SciNews20070924

High-tech chewing gum could end sticky streets
The water-attracting gum that is designed to wash easily off concrete could save city authorities millions in cleanup operations
00:01 14 September 2007
Are dark matter and inflation one and the same?
Two cosmic mysteries may be explained by a single particle - the inflaton
18:12 14 September 2007
Shipping smoke plumes cool the atmosphere
Cargo ships' "contrails" have a surprising but short-lived cooling effect – the results may alter predictions for future climate change
18:30 17 September 2007
Vital Signs
Hazards: Heavy Drinking May Raise Risk of Endometrial Cancer
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
Women who have more than two alcoholic drinks a day double their risk of endometrial cancer compared with those who drink less, a new study finds.
Vital Signs
Safety: In Stun Gun Training, Officer's Spine Is Fractured
By ERIC NAGOURNEY
Advocates for the use of stun guns by police departments point to evidence that they are a safe way to subdue aggressive suspects. But an officer in North Carolina who volunteered to be shocked at a training class ended up in the emergency room with two spinal fractures.
Really?
The Claim: Regular Use of Hot Tubs Can Hurt Fertility in Men
For years, doctors have warned men having trouble conceiving to stay away from hot baths and whirlpool tubs. Is the concern warranted?
Personal Health
The ‘Poisonous Cocktail’ of Multiple Drugs
By JANE E. BRODY
A “poisonous cocktail” of many drugs can interact in dangerous ways and cause side effects that can be far worse than the diseases they are treating.
AIDS Drugs May Help Against Cancer, Too
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
A drug widely used to treat H.I.V. infection may also be effective in fighting cancer, a new study suggests, and a human trial of the medicine is already under way.
Basics
Songs and Sojourns of the Season
By NATALIE ANGIER
At this time of year, the world seems built for birds on the wing.
Lost in a Million-Year Gap, Solid Clues to Human Origins
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
The origin of our own genus Homo is one of the most intriguing and intractable mysteries in human evolution.
Testicle stem cell harvest plan
A man's testicles might be a source of stem cells to help him fight serious diseases, US scientists have shown.
Simple blood test spots early stage lung cancer
A telltale protein accurately advertises the presence of lung cancer, even before it has spread within the body, suggests preliminary work
19:15 18 September 2007
Caring grandmas explain evolutionary role of menopause
The "change of life" is an ordeal to those experiencing a hot flash, but research suggests it is in a good evolutionary cause
12:44 19 September 2007
'Cancer-resistant' people lend out their killer cells
Immune cells that fight cancer will soon be transplanted from one patient into another to boost resistance to the disease
08:30 20 September 2007
Bumpy bones suggest Velociraptor had feathers
The identification of tiny knobs on the limbs of the raptor provides proof that the species had feathers, researchers say – but what were they for?
19:00 20 September 2007
Public Release: 20-Sep-2007
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Cell-surface sugar defects may trigger nerve damage in multiple sclerosis patients
Defects on cell-surface sugars may promote the short-term inflammation and long-term neurodegeneration that occurs in the central nervous system of multiple sclerosis patients, according to University of California, Irvine researchers.
National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Wadsworth Foundation, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Tom Vasich
tmvasich@uci.edu
949-824-6455
University of California - Irvine
Public Release: 21-Sep-2007
New England Journal of Medicine
Multiple corticosteroid injections in pregnant women may increase cerebral palsy
In pregnant women at high risk for preterm birth, a single injection of corticosteroids has been shown to reduce the baby's chances of having serious lung problems after birth. A new study shows that repeat courses of corticosteroids are linked to an increased rate of cerebral palsy among children of these mothers.
NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Contact: Stephanie Crayton
scrayton@unch.unc.edu
919-966-2860
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Public Release: 21-Sep-2007
Current Directions in Psychological Science
Brain atrophy in elderly leads to unintended racism, depression and problem gambling
In the aging population, an inability to inhibit unwanted thoughts and behavior causes several social behaviors and cognitions to go awry.
Contact: Catherine West
cwest@psychologicalscience.org
202-783-2077
Association for Psychological Science
Public Release: 21-Sep-2007
A better definition for the kilogram? Scientists propose a precise number of carbon atoms
Two US professors -- a physicist and mathematician -- say it's time to define the kilogram in a new and more elegant way. They've launched a campaign aimed at redefining the kilogram as the mass of a very large -- but precisely-specified -- number of carbon-12 atoms.
Contact: John Toon
jtoon@gatech.edu
404-894-6986
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News
Public Release: 21-Sep-2007
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Dangerous diarrheal bacterium found on asymptomatic patients
The bacterium that causes a highly contagious and sometimes deadly form of diarrhea is frequently carried by persons who do not have any of the disease symptoms, according to a study in the Oct. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online. These findings have dramatic implications for health care workers who have customarily treated and isolated only those patients who exhibit symptoms.
Contact: Steve Baragona
sbaragona@idsociety.org
703-299-0412
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Public Release: 21-Sep-2007
Free Radical Biology and Medicine
Vitamin E trials 'fatally flawed'
Generations of studies on vitamin E may be largely meaningless, scientists say, because new research has demonstrated that the levels of this micronutrient necessary to reduce oxidative stress are far higher than those that have been commonly used in clinical trials.
Contact: Balz Frei
balz.frei@oregonstate.edu
541-737-5078
Oregon State University