Halal-standard slaughtering doesn't need animals awake Blood drains just as fully from
animals stunned before their slaughter as from those fully awake as
their throats are slit, new research reveals
11:00 03 December 2006 Single women may face higher risk of miscarriage A study of 7000 women reveals a
range of risk factors for miscarriage, but good diet - and even
chocolate - can protect the developing baby
12:35 04 December 2006
Public Release: 4-Dec-2006
Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences Mapping
the wake of a pending quake
Research into ancient earthquakes by scientists at USC and Caltech
shows that within the next few decades another tsunami from another
giant earthquake is likely to flood densely populated sections of
western coastal Sumatra, south of those that devastated by the tsunami
of Dec. 26, 2004.
Contact: Eric Mankin mankin@usc.edu
213-821-1887 University of Southern
California Public Release: 4-Dec-2006
Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences Genetic
archaeology offers clues to backstory of malepregnancy
A bit of genetic archaeology is giving clues to one of the greatest
gender bending mysteries in the world of fish: How did a family of fish
come to embrace male pregnancy?
A new gene discovered in the gulf pipefish hints that an old gene busy
with kidney and liver function may have learned new tricks in the male
womb, said April Harlin-Cognato at Michigan State University in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
National Science Foundation
Contact: April Harlin-Cognato cognatoa@msu.edu
517-432-5157 Michigan State University Public Release: 4-Dec-2006
Archives of
General Psychiatry Benefits
to employers outweigh enhanced depression-care costs
It may be in society's and employers' best interests to offer programs
that actively seek out and treat depression in the workforce, suggests
a simulation based on dozens of studies. It revealed that providing a
minimal level of enhanced care for employees' depression would result
in a cumulative savings to employers of $2,898 per 1,000 workers over
five years. The intervention would ultimately save employers money by
reducing absenteeism and employee turnover costs.
NIH/National Institute of
Mental Health
Contact: Jules Asher NIMHpress@nih.gov
301-443-4536 NIH/National Institute
of Mental Health Public Release: 4-Dec-2006
Psychological Science Efforts
for whites to appear colorblind may backfire
New research shows that whites often avoid using race to describe other
people, particularly in interactions with blacks. However further
research reveals that such efforts to appear colorblind and
unprejudiced are associated with less-friendly nonverbal behaviors. "By
their nonverbal behavior alone, the whites who are trying to appear
colorblind to impress their black partners ironically come across as
distant and unfriendly," said Samuel R. Sommers, Ph.D., assistant
professor of psychology at Tufts University.
Contact: Suzanne Miller suzanne_c.miller@tufts.edu
617-627-4703 Tufts University Public Release: 4-Dec-2006
Evolution Vanishing
beetle horns have surprise function
In this month's American Naturalist (December 2006) and the November
2006 issue of Evolution, Indiana University Bloomington scientists
present an entirely new function for the horns: during their
development, Onthophagus horned beetles use their young horns as a sort
of can opener, helping them bust out of thick larval shells.
National Science Foundation,
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Contact: David Bricker brickerd@indiana.edu
812-856-9035 Indiana University Public Release: 4-Dec-2006
Archives of
General Psychiatry New
anti-psychotic drugs no better than older, cheaper ones
A study led by the University of Manchester's Division of Psychiatry
has found that schizophrenia patients respond just as well -- and
perhaps even better -- to older psychiatric drugs as newer, costlier
alternatives.
Contact: Jo Nightingale jo.nightingale@manchester.ac.uk
01-612-758-156 University of
Manchester Public Release: 4-Dec-2006
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Scientists develop a new way to target Alzheimer's disease
A group of scientists at NYU School of Medicine have devised a way to
reduce amyloid beta deposition by interfering with the deadly embrace
of these proteins.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Jennifer Choi Jennifer.Choi@nyumc.org
212-404-3555 New York University Medical Center and School of Medicine Public Release: 4-Dec-2006
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology Peering into the shadow world of RNA
The popular view is that DNA and genes control everything of importance
in biology. The genome rules all of life, it is thought. Increasingly,
however, scientists are realizing that among the diverse forms of RNA,
a kind of mirror molecule derived from DNA, many interact with each
other and with genes directly to manage the genome from behind the
scenes.
National Institutes of Health, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation,
Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement Program of the Pennsylvania
Department of Health
Contact: Franklin Hoke hoke@wistar.org
215-898-3716 The Wistar Institute Public Release: 4-Dec-2006
Lancet Hair-growth drug artificially lowers PSA levels in prostate cancer screening, study finds
The popular hair-growth drug finasteride, taken by millions of balding
men, artificially lowers the results of the prostate-specific antigen
test, the standard screening test for prostate cancer, a multicenter
study has found.
Merck & Co.
Contact: Toni Heinzl Toni.Heinzl@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404 UT Southwestern Medical Center
The
startlingly high-resolution camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter spots about a dozen spacecraft on the Red Planet's surface
12:29 05 December 2006
Public Release: 5-Dec-2006
Osteoarthritis and Cartilage How movement lubricates bone joints
Researchers have shown that sliding forces applied to cartilage
surfaces prompt cells in that tissue to produce molecules that
lubricate and protect joints, an important step toward their goal of
eventually growing joint tissue for transplantation.
National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Whitaker
Foundation, Irwin and Joan Jacobs, UCSD Stein Institute for Research on
Aging, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Contact: Rex Graham ragraham@ucsd.edu
858-822-3075 University of California - San Diego Public Release: 5-Dec-2006
Journal of Feline Medicine Study shows cats can succumb to feline Alzheimer's disease
Ageing cats can develop a feline form of Alzheimer's disease, a new
study reveals. Scientists at the Universities of Edinburgh, St Andrews,
Bristol and California have identified a key protein which can build up
in the nerve cells of a cat's brain and cause mental deterioration.
Contact: Linda Menzies Linda.Menzies@ed.ac.uk
44-131-650-6382 University of Edinburgh Public Release: 5-Dec-2006
Journal of Neuroscience Taste test may identify best drugs for depression
New research has shown that it might be possible to use taste as an
indicator as to whether someone is depressed, and as a way of
determining which is the most suitable drug to treat their depression.
Different antidepressants work better in some people than others.
Contact: Cherry Lewis cherry.lewis@bristol.ac.uk
44-117-928-8086 University of Bristol Insights: Overestimating Competitors in the Game of Love By ERIC NAGOURNEY
Published: December 5, 2006
Asking someone out on a date might seem
a little less intimidating if the competition weren’t so good
looking. So here is some good news: maybe it isn’t. For Couples, Reaction to Good News Matters More Than Reaction to Bad By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: December 5, 2006 Scientists who study
relationships have long focused on how couples handle love’s
headaches, the cold silences and searing blowups, the childcare crises
and work stress, the fallouts over money and ex-lovers. But the way
that partners respond to each other’s triumphs may be even more
important for the health of a relationship, suggests a paper appearing
in the current issue of The Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology.
Public Release: 5-Dec-2006
Journal of Consumer Research Why we buy bad gifts for the ones we love most
This holiday season, another woman who loves the rock band No Doubt
will receive a plaid skirt that only the band's singer, Gwen Stefani,
could pull off. Another athletic guy will receive an oversize sports
jersey -- even though off the field he prefers Brooks Brothers. Why are
we so terrible at predicting the tastes of the ones we love? A new
study explains why familiarity with another person actually makes
predicting their tastes more difficult.
Contact: Suzanne Wu swu@press.uchicago.edu
773-834-0386 University of Chicago Press Journals Public Release: 6-Dec-2006
Aging Cell Blame our evolutionary risk of cancer on body mass
A key enzyme that cuts short our cellular lifespan in an effort to
thwart cancer has now been linked to body mass.
Until now, scientists believed that our relatively long lifespans
controlled the expression of telomerase -- an enzyme that can lengthen
the lives of cells, but can also increase the rate of cancer.
Contact: Jonathan Sherwood jonathan.sherwood@rochester.edu
585-273-4726 University of Rochester Public Release: 6-Dec-2006
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Annual Meeting New study finds treatment with certain anti-hypertensive drugs may reduce Alzheimer's disease
A new cardiovascular drug screening has identified existing
anti-hypertensive agents capable of preventing cognitive decline
associated with Alzheimer's disease.
Contact: Sharon Reis sreis@gymr.com
202-745-5103 GYMR Public Release: 6-Dec-2006 Juries reluctant to convict in rape cases in which alcohol involved
With the Christmas party season upon us changes in the law that were
supposed to make it easier to convict men of rape might not result in
more convictions in cases in which the woman was drunk, according to
new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Economic and Social Research Council
Contact: Annika Howard annika.howard@esrc.ac.uk
44-017-934-13119 Economic & Social Research Council
Public Release: 6-Dec-2006
New England Journal of Medicine 5-year study shows Gleevec's potency against chronic myeloid leukemia
In a study of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, some 95 percent
have survived the cancer after five years due to treatment with
Gleevec, according to results published this week in the New England
Journal of Medicine. Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Brian
Druker, who led the five-year study, said the findings demonstrate
Gleevec's effectiveness against the formerly fatal disease.
Contact: Jennifer Michalowski michalow@hhmi.org
301-215-8576 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Public Release: 6-Dec-2006
Urban Geography Immigrants of a feather don't necessarily flock together
The traditional idea that immigrants cluster together in neighborhoods
with their countrymen after coming to the United States and move away
after achieving economic success is far from universal. New research
indicates that who immigrants marry or partner with has a strong
influence on where they live.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Joel Schwarz joels@u.washington.edu
206-543-2580 University of Washington Public Release: 6-Dec-2006
Lancet Planning for surge of disaster victims? Discharge the healthiest from every hospital, experts advise
A nationwide blue-ribbon panel of health care experts recommends that
hospital plans for a surge of disaster victims should begin with a
strategy to empty their beds of relatively healthier patients.
Contact: Jeff Ventura jventur4@jhmi.edu
410-955-7832 Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Public Release: 6-Dec-2006
Nature Hotspots or not? Isotopes score one for traditional theory
New chemical evidence sheds light on the physical constraints of
'hotspots' -- locations where upwellings of Earth's mantle material
form seamounts and island chains. Although the existence of hotspots
has been debated over the past 30 years, consistent data from uranium
isotope decay series at eight island locations supports the idea that
concentrated plumes of hot mantle material formed these islands.
L'institut de physique du globe de Paris (IPGP)
Contact: Martha Downs martha_downs@brown.edu
401-863-2752 Brown University
December 8, 2006 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 2:48 p.m. ET Spaceport to Launch First Satellites NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- A rocket carrying
satellites for the Air Force and NASA is set to blast off Monday from
the Virginia shore in the first launch from the mid-Atlantic region's
commercial spaceport. A Campaign to Get a Disease Some Respect By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. Orin S. Levine may be heading
for trouble with the Disney people. At lectures, Dr. Levine, a
pneumonia expert, uses a homemade slide that illustrates his
predicament - Nemo, the little lost movie clownfish, next to the words
"Finding Pneumo." Essay Wanting Babies Like Themselves, Some Parents Choose Genetic Defects
By DARSHAK M. SANGHAVI, M.D.
Wanting to have children who follow
in one's footsteps is an understandable desire. But a coming article in
the journal Fertility and Sterility offers a fascinating glimpse into
how far some parents may go to ensure that their children stay in their
world - by intentionally choosing malfunctioning genes that produce
disabilities like deaf-ness or dwarfism. Strongest Proof Yet of Water Flow on Mars By WARREN E. LEARY Pictures of Martian gullies taken years apart suggest that water still flows on the surface of the planet. Neanderthal Women Joined Men in the Hunt
By NICHOLAS WADE
Two anthropologists are proposing a
new explanation for the demise of the Neanderthals that hinges on the
fact that they didn’t divide the labor. All the Signs of Pregnancy Except One: A Baby By ELIZABETH SVOBODA Pseudocyesis, or false pregnancy, involves a constellation of symptoms that fool women and doctors alike. Eels and groupers hunt better together Fish of two different species
have been filmed helping each other to hunt prey in and around coral
reefs -- a highly successful partnership
17:57 05 December 2006
A
rare nectar bat is discovered with a spectacularly long tongue – at
about 150% the length of its body, it is proportionally the longest of
any mammal
Humans
may have evolved altruistic traits as a result of a cultural “tax” we
paid each other early in our evolution, when survival was a brutal
challenge
WORD document HERE
