
JCR@bus.wisc.edu
608-255-5582
University of Chicago Press Journals
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics
Common pain relief medication may encourage cancer growth
Although morphine has been the gold-standard treatment for postoperative and chronic cancer pain for two centuries, a growing body of evidence is showing that opiate-based painkillers can stimulate the growth and spread of cancer cells. Two new studies advance that argument and demonstrate how shielding lung cancer cells from opiates reduces cell proliferation, invasion and migration in both cell-culture and mouse models.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: John Easton
john.easton@uchospitals.edu
773-702-6241
University of Chicago Medical Center
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
Molecular Psychiatry
Immune system activated in schizophrenia
Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered that patients with recent-onset schizophrenia have higher levels of inflammatory substances in their brains. Their findings offer hope of being able to treat schizophrenia with drugs that affect the immune system.
Contact: Katarina Sternudd
katarina.sternudd@ki.se
46-852-483-895
Karolinska Institutet
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
Science Signaling
Cancers' sweet tooth may be weakness
Cancer cells tend to take up more glucose than healthy cells and metabolize it in a process called glycolysis. An enzyme called PKM2 that governs cancer cells' preference for glucose may be a valuable anti-cancer drug target.
National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Contact: Vince Dollard
vdollar@emory.edu
404-778-4580
Emory University
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
Journal of Proteome Research
Toward explaining why hepatitis B hits men harder than women
Scientists in China are reporting discovery of unusual liver proteins, found only in males, that may help explain the long-standing mystery of why the hepatitis B virus sexually discriminates -- hitting men harder than women. Their study has been published online in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, a monthly publication.
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
PLoS Biology
Scientists find molecular trigger that helps prevent aging and disease
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine set out to address a question that has been challenging scientists for years: How do dietary restriction -- and the reverse, overconsumption -- produce protective effects against aging and disease?
Contact: Mount Sinai Press Office
newsnow@mountsinai.org
212-241-9200
The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Behavior Research and Therapy
Full recovery now possible for an 'untreatable' mental illness
Patients coping with the chaos and misery of Borderline Personality Disorder now have reason for strong confidence in making major life changes through a new treatment, Schema Therapy. For the first time, three major outcome studies have shown that many patients with Borderline Personality Disorder can achieve full recovery across the complete range of symptoms. In one study Schema Therapy was shown to be more than twice as effective as a widely practiced traditional treatment.
Contact: George Lockwood, Ph.D.
glockwood@chartermi.net
269-345-8100
International Society of Schema Therapy
Gene change in cannibals reveals evolution in action
14:27 19 November 2009
Devastating brain disease caused by human cannibalism promoted protective gene mutation to emerge just 200 years ago
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Gastroenterology
Reflux esophagitis due to immune reaction, not acute acid burn
Contrary to current thinking, a condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease might not develop as a direct result of acidic digestive juices burning the esophagus, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found in an animal study.
Dallas VA Medical Center, National Institutes of Health
Contact: LaKisha Ladson
lakisha.ladson@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Water found in lunar impact likely came from comets
23:41 19 November 2009
The discovery of volatiles in lunar material ejected by NASA's LCROSS mission suggests comets delivered much of the water at the impact site
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health
Let them eat snail
A nutritionist in Nigeria says that malnutrition and iron deficiency in schoolchildren could be reduced in her country by baking up snail pie. In a research paper to be published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health, she explains snail is not only cheaper and more readily available than beef but contains more protein.
Contact: Ukpong Udofia
ukpyudofia@yahoo.com
Inderscience Publishers
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Defining Pragmatics
Finding more in 'most'
Prof. Mira Ariel of Tel Aviv University has scientifically quanitifed the common interpretation of the word "most," finding it to be a measurement of 80 to 95 percent of a sample.
Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Shifting blame is socially contagious
Merely observing someone publicly blame an individual in an organization for a problem -- even when the target is innocent -- greatly increases the odds that the practice of blaming others will spread with the tenacity of the H1N1 flu.
Contact: Anne Bergman
Anne.bergman@marshall.usc.edu
213-740-5552
University of Southern California
Not Exactly Rocket Science
Tiny fungi replay the fall of the giant beasts
November 19, 2009
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Applied Health Economics & Health Policy
Dispensing prescription drugs in 3-month supplies reduces drug costs by a third
Purchasing prescription drugs in a three-month supply rather than a one-month supply has long been regarded as a way to save money. New research from the University of Chicago quantifies the savings for the first time.
Contact: Greg Borzo
greg.borzo@uchospitals.edu
773-795-0892
University of Chicago Medical Center
'Frankenstein' fix lets asteroid mission cheat death
18:37 20 November 2009
The beleaguered Hayabusa asteroid probe is back on track to return to Earth after ground controllers cobbled together a working engine from two dead ones
US could ban caffeine-alcohol drinks within months
UPFRONT:  10:00 21 November 2009
The US Food and Drug Administration has asked manufacturers of drinks that combine alcohol and caffeine to provide scientific evidence they are safe
'Supercharged' heart pumps blood up a giraffe's neck
For children and scientists alike the extraordinary shape of the giraffe has posed many questions.
By Jody Bourton Earth News reporter
20 November 2009
Signs Swine Flu Wave May Have Peaked in U.S.
Although federal health officials decline to use the word “peaked,” the current wave of swine flu appears to have done so in the United States.
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Published: November 20, 2009
Public Release: 22-Nov-2009
Nature Medicine
Surface bacteria maintain skin's healthy balance
On the skin's surface, bacteria are abundant, diverse and constant, but inflammation is undesirable. Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now shows that the normal bacteria living on the skin surface trigger a pathway that prevents excessive inflammation after injury.
National Institutes of Health, US Veterans Administration
Contact: Debra Kain
ddkain@ucsd.edu
619-543-6163
University of California - San Diego
Public Release: 22-Nov-2009
Nature Chemistry
New hydrogen-storage method discovered
Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have found for the first time that high pressure can be used to make a unique hydrogen-storage material. The discovery paves the way for a new approach to the hydrogen-storage problem. The researchers found that the normally nonreactive, noble gas xenon combines with molecular hydrogen under pressure to form a previously unknown solid with unusual bonding chemistry. The discovery debuts a new family of materials, which could boost hydrogen technologies.
US Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, National Science Foundation
Contact: Maddury Somayazulu
zulu@gl.ciw.edu
202-478-8911
Carnegie Institution
Icy moon's lakes brim with hearty soup for life
00:24 23 November 2009
Lakes on Saturn's moon Titan are loaded with acetylene, a chemical some scientists say could serve as food for cold-resistant organisms, a new study suggests
Grandmother monkeys care for baby
Two grandmother monkeys have been seen intervening to raise their own grandchildren, providing essential care including suckling the young.
23 November 2009
Dirt 'can be good for children'
Children should be allowed to get dirty, according to scientists who have found being too clean can impair the skin's ability to heal.
Monday, 23 November 2009
Public Release: 23-Nov-2009
Oncogene
New research shows versatility of amniotic fluid stem cells
For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that stem cells found in amniotic fluid meet an important test of potential to become specialized cell types, which suggests they may be useful for treating a wider array of diseases and conditions than scientists originally thought.
Contact: Karen Richardson
krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu
336-716-4453
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center