SciNews20070402

Public Release: 26-Mar-2007
Archives of Internal Medicine
Long-term aspirin use associated with reduced risk of dying in women
Women who take low to moderate doses of aspirin have a reduced risk of death from any cause, and especially heart disease–related deaths, according to a report in the March 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Contact: Sue McGreevey
617-724-2764
JAMA and Archives Journals
Public Release: 26-Mar-2007
PLoS Biology
Researchers figure out what makes a simple biological clock tick
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Vanderbilt University has analyzed the simplest known biological clock and figured out what makes it tick.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: David F. Salisbury
david.salisbury@vanderbilt.edu
615-343-6803
Vanderbilt University
Public Release: 26-Mar-2007
Journal of Infectious Diseases
Severe dengue infections may go unrecognized in international travelers
Severe cases of a common travelers' infection may not be recognized if doctors rely on the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines for identifying it, according to a new study published in the April 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.
Contact: Steve Baragona
sbaragona@idsociety.org
703-299-0412
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Public Release: 26-Mar-2007
Scientific American
Rabies treatment team urges veterinary schools to scientifically define the Milwaukee protocol
The Medical College of Wisconsin pediatrician and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin staff member who led a team that saved the world's first unimmunized rabies patient, has issued a call for veterinary collaborators to help define which aspects of their treatment accounted for her miraculous survival
Contact: Toranj Marphetia
toranj@mcw.edu
414-456-4700
Medical College of Wisconsin
Public Release: 26-Mar-2007
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
Light-based probe 'sees' early cancers in first tests on human tissue
In its first laboratory tests on human tissue, a light-based probe built by researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering almost instantly detected the earliest signs of cancer in cells that line internal organs.
NIH/National Cancer Institute, National Science Foundation
Contact: Kendall Morgan
kendall.morgan@duke.edu
919-660-8414
Duke University

Public Release: 26-Mar-2007
FASEB Journal
Nanoparticles can track cells deep within living organisms
Flourine-labeled nanoparticles could soon allow researchers and physicians to directly track cells used in medical treatments using unique signatures from the nanoparticle beacons. The nanoparticles are readily ingested by living cells and allow the cells to be easily and specifically located with MRI scanners once injected into an organism.
National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association
Contact: Gwen Ericson
ericsong@wustl.edu
314-286-0141
Washington University School of Medicine

Marmosets may carry their sibling's sex cells

If your testes or ovaries contained the sperm or eggs of another individual, how would you feel about reproducing? Just ask a marmoset...

22:00
26 March 2007 

China and US at highest risk of damage from asteroids

The countries most vulnerable to damage from future asteroid impacts include some surprises, such as Sweden, according to new research

14:01 27 March 2007

Soft splint instantly heat-welds to hold broken limbs

Injured skiers and mountaineers could protect injuries using a flexible plastic bandage that rapidly hardens to form a solid cast

14:57 27 March 2007
Scientists Explore Ways to Lure Viruses to Their Death
By CARL ZIMME
Published: March 27, 2007
There are only a few basic ways to fight viruses. Now some scientists are exploring a fundamentally different strategy to fight viruses. They want to wipe them out by luring them to their destruction, like mice to mousetraps.
When Student-Adviser Tensions Erupt, the Results Can Be Fatal
By DENNIS OVERBYE
Published: March 27, 2007
Being a graduate student is the most grueling and intense part of becoming a scientist, but it rarely leads to murder. Here are some rare instances.
Q & A
Needle Biopsy Risks
By C. CLAIBORNE RAY
Published: March 27, 2007
Q. Is it true that needle biopsies leak lung cancer cells into the bloodstream, spreading cancer throughout the body?
Personal Health
You Are Also What You Drink
By JANE E. BRODY
Published: March 27, 2007
What worries you most? Decaying teeth, thinning bones, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, cancer, obesity? Whatever tops your list, you may be surprised to know that all of these health problems are linked to the beverages you drink — or don’t drink.
Mammals Took Their Sweet Time to Flourish, Study Shows
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Published: March 29, 2007
The mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs and other life 65 million years ago apparently did not, contrary to conventional wisdom, immediately clear the way for the rise of today’s mammals. It was not until at least 10 million to 15 million years afterward that the lineages of living mammals began to flourish in number and diversity.

Many Large Cities at Risk of Rising Seas
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 29, 2007
More than two-thirds of the world's large cities are in areas vulnerable to global warming and rising sea levels, and millions of people are at risk of being swamped by flooding and intense storms, according to a new study released Wednesday.
Public Release: 27-Mar-2007
American Chemical Society 233rd National Meeting
MRI contrast agent can detect heart attack in the making
Scientists at New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center and the New York University School of Medicine have developed a new imaging technique that allows physicians to peer directly into patients' blood vessels and find dangerous cholesterol-filled plaques before they rupture and cause a heart attack. In animal tests, the new technique improved cholesterol detection by 79 percent. The research will be presented in March at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Chicago.
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-4400
American Chemical Society

Public Release: 27-Mar-2007
Radiology
Radiofrequency ablation effective treatment for inoperable lung cancer
Lung cancer patients who are not candidates for surgery now have another safe and effective treatment option: radiofrequency (RF) ablation, according to a new study published in the April issue of the journal Radiology.
Contact: Maureen Morley
mmorley@rsna.org
630-590-7762
Radiological Society of North America

Public Release: 28-Mar-2007
New England Journal of Medicine
Groundbreaking Canadian asthma study
Study shows that patients treated with bronchial thermoplasty, the first non-drug treatment for asthma, demonstrated an overall improvement in asthma control.
Asthmatx
Contact: Veronica McGuire
vmcguir@mcmaster.ca
90-552-591-402-2169
McMaster University
Public Release: 27-Mar-2007
Journal of Neuroscience
Where's your pain? New insights into how the brain processes pain location
Is that pain in your chest a heart attack or indigestion? New research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine reveals that more areas of the brain than previously thought are involved in determining the location of pain.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Karen Richardson
krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu
336-716-4453
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Public Release: 27-Mar-2007
British Journal of Cancer
University of Leicester research reveals rice bran could reduce risk of intestinal cancer
A study by biomedical scientists at the University of Leicester has revealed for the first time that rice bran could reduce the risk of intestinal cancer.
Contact: Ather Mirza
pressoffice@le.ac.uk
44-011-625-23335
University of Leicester
Public Release: 27-Mar-2007
Heredity
Why some people are more attractive than others
If good genes spread through the population, why are people so different? A group of scientists think they have solved this long-standing puzzle.
Contact: Marion Petrie
marion.petrie@ncl.ac.uk
191-222-5126
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Public Release: 27-Mar-2007
American College of Cardiology Innovation in Intervention: i2 Summit
Herbal extract extends life for heart failure patients
An herbal medicinal substance, Crataegus Extract WS1442, safely extends the lives of congestive heart failure patients already receiving pharmacological treatment for the disease, according to a study presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 56th Annual Scientific Session. Crataegus Extract WS1442 is an extract of leaves of the Crataegus tree, and is a natural antioxidant. The herb is currently approved for use in some European countries to treat early congestive heart failure.
Contact: Leslie Humbel
lhumbel@spectrumscience.com
504-613-2418
American College of Cardiology
Public Release: 27-Mar-2007
The purple rose of Virgo
Until now NGC 5584 was just one galaxy among many others, located to the West of the Virgo Cluster. Known only as a number in galaxy surveys, its sheer beauty is now revealed in all its glory in a new VLT image. Since March 1, this purple cosmic rose also holds the brightest stellar explosion of the year, known as SN 2007af.
Contact: Henri Boffin
hboffin@eso.org
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Public Release: 27-Mar-2007
Ewwwww! UCLA anthropologist studies evolution's disgusting side
Behind everywave of disgust that overcomes you may be a biological imperative much greater than the urge to lose your lunch, according to a growing body of research by a UCLA anthropologist. "The reason we experience disgust today is that the response protected our ancestors," said Daniel Fessler, associate professor of anthropology at UCLA and director of UCLA's Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture.
Contact: Meg Sullivan
msullivan@support.ucla.edu
310-825-1046
University of California - Los Angeles

Public Release: 28-Mar-2007
New England Journal of Medicine
MRI screening of opposite breast necessary for women with recent breast cancer diagnosis
Women with a recent diagnosis of cancer in one breast should have MRI screening of the opposite breast, concludes a multi-center study involving University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers.
NIH/National Cancer Institute
Contact: Dianne Shaw
dgs@med.unc.edu
919-966-7134
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Public Release: 28-Mar-2007
Biomaterials
Widely used iron nanoparticles exhibit toxic effects on neuronal cells
Iron-containing nanoparticles that are being tested for several biomedical applications can be toxic to nerve cells, interfering with the formation of their signal-transmitting extensions.
American Society for Engineering Education, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowships, UC San Diego, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Rex Graham
ragraham@ucsd.edu
858-822-3075
University of California - San Diego
Public Release: 28-Mar-2007
Evolution and Human Behavior
Fashions change, but change is always the fashion, new research suggests
New research led by Durham University, UK, working with US colleagues, suggests that fashion trends are randomly copied and that lists of popular trends such as baby names change at a predictable steady rate. Celebrities, however, get copied more than random copying models can predict giving further weight to the importance of having a celebrity trendsetter for the masses to copy.
Contact: Alex Bentley
r.a.bentley@durham.ac.uk
01-913-346-198
Durham University
Public Release: 28-Mar-2007
Psychosomatic Medicine
Omega-3 fatty acids affect risk of depression, inflammation
A new study suggests that people whose diets contain dramatically more of one kind of polyunsaturated fatty acid than another may be at greater risk for both clinical depression and certain inflammatory diseases. The report suggests that we need to balance out our intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. The current typical American diet contains 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3, a ratio that researchers say should be lowered to 4-to-1, or even 2-to-1.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Jan Kiecolt-Glaser
kiecolt-glaser.1@osu.edu
614-292-0033
Ohio State University

Lack of sea ice devastates seal populations

Conservationists warn that an exceptional die-off of seal pups in Canada, combined with the country's annual seal hunts, could spell disaster

18:32 28 March 2007

'Inspector Gadget' to star in space tether test

A thermos-flask-sized satellite called Gadget will ride up and down a 1-kilometre-long tether in space, to check its resistance to micrometeoroids

21:35 28 March 2007

Cancer therapy: When all else fails

People terminally ill with cancer are taking an unlicensed, untested drug called DCA in a desperate bid to survive. Is this the beginning of a damaging trend?

18:00 28 March 2007
Darwin 'was committed to publish'
The idea that Charles Darwin delayed publishing On the Origin of Species for 20 years for fear of ridicule is a myth, a new assessment claims. A Cambridge historian with access to Darwin's papers says there is simply no evidence to show the naturalist held back his evolution theory.

Public Release: 29-Mar-2007
British Medical Journal
Supermarket surgeries 'a wake-up call for the profession'
Last week, the government announced plans to let supermarkets and retail pharmacies provide GP services, particularly in under doctored areas. Boots the Chemist welcomed this as "good news" but doctors raised concerns that this may be "a back door way of privatizing the NHS."
Contact: Emma Dickinson
edickinson@bmj.com
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Public Release: 30-Mar-2007

Arthritis & Rheumatism
Arthritis pain processed in brain’s 'fear zone,' first PET scans reveal
Researchers at the University of Manchester have discovered that arthritis pain, unlike that induced as part of an experiment, is processed in the parts of the brain concerned with emotions and fear.
Arthritis Research Campaign
Contact: Mikaela Sitford
mikaela.sitford@manchester.ac.uk
161-275-2111
University of Manchester
Public Release: 30-Mar-2007
Perspectives on Politics
Why Hispanic immigration is not a threat to American identity
New research by political scientists concludes that available data does not appear to support the claim that Hispanic immigration poses a threat to American identity. Among the key findings of this study are that Hispanics acquire English and lose Spanish rapidly beginning in the 2nd generation; appear to be as religious and at least as committed to the work ethic as native-born whites; and largely reject a purely ethnic identification and exhibit levels of patriotism equal to native-born whites by the 3rd generation.
Contact: Bahram Rajaee
brajaee@apsanet.org
202-483-2512
American Political Science Association
Public Release: 30-Mar-2007
Bukiet sees subway series a distinct possibility in 2007
The New York Mets should expect to win about 90 games in 2007 and the Yankees a whopping 110 games to lead their divisions, said Bruce Bukiet, Ph.D., an associate professor of mathematical sciences at New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Contact: Sheryl Weinstein
sheryl.m.weinstein@njit.edu
973-596-3436
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Public Release: 30-Mar-2007
American Journal of Pathology
Estrogen protects liver after traumatic injury
Researchers have identified the receptor pathway used by estrogen to decrease liver injury after trauma and hemorrhage. The related report by Hsieh et al, "G protein-coupled receptor 30-dependent protein kinase A pathway is critical in nongenomic effects of estrogen in attenuating liver injury after trauma-hemorrhage," appears in the April issue of the American Journal of Pathology and is accompanied by a commentary.
NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Contact: Audra Cox
acox@asip.org
301-634-7409
American Journal of Pathology
Public Release: 31-Mar-2007
Society for Experimental Biology Annual Meeting
Bats get the munchies too!
Many of us will be familiar with cravings for sweet food, after having overindulged in alcohol the night before. It appears that Egyptian fruit bats also crave particular types of sugar to reduce the effects of ethanol toxicity. Intoxicated bats may also be less able to respond to attacks from predators, and to avoid obstacles (much like us humans, some might say!).
Contact: Gillian Dugan
gillian_dugan@yahoo.co.uk
44-079-840-30231
Society for Experimental Biology
Public Release: 31-Mar-2007
The world's largest particle accelerator has been completed
French CNRS Scientists in collaboration put the last magnet in place.
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique France
Contact: Monica McCarthy
monica.mccarthy@cnrs-dir.fr
33-144-965-191
CNRS
Dirt exposure 'boosts happiness'
Exposure to dirt may be a way to lift mood as well as boost the immune system, UK scientists say.
Seeking a Car That Gets 100 Miles a Gallon
By NICK BUNKLEY
The race is on to develop a commercially viable car that can travel 100 miles on a gallon of gasoline.
Is dark energy an illusion?

Paradoxically, the collapse of matter in small regions of space might be responsible for the apparent accelerating expansion of the universe

11:00 30 March 2007