Slate Magazine medical examiner
Kidney Mitzvah
Israel's remarkable new steps to solve its organ shortage.
By Sally Satel
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
Sleep
Study suggests that healthy adults may need less sleep as they age
A study in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal Sleep suggests that healthy older adults without sleep disorders can expect to have a reduced "sleep need" and to be less sleepy during the day than healthy young adults.
Contact: Kelly Wagner
kwagner@aasmnet.org
708-492-0930
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
A Record Gust Gets Blown Away
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
What’s it like getting sacked by an pro linebacker? Try standing on Mount Washington when the wind is up.
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
  Molecular Cell
Scientists discover enzyme that 'cleans' cancer cells
Scientists have discovered that an enzyme can rid cells of a gene believed to be responsible for a wide range of cancers.
Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, Association of International Cancer Research
Contact: Mikaela Sitford
Mikaela.Sitford@manchester.ac.uk
44-161-275-211
University of Manchester
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
  Nature
MicroRNA: A glimpse into the past
The last ancestor we shared with worms, which roamed the seas around 600 million years ago, may already have had a sophisticated brain. Fossils cannot give us this information, but scientists at EMBL Heidelberg obtained it by studying small molecules called microRNAs. Their findings are published today in Nature.
Contact: Sonia Furtado
sonia.furtado@embl.de
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Mass drug overdose – none dead
17:43 01 February 2010
Hundreds of volunteers attempt to overdose on homeopathic remedies, without ill effects
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Compound found that targets wide range of viruses
Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, UCLA, Harvard University, the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and Cornell University have teamed up to develop and test a broad-spectrum antiviral compound capable of stopping a wide range of highly dangerous viruses, including Ebola, HIV, hepatitis C virus, West Nile virus, Rift Valley fever virus and yellow fever virus, among others.
  National Institutes of Health, UCLA Center for AIDS Research, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, March of Dimes, California Nanosystems Initiative, Warsaw Fellowship Endowment
Contact: Jim Kelly
jpkelly@utmb.edu
409-772-8791
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
New form of stem cell communication rescues diseased neurons
Investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, the Karolinska Institutet, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and Université Libre de Bruxelles have demonstrated in mouse models that transplanted stems cells, when in direct contact with diseased neurons, send signals through specialized channels that rescue the neurons from death.
Contact: Josh Baxt
jbaxt@burnham.org
858-795-5236
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
Are stem cell scientists sabotaging rivals' work?
17:06 02 February 2010
An international group of senior stem cell researchers this week warned that it may be happening, although they are short of evidence
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Virus pulls bait and switch on insect vectors
A common plant virus lures aphids to infected plants by making the plants more attractive, but when the insects taste the plant, they quickly leave for tastier, healthier ones. In the process, the insects rapidly transmit the disease, according to Penn State entomologists.
  US Department of Agriculture
Contact: A'ndrea Elyse Messer
aem1@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State
Well
The Miracle of Vitamin D: Sound Science, or Hype?
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Imagine a treatment that could build bones, strengthen the immune system and lower the risks of illnesses like diabetes, heart and kidney disease, high blood pressure, and cancer.
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Anesthetic approach stops pain without affecting motor function
One of the holy grails of local anesthesia is the ability to achieve a long-lasting nerve block that eliminates pain sensation while not affecting motor function. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have discovered an anesthetic approach that seems to do just that.
  NIH/National Institutes of General Medical Sciences
Contact: Erin McColgan
erin.mccolgan@childrens.harvard.edu
617-919-3110
Children's Hospital Boston
Infection Persists, Despite Vaccine
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
The PCV7 vaccine has all but eliminated strains of pneumococcal disease, but a serious and sometimes fatal complication has become more common.
* Health Guide: Empyema »
Second Opinion
A Lasting Gift to Medicine That Wasn’t Really a Gift
By DENISE GRADY
Without her family’s knowledge, doctors used cancer cells from Henrietta Lacks to develop vaccines and life-saving drugs, a case examined in a book that looks at the issue of “tissue rights.”
Public Release: 2-Feb-2010
  BioEssays
New research rejects 80-year theory of 'primordial soup' as the origin of life
For 80 years it has been accepted that early life began in a "primordial soup" of organic molecules before evolving out of the oceans millions of years later. Today the "soup" theory has been over turned in a pioneering paper in BioEssays which claims it was the Earth's chemical energy, from hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, which kick-started early life.
Contact: Ben Norman
Benorman@wiley.com
44-124-377-0375
Wiley-Blackwell
Basics
Abstract Thoughts? The Body Takes Them Literally
By NATALIE ANGIER
Researchers have found that the body embodies abstractions the best way it knows how: physically.
Q & A
Meeting The Heat
By C. CLAIBORNE RAY
What causes hot flashes in menopausal women?
* More Q & A Columns »
* Health Guide: Menopause »
Tiny dinos perished in footprint death pits
THIS WEEK:  15:18 02 February 2010
A rare find of bipedal dinosaurs in circular swampy pits suggests they died after falling into the footprints of large sauropods
Public Release: 2-Feb-2010
  Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
University of Oklahoma study reveals 'red hot' results
A new weight-loss supplement tested by the University of Oklahoma Health and Exercise Science Department has the potential to burn as many calories as a 20-minute walk, according to Joel T. Cramer, assistant professor of exercise physiology.
Contact: Jana Smith
jana.smith@ou.edu
405-325-1322
University of Oklahoma
Wanted: elderly human guinea pigs
16:35 02 February 2010
Clinical trials must include more older volunteers if thousands of lives are to be saved, say researchers who have drawn up a charter calling for such a change
Public Release: 2-Feb-2010
Doctors miss major cause of infertility and obesity
Ballooning weight, irregular periods and trouble getting pregnant are red flags for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It's a serious metabolic disorder and one of the major causes of hormonally related infertility -- affecting about 5 million women in the US. But the disorder remains largely undiagnosed and unknown. The complex genetic disease has long-term health risks throughout a woman's lifespan, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease. New research shows men are also affected.
  National Institutes of Health
Contact: Marla Paul
marla-paul@northwestern.edu
312-503-8928
Northwestern University
Public Release: 2-Feb-2010
  PLoS One
3 brain diseases linked by toxic form of same neural protein
Researchers have found that three different degenerative brain disorders are linked by a toxic form of the same protein. Elk-1 was found in clumps of misshaped proteins that are the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease. This suggests a molecular link between the presence of inclusions and neuronal loss that is shared across a spectrum of neurodegenerative disease. Identifying these links could open up novel avenues for therapeutic intervention.
  NIH/National Institute on Aging, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
Contact: Karen Kreeger
karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu
215-349-5658
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Native Americans First Tamed Turkeys 2000 Years Ago
Discovery News
Star students, beware bipolar disorder
00:01 03 February 2010
Straight-A Swedes are more likely to become bipolar than their average peers
Super-Hard Diamonds Found in Meteorite
They may not be jewelry, but they could help scientists learn how to create harder diamonds in the lab.
Nature's hot green quantum computers revealed
THIS WEEK:  18:00 03 February 2010
The evidence is growing that quantum processes play a crucial role in photosynthesis, even at room temperature
'Imaginary rabbit' breaks out of the body
17:22 03 February 2010
A classic tactile illusion can spread to objects outside the body, suggesting our brain's body map is more malleable than once thought
Mood controller linked to cot death
18:15 03 February 2010
Serotonin is most famous as a mood-controlling neurotransmitter, but it may also be linked to sudden infant death syndrome, says Ewen Callaway
Scan unlocks vegetative patients
Scientists have been able to reach into the mind of a brain-damaged man and communicate with his thoughts.
3 February 2010
World's First Light-Powered Circuit Created
This circuit could lead to a whole new generation of touchscreen devices that power themselves.
February 04, 2010
Public Release: 4-Feb-2010
British Medical Journal
3 years out, safety checklist continues to keep hospital infections in check
The state of Michigan, which used a five-step checklist developed at Johns Hopkins to virtually eliminate bloodstream infections in its hospitals' intensive care units, has been able to keep the number of these common, costly and potentially lethal infections near zero -- even three years after first adopting the standardized procedures. A report on the work is being published in the Feb. 20 issue of BMJ (British Medical Journal).
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Contact: Stephanie Desmon
sdesmon1@jhmi.edu
410-955-8665
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Public Release: 4-Feb-2010
Brain Research
York study maps the effects of acupuncture on the brain
New research from the University of York and the Hull York Medical School about the effects of acupuncture on the brain may provide an understanding of the complex mechanisms of acupuncture and could lead to a wider acceptability of the treatment.
Contact: David Garner
dcg501@york.ac.uk
44-190-443-2153
University of York
Public Release: 4-Feb-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Melatonin precursor stimulates growth factor circuits in brain
N-acetylserotonin, the immediate precursor to melatonin, activates the same growth circuits in the brain as BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). The results have implications for how some antidepressants function and suggest that the molecules and pathways involved in mood regulation and circadian rhythms are intertwined.
  National Institutes of Health, Research to Prevent Blindness
Contact: Holly Korschun
hkorsch@emory.edu
404-727-3990
Emory University
Headache pill could save earthquake crush victims
THIS WEEK:  14:00 04 February 2010
A single dose of Tylenol or paracetamol could help prevent kidney failure in people rescued from rubble
Public Release: 4-Feb-2010
  Thorax
Use of acetaminophen in pregnancy associated with increased asthma symptoms in children
Children who were exposed to acetaminophen prenatally were more likely to have asthma symptoms at age five in a study of 300 African-American and Dominican Republic children living in New York City. This is the first study to demonstrate a direct link between asthma and an ability to detoxify foreign substances in the body.
  NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, US Environmental Protection Agency
Contact: Stephanie Berger
sb2247@columbia.edu
212-305-4372
Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Public Release: 4-Feb-2010
  Psychological Science
Study reveals potential evolutionary role for same-sex attraction
Male homosexuality doesn't make complete sense from an evolutionary point of view. One possible explanation is what evolutionary psychologists call the "kin selection hypothesis." What that means is that homosexuality may convey an indirect benefit by enhancing the survival prospects of close relatives.
Contact: Catherine Allen-West
cwest@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300
Association for Psychological Science
Public Release: 4-Feb-2010
  Journal of Natural Products
First discovery of the female sex hormone progesterone in a plant
In a finding that overturns conventional wisdom, scientists are reporting the first discovery of the female sex hormone progesterone in a plant. Until now, scientists thought that only animals could make progesterone. A steroid hormone secreted by the ovaries, progesterone prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains pregnancy. The discovery is reported in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products, a monthly publication.
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
True-Color Dinosaur Revealed: First Full-Body Rendering
Chris Sloan
Published February 4, 2010
For the first time, scientists have decoded the full-body color patterns of a dinosaur, a new study in the journal Science says.
Evidence Builds on Color of Dinosaurs
By CARL ZIMMER
For the second time in two weeks, paleontologists provided insight into what the prehistoric creatures looked like.
The Universe Precisely 13.75 Billion Years Old
Background radiation yields information about conditions of the early universe.
Public Release: 5-Feb-2010
Nearly half of Americans believe H1N1 outbreak is over, poll finds
Poll shows almost half of Americans believe H1N1 flu outbreak is over and levels of concern about getting sick continue to decline. After initial period of vaccine shortage, 70 percent of adults said there is now enough vaccine in their community for everyone who wants it. More than half of parents either got the vaccine for their children or intend to. Many adults said they have not gotten the vaccine and do not intend to.
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Public Health Information Coalition
Contact: Robin Herman
rherman@hsph.harvard.edu
617-432-4752
Harvard School of Public Health
Public Release: 1-Feb-2010
  Journal of Roman Archaeology
DNA testing on 2,000-year-old bones in Italy reveal East Asian ancestry
Researchers excavating an ancient Roman cemetery were surprised when DNA testing on a set of bones revealed East Asian ancestry.
  Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Contact: Jane Christmas
chrisja@mcmaster.ca
McMaster University
Art Daily
Ancient Mongolian Tomb Holds Skeleton of Western Man
An ancient skeleton found in eastern Mongolia reveals a man of multi-ethnic heritage.