Public Release: 11-Jan-2010
Journal of Trauma
For gunshot and stab victims, on-scene spine immobilization may do more harm than good
Immobilizing the spines of shooting and stabbing victims before they are taken to the hospital -- standard procedure in Maryland and some other parts of the country -- appears to double the risk of death compared to transporting patients to a trauma center without this time-consuming, on-scene medical intervention, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers.
Contact: Stephanie Desmon
sdesmon1@jhmi.edu
410-955-8665
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Public Release: 11-Jan-2010
Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association
Sedentary TV time may cut life short
A study found that every hour spent in front of the television per day brings with it an 11 percent greater risk of premature death from all causes, and an 18 percent greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The findings apply to both obese and overweight people as well as people with a healthy weight because prolonged periods of sitting have an unhealthy influence on blood sugar and blood fat levels.
Contact: Karen Astle
karen.astle@heart.org
214-700-61392
American Heart Association
Public Release: 11-Jan-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Ongoing human evolution could explain recent rise in certain disorders
Evolutionary pressures could explain the seeming rise of disorders such as autism and autoimmune diseases, researchers write in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The scientists also suggest that evolutionary perspectives should be integrated into medical school curricula, to help future physicians consider health problems from an evolutionary perspective.
Contact: Amy Lavoie
amy_lavoie@harvard.edu
617-496-9982
Harvard University
Public Release: 11-Jan-2010
Journal of Neurochemistry
Study reveals how one form of natural vitamin E protects brain after stroke
Blocking the function of an enzyme in the brain with a specific kind of vitamin E can prevent nerve cells from dying after a stroke, new research suggests. In a study using mouse brain cells, scientists found that the tocotrienol form of vitamin E, an alternative to the popular drugstore supplement, stopped the enzyme from releasing fatty acids that eventually kill neurons.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Chandan Sen
chandan.sen@osumc.edu
614-247-7786
Ohio State University
Crystal mountains speak of moon's molten past
THIS WEEK:  14:38 11 January 2010
They may not sparkle like Superman's Fortress of Solitude, but giant outcrops of pristine crystal have been found on our nearest neighbour
Discovery News
Laminated Linen Protected Alexander the Great
    Alexander's men wore linothorax, a highly effective type of body armor created by laminating together layers of linen, research finds.
US war on salt begins
16:11 12 January 2010
Already a leader in the charge against unhealthy fats, New York City is now asking processed food manufacturers across the US to slash their use of salt
Public Release: 12-Jan-2010
PLoS ONE
Analysis of new data confirms bisphenol A link to disease in adults
Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School and the University of Exeter, UK, have found more evidence for a link between bisphenol A exposure (BPA, a chemical commonly used in plastic food containers) and cardiovascular disease.
Contact: Andrew Gould
andrew.gould@pms.ac.uk
44-797-196-6283
The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry
Public Release: 12-Jan-2010
PLoS ONE
Scientists find 'missing link' between heart failure and environment
Scientists have found what they believe is the "missing link" between heart failure, our genes and our environment. The study could open up completely new ways of managing and treating heart disease.
  British Heart Foundation
Contact: Becky Allen
becky.allen@admin.cam.ac.uk
44-012-233-32300
University of Cambridge
Public Release: 12-Jan-2010
British Medical Journal
Angiotensin receptor blockers associated with lower risk of Alzheimer's disease
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine have found that angiotensin receptor blockers -- a particular class of anti-hypertensive medicines -- are associated with a striking decrease in the occurrence and progression of dementia. These findings appear in the January issue of the British Medical Journal.
  Retirement Research Foundation, Casten Foundation
Contact: Gina DiGravio
gina.digravio@bmc.org
617-638-8480
Boston University Medical Center
Public Release: 12-Jan-2010
PLoS ONE
Carnegie Mellon scientists crack brain's codes for noun meanings
Two hundred years ago, archaeologists used the Rosetta Stone to understand the ancient Egyptian scrolls. Now, a team of Carnegie Mellon University scientists has discovered the beginnings of a neural Rosetta Stone. By combining brain imaging and machine learning techniques, neuroscientists Marcel Just and Vladimir Cherkassky and computer scientists Tom Mitchell and Sandesh Aryal determined how the brain arranges noun representations. Understanding how the brain codes nouns is important for treating psychiatric and neurological illnesses.
  W.M. Keck Foundation, National Science Foundation
Contact: Shilo Raube
sraube@andrew.cmu.edu
412-268-6094
Carnegie Mellon University
18 and Under
To Treat Bed-Wetting, Healthy Doses of Patience
By PERRI KLASS, M.D.
The causes for bed-wetting in children can be genetic, developmental and physiological, but the problem itself is quite treatable.
* Health Guide: Bed-Wetting »
Public Release: 12-Jan-2010
  Journal of Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases
New stroke therapy successful in rats
People with impaired mobility after a stroke soon may have a therapy that restores limb function long after the injury, if a supplemental protein works as well in humans as it does in paralyzed rats.
  University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Contact: Jennifer Fitzenberger
jfitzen@uci.edu
949-824-3969
University of California - Irvine
Public Release: 12-Jan-2010
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
UW-Madison scientists create super-strong collagen
A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has created the strongest form of collagen known to science, a stable alternative to human collagen that could one day be used to treat arthritis and other conditions that result from collagen defects.
  National Institutes of Health
Contact: Ron Raines
rtraines@wisc.edu
626-395-3076
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public Release: 12-Jan-2010
Journal of Medical Entomology
Mosquito hunters invent better, cheaper, DIY disease weapon
Emory researchers believe they have come up with the cheapest, most efficient way yet to monitor adult mosquitoes and the deadly diseases they carry, from malaria to West Nile Virus. Emory has filed a provisional patent on the Prokopack mosquito aspirator, but the inventors have provided simple instructions for how to make it in the Journal of Medical Entomology.
Contact: Beverly Clark
beverly.clark@emory.edu
404-712-8780
Emory University
Deciphering the Chatter of Monkeys and Chimps
By NICHOLAS WADE
Scientists are studying the babble of monkeys and apes in the hope of finding the key to how human communication evolved.
The solar cell that builds itself
Researchers have used a property of salad dressing to get electronics to self-assemble on a range of surfaces.
Jurassic tree survives big chill
What is believed to be the world's most northerly grove of a Jurassic tree has so far survived freezing temperatures.
Monday, 11 January 2010
Public Release: 13-Jan-2010
  Neuron
Dual role for immune cells in the brain
We all have at one time or another experienced the typical signs of an infection: the fever, the listlessness, the lack of appetite. They are orchestrated by the brain in response to circulating cytokines, the signaling molecules of the immune system. But just how cytokines' reach extends beyond the almost impenetrable blood-brain barrier has been the topic of much dispute.
Contact: Gina Kirchweger
kirchweger@salk.edu
858-453-410-01340
Salk Institute
Public Release: 13-Jan-2010
  Nature
Chimp and human Y chromosomes evolving faster than expected
The first comprehensive comparison of Y chromosomes from two species sheds new light on Y chromosome evolution. Contrary to a widely held scientific theory that the mammalian Y chromosome is slowly decaying or stagnating, new evidence suggests that in fact the Y is actually reinventing itself through continuous, wholesale renovation.
National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Contact: Nicole Giese
giese@wi.mit.edu
617-258-6851
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Public Release: 13-Jan-2010
  Journal of Advanced Nursing
Nursing students twice as likely to smoke as the general population
Urgent steps are needed to reduce the number of healthcare professionals who smoke. A survey of 812 new nursing students found that more than half were current or former smokers. 44 percent were still smoking -- twice as many as in the general population -- and a further 12 percent were former smokers. Three-quarters of the smoking students had at least one parent who smoked and almost half had at least one brother or sister who smoked.
Contact: Annette Whibley
wizard.media@virgin.net
Wiley-Blackwell
Public Release: 13-Jan-2010
  Nature
The viruses within -- and what keeps them there
It is known that viral "squatters" comprise nearly half of our genetic code. These genomic invaders inserted their DNA into our own millions of years ago when they infected our ancestors. But just how we keep them quiet and prevent them from attack was more of a mystery until EPFL researchers revived them.
Contact: Michael Mitchell
michael.mitchell@epfl.ch
41-798-103-107
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Public Release: 13-Jan-2010
  Journal of Lipid Research
Thyme oil can inhibit COX2 and suppress inflammation
Researchers have found that six essential oils -- from thyme, clove, rose, eucalyptus, fennel and bergamot -- can suppress the inflammatory COX-2 enzyme, in a manner similar to resveratrol, the chemical linked with the health benefits of red wine. They also identified that the chemical carvacrol was primarily responsible for this suppressive activity.
Contact: Nick Zagorski
nzagorski@asbmb.org
301-634-7366
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Public Release: 13-Jan-2010
  Psychological Science
Scent of a woman: Men's testosterone responses to olfactory ovulation cues
Women around the world spend billions of dollars each year on exotic smelling perfumes and lotions in the hopes of attracting a mate. However, going "au natural" may be the best way to capture a potential mate's attention: Men who smelled shirts of ovulating women subsequently had higher levels of testosterone than men who smelled shirts worn by non-ovulating women, suggesting that testosterone levels may be responsive to smells indicating when a woman is fertile.
Contact: Barbara Isanski
bisanski@psychologicalscience.org
Association for Psychological Science
Public Release: 13-Jan-2010
  Genetics
New study raises the possibility that some antiviral drugs could make diseases worse
A team of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin raises concerns about an emerging strategy for stopping viral infections. According to research appearing this month in Genetics, medications that cause viruses to die off by forcing their nucleic acid to mutate rapidly might actually, in some instances, cause them to emerge from the process even more virulent than before drug treatment.
Contact: Tracey DePellegrin Connelly
td2p@andrew.cmu.edu
412-268-1812
Genetics Society of America
Public Release: 14-Jan-2010
  Current Biology
Why we can't always find what we're looking for (and sometimes find what isn't there)
When people look for things that are rare, they aren't all that good at finding them. And it turns out that the reverse is also true: When people look for something common, they will often think they see it even when it isn't there.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 14-Jan-2010
  Science
Gators breathe like birds
University of Utah scientists discovered that air flows in one direction as it loops through the lungs of alligators, just as it does in birds. The study suggests this breathing method may have helped the dinosaurs' ancestors dominate Earth after the planet's worst mass extinction 251 million years ago.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Lee Siegel
leesiegel@ucomm.utah.edu
801-581-8993
University of Utah
Public Release: 14-Jan-2010
  Cell Death & Disease
Seeing a diagnosis: How an eye test could aid Alzheimer's detection
A simple and inexpensive eye test could aid detection and diagnosis of major neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's at an earlier stage than is currently possible, according to new research by UCL scientists.
Contact: Ruth Howells
ruth.howells@ucl.ac.uk
44-020-767-99739
University College London
Public Release: 14-Jan-2010
Epidemiology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases
McGill-CHUM study: 56 percent of young adults in a new sexual relationship infected with HPV
A groundbreaking study of couples led by Professor Eduardo Franco, Director of McGill University's Cancer Epidemiology Unit, in collaboration with a team of colleagues from McGill and Universite de Montreal/Centre Hospitalier de l'Universite de Montreal, found more than half (56 percent) of young adults in a new sexual relationship were infected with human papillomavirus. Of those, nearly half (44 percent) were infected with an HPV type that causes cancer.
Contact: Allison Flynn
allison.j.flynn@mcgill.ca
514-398-7698
McGill University
Public Release: 14-Jan-2010
 Neuron
To see or not to see
Weizmann Institute scientists find a burst of neural activity at the transition between not seeing and seeing, revealing a clear threshold that must be crossed for perception to occur.
Contact: Yivsam Azgad
news@weizmann.ac.il
972-893-43856
Weizmann Institute of Science
Public Release: 14-Jan-2010
  Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Punishment important in plant-pollinator relationship
Figs and the wasps that pollinate them present one of biologists' favorite examples of a beneficial relationship between two different species. In exchange for the pollination service provided by the wasp, the fig fruit provides room and board for the wasp's developing young. However, wasps do not always pollinate the fig. Fig trees "punish" these "cheaters" by dropping unpollinated fruit, killing the wasp's offspring inside, report researchers working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Cornell University Graduate School, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Contact: Beth King
kingb@si.edu
703-487-3770 x8216
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Public Release: 14-Jan-2010
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
New UT Knoxville research finds new ways to understand bacteria's 'thinking'
It's not thinking in the way humans, dogs or even birds think, but new findings from researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, show that bacteria are more capable of complex decision-making than previously known.
Contact: Jay Mayfield
jay.mayfield@tennessee.edu
865-974-9409
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Public Release: 15-Jan-2010
  Journal of Biological Chemistry
Scientists hope to end sleeping sickness by making parasite that causes it self-destruct
After many years of study, a team of researchers is releasing data today that it hopes will lead to new drug therapies that will kill the family of parasites that causes a deadly trio of insect-borne diseases and has afflicted inhabitants of underdeveloped and developing nations for centuries.
American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Angela Hopp
ahopp@asbmb.org
301-634-7389
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Public Release: 15-Jan-2010
  New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development
Siblings play formative, influential role as 'agents of socialization'
Laurie Kramer, a professor of applied family studies at the University of Illinois, says that what we learn from our siblings when we grow up has -- for better or for worse -- a considerable influence on our social and emotional development as adults.
US Department of Agriculture
Contact: Phil Ciciora
pciciora@illinois.edu
217-333-2177
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Public Release: 15-Jan-2010
  Annals of Neurology
Genetic risk factor identified for Parkinson's disease
An international team of doctors and human geneticists has identified a new genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease. The institutions involved in the study were the Institute of Human Genetics of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Technische Universitat Munchen, the Neurological Clinic of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munich and the Mitochondrial Research Group of Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Contact: Sven Winkler
presse@helmholtz-muenchen.de
49-893-187-3946
Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health
Public Release: 15-Jan-2010
PLoS ONE
Studies demonstrate link among Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome and atherosclerosis
Neuroscientists at the University of South Florida have demonstrated an association among Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome and atherosclerosis. Their research, published online in the journals Molecular Biology of the Cell and PLoS One, implicates damage inflicted by the amyloid protein as a shared disease mechanism.
USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Institute, Pfeiffer Endowed Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Research, NIH/National Institute on Aging
Contact: Anne DeLotto Baier
abaier@health.usf.edu
813-974-3300
University of South Florida Health
Radiocarbon Daters Tune Up Their Time Machine
Science Now