Public Release: 28-Sep-2008
Journal of General Virology
Deadly rugby virus spreads in sumo wrestlers
Rugby players may get more than just the ball out of a scrum -- herpes virus can cause a skin disease called "scrumpox" and it spreads through physical contact. Researchers have studied the spread of the disease among sumo wrestlers in Japan and have discovered that a new strain of the virus could be even more pathogenic, according to an article published in the October issue of the Journal of General Virology.
Contact: Lucy Goodchild
l.goodchild@sgm.ac.uk
44-118-988-1843
Society for General Microbiology
Public Release: 29-Sep-2008
Arthritis & Rheumatism
New study proves that pain is not a symptom of arthritis, pain causes arthritis
Pain is more than a symptom of osteoarthritis, it is an inherent and damaging part of the disease itself, according to a study published today in journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. More specifically, the study revealed that pain signals originating in arthritic joints, and the biochemical processing of those signals as they reach the spinal cord, worsen and expand arthritis itself.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Greg Williams
Greg_Williams@urmc.rochester.edu
585-273-1757
University of Rochester Medical Center
Public Release: 29-Sep-2008
PLoS ONE
Meat-eating dinosaur from Argentina had bird-like breathing system
The remains of a 30-foot-long predatory dinosaur discovered along the banks of Argentina's Rio Colorado is helping to unravel how birds evolved their unusual breathing system.
Contact: Nancy Ross-Flanigan
rossflan@umich.edu
734-647-1853
University of Michigan
Public Release: 29-Sep-2008
Brain
MS patients have higher spinal fluid levels of suspicious immune molecule
MS patients have higher spinal fluid levels of suspicious immune molecule.
National MS Society, Frala Osherow Fund for MS Research, Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation, Bioxell, Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla, NIH/National Institutes of Health
Contact: Michael C. Purdy
purdym@wustl.edu
314-286-0122
Washington University School of Medicine
Public Release: 29-Sep-2008
Arthritis & Rheumatism
Supplements no better than placebo in slowing cartilage loss in knees of osteoarthritis patients
In a two-year multicenter study led by University of Utah doctors, the dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate performed no better than placebo in slowing the rate of cartilage loss in the knees of osteoarthritis patients.
Contact: Phil Sahm
phil.sahm@hsc.utah.edu
801-581-2517
University of Utah Health Sciences
In the language of love, money talks
Rich British men are less likely to be childless – the finding shows that people in industrialised nations are still subject to evolutionary pressures
11:36 29 September 2008
Fuel thinner turns diesel cars into greener machines
A cheap device that makes oily diesel flow more easily gives a less-polluting burn, as well as improved range in some models
16:41 29 September 2008
Private rocket achieves orbit on fourth try
After three failed attempts, the private space firm SpaceX has successfully launched its Falcon 1 rocket into orbit
18:10 29 September 2008
Private Company Launches Its Rocket Into Orbit
A privately financed company launched a rocket of its own design successfully into orbit on Sunday night, ushering in what the company’s founders hope will be a new era of spaceflight.
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
September 29, 2008
Public Release: 30-Sep-2008
Nanotech and synbio: Americans don't know what's coming
A groundbreaking poll finds that almost half of US adults have heard nothing about nanotechnology, and nearly nine in 10 Americans say they have heard just a little or nothing at all about the emerging field of synthetic biology, according to a new report released by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and Peter D. Hart Research. Both technologies involve manipulating matter at an incredibly small scale to achieve something new.
Contact: Colin Finan
colin.finan@wilsoncenter.org
202-691-4321
Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies
Marine 'dead zones' leave crabs gasping
Crustaceans are the first to gasp for air when oxygen levels get low – the finding suggests that low-oxygen zones are more widespread than thought
22:00 29 September 2008
Public Release: 30-Sep-2008
American Sociological Review
Immigrant children from poor countries academically outperform those from developed countries
Immigrants who seek a better life in Western countries may not be able to escape the influence of their home country when it comes to their children's academic performance, according to findings from the October issue of the American Sociological Review.
Contact: Jackie Cooper
jcooper@asanet.org
202-247-9871
American Sociological Association
Public Release: 30-Sep-2008
New England Journal of Medicine
Treatment window expanded
Patients can still benefit up to 4.5 hours after a stroke if a drug that dis-solves blood clots in the brain is administered. Thus far, three hours had been considered the useful limit for administering thrombolytic drugs. The results of the "European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study 3" have now been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Contact: Dr. Annette Tuffs
annette.tuffs@med.uni-heidelberg.de
49-622-156-4536
University Hospital Heidelberg
Public Release: 30-Sep-2008
Study reveals an oily diet for subsurface life
Thousands of feet below the bottom of the sea, off the shores of Santa Barbara, single-celled organisms are busy feasting on oil.
Contact: George Foulsham
george.foulsham@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-3071
University of California - Santa Barbara
Applying Science to Alternative Medicine
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
While sweeping claims are often made for alternative medicine treatments, the scientific evidence for them often lags behind.
* Go to Special Section »
Public Release: 30-Sep-2008
Psychological Science
Eureka! How distractions facilitate creative problem-solving
According to psychologists from the University of Toronto and the Radboud University Nijmegen, distractions may be helpful in coming up with creative solutions to a certain problem, but must be followed by a period of conscious thought to ensure that we are aware of those solutions and can apply them. Likewise, while distractions are more useful in solving difficult problems, it may be better to stay focused on finding the solution when confronted with easier problems.
Contact: Barbara Isanski
bisanski@psychologicalscience.org
Association for Psychological Science
Public Release: 30-Sep-2008
Driving fatalities surge on US presidential election days
Sunnybrook researcher Dr. Donald Redelmeier and Stanford University statistician Robert Tibshirani have found an increased risk of fatal motor vehicle crashes on United States presidential election days.
Contact: Laura Bristow or Nadia Radovini
416-480-4040
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Public Release: 1-Oct-2008
Cancer Research
Vitamin C supplements may reduce benefit from wide range of anti-cancer drugs
In pre-clinical studies, vitamin C appears to substantially reduce the effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs, say researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Contact: Jeremy Moore
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
267-646-0557
American Association for Cancer Research
Public Release: 1-Oct-2008
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Asian-white couples face distinct pregnancy risks, Stanford/Packard
Pregnant women who are part of an Asian-white couple face an increased risk of gestational diabetes as compared with couples in which both partners are white, according to a new study from Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Contact: Michelle Brandt
mbrandt@stanford.edu
650-723-0272
Stanford University Medical Center
Logging On for a Second (or Third) Opinion
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Paging Dr. Google can lead patients to miss a rich lode of online resources that may not yield to a simple search.
* Reviews of Six Popular Web Sites
* Favorite Resources From Science Times Contributors
You’re Sick. Now What? Knowledge Is Power.
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Are patients swimming in a sea of health information? Or are they drowning in it?
Mars Weather Forecast: Snow
The latest findings from the Martian Arctic offer more hints of a wet past but paint a very arid present, scientists reported Monday.
By KENNETH CHANG 6:20 PM ET
Public Release: 1-Oct-2008
Nature
Short RNAs show a long history
Findings: MicroRNAs and piRNAs, two classes of small RNAs that regulate genes, have been discovered within diverse animal lineages, implying that they have been present since the ancestor of all animals (about a billion years ago). The early origins of microRNAs and piRNAs suggests that they have been shaping gene expression throughout the evolution of animals, contributing to the emergence of new species and perhaps even the emergence of multicellular animal life.
Contact: Cristin Carr
carr@wi.mit.edu
617-324-0460
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Public Release: 1-Oct-2008
Nature
Urbanization in Africa at dawn of 20th century marked outbreak of HIV
Painstaking reconstruction of viral DNA and RNA sequences from decades-old tissue samples is beginning to yield a clearer picture of HIV's evolutionary history from its beginnings.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Contact: Michael Worobey
worobey@email.arizona.edu
520-626-3456
University of Arizona
Lunar endurance mission to act as 'boot camp' for Mars
Think you have the right stuff to go to Mars? You might want to think again when you realise what NASA has in mind for wannabe Martian travellers
21:54 01 October 2008
Public Release: 1-Oct-2008
Study reveals specific gene in adolescent men with delinquent peers
Birds of a feather flock together, according to the old adage, and adolescent males who possess a certain type of variation in a specific gene are more likely to flock to delinquent peers, according to a landmark study led by Florida State University criminologist Kevin M. Beaver.
Contact: Kevin Beaver
kbeaver@fsu.edu
850-644-9180
Florida State University
Public Release: 2-Oct-2008
Too many calories send the brain off kilter
An overload of calories throws critical portions of the brain out of whack, reveals a study in the Oct. 3 issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. That response in the brain's hypothalamus -- the "headquarters" for maintaining energy balance -- can happen even in the absence of any weight gain, according to the new studies in mice.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 2-Oct-2008
Science
Cross kingdom conflicts on a beetle's back
There's far more to a pine beetle's back than a hard black shell. Researchers have found that these tiny creatures -- responsible for rampant and widespread forest destruction -- carry on their backs battling species of fungi, plus a powerful antibiotic molecule that can destroy pathogenic fungi -- something that no current medications have achieved.
US Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation
Contact: David Cameron
david_cameron@hms.harvard.edu
617-432-0441
Harvard Medical School
Public Release: 2-Oct-2008
PLoS Pathogens
Researchers reveal Epstein-Barr virus protein contributes to cancer
Researchers at the University of Toronto have shown that the EBNA1 protein of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) disrupts structures in the nucleus of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells, thereby interfering with cellular processes that normally prevent cancer development. The study, published Oct. 3 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens, describes a novel mechanism by which viral proteins contribute to carcinogenesis.
Contact: Mary Kohut
Press@plos.org
415-568-3457
Public Library of Science
Public Release: 2-Oct-2008
Sharpening up Jupiter
A record two-hour observation of Jupiter using a superior technique to remove atmospheric blur has produced the sharpest whole-planet picture ever taken from the ground. The series of 265 snapshots obtained with the Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Demonstrator prototype instrument mounted on ESO's Very Large Telescope reveal changes in Jupiter's smog-like haze, probably in response to a planet-wide upheaval more than a year ago.
Contact: Henri Boffin
hboffin@eso.org
49-893-200-6222
ESO
A taste for scorpion venom could be cancer's undoing
Radioactive venom may sound like the ultimate doomsday weapon, but it is now being tested as a treatment for malignant brain tumours
10:00 02 October 2008
Public Release: 2-Oct-2008
Liver transplant recipients almost 3 times more likely to develop cancer
Cancer incidence is higher among liver transplant recipients in Finland compared to the general population, according to a new study in the October issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal by John Wiley & Sons.
Contact: Sean Wagner
swagner@wiley.com
781-388-8550
Wiley-Blackwell
Public Release: 2-Oct-2008
Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science
Rethinking who should be considered 'essential' during a pandemic flu outbreak
Not only are doctors, nurses, and firefighters essential during a severe pandemic influenza outbreak. So, too, are truck drivers, communications personnel, and utility workers. That's the conclusion of a Johns Hopkins University article to be published in the journal of Biosecurity and Bioterrorism.
Contact: Ralph Loglisci
RalphL@jhu.edu
410-516-8523
Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
Public Release: 2-Oct-2008
Astrophysical Journal
'Little bang' triggered solar system formation
For several decades, scientists have debated whether the Solar System formed as a result of a shock wave from an exploding star -- a supernova -- that triggered the collapse of a dense, dusty gas cloud that contracted to form the Sun and the planets. Now, astrophysicists at the Carnegie Institution have shown for the first time that a supernova could indeed have triggered the solar system's formation under conditions of rapid heating and cooling.
NASA
Contact: Alan Boss
boss@dtm.ciw.edu
202-478-8858
Carnegie Institution
Public Release: 2-Oct-2008
American Journal of Surgery
Second lumpectomy for breast cancer reduces survival rates
A majority of women with breast cancer today are candidates for lumpectomy, allowing for conservation of most of their breast tissue. Results of a UC Davis study, however, show that a number of women whose cancer recurs in the same breast are treated with a second lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy, defying current treatment recommendations and cutting the number of years those women survive in half.
Contact: Karen Finney
karen.finney@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
916-734-9064
University of California - Davis - Health System
Public Release: 2-Oct-2008
Brain and Cognition
Musicians use both sides of their brains more frequently than average people
Supporting what many of us who are not musically talented have often felt, new research reveals that trained musicians really do think differently than the rest of us. Vanderbilt University psychologists have found that professionally trained musicians more effectively use a creative technique called divergent thinking, and also use both the left and the right sides of their frontal cortex more heavily than the average person.
Vanderbilt University
Contact: Melanie Moran
melanie.moran@vanderbilt.edu
615-322-7970
Vanderbilt University
Public Release: 3-Oct-2008
Journal of Health Organisation and Management
Why your boss is white, middle-class and a show-off
The way male managers power dress, posture and exercise power is due to humans' evolutionary biology, according to research from the University of New South Wales.
Contact: Susi Hamilton
susi.hamilton@unsw.edu.au
61-242-293-4024
University of New South Wales
'Coca-Cola douches' scoop Ig Nobel prize
Studies on whether sodas have spermicidal properties and on how much lap dancers take home in tips won the spoof awards
00:30 03 October 2008
Ig Nobel Prize is 'knot funny'
We all know it and science has proved it - wires, string, and hair will inevitably tie themselves in knots. This astonishing non-revelation is one of 10 pieces of real research honoured this year with Ig Nobel Prizes.
Friday, 3 October 2008 10:00 UK
Public Release: 3-Oct-2008
Obesity
Obese diners choose convenience and overeating at Chinese buffets
When dining at Chinese buffets, overweight individuals serve themselves and eat differently than normal weight individuals. This may lead them to overeat, according to a recent study by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab.
Contact: Laura Smith
les34@cornell.edu
607-254-6302
Cornell Food & Brand Lab
Public Release: 3-Oct-2008
Patient Education and Counseling
Medical student gender and self-confidence
Despite performing equally to their male peers in the classroom and the clinic, female medical students consistently report decreased self-confidence and increased anxiety, particularly over issues related to their competency.
Fetzer Institute
Contact: Cindy Fox Aisen
caisen@iupui.edu
317-274-7722
Indiana University
Nerds rejoice: Braininess boosts likelihood of sex
Women looking for both short- and long-term relationships go for geniuses over dunces, according to a new study
15:57 03 October 2008
Sick leave 'link to early death'
People who have long spells of sick leave for psychiatric reasons are twice as likely to die from cancer as healthier employees, research suggests.
Friday, 3 October 2008 01:18 UK
Public Release: 5-Oct-2008
Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy
Children aware of white male monopoly on White House
Challenging the idea that children live in a color or gender blind world, a new study from The University of Texas at Austin reveals most elementary-school-age children are aware there has been no female, African-American, or Hispanic President of the United States. And, many of the children attribute the lack of representation to discrimination.
Contact: Rebecca Bigler
bigler@psy.utexas.edu
512-471-9917
University of Texas at Austin