Public Release: 22-Jan-2010
Cancer Prevention Research
Don't forget to eat your greens
Not only are the vitamins and minerals good for you, but eating greens could also save your life, according to a recent study led by the National Nuclear Security Administration's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists.
Contact: Anne Stark
stark8@llnl.gov
925-422-9799
DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Evidence of Stone Age amputation forces rethink over history of surgery
Times UK
Public Release: 25-Jan-2010
Pediatrics
Mixed-handed children more likely to have mental health, language and scholastic problems
Children who are mixed-handed, or ambidextrous, are more likely to have mental health, language and scholastic problems in childhood than right- or left-handed children, according to a new study published today in the journal Pediatrics. The researchers behind the study, from Imperial College London and other European institutions, suggest that their findings may help teachers and health professionals to identify children who are particularly at risk of developing certain problems.
Academy of Finland, Sigrid Juselius Foundation, Thule Institute, University of Oulu, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
Contact: Laura Gallagher
l.gallagher@imperial.ac.uk
44-207-594-8432
Imperial College London
Public Release: 25-Jan-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Everybody laughs, everybody cries: Researchers identify universal emotions
Here's a piece of research that might leave you tickled: laughter is a universal language, according to new research. The study, conducted with people from Britain and Namibia, suggests that basic emotions such as amusement, anger, fear and sadness are shared by all humans.
Wellcome Trust and Economic, Social Research Council
Contact: Craig Brierley
c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk
44-207-611-7329
Wellcome Trust
Public Release: 25-Jan-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Researchers of microraptor shed light on ancient origin of bird flight
A joint team from the University of Kansas and Northeastern University in China says that it has settled the long-standing question of how bird flight began.
Contact: Brendan M. Lynch
blynch@ku.edu
785-864-8855
University of Kansas
Public Release: 25-Jan-2010
Anaesthesia
Doctors develop life-saving, low-cost ventilators for emergency, rural and military use
Anesthetists have designed three prototype low-cost ventilators that could provide vital support during major health care emergencies involving large numbers of patients, such as pandemics, and where resources are limited, such as in developing countries, remote locations or by the military. The team says it is possible to make simple ventilators that could be mass-produced for crises where there is an overwhelming demand for mechanical ventilation and a limited oxygen supply.
Contact: Annette Whibley
wizard.media@virgin.net
Wiley-Blackwell
Public Release: 25-Jan-2010
American Journal of Transplantation
Technique for preserving pre-transplant livers improves outcomes and organ pool
Preserving organs on ice prior to transplantation, an approach known as cold storage or CS, has been the standard practice in liver transplant for 20 years. Now there is new evidence that a technique called hypothermic machine perfusion may offer an improvement, according to the first-ever study comparing the impact of the two techniques on transplant outcomes.
US Health Resources and Services Administration, Division of Transplantation
Contact: Bryan Dotson
brd9005@nyp.org
212-305-5587
New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College
Public Release: 25-Jan-2010
Research at UCSB points to potential treatment for kidney disease
Research performed at UC Santa Barbara points to the drug rapamycin as a potential treatment for kidney disease. The study builds on past research and shows that studies performed on mice are more likely to translate to humans than previously thought. The results are published in the current online issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Contact: Gail Gallessich
805-893-7220
University of California - Santa Barbara
Public Release: 25-Jan-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Why humans outlive apes
The same evolutionary genetic advantages that have helped increase human lifespans also make us uniquely susceptible to diseases of aging such as cancer, heart disease and dementia, reveals a study to be published in a special PNAS collection on "Evolution in Health and Medicine" on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Contact: Suzanne Wu
suzanne.wu@usc.edu
213-740-0252
University of Southern California
Public Release: 26-Jan-2010
PLoS ONE
Sniffing out lung cancer at early stages
New animal research from scientists at the Monell Center and collaborators demonstrates that body fluid odors can be used to identify animals with lung cancer tumors. The findings set the stage for studies to identify potential diagnostic biomarkers in the urine of human lung cancer patients.
Panasonic Corporation
Contact: Leslie Stein
stein@monell.org
267-519-4707
Monell Chemical Senses Center
Trapped Mars rover's driving days are over
  22:34 26 January 2010
After months of trying to extricate the Spirit rover from a sand trap, NASA believes the attempt is hopeless – but the robot's useful life may not be over
US babies mysteriously shrinking
  UPFRONT:  16:15 26 January 2010
The 52-gram drop in the weight of full-term singletons cannot be explained by an increase in caesarean sections, which shorten gestation
Public Release: 26-Jan-2010
BMC Biology
Is the Hobbit's brain unfeasibly small?
Homo floresiensis, a pygmy-sized small-brained hominin popularly known as "The Hobbit" was discovered five years ago, but controversy continues over whether the small brain is actually due to a pathological condition. How can its tiny brain size be explained? Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology have tackled this question in the context of a comprehensive assessment of the evolution of brain and body size throughout the larger primate family.
Contact: Graeme Baldwin
graeme.baldwin@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22165
BioMed Central
Public Release: 26-Jan-2010
Journal of the American College of Surgeons
Top-rated hospitals don't always have superior outcomes
New research published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds that while popular hospital rating systems can help identify high-quality hospitals for cardiovascular operations, patients can achieve similar outcomes by seeking care at high-volume hospitals closer to home.
Contact: Sally Garneski
pressinquiry@facs.org
312-202-5409
Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Well
Recess, Then Lunch
By TARA PARKER-POPE
A simple scheduling switch -- moving recess before lunch -- may improve children's eating habits and behavior in school.
Public Release: 26-Jan-2010
Plant Biotechnology
UCF professor's vaccine could be lethal weapon against malaria, cholera
Mankind may finally have a weapon to fight two of the world's deadliest diseases. A University of Central Florida biomedical researcher has developed what promises to be the first low-cost dual vaccine against malaria and cholera.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala
zkotala@mail.ucf.edu
407-823-6120
University of Central Florida
Really?
The Claim: Coughing Can Blunt the Pain of a Doctor’s Needle
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
Can coughing during an injection be a cheap and easy way to ease the needle’s sting?
Public Release: 26-Jan-2010
PLoS ONE
Recognition of facial expressions is not universal
Caucasians and Asians don't examine faces in the same way, according to new research. Ph.D. student Caroline Blais, of the Universite de Montreal department of psychology, has published two studies on the subject: one in Current Biology and the other in PLoS ONE.
Contact: Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins
sylvain-jacques.desjardins@umontreal.ca
514-343-7593
University of Montreal
A New Way to Look for Diseases’ Genetic Roots
By NICHOLAS WADE
Though scientists hit a wall in their search, a Duke geneticist has ideas on how to renew the hunt.
Public Release: 26-Jan-2010
Blood
Groundbreaking research shows platelets can reproduce in circulation
University of Utah researchers led an international team of scientists that is the first to report on the previously undescribed ability of platelets to reproduce themselves in the circulation. Their revolutionary findings were published online ahead of print, Jan. 19, 2010, in the journal Blood.
Contact: Phil Sahm
Phil.Sahm@hsc.utah.edu
801-581-2517
University of Utah Health Sciences
Public Release: 27-Jan-2010
Neuron
Magnesium supplement helps boost brainpower
Neuroscientists at MIT and Tsinghua University in Beijing show that increasing brain magnesium with a new compound enhanced learning abilities, working memory, and short- and long-term memory in rats. The dietary supplement also boosted older rats' ability to perform a variety of learning tests.
National Institutes of Health, National Basic Research Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, National High Technology Research
Contact: Jennifer Hirsch
jfhirsch@mit.edu
617-253-1682
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Public Release: 27-Jan-2010
Neuron
A mind at rest strengthens memories, NYU researchers find
Our memories are strengthened during periods of rest while we are awake, researchers at New York University have found. The findings, which appear in the latest issue of the journal Neuron, expand our understanding of how memories are boosted -- previous studies had shown this process occurs during sleep, but not during times of awake rest.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, Dart Neuroscience
Contact: James Devitt
james.devitt@nyu.edu
212-998-6808
New York University
Flu in pregnancy changes fetal brain
IN BRIEF:  16:20 27 January 2010
The brains of monkeys whose mothers had flu while pregnant resemble those of people with schizophrenia
Drug could turn soldiers into super-survivors
  THIS WEEK:  18:00 27 January 2010
A compound that stops the body from shutting down after severe blood loss could keep soldiers alive for long enough to make it to hospital
Dinosaur had ginger feathers
Scientists reveal that the bristles of a small, 125-million-year-old dinosaur were in fact ginger-coloured feathers.
Fossil hints at fuzzy dinosaurs
Public Release: 27-Jan-2010
Reproductive Sciences
Pomegranate extract stimulates uterine contractions
Scientists at the University of Liverpool and the Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand, have found that a naturally occurring steroid, present in pomegranate seed, could be used to stimulate uterine contractions.
Contact: Samantha Martin
samantha.martin@liv.ac.uk
01-517-942-248
University of Liverpool
Public Release: 27-Jan-2010
Journal of Natural Products
Ginkgo herbal medicines may increase seizures in people with epilepsy
Restrictions should be placed on the use of Ginkgo biloba -- a top-selling herbal remedy -- because of growing scientific evidence that Ginkgo may increase the risk of seizures in people with epilepsy and could reduce the effectiveness of anti-seizure drugs, a new report concludes. The article appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Natural Products.
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Public Release: 27-Jan-2010
Blood
Fat tissue may be a source of valuable blood stem cells, study says
Bone marrow is a leading source of adult stem cells, which are increasingly used for research and therapeutic interventions, but extracting the cells is an arduous and often painful process. Now, researchers have found evidence that fat tissue, known as adipose tissue, may be a promising new source of valuable and easy-to-obtain regenerative cells called hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, according to a study prepublished online in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology.
Contact: Patrick C. Irelan
pirelan@hematology.org
202-776-0544
American Society of Hematology
Public Release: 27-Jan-2010
Nature
Microbes produce fuels directly from biomass
Researchers with the Joint BioEnergy Institute have developed a microbe that can produce an advanced biofuel fuel directly from biomass. Deploying the tools of synthetic biology, the JBEI researchers engineered a strain of E. coli bacteria to produce biodiesel and other important chemicals derived from fatty acids. JBEI is a DOE Bioenergy Research center led by Berkeley Lab.
University of California, LS9
Contact: Lynn Yarris
lcyarris@lbl.gov
510-486-5375
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Hey presto! Brain cells from mouse tails
IN BRIEF:  12:43 28 January 2010
Mature mouse tissue has been transformed directly into working brain cells, an advance that could lead to treatments for conditions such as Parkinson's disease
Public Release: 28-Jan-2010
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
'Overweight' adults age 70 or older are less likely to die over a 10-year period
Adults aged over 70 years who are classified as overweight are less likely to die over a 10-year period than adults who are in the "normal" weight range, according to a new study published today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Contact: Jennifer Beal
medicalnews@wiley.com
44-012-437-70633
Wiley-Blackwell
India manned space trip 'by 2016'
Giant laser reaches key milestone for fusion
  20:59 28 January 2010
Researchers at the National Ignition Facility in California are one step closer to the elusive goal of triggering a self-sustained, stable fusion reaction
Public Release: 28-Jan-2010
Ciencia Cognitiva: Revista Electrónica de Divulgación
Right-handed and left-handed people do not see the same bright side of things
Despite the almost universal association of the right with life, right, positive and good things, and the left with death, inadequacy, negative and bad things, recent researches show that left-handed people hold the opposite association. A professor from the UGR has carried out a review of the bibliography on this subject in an article recently published in Ciencia Cognitiva: Revista Electrónica de Divulgación.
Contact: Julio Santiago Torres
santiago@ugr.es
34-958-246-278
University of Granada
Public Release: 28-Jan-2010
  Current Directions in Psychological Science
Study says lead may be the culprit in ADHD
ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is among the costliest of behavioral disorders. New research suggests that the culprit may be an old villain -- lead -- and what's more it explains the causal pathway from exposure to disability.
Contact: Catherine Allen-West
cwest@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300
Association for Psychological Science
Genetically modified seeds 'are everywhere'
THIS WEEK:  11:21 29 January 2010
"Zero-tolerance" laws designed to keep Europe free of unauthorised GM crops are unworkable, say farmers
Public Release: 29-Jan-2010
Multiple sclerosis risk changes with the season
Previous studies have shown multiple sclerosis patients are more often born in spring than in any other season, indicating that there is an environmental risk factor for the disease. A paper in the journal Neurology, reviewed for f1000 Medicine by Emmanuelle Waubant and Ellen Mowry, now suggests that this seasonal effect is mediated by the gene HLA-DRB1.
Contact: Steve Pogonowski
press@f1000.com
Faculty of 1000: Biology and Medicine
Did rice wine lead to flushed faces in Asia?
14:54 29 January 2010
A mutation that causes some people to flush red when they down a beer may have evolved to help their ancestors cope with rice wine
Gates Foundation to Double Spending on Vaccines
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Bill Gates calculated that the money could save the lives of as many as eight million children by 2020.
Forget Gingko: Try Blueberries for Improved Memory
Blueberries contain an antioxidant that could prevent mental health decline as you age.
Public Release: 31-Jan-2010
Nature
Novel studies of decomposition shed new light on our earliest fossil ancestry
Decaying corpses are usually the domain of forensic scientists, but palaeontologists have discovered that studying rotting fish sheds new light on our earliest ancestry.
Natural Environment Research Council
Contact: Dr Mark Purnell
mark.purnell@le.ac.uk
44-011-625-23645