Public Release: 18-Feb-2008
Very large array retooling for 21st-century science
An international project to make the world's most productive ground-based telescope 10 times more capable has reached its halfway mark and is on schedule to provide astronomers with an extremely powerful new tool for exploring the Universe. The National Science Foundation's Very Large Array radio telescope now has half of its giant, 230-ton dish antennas converted to use new, state-of-the-art digital electronics to replace analog equipment that has served since the facility's construction during the 1970s.
Contact: Dave Finley
dfinley@nrao.edu
575-835-7302
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Public Release: 18-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
UBC scientist invokes future generations to save tuna populations from collapse
Balancing short- and long-term fisheries benefits could have prevented the collapse of the cod populations in Atlantic Canada, and is the last best chance for tuna, says University of British Columbia fisheries economist Rashid Sumaila.
Contact: Rashid Sumaila
r.sumaila@fisheries.ubc.ca
604-351-7406
University of British Columbia
Public Release: 18-Feb-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Human culture subject to natural selection, Stanford study shows
Scientists at Stanford University have shown for the first time that cultural traits affecting survival and reproduction evolve at a different rate than other cultural attributes. Speeded or slowed rates of evolution typically indicate the action of natural selection in analyses of the human genome.
Contact: Deborah S. Rogers
dsrogers@stanford.edu
650-630-7760
Stanford University
Public Release: 18-Feb-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
MIT explains spread of 1918 flu
MIT researchers have explained why two mutations in the H1N1 avian flu virus were critical for viral transmission in humans during the 1918 pandemic outbreak that killed at least 50 million people.
NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology
Contact: Elizabeth Thomson
thomson@mit.edu
617-258-5402
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Public Release: 18-Feb-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
MIT creates gecko-inspired bandage
MIT researchers and colleagues have created a waterproof adhesive bandage inspired by gecko lizards that may soon join sutures and staples as a basic operating room tool for patching up surgical wounds or internal injuries.
National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, MIT-Portugal program
Contact: Elizabeth Thomson
thomson@mit.edu
617-258-5402
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Public Release: 18-Feb-2008
British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Herpes virus link to complications in pregnancy
Researchers at Adelaide's Women's & Children's Hospital and the University of Adelaide, Australia, have made a world-first discovery that links viral infection with high blood pressure during pregnancy and preterm birth.
Contact: Professor Alastair MacLennan
alastair.maclennan@adelaide.edu.au
61-881-617-619
University of Adelaide
Public Release: 18-Feb-2008
Neural Development
Building brains: Mammalian-like neurogenesis in fruit flies
A new way of generating brain cells has been uncovered in Drosophila. The findings, published this week in the online open access journal Neural Development, reveal that this novel mode of neurogenesis is very similar to that seen in mammalian brains, suggesting that key aspects of neural development could be shared by insects and mammals.
Contact: Charlotte Webber
press@biomedcentral.com
44-020-763-19980
BioMed Central
Public Release: 18-Feb-2008
Annals of Internal Medicine
Study: Before a CT scan or angiogram, many people should take inexpensive drug to protect kidneys
As more and more Americans undergo CT scans and other medical imaging scans involving intense X-rays, a new study suggests that many of them should take a pre-scan drug that could protect their kidneys from damage. The inexpensive drug, called N-acetylcysteine, can prevent serious kidney damage that can be caused by the iodine-containing "dyes" that doctors use to enhance the quality of such scans.
National Institutes of Health, NIH/National Cancer Institute, GE-Association of University Radiologists Radiology Research Academic Fellowship
Contact: Kara Gavin
kegavin@umich.edu
734-764-2220
University of Michigan Health System
Public Release: 18-Feb-2008
Aussie neuroscientist tests addiction drug
UQ pharmacy graduate Dr. Selena Bartlett is starting clinical trials of a new drug that could potentially curb addictions such as smoking, drinking, gambling even depression.
Contact: Miguel Holland
m.holland@uq.edu.au
61-733-652-619
Research Australia
Public Release: 19-Feb-2008
Brain
Listening to music improves stroke patients' recovery
Researchers from Finland found that if stroke patients listened to music for a couple of hours a day, their verbal memory and focused attention recovered better and they had a more positive mood than patients who did not listen to anything or who listened to audio books. This is the first time such an effect has been shown in humans and the researchers believe it has important implications for clinical practice.
Contact: Teppo Särkämö
teppo.sarkamo@helsinki.fi
University of Helsinki
Computer models give an edge for spotting winners
Success in baseball depends on having the right team, and complex models should boost the prospects of spotting winning players
18:45 17 February 2008
New Mississippi delta would limit hurricane damage
Diverting parts of the river would create up to 1000 square kilometres of new wetlands to act as a storm surge buffer against future hurricanes
13:20 18 February 2008
Doubts over Blarney Stone talked down
By Tom Peterkin, Ireland Correspondent
Last Updated: 4:11am GMT 21/02/2008
The custodians of the Blarney Stone yesterday disputed claims that pilgrims have been romancing the wrong stone.
Observatory
Scientists Finding Ways to Perfect a Cup of Joe, Without the Attitude
By Henry Fountain
Published: February 19, 2008
Scientists at the Nestle' Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, are reporting success in developing a system to judge the sensory qualities of a cup of espresso.
Using a proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometer,  the system can quickly predict what trained human tasters will say about it.
Scientists Would Turn Greenhouse Gas Into Gasoline
By KENNETH CHANG
Published: February 19, 2008
If two scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are correct, people will still be driving gasoline-powered cars 50 years from now, churning out heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere ― and yet that carbon dioxide will not contribute to global warming.  The scientists, F. Jeffrey Martin and William L. Kubic Jr., are proposing a concept, which they have patriotically named Green Freedom, for removing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it back into gasoline.
Personal Health
An Oldie Vies for Nutrient of the Decade
By JANE E. BRODY
Researchers are trying to understand how much vitamin D is necessary for optimal health. Are you taking enough?
Revealed: Secrets of the Camouflage Masters
By CARL ZIMMER
After decades of dives, a scientist offers a theory to explain the spectacular deceptions of cephalopods.
    * Video: Cuttlefish Camouflage
Smart rubber promises self-mending products
Video
A new type of rubber binds back together after being snapped or punctured - it could pave the way for self-healing shoes, gloves and other products
18:00 20 February 2008
Ultrasound nails location of the elusive G spot
Gynaecological scans have for the first time revealed clear anatomical differences between women who claim to experience vaginal orgasm and those who don't
18:00 20 February 2008
Martian crater records aftermath of Amazon-like flood
Video
At least on one place on Mars, surface water flowed briefly and violently, flowing for less than a century like the Amazon River
19:40 20 February 2008
Public Release: 19-Feb-2008
Rice computer chip makes Technology Review's top 10
Rice University's technology for a "gambling" computer chip, which could boost battery life as much as tenfold on cell phones and laptops while slashing development costs for chipmakers, has been named to MIT Technology Review's coveted annual top 10 list of technologies that are "most likely to alter industries, fields of research, and even the way we live."
US Department of Defense, Intel
Contact: David Ruth
druth@rice.edu
713-348-6327
Rice University
Public Release: 19-Feb-2008
Journal of Neurochemistry
Study suggests antibiotic may prevent dreaded brain fever
Two researchers from National Brain Research Center suggest that a common antibiotic called minocycline may prevent children from death due to Japanese encephalitis, or commonly known as brain fever.
Contact: Melanie Thomson
melanie.thomson@oxon.blackwellpublishing.com
01-865-476-270
Wiley-Blackwell
Public Release: 19-Feb-2008
Texas A&M testing oral contraceptives for animals
If you're a land owner and animals such as coyotes or wild pigs are driving you hog wild, help may soon be on the way to control their numbers in a humane way -- in the form of a birth control pill for animals being developed at Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.
Contact: Keith Randall
keith-randall@tamu.edu
979-845-4644
Texas A&M University
Public Release: 19-Feb-2008
Human Brain Mapping
Advertisers, neuroscientists trace source of emotions in brain
First came direct marketing, then focus groups. Now, advertisers, with the help of neuroscientists, are closing in on the holy grail: mind reading.
Contact: Jon Morris
jonmorris@ufl.edu
352-392-0443
University of Florida
Public Release: 19-Feb-2008
Cladistics
Evolutionary history of SARS supports bats as virus source
Scientists who have studied the genome of the virus that caused severe acute respiratory syndrome say their comparisons to related viruses offer new evidence that the virus infecting humans originated in bats. The analysis tracing the viruses' paths through human and animal hosts counters assertions that SARS was eradicated in 2004 when thousands of palm civet cats in China were identified as the original source and killed in an effort to eliminate the risk of new outbreaks.
NASA, DARPA, National Science Foundation, Ohio Supercomputer Center
Contact: Daniel Janies
Daniel.Janies@osumc.edu
614-292-1202
Ohio State University
Public Release: 20-Feb-2008
2008 International Stroke Conference
Deaths higher in stroke patients who enter hospital at night, weekends
Stroke patients who enter the hospital at night and on weekends are more likely to die in the hospital than those treated during regular business hours and on weekdays, according to two studies presented at the American Heart Association's International Stroke Conference 2008.
Contact: Bridgette McNeill
bridgette.mcneill@heart.org
504-670-7908
American Heart Association
Public Release: 21-Feb-2008
2008 International Stroke Conference
Daytime dozing linked to increased stroke risk in elderly
Regular daytime dozing forewarns of a significantly increased risk of stroke in older Americans, researchers reported at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2008.
Contact: Bridgette McNeill
bridgette.mcneill@heart.org
504-670-7908
American Heart Association
Public Release: 21-Feb-2008
Arthritis Research and Therapy
A regular dip could benefit fibromyalgia sufferers
Patients suffering from fibromyalgia could benefit significantly from regular exercise in a heated swimming pool, a study published today in the open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy shows. The findings suggest a cost effective way of improving quality of life for patients with this often-debilitating disorder.
Contact: Charlotte Webber
press@biomedcentral.com
44-020-763-19980
BioMed Central
Public Release: 21-Feb-2008
Nature
Journey to the center of the Earth -- Imperial scientists explain tectonic plate motions
The first direct evidence of how and when tectonic plates move into the deepest reaches of the Earth is published in Nature today. Scientists hope their description of how plates collide with one sliding below the other into the rocky mantle could potentially improve their ability to assess earthquake risks.
Contact: Colin Smith
cd.smith@imperial.ac.uk
44-020-759-46712
Imperial College London
Public Release: 21-Feb-2008
British Journal of Nutrition
Vitamin E may increase tuberculosis risk in male smokers with high vitamin C intake
Six-year vitamin E supplementation increased tuberculosis risk by in male smokers who had high dietary vitamin C intake, according to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition. Previous studies had suggested that vitamin E might improve the immune system.
Contact: Dr. Harri Hemila
harri.hemila@helsinki.fi
358-415-329-987
University of Helsinki
Public Release: 21-Feb-2008
Prevention Science
University of Denver bullying victimization study
A University of Denver study shows a curriculum-based bullying prevention program reduced incidents of bullying by 20 percent, twice as much as in the study control group.
Comprehensive Health Education Foundation
Contact: Dave Brendsel
dbrendse@du.edu
303-871-2775
University of Denver
Public Release: 22-Feb-2008
World Journal of Gastroenterology
University of Sydney researchers find new evidence linking kava to liver damage
A research group from the University of Sydney has found new evidence, using innovative techniques, to support the growing body of literature that indicates kava may have a negative effect on the liver. Kava is a plant native to the South Pacific that has been used as a ceremonial beverage in the region for thousands of years, and, more recently, as a natural treatment for medical conditions such as anxiety.
Contact: Jing Zhu
wjg@wjgnet.com
86-105-908-0039
World Journal of Gastroenterology
Public Release: 22-Feb-2008
Physical Review Letters
Electron filmed for first time ever
Now it is possible to see a movie of an electron. The movie shows how an electron rides on a light wave after just having been pulled away from an atom. This is the first time an electron has ever been filmed, and the results are presented in the latest issue of Physical Review Letters.
Contact: Kristina Lindgaerde
kristina.lindgarde@kansli.lth.se
Swedish Research Council