Public Release: 4-Apr-2010
Dissertations and Features
You're born a copy but die an original
The older we get, the more different we become. This is the conclusion of a study that followed people from their 70th to their 90th year of life. "Old people are usually thought of as a rather homogenous group -- they are considered to be ill, lonely and unable to take care of themselves. But the truth is that the differences among people grow with age," says Bo G. Eriksson, University of Gothenburg.
Contact: Bo G. Eriksson
bog@sociologicentrum.se
46-031-786-4760
University of Gothenburg
Digging into Fuji's religious side-Archaeologists searching for clues to history of worship on mountain
The Daily Yomiuri
Archaeopteryx may have hunted at night
IN BRIEF:  10:00 05 April 2010
The eye sockets of the flying dinosaur Archaeopteryx were similar to those of today's nocturnal birds
Public Release: 5-Apr-2010
Journal of Experimental Medicine
Scientists identify how a novel class of antibodies inhibits HIV infection
Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have identified a set of naturally occurring antibodies that can block one of the key ways the AIDS virus gains entry into certain blood cells. They say the discovery, published online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, expands traditional notions about how the immune system fights HIV and offers a potential new strategy for HIV vaccine design.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Veterans Affairs Merit Review Award, Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology, University of Alabama, Birmingham Center for AIDS Research
Contact: Michelle Gailiun
michelle.gailiun@duke.edu
919-660-1306
Duke University Medical Center
Public Release: 5-Apr-2010
Journal of American College of Cardiology
New arrhythmia drug provides only modest efficacy and no clear safety benefits say researchers
In a rigorous new review of the antiarrhythmic drug dronedarone (Multaq), researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute conclude that the controversial drug is only modestly effective and has no clear safety benefits.
Contact: Sally Stewart
Sally.stewart@cshs.org
310-248-6566
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Public Release: 5-Apr-2010
Nature
Researchers show some cells in pancreas can spontaneously change into insulin-producing cells
Alpha cells in the pancreas, which do not produce insulin, can convert into insulin-producing beta cells, advancing the prospect of regenerating beta cells as a cure for type 1 diabetes. The findings come from a study at the University of Geneva, co-funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, that is published today in the online edition of the scientific journal Nature.
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Contact: Joana Casas
mcasas@jdrf.org
212-479-7560
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
Public Release: 5-Apr-2010
Nature Nanotechnology
New study on carbon nanotubes gives hope for medical applications
A team of Swedish and American scientists has shown for the first time that carbon nanotubes can be broken down by an enzyme -- myeloperoxidase (MPO) -- found in white blood cells. Their discoveries are presented in Nature Nanotechnology and contradict what was previously believed, that carbon nanotubes are not broken down in the body or in nature. The scientists hope that this new understanding of how MPO converts carbon nanotubes into water and carbon dioxide can be of significance to medicine.
National Institutes of Health, Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission
Contact: Katarina Sternudd
katarina.sternudd@ki.se
46-852-483-895
Karolinska Institutet
Public Release: 5-Apr-2010
IEEE International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium in Atlanta
Public Release: 5-Apr-2010
Urology
New investigation supports correlation between XMRV and prostate cancer
The recently discovered retrovirus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), has been identified in some prostate cancer patients. In light of conflicting data concerning XMRV, standardized diagnostic testing is important to identify patients in which XMRV is present and to determine whether it plays a role in the incidence of prostate cancer. An article published in the April issue of Urology is a step in this direction as researchers from Emory University report the successful development of an experimental clinical test for XMRV.
Contact: Sarah Kane
s.kane@elsevier.com
215-239-3798
Elsevier Health Sciences
Observatory
African Fossil Changes Ideas of Ant Origins
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
The first fossil ant from Africa challenges a previously held theory that ants originated in North America or East Asia.
Public Release: 5-Apr-2010
mBio
This is your brain on Cryptococcus: Pathogenic fungus loves your brain sugar
Highly dangerous Cryptococcus fungi love sugar and will consume it anywhere because it helps them reproduce. To borrow inositol from a person's brain, the fungi have an expanded set of genes that encode for sugar transporter molecules. While a typical fungus has just two such genes, Cryptococcus have almost a dozen, according to Joseph Heitman, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the Duke Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Contact: Mary Jane Gore
mary.gore@duke.edu
919-660-1309
Duke University Medical Center
Really?
The Claim: For Better Muscle Tone, Go Lighter and Repeat
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
Does lifting heavy weights make you big and bulky?
Public Release: 6-Apr-2010
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Poisoning by prescription drugs on the rise
On the rise for more than 15 years, poisoning is now the second leading cause of unintentional injury death in the US. Unintentional poisoning has surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of unintentional injury death among people 35. In a study in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that hospitalizations for poisoning by prescription opioids, sedatives and tranquilizers in the US have increased by 65 percent from 1999 to 2006
Contact: AJPM Editorial Office
eAJPM@ucsd.edu
858-534-9340
Elsevier Health Sciences
Public Release: 6-Apr-2010
Journal of Clinical Investigation
The immune system's guard against cancer
Scientists from the research group "Molecular Immunology" at the HZI in Braunschweig have now succeeded to reveal a completely unexpected function of such an immunological messenger substance in the suppression of tumors; i.e., the molecule "beta-interferon" inhibits the tumor in its attempts to connect into the human blood circulatory system. The results from their study have been published in the latest issue of the scientific magazine Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Contact: Susanne Thiele
susanne.thiele@helmholtz-hzi.de
49-053-161-811-400
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
In Syria, a Prologue for Cities
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Excavations in northern Syria are expected to reveal more about a prehistoric culture in Mesopotamia that gave rise to the first cities and the invention of writing.
Gene bandage rejuvenates wasted muscle
THIS WEEK:  14:06 06 April 2010
Masking RNA mutations has allowed boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy to make a missing, muscle-strengthening protein for the first time
Public Release: 6-Apr-2010
Nature Geoscience
UCSB geologist discovers pattern in Earth's long-term climate record
In an analysis of the past 1.2 million years, UC Santa Barbara geologist Lorraine Lisiecki discovered a pattern that connects the regular changes of the Earth's orbital cycle to changes in the Earth's climate. The finding is reported in this week's issue of the scientific journal Nature Geoscience.
Contact: Gail Gallessich
gail.g@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-7220
University of California - Santa Barbara
Public Release: 6-Apr-2010
Vaccine
Building a better flu vaccine: Add second strain of influenza B
A Saint Louis University researcher tackles the problem that occurs when the influenza vaccine doesn't match the strain of the virus circulating in the community. He finds adding a second influenza B virus strain likely would improve the vaccine's ability to prevent the flu.
MedImmune
Contact: Nancy Solomon
solomonn@slu.edu
314-977-8017
Saint Louis University
Public Release: 6-Apr-2010
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Mount Sinai study finds only a weak link between fruit and vegetable and reduced risk of cancer
An analysis by Mount Sinai researchers of over eight years of dietary data from more than 400,000 people has found that the relationship between high consumption of fruits and vegetables and a reduced risk of cancer is not as strong as commonly thought. The study is published online April 6, 2010, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Contact: Mount Sinai Press Office
newsnow@mountsinai.org
212-241-9200
The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Public Release: 6-Apr-2010
Physical Review Letters
Nuclear missing link created at last: Superheavy element 117
The lifetime of element 117, which has now been created in the lab for the first time, confirms that superheavy elements lie in an island of stability on the periodic table.
Contact: James Riordon
riordon@aps.org
301-209-3238
American Physical Society
Public Release: 7-Apr-2010
BMC Biology
First animals to live without oxygen discovered
Deep under the Mediterranean Sea small animals have been discovered that live their entire lives without oxygen and surrounded by 'poisonous' sulphides. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology report the existence of multicellular organisms (new members of the group Loricifera), showing that they are alive, metabolically active, and apparently reproducing in spite of a complete absence of oxygen.
Contact: Graeme Baldwin
graeme.baldwin@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22165
BioMed Central
Public Release: 7-Apr-2010
Chemical Research in Toxicology
Consumers over age 50 should consider steps to cut copper and iron intake
With scientific evidence linking high levels of copper and iron to Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, and other age-related disorders, a new report in ACS' Chemical Research in Toxicology suggests specific steps that older consumers can take to avoid build up of unhealthy amounts of these metals in their bodies.
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
Public Release: 7-Apr-2010
Environmental Health Perspectives
BUSPH study links rheumatoid arthritis to vitamin D deficiency
Women living in the northeastern United States are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, suggesting a link between the autoimmune disease and vitamin D deficiency, says a new study led by a Boston University School of Public Health researcher.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Elana Zak
ezak@bu.edu
617-414-1401
Boston University Medical Center
Electrical engineering fixes brain's circuit board
THIS WEEK:  18:00 07 April 2010
We are starting to understand why deep brain stimulation works – and it's changing our view of the brain
Public Release: 7-Apr-2010
Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Urine test for kidney cancer a step closer to development
A team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified a pair of proteins excreted in the urine that could lead to earlier and more accurate diagnosis of kidney cancer. The research is the first to identify proteins in urine that appear to accurately reveal the presence of about 90 percent of all kidney cancers.
Washington University School of Medicine
Contact: Jim Dryden
jdryden@wustl.edu
314-286-0110
Washington University School of Medicine
Japanese gut bacteria gain special powers from sushi
18:00 07 April 2010
A seaweed-eating enzyme seems to have jumped from marine bacteria to the harmless bugs that call the intestines of sushi-eaters home
H.P. Sees a Revolution in Memory Chip
By JOHN MARKOFF
So-called memristors could replace today’s transistors and lead to a new class of computing devices, Hewlett-Packard scientists say.
Public Release: 8-Apr-2010
Science
New hominid shares traits with Homo species
A newly documented species, called Australopithecus sediba, was an upright walker that shared many physical traits with the earliest known Homo species -- and its introduction into the fossil record might answer some key questions about what it means to be human.
Contact: Natasha Pinol
npinol@aaas.org
202-326-7088
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Public Release: 8-Apr-2010
'Nanovaccine' reverses autoimmunity without general immunosuppression
A new study, published online April 8 by Cell Press in the journal Immunity, describes a unique therapeutic "nanovaccine" that successfully reverses diabetes in a mouse model of the disease. In addition to providing new insight into diabetes, the research also reveals an aspect of the pathogenesis of the autoimmune response that may provide a therapeutic strategy for multiple autoimmune disorders.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Giant mimivirus does its replication in-house
THIS WEEK:  15:34 08 April 2010
Analysis of the monster's genome shows that it builds its own virus factory, supporting the idea that giant viruses shaped all animal and plant cells
Public Release: 8-Apr-2010
PLoS Pathogens
Cold fronts linked to European H5N1 outbreaks
Avian influenza (H5N1) outbreaks in Europe during the winter of 2005-2006 occurred at the edge of cold weather fronts, according to researchers from Princeton University and the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Their results, published April 8 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens, show that these outbreaks were driven by aggregated movements of wild waterbirds away from areas of frozen water.
Contact: Leslie Reperant
reperant@princeton.edu
609-751-3610
Public Library of Science
Handling Money Could Bring Pain Relief
Who needs aspirin when cold, hard cash could ease your aches and pains?
Public Release: 8-Apr-2010
American Stroke Association's International Conference
Different strokes for married folks?
The first study of its kind to assess the quality of a marriage and its association with stroke risk, Prof. Uri Goldbourt of Tel Aviv University's Neufeld Cardiac Institute found a correlation between reported "happiness" in marriage and the likelihood that a man will die from stroke.
Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Public Release: 8-Apr-2010
FASEB Journal
New study of autism reveals a 'DNA tag' (methylation) amenable to treatment
A new discovery raises hope that autism may be more easily diagnosed and that its effects may be more reversible than previously thought. In a new study appearing online in the FASEB Journal, scientists have identified a way to detect the disorder using blood and have discovered that drugs which affect the methylation state ("DNA tagging") of genes could reverse autism's effects. This type of drug is already being used in some cancer treatments.
Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
301-634-7104
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Public Release: 8-Apr-2010
Science
Venus is alive -- geologically speaking
ESA's Venus Express has returned the clearest indication yet that Venus is still geologically active. Relatively young lava flows have been identified by the way they emit infrared radiation. The finding suggests the planet remains capable of volcanic eruptions.
Contact: Håkan Svedhem
Hakan.Svedhem@esa.int
31-715-653-370
European Space Agency
Public Release: 8-Apr-2010
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia
Simple test can detect signs of suicidal thoughts in people taking antidepressants
UCLA researchers have developed a non-invasive biomarker, or indicator, using a non-invasive measurement of electrical activity in the brain, to associate a sharp reduction of activity in a specific brain region within 48 hours of beginning pharmaceutical treatment in people who proved susceptible to developing thoughts of suicide.
Contact: Mark Wheeler
mwheeler@mednet.ucla.edu
310-794-2265
University of California - Los Angeles
Ageing makes it harder to cope with repeated stress
THIS WEEK:  14:24 09 April 2010
Grumpy old people may be bad-tempered because their brains react differently to chronic stress – at least, that's what happens to elderly rats
Public Release: 9-Apr-2010
Lancet
Why we need a world social health insurance
We are in need of a social security fund on a global scale. That is what scientists of the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp argue in a viewpoint in the leading medical journal the Lancet. Such a "Global Fund for Health" would make the use of international donor money a lot more transparent and efficient.
Contact: Gorik Ooms
gooms@itg.be
Institute for Tropical Medicine Antwerp
Public Release: 9-Apr-2010
Revista de Neurología
Public Release: 9-Apr-2010
Nano Letters
Closing in on a carbon-based solar cell
To make large sheets of carbon available for light collection, Indiana University Bloomington chemists have devised an unusual solution -- attach what amounts to a 3-D bramble patch to each side of the carbon sheet. Using that method, the scientists say they were able to dissolve sheets containing as many as 168 carbon atoms, a first.
National Science Foundation, American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund
Contact: David Bricker
brickerd@indiana.edu
812-856-9035
Indiana University

First baby given xenon gas to prevent brain injury
A newborn baby has become the first in the world to receive xenon gas treatment, pioneered in Bristol in a bid to prevent brain injury.
9 April 2010 13:27 UK
Earthworms make 'group decisions'
Earthworms form herds and make "group decisions", scientists have discovered.
By Matt Walker Editor, Earth News
'Dark sun' is one of our nearest neighbours
18:11 09 April 2010
A dim object less than 10 light years away seems to be the closest brown dwarf yet found – the discovery suggests other dark stars may lie even closer
Public Release: 11-Apr-2010
Nature Neuroscience
Biological link between stress, anxiety and depression identified for the first time
Scientists at the University of Western Ontario have discovered the biological link between stress, anxiety and depression. By identifying the connecting mechanism in the brain, Stephen Ferguson of Robarts Research Institute shows exactly how stress and anxiety could lead to depression. The study also reveals a small molecule inhibitor developed by Ferguson, which may provide a new and better way to treat anxiety and depression. The findings are published online in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Contact: Kathy Wallis
kwallis3@uwo.ca
519-661-2111 x81136
University of Western Ontario
Public Release: 11-Apr-2010
Nature Chemical Biology
McMaster study unveils lifeline for 'antibiotic of last resort'
Most antibiotics work by inhibiting an enzyme but vancomycin binds to cell wall building blocks, causing a weakness in the structure of the cell wall so the cell bursts and dies.
Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Royal Society, Medical Research Council
Contact: Susan Emigh
emighs@mcmaster.ca
905-518-3642
McMaster University
Warm and Cold Patches Power Underwater Probe
A new thermal engine produces more energy than it consumes.
Public Release: 12-Apr-2010
Cancer
Terminal cancer patients do not receive appropriate radiation therapy
A new analysis has found that a considerable proportion of patients with end-stage or terminal cancer do not benefit from palliative radiation therapy (radiotherapy) despite spending most of their remaining life undergoing treatments.
Contact: Claire Greenwell
claire.greenwell@cancer.org
404-417-5883
American Cancer Society
Hallucinogens Have Doctors Tuning In Again
By JOHN TIERNEY
Scientists are studying the drugs’ potential for treating mental problems and illuminating the nature of consciousness.