Public
Release: 15-Jan-2007
New
study to test Statin-Parkinson's link
Results of a
recent study linking low LDL cholesterol to Parkinson's
provide the strongest evidence to date that it could be real, because
statins work by reducing LDL cholesterol. The study by researchers at
University of North Carolina showed that patients with low levels of
LDL cholesterol are more than three and a half times more likely to
develop Parkinson's disease than those with higher LDL levels.
Contact: Lisa Richards
press@soci.org
44-020-759-81548
Society
of Chemical Industry
Public Release: 15-Jan-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Patients
with amnesia 'live in the present'
Scientists
at the Wellcome Trust Center for Neuroimaging, University
College London, have shown that people with damage to the hippocampus,
the area of the brain that plays a crucial role in learning and memory,
not only have trouble remembering the past but also in imagining new
and future experiences.
Wellcome Trust
Contact: Craig
Brierley
c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk
44-207-611-7329
Wellcome
Trust
Public Release: 15-Jan-2007
Cancer Research
Worried
about prostate cancer? Tomato-broccoli combo
shown to be effective
A new
University of Illinois study shows that tomatoes and broccoli --
two vegetables known for their cancer-fighting qualities -- are better
at shrinking prostate tumors when both are part of the daily diet than
when they're eaten alone.
Contact: Phyllis Picklesimer
p-pickle@uiuc.edu
217-244-2827
University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Public Release: 16-Jan-2007
Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Napoleon's
mysterious death unmasked, UT Southwestern researcher says
A new
investigation into Napoleon Bonaparte's cause of death might
finally put to rest nearly 200 years of lingering mysteries about the
illness that killed the French emperor during his island exile, a UT
Southwestern Medical Center scientist reports.
Contact: Cliff Despres
cliff.despres@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical
Center
Really?
The Claim: Morning
Sickness Is a Sign of a Healthy Pregnancy
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
Can morning sickness also indicate a lower risk of miscarriage?
Humble Brass Was Even
Better Than Gold to a 16th-Century Tribe in Cuba
By JENNIFER
PINKOWSKI
Because
of its otherworldly brilliance, the
16th-century Taíno Indians of Cuba called it turey, their
word for the
most luminous part of the sky.
Essay
Diet Supplements and
Safety: Some Disquieting Data
By DAN HURLEY
A national database has accumulated strong evidence
that some supplements carry risks of injury and death, and that
children may be particularly vulnerable.
Ruins in Northern Syria Bear
the Scars of a City’s Final Battle
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Excavation of ruins at Tell
Hamoukar reveals ancient weapons of mass destruction.
Pap Test, a Mainstay Against
Cervical Cancer, May Be Fading
By ANDREW
POLLACK
A newer genetic test that detects human
papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer, is starting to play a
bigger role in screening.
Public Release: 15-Jan-2007
PLoS Medicine
Researchers discover surprising drug
that blocks malaria
Northwestern University researchers have uncovered how malaria
parasites break into red blood cells and how to block the invading
parasites with a commonly prescribed high-blood pressure medication.
This opens the door for important new drugs to which the parasites are
much less likely to become resistant. Malaria is surging worldwide
because of drug resistance and the lack of an effective vaccine.
Jamaica, which had eradicated the disease for 50 years, recently
reported an outbreak.
American Heart Association, Northwestern
University, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Marla Paul
marla-paul@northwestern.edu
312-503-8928
Northwestern
University
Skull shows
possible human/Neanderthal breeding
A
40,000-year-old skull
found in a Romanian cave shows traits of both modern humans and
Neanderthals and might prove the two interbred, researchers reported on
Monday. If the findings are confirmed, the skull would
represent
the oldest modern human remains yet found in Europe.
Gullet cancer 'might be blocked'
Scientists believe blocking the
action of vitamin A may help prevent a type of cancer of the gullet.
Public
Release: 16-Jan-2007
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Link found between periodontal disease
and pancreatic cancer
In a new study, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health
(HSPH) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that periodontal disease
was associated with an increased risk of cancer of the pancreas.
NIH/National Cancer Institute
Contact: Todd Datz
tdatz@hsph.harvard.edu
617-432-3952
Harvard School of
Public Health
Public
Release: 16-Jan-2007
Nutrition and Metabolism
New fat, same old problem with an added
twist?
Last month, New York City outlawed the use of partially hydrogenated
oils, known as trans fats, in restaurants, a ban now under
consideration in other cities, including Boston and Chicago. But novel
research conducted in Malaysia and at Brandeis University shows that a
new method of modifying fat in commercial products to replace unhealthy
trans fats raises blood glucose and depresses insulin in humans, common
precursors to diabetes. Furthermore, like trans fat, it still adversely
depressed the beneficial HDL-cholesterol.
Palm Oil Research Board
Contact: Laura Gardner
gardner@brandeis.edu
781-736-4204
Brandeis
University
Public
Release: 16-Jan-2007
Dark energy may be vacuum
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen's Dark Cosmology Centre at
the Niels Bohr Institute have brought us one step closer to
understanding what the universe is made of. The new data shows that
vacuum energy is the most likely cause and the expansion history of the
universe can be explained by simply adding this constant background of
acceleration into the normal theory of gravity.
Contact: Gertie Skaarup
skaarup@nbi.dk
453-532-5320
University
of Copenhagen
Public
Release: 16-Jan-2007
Cancer Cell
Brain
tumor researchers find their 'niche'
Brain tumors appear to arise from cancer stem cells (CSCs) that live
within microscopic protective "niches" formed by blood vessels in the
brain; and disrupting these niches is a promising strategy for
eliminating the tumors and preventing them from re-growing, according
to results of a study by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research
Hospital. CSCs are cells that continually multiply, acting as the
source of tumors.
Sontag Foundation, NIH/National Cancer
Institute, V Foundation for Cancer Research, ALSAC
Contact: Summer Freeman
summer.freeman@stjude.org
901-495-3061
St.
Jude Children's Research Hospital
Public Release: 16-Jan-2007
Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences
Journal
studies find relationship between delirium, dementia
For the most part, dementia and delirium have been viewed as separate
and distinct conditions. But a special section of the Journal of
Gerontology: Medical Sciences (Vol. 61A, No. 12), appearing in January
2007, looks at their interface, asking: Can delirium itself lead to the
development of a cognitive disorder? Do delirium and dementia represent
opposite ends of the same spectrum of disease, rather than two separate
conditions?
NIH/National Institute on Aging, NIH/National
Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health,
Alzheimer's Association, Donaghue Medical Research Foundation
Contact: Todd Kluss
tkluss@geron.org
202-842-1275
The Gerontological Society
of America
Public Release: 16-Jan-2007
Researchers find a common genetic risk
factor for Parkinson's disease in Asians
Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. and the National
Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan have discovered what to
date appears to be the most common genetic risk factor for
Parkinson¡'s
disease worldwide.
Contact: Erik Kaldor
kaldor.erik@mayo.edu
904-953-2299
Mayo Clinic,
Jacksonville
Public
Release: 17-Jan-2007
Annals of Neurology
Parasite infection may benefit MS
patients
The first study examining the relationship between parasite infections
and MS in humans suggests that such infections may affect the immune
response in a way that alters the course of MS.
Contact: Amy Molnar
amolnar@wiley.com
John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
Public
Release: 17-Jan-2007
Journal of American Chemical Society
A
new generation of medicinal products
CNRS (France) researchers have developed a novel synthetic process for
bio degradeable materials that could be used instead of traditional
medication in the form of tablets, capsules or syrups. This study was
published on 27 December 2006 in the Journal of the American Chemical
society.
CNRS
Contact: Monica McCarthy
monica.mccarthy@cnrs-dir.fr
33-144-965-191
CNRS
Public Release: 17-Jan-2007
Brain cleaner
Brain injury causes glutamate, a substance necessary for proper brain
function, to flood areas surrounding the trauma and kill other cells.
Weizmann Institute scientists have developed a new way to rid the brain
of excess glutamate. This method -- which uses an enzyme found in blood
-- could lead to new therapies not only for brain injury, but also for
stroke and other conditions, and holds promise for prevention of damage
from meningitis or nerve gas.
Contact: Jennifer Manning
jennifer@acwis.org
212-895-7952
American Committee
for the Weizmann Institute of Science
Public Release: 17-Jan-2007
New England Journal of Medicine
More aid required for chronic
conditions in low income countries
Chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and cancer result in
more deaths and account for more years of healthy life lost than most
communicable diseases, and yet little international aid is focused on
preventing or treating these conditions. Cardiovascular disease causes
30 percent of all deaths globally and 27 percent of deaths in low
income countries. By comparison, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria,
combined, account for 10 percent of all deaths globally and 11 percent
of death in developing countries.
Contact: Tim Parsons
paffairs@jhsph.edu
410-955-6878
Johns
Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Public Release: 18-Jan-2007
Science
Bright
white beetle dazzles scientists
An obscure species of beetle could teach us how to produce brilliant
white ultra-thin materials, according to a research team led by the
University of Exeter.
The Cyphochilus beetle has a highly unusual brilliant white shell. New
research by the University of Exeter and Imerys Minerals Ltd. and
published in leading journal Science (19 January), reveals the secret
to this beetle's bizarre appearance.
Contact: Sarah Hoyle
S.Hoyle@exeter.ac.uk
139-226-2062
University of Exeter
Public Release: 18-Jan-2007
Re-analysis of cigarettes confirms
tobacco companies increased addictive nicotine 11 percent
A
re-analysis of nicotine yield from major brand name cigarettes sold
in Mass. from 1997 to 2005 has confirmed that manufacturers steadily
increased the levels of this addictive agent. Increases in smoke
nicotine yield per cigarette averaged 1.6 percent each year or about 11
percent over a seven-year period (1998-2005). Harvard School of Public
Health researchers found manufacturers accomplished the increase not
only by intensifying nicotine concentration but also by modifying
design features to increase the number of puffs per cigarette.
American Legacy Foundation, NIH/National
Cancer Institute
Contact: Robin Herman
rherman@hsph.harvard.edu
617-432-4752
Harvard School of
Public Health
Public Release: 18-Jan-2007
Psychological Science
A
new language barrier -- Why learning a new language may make you forget
your old one
Traveling abroad presents an ideal opportunity to master a foreign
language. While the immersion process facilitates communication in a
diverse world, people are often surprised to find they have difficulty
returning to their native language. This phenomenon is referred to as
first-language attrition and has University of Oregon psychologist
Benjamin Levy wondering how it is possible to forget, even momentarily,
words used fluently throughout one's life.
Contact: Ben Levy
blevy@uoregon.edu
Association
for Psychological Science
Public Release: 18-Jan-2007
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Carbon
monoxide protects lung cells against oxygen-induced damage
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have demonstrated that
low-dose carbon monoxide administered in conjunction with oxygen
therapy markedly inhibits oxygen-induced damage to lung cells. These
findings, being reported in the January 19 issue of the Journal of
Biological Chemistry, have significant implications for the treatment
of acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, according to the
study's authors.
Contact: Jim Swyers
SwyersJP@upmc.edu
412-647-3555
University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center
Public Release: 18-Jan-2007
American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology
Active ingredient in common Chinese
herb shown to reduce hypertension
Some 50 million Americans have hypertension, that is, blood pressure
measuring above the normal range (less than 120/80 mmHg). If untreated,
it can lead to heart attacks, strokes, or kidney disease. Lifestyle
changes are the first-stage treatment for the disease, but if they
fail, medications are prescribed. In a soon-to-be-released study using
an animal model, scientists have found that tanshinone IIA, an active
ingredient of danshen, reduces blood pressure.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Donna Krupa
dkrupa@the-aps.org
301-634-7253
American Physiological
Society
Public Release:
18-Jan-2007
Older
Americans not discussing complementary and alternative medicine use
with doctors
In spite of the high use of complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM) among people age 50 or older, 69 percent of those who use CAM do
not talk to their doctors about it, according to a new survey conducted
by AARP and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. The survey examined
conversations between patients and their physicians regarding CAM use.
Contact: NCCAM Press Office
NCCAMPress@mail.nih.gov
301-496-7790
NIH/National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Public Release: 18-Jan-2007
Rice breakthrough could prevent
multiple fibrotic diseases
A scientific breakthrough
at Rice University may lead to the first
treatment that prevents the build-up of deadly scar tissue in a broad
class of diseases that account for an estimated 45 percent of U.S.
deaths each year. Fibrotic diseases include cardiac and pulmonary
fibrosis, atherosclerosis, asthma, cirrhosis and scleroderma. Rice
researchers have discovered a naturally occurring blood protein that's
proven effective at preventing fibrotic scarring in lab animals.
National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
Scleroderma Foundation
Contact: Jade Boyd
jadeboyd@rice.edu
713-348-6778
Rice University
Public Release: 18-Jan-2007
37th Annual International Arctic Workshop
Quaternary Research
Deep in arctic mud, geologists find
strong evidence of climate change
How severe will global
warming get? Jason P. Briner is looking for an
answer buried deep in mud dozens of feet below the surface of lakes in
the frigid Canadian Arctic. His group is gathering the first
quantitative temperature data over the last millennium from areas in
extreme northeastern sections of the Canadian Arctic, such as Baffin
Island.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Ellen Goldbaum
goldbaum@buffalo.edu
716-645-5000 x1415
University at Buffalo
Public Release: 18-Jan-2007
American Journal of Pathology
Statin
plus cancer drug deliver combo punch to brain cancer cells
Building on newly
discovered genetic threads in the rich tapestry of
biochemical signals that cause cancer, a Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer
Center team has dramatically killed brain cancer cells by blocking
those signals with a statin and an experimental antitumor drug.
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Contact: Vanessa Wasta
wastava@jhmi.edu
410-955-1287
Johns Hopkins
Medical Institutions
Public Release: 19-Jan-2007
New England Journal of Medicine
Pittsburgh
ear study finds that fluid in the ear does not impair development in
children
Early insertion of ear
tubes in otherwise healthy infants and young
children with persistent fluid in the middle ear does not improve
developmental outcomes up to nine to 11 years of age, according to
results of an important study at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of
UPMC led by otitis media researcher Jack Paradise, MD.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Marc Lukasiak
marc.lukasiak@chp.edu
412-692-7919
Children's Hospital of
Pittsburgh
Public Release: 19-Jan-2007
Cancer
Aspirin saves lives of cancer patients
suffering heart attacks, despite fears of bleeding
Many cancer patients who have heart attacks often are not treated with
life saving aspirin given the belief in the medical community that they
could experience lethal bleeding. Researchers at the University of
Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, however, say that notion is now
proven wrong and that without aspirin, the majority of these patients
will die.
Contact: Laura Sussman
lsussman@mdanderson.org
713-745-2457
University of Texas
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Public Release: 19-Jan-2007
Environmental Science & Technology
Algae
toxin identification unravels fish-kill mystery
A team of researchers
from the Hollings Marine Laboratory in
Charleston, S.C., has uncovered a subtle chemical pathway by which a
normally inoffensive algae can suddenly start producing a lethal toxin.
The discovery could resolve a long-standing mystery surrounding
occasional mass fish kills on the East Coast.
Contact: Michael Baum
michael.baum@nist.gov
301-975-2763
National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST)
Beauty is in the eye of your friends
Women
like men other women find sexy – it may save time and energy
– but men
think less of other males blessed with female attention
00:01 17 January 2007
Cheap, safe drug kills most
cancers
It
sounds almost too good to be true: a cheap and simple drug that kills
almost all cancers by switching off their "immortality"
11:58 17 January 2007
Blue-eyed men prefer blue-eyed women
They
prefer to choose a blue-eyed partner, perhaps because it provides
reassurance that the woman's babies are theirs too
10:22 18 January 2007
Obesity is a risk factor for
heart disease, but if your heart is already failing, being fat could
save your life
10:00 20 January 2007
Swiss archaeologist digs up West Africa's past
WORD document HERE
