Public Release: 14-May-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Brain, size and gender surprises in latest fossil tying humans, apes and monkeys
A surprisingly complete fossil skull of an ancient relative of humans, apes and monkeys bears striking evidence that our remote ancestor was less mentally advanced than expected by about 29 million years ago.
National Science Foundation, Leakey Foundation
Contact: Monte Basgall
monte.basgall@duke.edu
919-681-8057
Duke University
Public Release: 14-May-2007
Archives of Neurology
Testosterone may help men with multiple sclerosis
A small pilot study suggests that testosterone treatment is safe, well-tolerated and may reduce symptoms, slow brain degeneration and increase muscle mass in men with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, the most common form of the disease, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Contact: Mark Wheeler
310-794-2265
JAMA and Archives Journals
Public Release: 14-May-2007
Fatty acid catabolism higher due to polyphenol intake
Polyphenols, dietary substances from vegetables, fruits and green tea, bring about a change in the energy metabolism. Dutch researcher Vincent de Boer has discovered that polyphenols increase the fatty acid breakdown in rats and influence the glucose use in fat cells.
NWO
Contact: Vincent de Boer
vincent_deboer@hms.harvard.edu
617-432-7087
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research
Public Release: 14-May-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Researchers attach genes to minichromosomes in maize
A team of scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia has discovered a way to create engineered minichromosomes in maize and attach genes to those minichromosomes. This discovery opens new possibilities for the development of crops that are multiply resistant to viruses, insects, fungi, bacteria and herbicides, and for the development of proteins and metabolites that can be used to treat human illnesses.
Contact: Katherine Kostiuk
kostiukk@missouri.edu
573-882-3346
University of Missouri-Columbia
Public Release: 14-May-2007
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Glucosamine-like supplement inhibits multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes
A glucosamine-like dietary supplement has been found to suppress the damaging autoimmune response seen in multiple sclerosis and type-1 diabetes mellitus, according to University of California, Irvine health sciences researchers.
National Institutes of Health, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Wadsworth Foundation, Canadian Institutes for Health Research
Contact: Tom Vasich
tmvasich@uci.edu
949-824-6455
University of California - Irvine
Public Release: 14-May-2007
Annals of Internal Medicine
Older patients with major depression live longer with appropriate treatment, Penn study shows
Older patients with major depression whose primary care physicians team with depression care managers are 45 percent less likely to die within a five-year time period than older adults with major depression who receive their care in primary care practices where there are no depression care managers. This study, conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, appears in the current issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
Contact: Kate Olderman
kate.olderman@uphs.upenn.edu
215-349-8369
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Public Release: 14-May-2007
Spreading viruses as we breathe
Keeping at arm's length won't protect you from catching an infectious disease, according to new research by Queensland University of Technology which reveals airborne viruses can spread far and wide. Professor Lidia Morawska, director of QUT's International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, said the study dispelled the myth that viruses emitted from humans only travel a meter in the air.
Australian Research Council
Contact: Sandra Hutchinson
s3.hutchinson@qut.edu.au
61-731-382-130
Queensland University of Technology
The Consumer
As Demand for Donor Eggs Soars, High Prices Stir Ethical Concerns
By RONI CARYN RABIN
Published: May 15, 2007
Though many egg donors derive great satisfaction from knowing that they helped someone start a family, the price of eggs has soared in recent years as demand has increased, and the sizable payments raise controversy.
Scientists Back Off Theory of a Colder Europe in a Warming World Climatologists said in February it was “very unlikely” that the crucial flow of warm water to Europe known as the North Atlantic Current would stall in this century.
Analysis Finds Large Antarctic Area Has Melted
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
While much of the world has warmed in a pattern that scientists have linked to human activities, the frigid interior of Antarctica has resisted the trend.
Public Release: 15-May-2007
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Heavy multivitamin use may be linked to advanced prostate cancer
While regular multivitamin use is not linked with early or localized prostate cancer, taking too many multivitamins may be associated with an increased risk for advanced or fatal prostate cancers, according to a study in the May 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Contact: Liz Savage
jncimedia@oxfordjournals.org
301-841-1287
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Public Release: 15-May-2007
PLoS ONE
Gene thought to assist chemo may help cancer thrive
A gene thought to be essential in helping chemotherapy kill cancer cells, may actually help them thrive. In a new study of chemo patients, scientists at Georgia Tech and the Ovarian Cancer Institute found that 70 percent of subjects whose tumors had mutations in the gene p53 were still alive after five years. Patients with normal p53 displayed only a 30 percent survival rate.
Georgia Cancer Coalition, Georgia Tech Research Foundation, Robinson Family Foundation, Larry and Beth Lawrence Foundation
Contact: David Terraso
d.terraso@gatech.edu
404-385-2966
Georgia Institute of Technology Ring of dark matter surrounds cosmic collision
A cloud of dark matter appears to be expanding like a smoke ring from a giant collision between galaxy clusters
18:08 15 May 2007
Public Release: 15-May-2007
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Vitamin D supplements may offer cheap and effective immune system boost against TB
Scientists have shown that a single 2.5 mg dose of vitamin D may be enough to boost the immune system to fight against tuberculosis and similar bacteria for at least six weeks. Their findings came from a study that identified an extraordinarily high incidence of vitamin D deficiency amongst those communities in London most at risk from the disease, which kills around two million people each year.
Wellcome Trust, Newham Council, Newham University Hospital NHS Trust Respiratory Research Fund
Contact: Craig Brierley
c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk
44-207-611-7329
Wellcome Trust
Public Release: 15-May-2007
Journal of Clinical Nursing
Alzheimer's weight gain initiative also improved patients' intellectual abilities
Swedish researchers have discovered that simple steps like changing the way food is served and how staff are dressed can improve weight gain in Alzheimer's patients. Patients who gained weight also showed greater intellectual abilities.
Contact: Annette Whibley
wizard.media@virgin.net
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Public Release: 15-May-2007
Research says boiling broccoli ruins its anti-cancer properties
Researchers at the University of Warwick have found that the standard British cooking habit of boiling vegetables severely damages the anticancer properties of many Brassica vegetables such as broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and green cabbage.
Contact: Peter Dunn
p.j.dunn@warwick.ac.uk
0247-652-3708
University of Warwick
Public Release: 15-May-2007
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Smokeless cannabis delivery device efficient and less toxic
A smokeless cannabis-vaporizing device delivers the same levels of THC, the active therapeutic chemical, with the same biological effects as smoking cannabis without the harmful toxins created by burning cannabis, according to UCSF researchers.
University of California's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research
Contact: Jeff Sheehy
jsheehy@ari.ucsf.edu
415-597-8165
University of California - San Francisco
Public Release: 15-May-2007
Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
Peanut allergies overstated, study finds
Despite hundreds of families being told their children have peanut allergies every year, many of the children may be able to eat peanuts safely, a study by researchers at the University of New South Wales and Sydney Children's Hospital has found.
Contact: Susi Hamilton
susi.hamilton@unsw.edu.au
61-422-934-024
University of New South Wales
Public Release: 16-May-2007
American Journal of Medical Genetics
Exposure to mercury preservatives before birth is no higher in children with autism
The increase in the number of diagnosed cases of autism in recent years has sparked concern that environmental toxins may cause this complex disorder. A new study found, however, that exposure to Rh immune globulin preserved with mercury-containing thimerosal before birth was no higher for children with autism.
Contact: Amy Molnar
amolnar@wiley.com
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Public Release: 16-May-2007
Nature
Herpes infection may be symbiotic, help beat back some bacteria
Mice with chronic herpes virus infections can better resist the bacterium that causes plague and a bacterium that causes one kind of food poisoning, researchers report in this week's Nature.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Michael C. Purdy
purdym@wustl.edu
314-286-0122
Washington University School of Medicine Jennifer Viegas
Discovery News May 14, 2007
The earliest known dental prosthesis from ancient Rome may not have been very functional, but it gave its wealthy wearer a million dollar smile.
Public Release: 16-May-2007
Physical Review Letters
From ink to optics, study of particle mixtures yields fundamental insights
Since the invention of ink over 3,000 years ago, people have exploited the unique properties of colloids, in which particles of one substance are suspended in another. Now, Princeton University chemical engineers have answered a fundamental question about these mixtures in work that may have wide-ranging practical applications, including the manufacturing of medicines and optical fibers.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy
Contact: Hilary Parker
haparker@princeton.edu
609-258-4597
Princeton University, Engineering School
Public Release: 16-May-2007
Brain
Violent sleep disorder linked to a form of dementia
Mayo Clinic researchers and a group of international collaborators have discovered a correlation between an extreme form of sleep disorder and eventual onset of parkinsonism or dementia. The findings appear in the current issue of the journal Brain.
National Institutes of Health, Robert H. and Clarice Smith and Abigail Van Buren Alzheimer's Disease Research Program at Mayo Clinic, German Research Council
Contact: Robert Nellis
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic
Public Release: 16-May-2007
PLoS Pathogens
Study of unexplained respiratory infections leads researchers to new virus
An ongoing effort to identify the microorganisms that make us sick has discovered a new virus potentially linked to unexplained respiratory infections.
Midwest Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease Research, National Institutes of Health, Center for Genome Sciences at Washington University, Royal Childrens' Hospital Foundation
Contact: Michael C. Purdy
purdym@wustl.edu
314-286-0122
Washington University School of Medicine
Public Release: 17-May-2007
Science
Study warns deep-sea mining may pose serious threat to fragile marine ecosystems
A study finds undersea habitats supporting rare and potentially valuable organisms are at risk from seafloor mining scheduled to begin within this decade.
Contact: Nicolle Wahl
wahlnico@utm.utoronto.ca
905-569-4656
University of Toronto
Public Release: 17-May-2007
Immunity
Natural immune-control system may aid treatment of autoimmune disease and tissue rejection
The immune system’s ability to police itself may offer a new method of arresting the cells responsible for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and for the rejection of transplanted organs and tissues, report scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
National Institutes of Health, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Claudia Adams Barr Foundation, Taiho Pharmaceuticals of Japan
Contact: Bill Schaller
william_schaller@dfci.harvard.edu
617-632-5357
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Public Release: 17-May-2007
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
No magic tomato? Study breaks link between lycopene and prostate cancer prevention
Tomatoes might be nutritious and tasty, but don't count on them to prevent prostate cancer. In the May issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, researchers based at the National Cancer Institute and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center report that lycopene, an antioxidant predominately found in tomatoes, does not effectively prevent prostate cancer. In fact, the researchers noted an association between beta-carotene, an antioxidant related to lycopene, and an increased risk for aggressive prostate cancer.
NIH/National Cancer Institute, US Department of Health and Human Services
Contact: Greg Lester
lester@aacr.org
267-646-0554
American Association for Cancer Research
Public Release: 17-May-2007
British Medical Journal
25,000 needless deaths each year due to failure to tackle blood clots in hospital
Up to 25,000 people may die needlessly each year due to the failure to prevent blood clots known as venous thromboembolisms in UK hospitals, say experts in this week's BMJ. Their warning follows the publication of official guidelines on the issue last month by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which are also summarised in this week's journal.
Contact: Emma Dickinson
edickinson@bmj.com
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Public Release: 17-May-2007
Ambulatory Pediatrics
Children with both autism and ADHD often bully, parents say
Children with both autism and attention deficit or attention deficit hyperactivity disorders are four times more likely to bully than children in the general population, according to a study released today in the journal, Ambulatory Pediatrics. However, the researchers caution against labeling these children simply as bullies.
Children's Institute
Contact: Heather Hare
heather_hare@urmc.rochester.edu
585-273-2840
University of Rochester Medical Center
Public Release: 17-May-2007
UPMC performs first beating heart transplant procedure in the US
Protected by its own nutrients and blood supply, a beating heart supported by an investigational organ preservation device was successfully transplanted into a 47-year-old man with heart failure on Sunday, April 8. The surgery was performed at UPMC by Kenneth R. McCurry, M.D., assistant professor of surgery, division of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and director of cardiopulmonary transplantation at UPMC as part of an FDA approved investigational study.
TransMedics Inc.
Contact: Maureen McGaffin
McGaffinME@upmc.edu
412-647-3555
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Snake Cults Dominated Early Arabia
Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News
May 17, 2007
Pre-Islamic Middle Eastern regions were home to mysterious snake cults, according to two papers published in this month's Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy journal.
Public Release: 17-May-2007
Diet and Optimum Health at Oregon State University
Lipoic acid explored as anti-aging compound
Researchers said today they have identified the mechanism of action of lipoic acid, a remarkable compound that in animal experiments appears to slow down the process of aging, improve blood flow, enhance immune function and perform many other functions.
NIH/National Institutes of Aging
Contact: Tory Hagen
tory.hagen@oregonstate.edu
541-737-5083
Oregon State University
Public Release: 17-May-2007
Anesthesia & Analgesia
Chronic pain can drive you to distraction
Researchers at the University of Alberta have confirmed that chronic pain doesn't just cause physical discomfort; it can impair your memory and your concentration. In a study recently conducted at the university's Multidisciplinary Pain Center in Edmonton, Canada, two-thirds of participants with chronic pain showed significant disruption of attention and memory when tested.
Contact: Isabela C. Varela
isabela.varela@ualberta.ca
780-492-6041
University of Alberta
Public Release: 17-May-2007
2007 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting
Tests show healthy humans not harmed by Taser
A study conducted by emergency medicine physicians at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center showed no lasting effects of the Taser on healthy test subjects.
National Institute of Justice
Contact: Kimberly Edwards
kedwards@ucsd.edu
619-543-6163
University of California - San Diego
Public Release: 18-May-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Study of protein folds offers insight into metabolic evolution
Researchers at the University of Illinois have constructed the first global family tree of metabolic protein architecture. Their approach offers a new window on the evolutionary history of metabolism.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Office of Naval Research, National Science Foundation
Contact: Diana Yates
diya@uiuc.edu
217-333-5802
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
News
Drifters could explain sweet-potato travel
An unsteered ship may have delivered crop to Polynesia.
Brendan Borrell
Published online: 18 May 2007; | doi:10.1038/news070514-20
How did the South American sweet potato wind up in Polynesia? New research suggests that the crop could have simply floated there on a ship.
Public Release: 18-May-2007
Energy & Fuels
New biofuel from trees developed at UGA
A team of University of Georgia researchers has developed a new biofuel derived from wood chips. Unlike previous fuels derived from wood, the new and still unnamed fuel can be blended with biodiesel and petroleum diesel to power conventional engines.
US Department of Energy, Georgia Traditional Industries Pulp and Paper Research Program, State of Georgia
Contact: Sam Fahmy
sfahmy@uga.edu
706-542-5361
University of Georgia
Public Release: 18-May-2007
Brain, Behavior, and Evolution
Bigger is smarter
Estimating the intelligence of various animals species may be as simple as measuring the overall brain size. Study now published online.
Contact: Mary Pirkola
pirkolam@gvsu.edu
616-331-2221
Grand Valley State University
Diamonds tell tale of comet that killed off the cavemen
May 20: Fireballs created "Hell on Earth", wiping out the mammoth and America's Stone Age hunters
Immune Gambians provide malaria vaccine hope
Antibodies from people naturally immune to malaria protect against the disease in a novel mouse model – human trials are poised to begin
17:47 18 May 2007