Public Release: 28-Dec-2009
  Journal of Cell Biology
BBS proteins shown to run an export business that protects cilia
A protein complex mutated in human disease removes excess signaling molecules to prevent them from damaging cilia, say researchers from UMass Medical School. The study will be published in the December 28 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.
Contact: Rita Sullivan
news@rupress.org
Rockefeller University Press
Public Release: 28-Dec-2009
 BioScience
Student sleuths using DNA reveal zoo of 95 species in NYC homes -- and new evidence of food fraud
Two New York City high school students exploring their homes using the latest high-tech DNA analysis techniques discover a veritable zoo of 95 animal species surrounding them, in everything from fridges to furniture, from sidewalks to shipping boxes, and from feather dusters to floor corners.
Contact: Joseph Bonner
bonnerj@rockefeller.edu
212-327-8998
Rockefeller University
Public Release: 28-Dec-2009
  f1000 Medicine Reports
Drug-resistant urinary tract infections spreading worldwide
A sudden worldwide increase in an antibiotic-resistant bacterium is cause for concern, according to a review in f1000 Medicine Reports Faculty of 1000 member Dr. Johann Pitout, of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Calgary, urges the medical community to monitor the spread of a multidrug resistant bacterium before it becomes necessary to use more powerful antibiotics as a first response.
Contact: Steve Pogonowski
press@f1000.com
Faculty of 1000: Biology and Medicine
Public Release: 28-Dec-2009
  Biological Psychiatry
Researchers find clues to why some continue to eat when full
New research in mice by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists suggest that ghrelin might also work in the brain to make some people keep eating "pleasurable" foods when they're already full.
  National Institutes of Health, Foundation for Prader-Willi Research, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
Contact: Aline McKenzie
aline.mckenzie@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Public Release: 28-Dec-2009
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Superatoms mimic elements: Research gives new perspective on periodic table
Research at Penn State has shown that certain combinations of elemental atoms have electronic signatures that mimic the electronic signatures of other elements. The findings could lead to much cheaper materials for widespread applications such as new sources of energy, methods of pollution abatement, and catalysts on which industrial nations depend heavily for chemical processing.
US Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Contact: Barbara K. Kennedy
science@psu.edu
814-863-4682
Penn State
Public Release: 28-Dec-2009
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Schizophrenia mouse model should improve understanding and treatment of the disorder
Scientists have created what appears to be a schizophrenic mouse by reducing the inhibition of brain cells involved in complex reasoning and decisions about appropriate social behavior.
National Institutes of Health, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
Contact: Toni Baker
tbaker@mcg.edu
706-721-4421
Medical College of Georgia
Public Release: 29-Dec-2009
  Cancer Prevention Research
Chlorophylls effective against aflatoxin
A new study has found that chlorophyll and its derivative chlorophyllin are effective in limiting the absorption of aflatoxin in humans. Aflatoxin is produced by a fungus that is a contaminant of grains including corn, peanuts and soybeans; it is known to cause liver cancer -- and can work in concert with other health concerns, such as hepatitis.
  NIH/National Cancer Institute
Contact: John Mata
john.mata@oregonstate.edu
541-737-6874
Oregon State University
Findings
Carpe Diem? Maybe Tomorrow
By JOHN TIERNEY
Recovering procrastinators of pleasure should try a simple New Year’s resolution: Have fun ... now!
Scientists Start a Genomic Catalog of Earth’s Abundant Microbes
By CARL ZIMMER
These tiny, resilient life forms, representing “the vast majority of organisms on earth,” are still largely unknown to scientists.
Music therapy for tinnitus hope
Personalised music therapy may help cut noise levels experienced by people who suffer from tinnitus, say researchers.
29 December 2009
In New Way to Edit DNA, Hope for Treating Disease
By NICHOLAS WADE
Scientists might have a new way to alter human DNA if a technique for editing the genetic text proves safe and effective.
* Graphic Graphic: Cut and Paste
Public Release: 30-Dec-2009
  Neurology
Guideline: Widely used device for pain therapy not recommended for chronic low back pain
A new guideline issued by the American Academy of Neurology finds that transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation, a widely used pain therapy involving a portable device, is not recommended to treat chronic low-back pain -- pain that has persisted for three months or longer -- because research shows it is not effective. The guideline is published in the December 30, 2009, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Contact: Rachel Seroka
rseroka@aan.com
651-695-2738
American Academy of Neurology
Public Release: 30-Dec-2009
  Journal of Vascular Surgery
Body's own veins provide superior material for aortic grafts
A vascular surgical technique pioneered at UT Southwestern Medical Center and designed to replace infected aortic grafts with the body's own veins has proved more durable and less prone to new infection than similar procedures using synthetic and cadaver grafts.
Contact: Katherine Morales
katherine.morales@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Public Release: 30-Dec-2009
  Journal of Public Health Management and Practice
Short-term school closures may worsen flu pandemics, Pitt study finds
Closing schools for less than two weeks during a flu pandemic may increase infection rates and prolong an epidemic, say University of Pittsburgh researchers in a study published online in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. The findings, developed from a series of computer simulations based on U.S. census data, indicate that schools may need to be closed for at least eight weeks in order to significantly decrease the spread of infection.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Clare Collins
CollCX@upmc.edu
412-352-2886
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
Russia 'plans to stop asteroid'
The head of Russia's federal space agency has said it will work to divert an asteroid which will make several passes near the Earth from 2029.
31 December 2009
Devil cancer source 'identified'
Researchers identify the genetic source of the fatal tumours that are driving Tasmanian devils to the edge of extinction.
Public Release: 31-Dec-2009
  Current Biology
Using modern sequencing techniques to study ancient modern humans
DNA that is left in the remains of long-dead plants, animals or humans allows a direct look into the history of evolution.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 31-Dec-2009
Science Express
Scripps Florida scientists show 'lifeless' prions capable of evolutionary change and adaptation
Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have determined for the first time that prions, bits of infectious protein devoid of DNA or RNA that can cause fatal neurodegenerative disease, are capable of Darwinian evolution.
  National Institutes of Health, Alafi Family Foundation
Contact: Keith McKeown
kmckeown@scripps.edu
858-784-8134
Scripps Research Institute
Public Release: 1-Jan-2010
Sleep
Earlier bedtimes may help protect adolescents against depression and suicidal thoughts
A study in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep found that adolescents with bedtimes that were set earlier by parents were significantly less likely to suffer from depression and to think about committing suicide, suggesting that earlier bedtimes could have a protective effect by lengthening sleep duration and increasing the likelihood of getting enough sleep.
Contact: Kelly Wagner
kwagner@aasmnet.org
708-492-0930
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Italian scientists' 'wood to bone' medical breakthrough
Scientists in Italy have discovered a way of making artificial replacement bones out of wood.
Duncan Kennedy 3 January 2010
Relic reveals Noah's ark was circular-Newly translated tablet gives building instructions
Guardian UK