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Release: 16-Jul-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Study identifies energy efficiency as
reason for evolution of upright walking
A new study provides support for the hypothesis that walking on two
legs, or bipedalism, evolved because it used less energy than
quadrupedal knucklewalking.
Contact: Lori Harwood
harwoodl@email.arizona.edu
520-626-3846
University of Arizona
Public Release: 16-Jul-2007
Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery
Study shows no change in sense of taste
after tonsil removal
In a small study of patients undergoing tonsillectomy, or removal of
the tonsils, none reported an ongoing dysfunction in their sense of
taste following the procedure, according to a report in the July issue
of Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery, one of
the
JAMA/Archives journals.
Contact: Christian A. Mueller
chr.mue@gmx.at
JAMA and Archives
Journals
Public Release: 16-Jul-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Scientists isolate chemical in curry
that may help immune system clear plaques found in Alzheimer's
Researchers isolated bisdemethoxycurcumin, the active ingredient of
curcuminoids -- a natural substance found in turmeric root -- that may
help boost the immune system in clearing amyloid beta, a peptide that
forms the plaques found in Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's Disease Association, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation
Contact: Rachel Champeau
rchampeau@mednet.ucla.edu
310-794-0777
University of
California - Los Angeles
Public Release: 16-Jul-2007
PLoS Pathogens
Clues to future evolution of HIV
come from African
green monkeys
Monkey viruses related to HIV may have swept across Africa more
recently than previously thought, according to research from the
University of Arizona in Tucson. A new family tree for African green
monkeys shows that simian immunodeficiency virus first infected those
monkeys after the lineage split into four species. The new research
reveals the split happened about 3 million years ago. Scientists had
thought SIV infected an ancestor of green monkeys before the speciation
event.
National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Johnny Cruz
cruzj@email.arizona.edu
520-621-1877
University of Arizona
Public Release: 16-Jul-2007
Combating counterfeit Rx from China
Agencies worldwide are cracking down on counterfeit pharmaceuticals,
and much of the focus has been on China, where an official was recently
executed for approving fake medicines. While most of these drugs reach
consumers through online or illegal suppliers, there's a growing threat
to outlets considered more safe, like the neighborhood pharmacy, said
pharmacoeconomist, Albert Wertheimer, Ph.D., who will address the
problem at a US Patent and Trademark Office seminar on July 23 and 24
in Philadelphia.
Contact: Eryn Jelesiewicz
dobeck@temple.edu
215-707-0730
Temple University
Public Release: 17-Jul-2007
JAMA
Diet very high in fruit, vegetables
does not appear to reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence
Women with early stage breast cancer who adopted a diet very high in
vegetables, fruit and fiber and low in fat did not have a lower risk of
breast cancer recurrence compared to women who followed a diet of five
or more servings a day of fruit and vegetables (the "5-A-Day" diet),
according to a study in the July 18 issue of JAMA.
Contact: Kim Edwards
619-543-6163
JAMA and Archives
Journals
Public Release: 17-Jul-2007
Cochrane Library
Vitamin C offers
little protection against colds
Unless you run marathons, you probably won't get much protection from
common colds by taking a daily supplemental dose of vitamin C,
according to an updated review of 30 studies.
Contact: Lisa Esposito
hbns-editor@cfah.org
Center for the Advancement
of Health
Public Release: 17-Jul-2007
Universal flu vaccine being tested on
humans
A universal influenza vaccine that has been pioneered by researchers
from VIB and Ghent University is being tested for the first time on
humans by the British-American biotech company Acambis. This vaccine is
intended to provide protection against all "A" strains of the virus
that causes human influenza, including pandemic strains.
Acambis, National Institutes of Health, European Union, Institute for
the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders,
Reseach Foundation in Flanders, Ghent University, VIB -- Flanders
Institute for Biotechnology
Contact: Evy Vierstraete
info@vib.be
329-244-6611
VIB, Flanders Interuniversity
Institute of Biotechnology
Public Release: 17-Jul-2007
2007 Biotechnology Education Conference
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Disease-free mosquito bred to
disease-carrier can have all disease-free progeny
Researchers from Virginia Tech and the University of California Irvine
have demonstrated the ability to express a foreign gene exclusively in
the female mosquito germline, a necessary prerequisite to future
genetic control strategies in mosquitoes where all progeny of lab and
wild mosquitoes will have the gene that blocks virus replication -- or
whatever trait has been introduced into the lab mosquitoes.
Contact: Susan Trulove
STrulove@vt.edu
540-231-5646
Virginia Tech
Public Release: 18-Jul-2007
BMC Evolutionary Biology
Species detectives track unseen
evolution
New species are evading detection using a foolproof disguise -- their
own unchanged appearance. Research published in the online open access
journal, BMC Evolutionary Biology, suggests that the phenomenon of
different animal species not being visually distinct despite other
significant genetic differences is widespread in the animal kingdom.
DNA profiles and distinct mating groups are the only way to spot an
evolutionary splinter group from their look-alike cousins, introducing
uncertainty to biodiversity estimates globally.
Contact: Charlotte Webber
press@biomedcentral.com
44-020-763-19980
BioMed Central
Nanoparticles make cancer
cells magnetic
Turning tumour cells into mini-magnets means they can be extracted with
a needle, improving the sensitivity of biopsies
10:21 16 July 2007
Invention: biological
nanobattery
This week's patent applications include a self-assembling nanobattery,
blood-flow imaging with MRI, and an ultrasonic dishwasher
11:34 16 July 2007
Spite is a uniquely human
emotion
Experiments show that even our
closest relatives, chimpanzees, are not capable of being spiteful
–
raising questions about altruism too
22:00 16 July 2007
Taking drugs with food may
take a bite out of costs
Swallowing an expensive cancer drug on a full stomach could cut the
cost of treatment – but doctors warn further research is
needed
23:00 16 July 2007
Why Did Rome Fall? It's Time
for New Answers
By Peter Heather
Mr. Heather is professor at Worcester College, University of Oxford,
and the author of The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome
and the Barbarians (Oxford University Press).
The Roman Empire was the largest state that western Eurasia has ever
seen. It was also extremely long-lived. While some role for its
collapse has always been allocated to outside invaders -- explanation
has tended to focus on a range of internal transformations and problems
as the prime movers in the processes of Roman imperial collapse. By the
mid-twentieth century, causation commonly concentrated upon preceding
economic collapse. It has been overturned since the 1970s, when
archaeologists developed a method for sampling levels of rural
productivity. It is now no longer possible to explain
fifth-century political collapse in terms of preceding economic crisis.
Public Release: 18-Jul-2007
Journal of Applied Physiology
Exercise, exercise, rest, repeat -- how
a break can help your workout
Taking a break in the middle of your workout may metabolize more fat
than exercising without stopping, according to a recent study in Japan.
Researchers conducted the first known study to compare these two
exercise methods -- exercising continually in one long bout versus
breaking up the same workout with a rest period.
Contact: Celia Lee
clee@the-aps.org
301-634-7406
American Physiological
Society
Vital
Signs
Patterns: An Allergic
Reaction May Be Tied to Geography
By ERIC NAGOURNEY
Americans who live in the South may be less susceptible to the
life-threatening allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis, a new study
finds
Personal Health
Avoiding the
Dangers Down
in the Garden
By JANE E. BRODY
Published: July 17, 2007
“Leaves of three, let them be.” No doubt
you’ve heard
this warning about poison ivy, a weedy plant that each year causes more
than 350,000 reported cases of human contact dermatitis, and probably
many thousands more unreported cases.
Study Finds Dietary Link to
Risk of Eye Disorder
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
Published: July 17, 2007
Certain kinds of carbohydrates may play a role in the development of
age-related macular degeneration, an incurable degenerative eye disease
that is a leading cause of blindness in older adults. A new study has
found that eating carbohydrate-rich food with a high glycemic index is
associated with the development of the disorder.
Champion at Checkers That
Cannot Lose to People
By KENNETH CHANG
Published: July 20, 2007
The creators of Chinook, a computer program that plays checkers, now
argue that it is unbeatable by human or computer competition.
In the Trenches | The Hospital Chaplain
Offering Comfort to the Sick
and Blessings to Their Healers
By JAN HOFFMAN
The Rev. Margaret A. Muncie ministers to hospital patients of all
faiths, as well as the hospital staff.
Hormone spray could banish
shyness
Oxytocin, the hormone that makes people more trusting, may also help
those with social phobia to interact
10:03 18 July 2007
Corn biofuel 'dangerously
oversold' as green energy
The rapidly growing corn ethanol industry could damage the environment
without significantly reducing dependence on fossil fuels, argues a new
report
17:00 18 July 2007
Public Release:
18-Jul-2007
Psychological Science
The end of barroom brawls
Why do drunks get belligerent? And do all intoxicated people get more
aggressive? A new study in the July issue of Psychological Science,
reports that alcohol can actually reduce aggression.
Contact: Catherine West
cwest@psychologicalscience.org
202-783-2077
Association
for Psychological Science
Dam-busting 'megaflood' made
Britain an island
High-resolution sonar scans of the floor of the English Channel reveal
giant scour marks left by a massive torrent
18:00 18 July 2007
Public Release:
18-Jul-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
UD scientists invent novel hydrogels for
repairing, regenerating human tissue
University of Delaware scientists have invented a novel biomaterial
with surprising antibacterial properties, that can be injected as a
low-viscosity gel into a wound where it rigidifies nearly on contact --
opening the door to the possibility of delivering a targeted payload of
cells and antibiotics to repair the damaged tissue.
National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Tracey Bryant
tbryant@udel.edu
302-831-8185
University of Delaware
The Basics
Just a Bike Race, You Say?
Think Again
By GINA KOLATA
How hard is the Tour de France?
Sailors may have cruised
the Med 14,000 years ago
Wed Jul 18, 2007 12:16PM EDT (Reuters Life!)
By Michele Kambas NICOSIA
Archaeologists in Cyprus have discovered what they believe could be the
oldest evidence yet that organized groups of ancient mariners were
plying the east Mediterranean, possibly as far back as 14,000 years ago.
Creeping oil might propel
synthetic life
Droplets
of oil that propel
themselves through water could someday allow so-called "artificial
cells" to move around independently.
Breaking News - 19 July 2007
Public Release:
19-Jul-2007
Science
Rise
of dinosaurs in Late Triassic more gradual than once thought
The ancestors of dinosaurs seemed to disappear before the dinosaurs
took over the Earth 200 million years ago, suggesting to many that
dinosaurs were so successful that they rapidly out-competed their
ancestors and drove them extinct. New fossil finds in New Mexico,
however, show that this was not true -- dinosaurs and their ancestors
lived side by side for 15-20 million years in the Late Triassic before
the dinosaur precursors vanished.
National Geographic Society
Contact: Robert Sanders
rsanders@berkeley.edu
510-642-3734
University of
California - Berkeley
Public Release: 19-Jul-2007
Science
New clue into how diet and exercise enhance longevity
The traditional prescriptions for a healthy life-sensible diet,
exercise and weight control -- extend life by reducing signaling
through a specific pathway in the brain, according to Howard Hughes
Medical Institute researchers, who discovered the connection while
studying long-lived mice.
Contact: Jennifer Michalowski
michalow@hhmi.org
301-215-8576
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
New Depths
A Godsend for Darfur, or a Curse?
By LYDIA POLGREEN
A newly discovered lake under the barren soil of northern Sudan is as
likely to be a source of conflict as a solution to the bloodshed.
Public Release: 19-Jul-2007
PLoS ONE
Mathematical model identifies genes which battle hepatitis C
A cooperative research project between the University of Haifa and
Indiana University yielded the discovery of a mathematical model which
identifies genes which battle viruses. Using the method, researchers
successfully identified 37 out of 22,000 genes which are active in the
battle against the virus hepatitis C, which attacks the liver.
Contact: Amir Gilat
agilat@univ.haifa.ac.il
University of Haifa
Public Release: 19-Jul-2007
Multi-gigabit wireless research could soon make wired computers and peripherals obsolete
New research at the Georgia Institute of Technology could soon make
that tangle of wires under desks and in data centers a thing of the
past.
Contact: Rick Robinson
rick.robinson@innovate.gatech.edu
404-694-2284
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News
Genetic variation may lower HIV load by 90%
People who carry a specific mutation appear to have far lower levels of
the virus in their bodies – the finding might offer an approach
to fighting the disease
19:00 19 July 2007Public Release: 19-Jul-2007
Biological Psychiatry
U of M study identifies medication that helps people with obsessive-compulsive disorder
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found that a drug
originally developed to fight tuberculosis may help people with
obsessive-compulsive disorder make more progress in therapy sessions.
Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation, Minnesota Medical Foundation
Contact: Nick Hanson
hans2853@umn.edu
612-624-2449
University of Minnesota
Public Release: 19-Jul-2007
American Naturalist
Ice Age survivors in Iceland
Scientists have discovered two species of groundwater amphipods that
are found solely in Iceland. These finding can only be explained by
these animals surviving glaciations in some kind of refugium under the
glaciers.
Contact: Patricia Morse
pmorse@uchicago.edu
773-702-0446
University of Chicago Press Journals
Man with tiny brain shocks doctors
The civil servant, who lives a normal life, had his brain reduced in size by at least 50% by build-up of fluid over many years
12:17 20 July 2007
Hubble Space Telescope maps minerals on the moon
The telescope is letting geologists find lunar regions rich in ilmenite, a potential source of oxygen for lunar colonists
Breaking News - 21 July 2007
Taking the fossil out of fossil fuel
Some natural gas is much newer than it looks - and researchers are hoping to make their own
10:09 20 July 2007
