Public Release: 10-Mar-2008
Non-human primates convey meaning through call combinations
Researchers have made what they say is the first experimental demonstration that a primate other than humans conveys meaning by combining distinct alarm calls in particular ways. The study appears in the March 11 issue of Current Biology.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 10-Mar-2008
Archives of Internal Medicine
Magnesium associated with lower risk for some strokes in male smokers
Male smokers who consume more magnesium appear to have a lower risk for cerebral infarction, a type of stroke that occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked, according to a report in the March 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Contact: Susanna C. Larsson
Susanna.Larsson@ki.se
JAMA and Archives Journals
Public Release: 10-Mar-2008
PLoS Biology
Snakes vault past toxic newts in evolutionary arms race
Rough-skinned newts harbor in their skin massive doses of the same deadly toxin found in blowfish. Garter snakes that dine on the newts have evolved resistance to the toxin, spurring greater toxicity in the newts by natural selection. But now researchers report that in some areas, the snakes have somehow evolved levels of resistance far beyond what the newts are capable of countering.
National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, Monbusho, Utah State University, American Museum of Natural History
Contact: Louis Bergeron
louisb3@stanford.edu
650-725-1944
Stanford University
Public Release: 10-Mar-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Domestication of the donkey
An international group of researchers has found evidence for the earliest transport use of the donkey and the early phases of donkey domestication, suggesting the process of domestication may have been slower and less linear than previously thought.
Contact: Fiona Marshall
FMARSHAL@WUSTL.EDU
314-935-5181
Washington University in St. Louis
Public Release: 10-Mar-2008
Artificial General Intelligence Conference
Bringing Second Life to life: Researchers create character with reasoning abilities of a child
A group of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is working to engineer video game characters with the capacity to have beliefs and to reason about the beliefs of others. The characters will be able to predict and manipulate the behavior of even human players, with whom they will directly interact in the real, physical world, according to the team.
Contact: Amber Cleveland
clevea@rpi.edu
518-276-2146
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Public Release: 10-Mar-2008
Psychological Science
The hand can't be fooled, study shows
New research suggests that humans are not as fooled as they seem when viewing visual illusions.
Contact: Catherine West
cwest@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300
Association for Psychological Science
Public Release: 10-Mar-2008
PLoS ONE
Micronesian Islands colonized by small-bodied humans
Since the reporting of the so-called "hobbit" fossil from Flores in Indonesia, debate has raged as to whether these remains are of modern humans (Homo sapiens), reduced in stature, or whether they represent a new species, Homo floresiensis. Reporting in this week's PLoS ONE, Lee Berger and colleagues describe fossils of small-bodied humans from Palau, who inhabited the island between 1,400 and 3,000 years ago and share some features with the H. floresiensis specimens.
Contact: Rebecca Walton
rwalton@plos.org
122-346-3333
Public Library of Science
Public Release: 10-Mar-2008
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Researchers confirm discovery of Earth's inner, innermost core
Geologists at the University of Illinois have confirmed the discovery of Earth's inner, innermost core, and have created a three-dimensional model that describes the seismic anisotropy and texturing of iron crystals within the inner core.
National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health
Contact: James E. Kloeppel
kloeppel@uiuc.edu
217-244-1073
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Public Release: 10-Mar-2008
Physicists and engineers search for new dimension
Researchers in the Department of Physics and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech are exploring the possibility of an extra dimension -- an imperceptibly small dimension, about one billionth of a nanometer.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Catherine Doss
cdoss@vt.edu
540-231-5035
Virginia Tech
Public Release: 10-Mar-2008
Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Mayo Clinic proceedings highlights research about cardiovascular benefits of omega-3 fatty acids
Thousands of research studies have documented how the oils known as omega-3 fatty acids can benefit the cardiovascular system, particularly among people diagnosed with coronary artery disease.
Contact: John Murphy
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic
Robotic drumstick keeps novices on the beat
A mechanical arm that guides the movements of people learning the drums is found to speed up learning
13:28 10 March 2008
Public Release: 11-Mar-2008
Journal of the American Medical Association
Monthly personal counseling helps maintain weight loss
In the largest and longest study to date of weight loss maintenance strategies, researchers at Duke University Medical Center found that personal contact -- and, to a lesser extent, a computer-based support system -- were helpful in keeping weight off. The results of the study appear in the March 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Contact: Michelle Gailiun
michelle.gailiun@duke.edu
919-660-1306
Duke University Medical Center
Public Release: 11-Mar-2008
Journal of Neuroscience
UIC researchers may have found test for depression
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered that a change in the location of a protein in the brain could serve as a biomarker for depression, making it possible with a simple, rapid, laboratory test to identify patients with depression and to determine whether a chosen antidepressant therapy will provide a successful response.
US Public Health Service, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Contact: Jeanne Galatzer-Levy
jgala@uic.edu
312-996-1583
University of Illinois at Chicago
Public Release: 11-Mar-2008
PLoS ONE
Bird brains suggest how vocal learning evolved
Though they perch far apart on the avian family tree, birds with the ability to learn songs use similar brain structures to sing their tunes. Neurobiologists at Duke University Medical Center now have an explanation for this puzzling likeness in a study published in this week's PLoS ONE.
Contact: Melissa Schwarting
melissa.schwarting@duke.edu
919-660-1303
Public Library of Science
Public Release: 11-Mar-2008
Molecular Psychiatry
A new mouse model of mania
The glutamate receptor 6 (GluR6) gene is associated with bipolar disorder. Mice that were missing the GluR6 gene underwent a series of tests designed to approximate the symptoms of mania. These mice showed many of the symptoms of mania, including hyperactivity, aggressiveness, driven or increased goal-directed pursuits, risk-taking, and super-sensitivity to amphetamine. The researchers also found that treating the mice with lithium -- the classic treatment for bipolar disorder -- reduced these symptoms.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
Contact: Husseini K. Manji, M.D.
manjih@mail.nih.gov
301-496-9802
Molecular Psychiatry
Public Release: 11-Mar-2008
Journal of National Cancer Institute
Researchers ID behavioral risk factors for head and neck cancers
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have teased out two distinct sets of risk factors for head and neck cancers, suggesting that there are two completely different kinds of the disease.
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, State of Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund, NIH/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Contact: Vanessa Wasta
wastava@jhmi.edu
410-955-1287
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Public Release: 11-Mar-2008
PNAS
Royal corruption is rife in the ant world
Far from being a model of social cooperation, the ant world is riddled with cheating and corruption -- and it goes all the way to the top, according to scientists from the Universities of Leeds and Copenhagen.
Carlsberg Foundation
Contact: Jo Kelly
jokelly@campuspr.co.uk
44-113-258-9880
University of Leeds
Public Release: 11-Mar-2008
39th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Brown scientist answers how Peruvian meteorite made it to Earth
Brown University professor Peter Schultz's study of the Peruvian meteorite has yielded some interesting conclusions that could upend the conventional wisdom about the size and type of meteorites that can strike Earth.
Contact: Richard Lewis
richard_lewis@brown.edu
401-863-3766
Brown University
Public Release: 11-Mar-2008
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta and Limnology and Oceanography
New twist on life's power source
A startling discovery by scientists at the Carnegie Institution puts a new twist on photosynthesis, arguably the most important biological process on Earth. Two studies suggest that certain widespread marine microorganisms have evolved a way to break the rules of normal photosynthesis -- they can harvest solar energy without a net release of oxygen or uptake of carbon dioxide.
Contact: Arthur Grossman
arthurg@stanford.edu
650-325-1521 x212
Carnegie Institution
Public Release: 11-Mar-2008
Florida Public Health Review
Red-light cameras increase crashes, researchers find
Rather than improving motorist safety, red-light cameras significantly increase crashes and are a ticket to higher auto insurance premiums, researchers at the University of South Florida College of Public Health conclude. Their report analyzed several comprehensive studies of the effectiveness of red-light cameras nationwide to provide insight to Florida communities debating the cameras' merits. They recommend engineering solutions to improve intersection safety, particularly to accommodate elderly drivers.
Contact: Anne DeLotto Baier
abaier@health.usf.edu
813-974-3300
University of South Florida Health
Public Release: 11-Mar-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
Wisconsin researchers describe how digits grow
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health are wagging a finger at currently held notions about the way digits are formed.
Contact: Dian Land
dj.land@hosp.wisc.edu
608-261-1034
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Body building pill may prevent baby brain damage
A supplement used by athletes to boost muscle power might help prevent brain damage and death of newborn babies from oxygen starvation
15:31 11 March 2008
Public Release: 12-Mar-2008
Microbiologist
Is a cup of tea really the answer to everything -- even anthrax?
A cup of black tea could be the next line of defense in the threat of bio-terrorism according to new international research. A new study by an international team of researchers from Cardiff University and University of Maryland has revealed how the humble cup of tea could well be an antidote to Bacillus anthracis -- more commonly know as anthrax.
Contact: Professor Les Baillie
bailliel@cf.ac.uk
029-208-75535
Cardiff University
Killer wheat fungus threatens starvation for millions
A virulent wheat disease closing in on Asia sooner than expected has the potential to destroy crops relied upon by millions
15:03 13 March 2008
Public Release: 12-Mar-2008
10 questions shaping 21st-century earth science identified
Ten questions driving the geological and planetary sciences were identified today in a new report by the National Research Council.
Contact: Jennifer Walsh
news@nas.edu
202-334-2138
The National Academies
Public Release: 12-Mar-2008
Nature Medicine
Same process discovered to both form skeleton and protect it for life
A protein signaling pathway recently discovered to guide the formation of the skeleton in the fetus also keeps bones strong through adult life. Furthermore, the same mechanism may be at the heart of osteoporosis, where too little bone is made over time, and bone cancer, where uncontrolled bone growth contributes to tumors. Lastly, the results argue that an experimental Alzheimer's drug may also be useful against bone cancer.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Greg Williams
Greg_Williams@urmc.rochester.edu
585-273-1757
University of Rochester Medical Center
Public Release: 12-Mar-2008
2008 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy
Implantable medical devices may expose patients to security, privacy risks; solutions suggested
Implantable cardiac defibrillators that are equipped with wireless technology are vulnerable to having private medical information extracted -- and even having the devices reprogrammed -- without the patients' knowledge. Not only does this pose a potential security risk, it could also endanger patients' physical safety.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Hannah Hickey
hickeyh@u.washington.edu
206-543-2580
University of Washington
Public Release: 12-Mar-2008
New England Journal of Medicine
Researchers find cause of severe allergic reaction to cancer drug
Clinicians have been perplexed by the fact that some patients given the drug cetuximab -- an immune-based therapy commonly used to treat persons diagnosed with head and neck cancer, or colon cancer -- have a severe adverse reaction to the drug. NIAID-funded researchers have discovered that pre-existing antibodies cause the severe reaction to the drug. This discovery in turn has enabled them to explain the unusual geographic pattern of this reaction seen among individuals in the US.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease
Contact: Sitara Maruf
marufs@niaid.nih.gov
301-402-1663
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Public Release: 12-Mar-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Inhaled tuberculosis vaccine more effective than traditional shot
A novel aerosol version of the most common tuberculosis vaccine, administered directly to the lungs as an oral mist, offers significantly better protection against the disease in experimental animals than a comparable dose of the traditional injected vaccine, researchers report this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Contact: Steve Bradt
steve_bradt@harvard.edu
617-496-8070
Harvard University
Public Release: 12-Mar-2008
Rare North Island brown kiwi hatches at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
Early Friday morning, March 7, one of the world's most endangered species -- a North Island brown kiwi -- hatched at the Smithsonian's National Zoo Bird House. Keepers had been incubating the egg for five weeks, following a month long incubation by the chick's father, carefully monitoring it for signs of pipping: the process in which the chick starts to break through the shell. The chick remained in an isolet for four days and is now in a specially designed brooding box.
Contact: Sarah Taylor
taylors@si.edu
202-633-3081
Smithsonian
Public Release: 12-Mar-2008
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
Paradoxical Alzheimer's finding may shed new light on memory loss
Who'd a thunk? Younger brains show evidence of more memory loss than those with Alzheimer's. But those younger brains are also making memories faster than they lose them. A Buck Institute study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's disease shows that normal memory loss is hyperactivated in Alzheimer's, pointing to AD as a syndrome affecting the plasticity or malleability of the brain.
Contact: Kris Rebillot
krebillot@buckinstitute.org
415-209-2080
IOS Press
Public Release: 12-Mar-2008
Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
Ibuprofen destroys aspirin's positive effect on stroke risk
Stroke patients who use ibuprofen for arthritis pain or other conditions while taking aspirin to reduce the risk of a second stroke undermine aspirin's ability to act as an anti-platelet agent, researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown.
Dent Family Foundation
Contact: Lois Baker
ljbaker@buffalo.edu
716-645-5000 x1417
University at Buffalo
Public Release: 13-Mar-2008
Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Conference 2008
Overweight, obese women improve quality of life with 10 to 30 minutes of exercise
Sedentary, overweight or obese women can improve their quality of life by exercising as little as 10 to 30 minutes a day, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.
Contact: Karen Astle
karen.astle@heart.org
214-706-1392
American Heart Association
Nerve-tapping neckband used in 'telepathic' chat

A high-tech collar that translates thought into speech by reading nerve signals has been used to make a truly private phone call for the first time
17:23 12 March 2008
Meteorites may be remnants of destroyed dwarf planet
Two rocks found in Antarctica may be chunks of a dwarf planet that was smashed apart in the early solar system
05:04 13 March 2008
Public Release: 13-Mar-2008
Science
Chemical in bug spray works by masking human odors
Rockefeller University researchers have definitively shown that the widely used bug repellent DEET acts like a chemical cloak, masking human odors that blood-feeding insects find attractive. The research, which will be published in the March 13 issue of Science Express, now makes it possible not only to systematically improve upon the repellent properties of DEET but also to make it a safer chemical.
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
Contact: Thania Benios
tbenios@rockefeller.edu
212-327-7146
Rockefeller University
Public Release: 13-Mar-2008
British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
Prescription costs rise more than 6 times when patients reach 65 says study of 5M people
A detailed review of 5.47 million primary health-care records has revealed that prescribing costs rise dramatically when people reach 65. They are six-and-a-half times times higher than for people under 65 and 16 times higher than for children under four.
Contact: Annette Whibley
wizard.media@virgin.net
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Public Release: 13-Mar-2008
JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association
Leicester medical team announces 'predictor' for pregnant women who may have miscarriages
Research published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association identifies for the first time a naturally occurring "cannabis" as a signal
University Hospitals of Leicester, NHS Trust, PerkinElmer
Contact: Professor Konje
jck4@leicester.ac.uk
44-011-625-25826
University of Leicester
Public Release: 13-Mar-2008
Meteoritics & Planetary Science
Meteorites are rich in the building blocks of life, claims new research
Amino acids that are the building blocks of life have been found in their highest ever concentration in two ancient meteorites which crashed to Earth millions of years ago, scientists claim today.
Contact: Colin Smith
cd.smith@imperial.ac.uk
44-020-759-46712
Imperial College London
Public Release: 13-Mar-2008
Toxicological Sciences
Rodent study finds artificial butter chemical harmful to lungs
A new study shows that exposure to a chemical called diacetyl, a component of artificial butter flavoring, can be harmful to the nose and airways of mice.
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Contact: Robin Mackar
rmackar@niehs.nih.gov
919-541-0073
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Public Release: 13-Mar-2008
Glimpses of a new (mathematical) world
A new mathematical object, long know to exist but never seen, had its first sighting yesterday during a lecture at the American Institute of Mathematics in Palo Alto, Calif. Two researchers from the University of Bristol exhibited the first example of a third degree transcendental L-function. These L-functions encode deep underlying connections between many different areas of mathematics.
Contact: Brian Conrey
conrey@aimath.org
650-845-2071
American Institute of Mathematics
Public Release: 13-Mar-2008
American Political Science Review
How social pressure increases voter turnout: Evidence from a large-scale field experiment
New research by political scientists concludes that direct mail campaigns which include a social pressure aspect are more effective at increasing voter turnout and are cheaper than other forms of voter mobilization, including door-to-door or telephone canvassing.
Contact: Helena Saele
hsaele@apsanet.org
202-483-2512
American Political Science Association
Public Release: 13-Mar-2008
Neuron
Pain receptor in brain may be linked to learning and memory
For the first time, a Brown University research team has linked pain receptors found throughout the nervous system to learning and memory in the brain. The findings, published in Neuron, point up new drug targets for memory loss or epileptic seizures.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Wendy Lawton
Wendy_Lawton@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University
Public Release: 13-Mar-2008
Ultra-fast, ultra-intense laser has clean-cut advantage
Many people equate lasers with a sci-fi battle in a galaxy far, far away or, closer to home, with grocery store scanners and compact disc players. However, an ultra-fast, ultra-intense laser, or UUL, with laser pulse durations of one quadrillionth of a second, otherwise known as one femtosecond, could change cancer treatments, dentistry procedures, precision metal cutting, and joint implant surgeries.
Contact: Bryan E. Jones
jonesbry@missouri.edu
573-882-9144
University of Missouri-Columbia
Public Release: 13-Mar-2008
Vanguard I celebrates 50 years in space
The Vanguard I satellite celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Its launch on March 17, 1958 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., culminated the efforts of America's first official space satellite program begun in September 1955. The first solar-powered satellite, Vanguard I has the distinction of being the oldest artificial satellite orbiting the earth.
Contact: Donna McKinney
donna.mckinney@nrl.navy.mil
202-767-2541
Naval Research Laboratory
Hardy Earth bacteria can grow in lunar soil
Most plants can't grow in the tough soil, but resilient cyanobacteria found in hot springs can – a trait future lunar colonists could exploit
Football fans and stadiums do not affect home wins
Though massed ranks of fans and impressive home stadiums are thought to boost the moral, a study of results over 40 years reveals they do not influence the actual result
Public Release: 14-Mar-2008
Body Mass Index may serve as prognostic tool for advanced, aggressive breast cancers
Body Mass Index, the measure of a person's fat based on their height and weight, may be an effective prognostic tool for specific types of breast cancer, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Contact: Laura Sussman
lsussman@mdanderson.org
713-745-2457
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Public Release: 14-Mar-2008
Soy compound may halt spread of prostate cancer
A compound found in soybeans almost completely prevented the spread of human prostate cancer in mice, according to a study published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Contact: Jeremy Moore
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
267-646-0557
American Association for Cancer Research
Public Release: 14-Mar-2008
Mars Express reveals the Red Planet's volcanic past
A new analysis of impact cratering data from Mars reveals that the planet has undergone a series of global volcanic upheavals. These violent episodes spewed lava and water onto the surface, sculpting the landscape that ESA's Mars Express looks down on today.
Contact: Agustin Chicarro
agustin.chicarro@esa.int
31-071-565-3613
European Space Agency