Public Release: 4-Nov-2007
Nature Neuroscience
Epilepsy genes may cancel each other
Inheriting two genetic mutations that can individually cause epilepsy might actually be 'seizure-protective,' said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Neuroscience. "In the genetics of the brain, two wrongs can make a right," said Dr. Jeffrey L. Noebels, professor of neurology, neuroscience and molecular and human genetics at BCM. "We believe these findings have great significance to clinicians as we move toward relying upon genes to predict neurological disease."
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Contact: Graciela Gutierrez
ggutierr@bcm.edu
713-798-4710
Baylor College of Medicine
Public Release: 4-Nov-2007
AACR Centennial Conference on Translational Cancer Medicine
Antioxidants could provide all-purpose radiation protection
Two common dietary molecules found in legumes and bran could protect DNA from the harmful effects of radiation, researchers from the University of Maryland report. Inositol and inositol hexaphosphate protected both human skin cells and a skin cancer-prone mouse from exposure to ultraviolet B radiation, the damaging radiation found in sunlight, the team reported today at the American Association for Cancer Research Centennial Conference on Translational Cancer Medicine.
Contact: Staci Vernick Goldberg
staci.goldberg@aacr.org
267-646-0616
American Association for Cancer Research
Public Release: 5-Nov-2007
American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2007
Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association
Blood-incompatible infant heart transplants safe, may save more lives
ABO-incompatible heart transplantation (heart transplantation among noncompatible blood groups) can be safely performed in infants a year old or younger, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2007.
Contact: Karen Astle
karen.astle@heart.org
214-706-1392
American Heart Association
Public Release: 5-Nov-2007
Current Biology
Earliest birds acted more like turkeys than common cuckoos
The earliest birds acted more like turkeys than common cuckoos, according to a new report in the Nov. 6 issue of Current Biology, a publication of Cell Press. By comparing the claw curvatures of ancient and modern birds, the researchers provide new evidence that the evolutionary ancestors of birds primarily made their livings on the ground rather than in trees.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Placebo boost is a conundrum for sports regulators
Athletes may reap the performance benefits of morphine by receiving a placebo on competition day – but how do you ban a non-drug?
10:31 06 November 2007

Public Release: 5-Nov-2007
Neurology
Relationship between statins and cognitive decline more complex than thought
Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. researchers have found an association of statin use with less cognitive decline in elderly African Americans and report that, surprisingly, the association is even stronger for those who had discontinued use than for continuous users.
National Institute on Aging
Contact: Cindy Fox Aisen
caisen@iupui.edu
317-274-7722
Indiana University
Public Release: 5-Nov-2007
EMBO Reports
Lost in the middle: author order matters, new paper says
With research typically being conducted by large teams of scientists, it is now commonplace for a paper to boast as many authors as a basketball team's starting lineup. According to a new study, credit for those papers is far from evenly distributed, and the order in which the authors' names appear can make the difference between who receives tenure and who does not.
Contact: Shari Hawkins
shari-hawkins@omrf.org
405-271-8537
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Public Release: 5-Nov-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
For migrating sparrows, kids have a compass, but adults have the map
Migrating adult sparrows can find their way to their winter nesting grounds even after being thrown off course by thousands of miles, adjusting their flight plan to compensate for the displacement. However, similarly displaced juvenile birds, which have not yet made the complete round trip, are only able to orient themselves southward, indicating that songbirds' innate sense of direction must be augmented with experience if they are to find their way home.
National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society
Contact: Chad Boutin
cboutin@princeton.edu
609-258-5729
Princeton University
Well
For Clues on Teenage Sex, Experts Look to Hip-Hop
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Suggestive, certainly. Misogynistic, sometimes. But dangerous?
Observatory
500 Million Years Ago, Jellyfish Left Their Mark in Fine Sea Sediments
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
Your average jellyfish washed up on a beach is hardly recognizable - just an amorphous blob, fast decomposing in the sun.    Which makes the discovery in Utah of four types of well-preserved fossil jellyfish from the Middle Cambrian period, all the more remarkable.
Adding Color Untangles the Brain's Gray Secrets
By BENEDICT CAREY
For an organ that has been scanned millions of times by experts using high-end imaging technology, the brain remains in large part a shrouded landscape, as lost in darkness as the ocean floor. Last week, researchers at Harvard published pictures in which all those anonymous gray cells glowed in distinctive colors.
Telling the Stories Behind the Abortions
By CORNELIA DEAN
Dr. Susan Wicklund wants to encourage more open discussion of abortion and its prevalence.
A Planetary System That Looks Familiar
By DENNIS OVERBYE
Astronomers reported Tuesday that there were at least five planets circling a star in the constellation Cancer, making it the most extensive planetary system yet found outside our own.
New Theory on Rays’ Sprint Across Space
By DENNIS OVERBYE
Scientists say they now have evidence that ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays come from supermassive black holes that rumble at the hearts of many galaxies.
Public Release: 6-Nov-2007
Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
Copper damages protein that defends against Alzheimer's
Copper can damage a molecule that escorts out of the brain a substance called amyloid beta that builds up in toxic quantities in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. The new findings demonstrate one way in which copper might contribute to the development of the disease, though scientists say much more research needs to be done to clarify what role, if any, copper ultimately plays.
Alzheimer's Association, NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Contact: Tom Rickey
tom_rickey@urmc.rochester.edu
585-275-7954
University of Rochester Medical Center
Public Release: 6-Nov-2007
Arthritis & Rheumatism
First-ever study: lack of critical lubricant causes wear in joints
For the first time, researchers have linked increased friction with early wear in the joints of animals. Work led by Brown University physician and engineer Gregory Jay, MD, shows mice that do not produce the protein lubricin begin to show wear in their joints less than two weeks after birth. This finding not only points up the protective power of lubricin but also suggests that it could be used to prevent joint wear after an injury.
NIH/National Institute of Arthritis and Musckuloskelatal and Skin Diseases, Academy of Finland, McCutchen Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Contact: Wendy Lawton
Wendy_Lawton@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University
Public Release: 6-Nov-2007
PLoS ONE
New paper on oxytocin reveals why we are generous
Neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak of Claremont Graduate University has new research, and a paper, "Oxytocin Increases Generosity in Humans," which will be published Nov. 7, 2007 in PLoS ONE, the online, open-access journal from the Public Library of Science. This research extends his finding based on oxytocin and trust, which was published in Nature two years ago.
Contact: Nikolaus Johnson
Nikolaos.Johnson@cgu.edu
909-621-8396
Public Library of Science
Public Release: 6-Nov-2007
Journal of Adolescent Research
Benefits of online interaction for teens outweigh danger, professor says
Media reports warn of online predators, hate groups and other 'digital dangers' lurking in online social spaces, and those dangers are not to be taken lightly, says Brendesha Tynes, a professor of educational psychology and of African American studies at Illinois. "But we may do adolescents a disservice when we curtail their participation in these spaces, because the educational and psychosocial benefits of this type of communication can far outweigh the potential dangers."
Contact: Craig Chamberlain
cdchambe@uiuc.edu
217-333-2894
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Public Release: 6-Nov-2007
Human error puts online banking security at risk
Using an SMS password as an added security measure for Internet banking is no guarantee your money is safe, according to a new Queensland University of Technology study which reveals online customers are not protecting their accounts. Mohammed AlZomai, from QUT's Information Security Institute, said one in five online transactions was vulnerable to obvious attacks despite added security methods such as SMS passwords being adopted.
Contact: Sandra Hutchinson
s3.hutchinson@qut.edu.au
61-731-382-130
Queensland University of Technology
Public Release: 7-Nov-2007
Decision Analysis
When to have a child? A new approach to the decision
Women seeking to balance career, social life and family life in making the decision on when to have a child may benefit from applying formal decision-making science to this complex emotional choice.
Contact: Laura Brinn
laura.brinn@duke.edu
919-660-2903
Duke University
Graphics chips rev up research results
By Mark Ward
Technology Correspondent, BBC News website
Every serious PC gamer knows what a difference a good graphics card can make to the fun they have.  But increasing numbers of research scientists have woken up to their potential too.   They are using them as cheap sources of supercomputer-class processing power.
Toads are 'open-minded' about sex
By Rebecca Morelle  Science reporter, BBC News
Some female toads are rather open-minded when it comes to choosing a mate, a study reveals.
Eye contact and a smile will win you a mate
The best way to look attractive is confirmed by scientists who are teasing apart how this process of perception has been affected by evolution
11:22 07 November 2007
Magma surge causes record rise at Yellowstone
A mass of molten rock the size of Los Angeles is forcing the ancient volcano to rise three times faster than normal, say researchers
19:00 08 November 2007
Public Release: 7-Nov-2007
Old McDonald had a phytochemical
Forget the moo-moo here and quack-quack there. Farmers may find phytochemicals to be the barnyard bonanza. And water may be the drop in the bucket that cashes in on the tug-o-war between urban and rural interests, according to research by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. That's because applying less water to certain vegetables in the farm patch increases disease-preventing phytochemicals, or nutrients, for which consumers may one day pay a premium, scientists say.
Contact: Kathleen Phillips
ka-phillips@tamu.edu
979-845-2872
Texas A&M University - Agricultural Communications
Public Release: 8-Nov-2007
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Could vitamin D, a key milk nutrient, affect how you age?
There is a new reason for the 76 million baby boomers to grab a glass of milk. Vitamin D, a key nutrient in milk, could have aging benefits linked to reduced inflammation, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Contact: Gloria Delgadillo
gdelgadillo@webershandwick.com
312-988-2382
Weber Shandwick Worldwide