SciNews20071105

Public Release: 29-Oct-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Sight, sound processed together and earlier than previously thought
The area of the brain that processes sounds entering the ears also appears to process stimulus entering the eyes, providing a novel explanation for why many viewers believe that ventriloquists have thrown their voices to the mouths of their dummies.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Richard Merritt
Merri006@mc.duke.edu
919-660-1309
Duke University Medical Center
Public Release: 29-Oct-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
HIV's path out of Africa: Haiti, the US then the world
The AIDS virus entered the United States via Haiti, probably arriving in just one person in about 1969, earlier than previously believed, according to new research. The research is the first to definitively pinpoint when and from where HIV-1 entered the United States, and shows that most HIV/AIDS viruses in the US descended from a single common ancestor.
National Institutes of Health, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Royal Society
Contact: Mari N. Jensen
mnjensen@email.arizona.edu
520-626-9635
University of Arizona
Public Release: 29-Oct-2007
ASTRO's 49th Annual Meeting
Tiny radioactive spheres effectively treat cancer that has spread to the liver
Placing tiny radioactive spheres directly into the liver through its blood supply halted growth of tumors that had spread to the organ in 71 percent of patients tested in a small clinical trial, researchers from Mayo Clinic Jacksonville report.
Mayo Clinic
Contact: Kevin Punsky
punsky.kevin@mayo.edu
904-953-2299
Mayo Clinic
Public Release: 29-Oct-2007
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
Visual field loss primary component in risk of falls for older adults
Visual field loss (specifically peripheral visual fields) is the primary vision component that increases the risk of falls, according to a study published this month in Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science, a peer-reviewed monthly publication of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. The authors say that people with visual field loss may benefit from mobility training to navigate the environment more safely.
Contact: Joanne Olson
jolson@arvo.org
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Public Release: 29-Oct-2007
Journal of Financial Economics
The economic power -- and pitfalls -- of positive thinking
People who are optimistic are more likely than others to display prudent financial behaviors, according to new research from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.
Contact: Laura Brinn
laura.brinn@duke.edu
919-660-2903
Duke University
Public Release: 29-Oct-2007
Lab on a Chip
New system would use rotating magnetic field to detect pathogens
Researchers at Purdue and Duke universities have developed a technique that uses a magnetic field to selectively separate tiny magnetic particles, representing a highly sensitive method for potentially diagnosing disease by testing samples from patients.
NASA
Contact: Emil Venere
venere@purdue.edu
765-494-4709
Purdue University
Public Release: 29-Oct-2007
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
10 minutes of talking has a mental payoff
Spending just 10 minutes talking to another person can help improve your memory and your performance on tests, according to a University of Michigan study to be published in the February 2008 issue of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Diane Swanbrow
swanbrow@umich.edu
734-647-9069
University of Michigan
Public Release: 30-Oct-2007
Rheumatology
Fibromyalgia pain caused by neuron mismatch, suggests study
The unexplained pain experienced by patients with fibromyalgia is the result of a mismatch between sensory and motor systems, new research suggests.
Contact: Andrew McLaughlin
a.mclaughlin@bath.ac.uk
44-012-253-86883
University of Bath
Public Release: 30-Oct-2007
PLoS ONE
Einstein scientists treat cancer as an infectious disease -- with promising results
Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have shown for the first time that cancers can be successfully treated by targeting the viruses that cause them. The findings, published in the Oct. 31 issue of PloS One, also raise the possibility of preventing cancer by destroying virus-infected cells before they turn cancerous.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dieseases, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Karen Gardner
kgardner@aecom.yu.edu
718-430-3101
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Public Release: 30-Oct-2007
Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Rosemary chicken protects your brain from free radicals
A collaborative group from the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham Institute) in La Jolla, Calif., and in Japan, report that the herb rosemary contains an ingredient that fights off free radical damage in the brain. The active ingredient in rosemary, known as carnosic acid, can protect the brain from stroke and neurodegeneration that is due to injurious chemical free radicals.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Andrea Moser
amoser@burnham.org
858-646-3146
Burnham Institute
Public Release: 30-Oct-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Elevated nitric oxide in blood is key to high altitude function for Tibetans
How can some people live at high altitudes and thrive while others struggle to obtain enough oxygen to function? The answer for Tibetans who live at altitudes around 14,000 feet is increased nitric oxide levels. High levels of NO circulate in various forms in the blood and produce the physiological mechanisms that cause the increased blood flow that maintains oxygen delivery despite hypoxia -- low levels of oxygen in the ambient air and the bloodstream.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Susan Griffith
susan.griffith@case.edu
216-368-1004
Case Western Reserve University
Really?
The Claim: Cayenne Peppers Can Cure Headaches
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
People who suffer from chronic headaches have been known to try all sorts of pills and home remedies. But cayenne peppers? Sounds unlikely, but a number of studies have tested the claim, and most have found evidence to support it.

Low Buzz May Give Mice Better Bones and Less Fat
By GINA KOLATA
New research suggests that in mice, a simple treatment that does not involve drugs appears to be directing cells to turn into bone instead of fat.
Public Release: 31-Oct-2007
ASTRO's 49th Annual Meeting
International Journal of Radiation, Oncology, Biology, Physics
Radiation seed implant decreases risk of death over watchful waiting
Prostate cancer patients cut their risk of dying of the disease in half when they receive radiation seed implants to treat their cancer, compared to those who don't receive active treatment, within six months from being diagnosed with localized prostate cancer, according to a study presented Oct. 31, 2007, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.
Contact: Beth Bukata
bethb@astro.org
703-431-2332
American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology
Public Release: 31-Oct-2007
Nano Letters
Make way for the real nanopod
Make way for the real nanopod and make room in the Guinness World Records. A team of researchers with the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have created the first fully-functional radio from a single carbon nanotube, which makes it by several orders of magnitude the smallest radio ever made.
US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation
Contact: Lynn Yarris
lcyarris@lbl.gov
510-486-5375
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Public Release: 1-Nov-2007
Journal of Clinical Investigation
OHSU researchers identify master switch that regulates blood pressure
A team of Oregon Health & Science University researchers studying a rare form of hypertension has identified the mechanism by which they believe a protein complex in the kidney operates as a master switch that regulates blood pressure, a finding that has broad implications for the treatment of more common forms of hypertension.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Harry Lenhart
lenharth@ohsu.edu
503-494-8231
Oregon Health & Science University
Public Release: 1-Nov-2007
Cancer Research
Study shows drug effective in treating, preventing breast cancer
A new study of an estrogen-derived drug shows promise as a treatment for breast cancer and breast cancer metastases to bone.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Urszula Iwaniec
urszula.iwanie@oregonstate.edu
541-737-9925
Oregon State University
Public Release: 1-Nov-2007
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Don't tell mother she has cancer
When family members ask physicians not to disclose bad news to ill loved ones, it can cause clinicians considerable distress as they try to balance their obligation to be truthful to the patient with the family's belief that such information would be harmful. To help clinicians more successfully address these conflicts, University of Pittsburgh researchers developed an approach based on negotiation skills, published in the Nov. 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Contact: Clare Collins
CollCX@upmc.edu
412-647-3555
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
Public Release: 1-Nov-2007
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
Triage study challenges notions of emergency medical response to disaster
In the face of terrorism and catastrophic natural disasters, modern regional trauma systems that improve survival for critically injured patients are more vital than ever.
US Department of Health and Human Services
Contact: Emily Berlanstein
eab2007@med.cornell.edu
212-821-0560
New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College
Public Release: 1-Nov-2007
Brain
PET scan distinguishes Alzheimer's from other dementia
A PET scan that measures uptake of sugar in the brain significantly improves the accuracy of diagnosing a type of dementia often mistaken for Alzheimer's disease, a study led by a University of Utah dementia expert has found. The scan, FDG-PET, helped six doctors from three national Alzheimer’s disease centers correctly diagnose frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's in almost 90 percent of cases.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Phil Sahm
phil.sahm@hsc.utah.edu
801-581-2517
University of Utah Health Sciences Center
Black holes may harbour their own universes
Matter swallowed by a black hole may fall into an apparently infinite universe, a new study suggests
15:16 31 October 2007
Study Ties Time Shift, Pedestrian Deaths
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
After clocks are turned back this weekend, pedestrians walking during the evening rush hour are nearly three times more likely to be struck and killed by cars than before the time change, two scientists calculate.
Alzheimer's cold sore virus link
Evidence is building that the cold sore virus may be linked to Alzheimer's disease, an expert says.
Public Release: 2-Nov-2007
European Psychiatry
New technology puts guilty verdict to the test
An academic at the University of Sheffield has used groundbreaking technology to investigate the potential innocence of a woman convicted of poisoning a child in her care.
Contact: Lindsey Bird, Media Relations Officer
l.bird@sheffield.ac.uk
01-142-225-338
University of Sheffield
Frog killer fungus 'breakthrough'
By Kim Griggs
Science reporter, Wellington
New Zealand scientists have found what appears to be a cure for the disease that is responsible for wiping out many of the world's frog populations.
Public Release: 2-Nov-2007
HortScience
Sweet potato promise shines for small enterprise and hunger relief in developing countries
Despite its storied history, sweetpotato has received relative little attention from crop improvement research. To bring attention to the issue, a recent study was published by the American Society for Horticultural Science (www.ashs.org). For the study, researchers conducted a survey of 36 scientists from 21 developing countries to solicit opinions on key constraints affecting the productivity of small sweetpotato producers.
Contact: Michael W. Neff
mwneff@ashs.org
703-836-4606
American Society for Horticultural Science
Public Release: 2-Nov-2007
British Journal of Nutrition
Scientists question folic acid fortification
Scientists at the Institute of Food Research have highlighted possible consequences of fortifying flour with folic acid due to new evidence of how it is absorbed by the body.
Contact: Zoe Dunford
zoe.dunford@bbsrc.ac.uk
44-016-032-55111
Norwich BioScience Institutes
Shrinking ice means Greenland is rising fast
The country's landmass has become surprisingly buoyant – accelerating upwards as its ice cap reduces in size, say scientists
18:06 02 November 2007