Public Release: 16-Apr-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Ancient amphibians evolved a bite before migrating to dry land
Ancient aquatic amphibians developed the ability to feed on land before completing the transition to terrestrial life, researchers from Harvard University report this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Their work is based on analysis of the skulls of the first amphibians, which arose 375 million years ago, and their fish ancestors.
Harvard University
Contact: Steve Bradt
steve_bradt@harvard.edu
617-496-8070
Harvard University
Public Release: 16-Apr-2007
Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
No sign that ethnic groups' genes cause diabetes, international research team says
A study by US and Australian researchers is helping dispel the 40-year-old "thrifty genotype theory," which purports that certain minority groups are genetically prone to diabetes.
Contact: Christine Byrd
cbyrd@uci.edu
949-824-9055
University of California - Irvine
Public Release: 16-Apr-2007
American Naturalist
Ebola outbreaks killing thousands of gorillas and chimpanzees
Direct encounters between gorilla or chimpanzee social groups are rare, so, though Ebola has killed thousands, vaccination did not seem to be a solution. But transmission might occur in other ways. Many different gorilla groups feed in the same fruit tree on a single day. Gorillas from one social group inspect the carcasses of gorillas from other groups. This suggests that vaccination of individuals may prevent the chain of infection.
Contact: Patricia Morse
pmorse@press.uchicago.edu
773-702-0446
University of Chicago Press Journals
Public Release: 16-Apr-2007
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Johns Hopkins develops pancreas cancer risk model
People with a family history of pancreas cancer now have a way to accurately predict their chance of carrying a gene for hereditary pancreas cancer and their lifetime risk of developing the disease. Developed by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers, the novel computer software tool is designed to help genetic counselors and physicians decide who would most benefit from early screening.
NIH/National Cancer Institute, Michael Rolfe Foundation
Contact: Vanessa Wasta
wastava@jhmi.edu
410-955-1287
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Personal Health
When a Brain Forgets Where Memory Is
By JANE E. BRODY
Dissociative fugue or dissociative amnesia is a rare but intriguing emotional disorder.
Vital Signs
Treatments: Study Sees Little Benefit in Chondroitin for Arthritis
By ERIC NAGOURNEY
Published: April 17, 2007
A New Look at Impressionists’ Failing Vision
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
Published: April 17, 2007
The later years of both Claude Monet and Edgar Degas were marked by failing vision and corresponding changes in the style of their paintings, creating an ambivalence about their later work among both their contemporaries and today’s critics.
Basics
Green, Life-Giving and Forever Young 
By NATALIE ANGIER
Plants are not only alive in their own right, they are also the basis of virtually all life on earth, including ours.
Observatory
In Arctic Foxes, Clues to Effects of Shrinking Habitat
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
What happens to a species when its habitat contracts, how to bend a crystal and a gaseous mystery explained.
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
Cochrane Library
Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms saves men's lives
Regular ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms can sharply reduce the likelihood of dying from a ruptured aneurysm among men age 65 and older, according to a new review of recent studies.
Contact: Lisa Esposito
hbns-editor@cfah.org
Center for the Advancement of Health
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
AACR Annual Meeting 2007
Breast cancer vaccine stimulates potent immune response to cancer cells
Mayo Clinic researchers have designed a new strategy in the promising field of cancer vaccine research that's proven to be successful in boosting T cells -- the immune builders akin to a super defense force against cancer cells.
National Institutes of Health, American Association for Cancer Research, Mayo Clinic
Contact: Amy Reyes
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
AACR Annual Meeting 2007
A discovery that may lessen a health disparity
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center scientists, in collaboration with Chinese researchers, have isolated an enzyme that could be used to predict survival and recurrence rates for nasopharyngeal cancer -- a common cancer affecting people from Southeast Asia.
National Institutes of Health, Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, Mayo Clinic Miles and Shirley Fiterman Center for Digestive Diseases
Contact: Elizabeth Zimmermann
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
European Heart Journal
New research shows that flu is a trigger of heart attacks
Doctors need to take concerted action to ensure that people who are at risk of heart disease receive the influenza vaccine every autumn, according to the authors of a new report published in the European Heart Journal. Their research shows that influenza epidemics are associated with a rise in deaths from heart disease and that flu can actually trigger the heart attacks that result in death.
Contact: Emma Mason
wordmason@mac.com
44-077-112-96986
Oxford University Press
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
AACR Annual Meeting 2007
Popular herbal supplement hinders the growth of pancreatic cancer cells
A commonly used herbal supplement, triphala, has cancer-fighting properties that prevent or slow the growth of pancreatic cancer tumors implanted in mice, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 14-18. When fed orally to mice, triphala induced apoptosis in cancer cells.
Hillman Foundation
Contact: Clare Collins
CollCX@upmc.edu
412-647-3555
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
Cochrane Library
Preoperative chemotherapy is a safe option for women with early stage operable breast cancer
Chemotherapy is frequently given to women with breast cancer after surgery to remove the main bulk of the tumor. A new Cochrane Systematic Review of existing data shows, however, that using chemotherapy to reduce the size of tumors before surgery does not compromise survival rates and enables women to retain better self-image and overall health because of the reduced impact of the surgery.
Contact: Jennifer Beal
jbeal@wiley.co.uk
44-012-437-70633
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
Geophysical Research Letters
A change in the wind
Climate model simulations for the 21st century indicate a robust increase in wind shear in the tropical Atlantic due to global warming, which may inhibit hurricane development and intensification. Historically, increased wind shear has been associated with reduced hurricane activity and intensity. This new finding is reported in a study in the April 18 Geophysical Research Letters.
Contact: Ivy Kupec
ikupec@miami.edu
305-421-4704
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
Journal of Hypertension
UGA study suggests that lowering blood pressure following stroke may reduce damage
A new University of Georgia study suggests that commonly prescribed drugs used to lower blood pressure may help reduce brain damage when given within 24 hours of a stroke. The finding, based on a study using rats and published in the April issue of the Journal of Hypertension, may ultimately revolutionize emergency stroke care by putting blood pressure-lowering medications alongside clot-busting drugs and blood thinners as front-line medications.
American Heart Association Southeast Affiliate, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Sam Fahmy
sfahmy@uga.edu
706-542-5361
University of Georgia
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Malaria-infected mice cured by 1 dose of new drug
Johns Hopkins researchers have cured malaria-infected mice with single shots of a new series of potent, long lasting synthetic drugs modeled on an ancient Chinese herbal folk remedy.
National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins University Malaria Research Institute
Contact: Lisa De Nike
LDE@jhu.edu
443-287-9960
Johns Hopkins University
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
Journal of Neuroscience
Carnegie Mellon University research shows how sensory-deprived brain compensates
Whiskers provide a mouse with essential information. These stiff hairs relay sensory input to the brain, which shapes neuronal activity. In a first, studies of this system by Carnegie Mellon scientists show just how well a mouse brain can compensate when limited to sensing the world through one whisker. Published April 4 in the Journal of Neuroscience, the results should help shape future studies of sensory deprivation that results from stroke or traumatic brain injury.
National Institutes of Health, Sloan Foundation, Wellcome Trust
Contact: Lauren Ward
wardle@andrew.cmu.edu
412-268-7761
Carnegie Mellon University
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
PLoS ONE
Stem cells decrease ischemic injury and restore brain function
This is the impressive result of a study carried out by a group of researchers coordinated by Dr. Maria Grazia De Simoni of the Mario Negri Institute in Milan, Italy, in cooperation with the Istituto Neurologico Besta (Milan) and the University of Lausanne. The study is to be published in the April 18 issue of the international, peer-reviewed, open-access online journal of the Public Library of Science, PLoS ONE.
Contact: Isabella Bordogna
bordogna@marionegri.it
39-023-901-4581
Public Library of Science
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
Nature Physics
Ames Laboratory researchers rethink zinc
While they can't turn lead into gold, researchers at US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have discovered a new family of zinc compounds that can be tuned, or manipulated, to take on some of the physical properties and behavior of other materials.
US Department of Energy
Contact: Saren Johnston
sarenj@ameslab.gov
515-294-3474
DOE/Ames Laboratory
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
Device uses solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into fuel
Chemists at the University of California, San Diego have demonstrated the feasibility of exploiting sunlight to transform a greenhouse gas into a useful product.
US Department of Energy
Contact: Sherry Seethaler
sseethaler@ucsd.edu
858-534-4656
University of California - San Diego
Public Release: 17-Apr-2007
UQ researchers identify thousands with curable high blood pressure
More than 100,000 Australians suffering high blood pressure can now be cured or have their problem greatly improved by surgical treatment thanks to University of Queensland research.
Contact: Marlene McKendry
61-733-464-713
Research Australia
Einstein was right, probe shows
Early results from a Nasa mission designed to test two key predictions of Albert Einstein show the great man was right about at least one of them.
'Smart dust' to explore planets
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Preston
Tiny "smart" devices that can be borne on the wind like dust particles could be carried in space probes to ex-plore other planets, UK engineers say.
'Fewer leaves' behind frog demise
A decline in the amount of leaves on the ground could be behind the rapid demise of frog species, a study of a rainforest in Costa Rica has suggested.
The wave that destroyed Atlantis
By Harvey Lilley
BBC Timewatch
The legend of Atlantis, the country that disappeared under the sea, may be more than just a myth. Research on the Greek island of Crete suggests Europe's earliest civilisation was destroyed by a giant tsunami.
Written in Bone
How radioactive isotopes reveal the migrations of ancient people
by Brenda Fowler Volume 60 Number 3, May/June 2007
Breastfeeding may protect older mothers from cancer

Public Release: 18-Apr-2007
New England Journal of Medicine
Decrease in breast cancer incidence linked to drop in hormone replacement
A special report in the April 19, 2007, edition of the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that the sharp decline in breast-cancer incidence in 2003, followed by a relative stabilization at a lower rater in 2004, is most likely related to the first report of the Women's Health Initiative and the ensuing drop in hormone-replacement therapy among postmenopausal women.
Contact: Rowan Chlebowski
rchlebow@whi.org
310-748-7463
Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) Cannabis compound slows lung cancer in mice

Public Release: 19-Apr-2007
Journal of Clinical Investigation
Why cisplatin kills breast cancer cells when other drugs fail
The cancerous cells of some individuals with breast cancer lack expression of two cell surface proteins, the estrogen and progesterone receptors, and do not express increased amounts of HER2. Individuals with such breast cancer (known as triple-negative breast cancer) do not respond to treatment with commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs and their prognosis is relatively poor. But a new study has indicated why triple-negative breast cancer cell lines are sensitive to exposure to the chemotherapeutic cisplatin.
Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Tracey Davis Memorial Fund, Avon Foundation
Contact: Brooke Grindlinger
press_releases@the-jci.org
212-342-9006
Journal of Clinical Investigation
Public Release: 19-Apr-2007
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
Strawberry daiquiris -- the extra-healthy cocktail?
While exploring ways to help keep strawberries fresh during storage, researchers from Thailand and the US discovered that treating the berries with alcohol led to an increase in antioxidant capacity and free radical scavenging activity within the fruit. While such a boost helped the berries resist decay, the same compounds would also be expected to make the strawberries healthier to eat.
Contact: SCI Press Office
press@soci.org
44-020-759-81548
Society of Chemical Industry
Public Release: 19-Apr-2007
Cell
Discovery of an HIV inhibitor in human blood points to new drug class
A new study has pinpointed a natural ingredient of human blood that effectively blocks HIV-1, the virus predominantly responsible for human AIDS, from infecting immune cells and multiplying. The virus blocker might play a role in the progression of HIV to full-blown AIDS and -- because it works in a different way than existing antiretroviral inhibitors -- could lead to the development of another class of drugs in the fight against the pandemic disease.
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Wilhelm-Sander Foundation, National Institutes of Health, additional funders
Contact: Erin Doonan
edoonan@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 22-Apr-2007
Nature
Study links faulty DNA repair to Huntington's disease onset
Huntington's disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder that affects roughly 30,000 Americans, is incurable and fatal. But a new discovery about how cells repair their DNA points to a possible way to stop or slow the onset of the disease. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Contact: Kirstie Saltsman
saltsmank@nigms.nih.gov
301-496-7301
NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Public Release: 22-Apr-2007
Nature
1 of life's most common compounds causes allergic inflammation
The beetle's back and the crab's shell owe their toughness to a common compound called chitin that now appears to trigger airway inflammation and possibly asthma, UCSF scientists have found.
National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Sandler Asthma Basic Research Center
Contact: Wallace Ravven
wravven@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco