Public Release: 23-Mar-2008
Nature Nanotechnology
UM physicists show electrons can travel over 100 times faster in graphene than in silicon
University of Maryland physicists have shown that in graphene the intrinsic limit to the mobility, a measure of how well a material conducts electricity, is higher than any other known material at room temperature. Graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of graphite, is a new material which combines aspects of semiconductors and metals.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Lee Tune
ltune@umd.edu
301-405-4679
University of Maryland
Harappa haunts...
MeriNews
Sailor to recreate Phoenicians' epic African voyage
Independent UK
Public Library of Science
Public Release: 24-Mar-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Baby boys are more likely to die than baby girls
Male infants in developed nations are more likely to die than female infants, a fact that is partially responsible for men's shorter lifespans, reveals a new study by researchers from University of Pennsylvania and University of Southern California.
National Institutes of Health, Ellison Medical Foundation, Ruth Ziegler Fund
Contact: Suzanne Wu
suzanne.wu@usc.edu
213-740-0252
University of Southern California
Earliest Signs Of Corn As Staple Food Found After Spreading South From Mexican Homeland
Science Daily
Public Release: 24-Mar-2008
RAND Journal of Economics
Too much information? Study shows how ignorance can be influential
USC researchers provide a challenge to the classic economic model of information manipulation, in which knowing more than anybody else is the key to influence.
Contact: Suzanne Wu
suzanne.wu@usc.edu
213-740-0252
University of Southern California
Public Release: 24-Mar-2008
The surprising power of the pill
Tel Aviv University research can ease the stress of trying to get pregnant.
Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Public Release: 24-Mar-2008
Study: Dramatic rise in hepatitis C-related deaths in the United States
Hepatitis C-related deaths in the United States increased by 123 percent from 1995 through 2004, the most recent year for which data are available. Mortality rates peaked in 2002, then declined slightly overall, while continuing to rise among people 55 to 64 years old. These findings appear in the April issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. The article is also available online at Wiley Interscience.
Contact: Sean Wagner
swagner@bos.blackwellpublishing.com
781-388-8550
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Public Release: 25-Mar-2008
Anesthesiology
Sewer-gas-induced suspended animation is rapid and reversible
Low doses of the toxic gas responsible for the unpleasant odor of rotten eggs can safely and reversibly depress both metabolism and aspects of cardiovascular function in mice, producing a suspended-animation-like state.
National Institutes of Health, Linde Gas Therapeutics
Contact: Sue McGreevey
smcgreevey@partners.org
617-724-2764
Massachusetts General Hospital
Public Release: 25-Mar-2008
Fear that freezes the blood in your veins
If you are "frightened stiff", not only does the intense fear seem to paralyse the body, it may even retard the blood flow. A study by medical scientists at the University of Bonn, Germany, has shown that people with an acute anxiety disorder tend to suffer from higher levels of blood clotting than the psychologically healthy population. This finding may explain why patients with anxiety problems are at greater risk of dying from heart disease.
Contact: Dr. Franziska Geiser
franziska.geiser@ukb.uni-bonn.de
49-228-287-16299
University of Bonn
Public Release: 25-Mar-2008
Journal of Proteome Research
Spit tests may soon replace many blood tests
One day soon patients may spit in a cup, instead of bracing for a needle prick, when being tested for cancer, heart disease or diabetes. A major step in that direction is the cataloguing of the "complete" salivary proteome, a set of proteins in human ductal saliva, identified by a consortium of three research teams, according to an article published today in the Journal of Proteome Research.
NIH/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Contact: Greg Williams
Greg_Williams@urmc.rochester.edu
University of Rochester Medical Center
Public Release: 25-Mar-2008
PLoS ONE
Living fossil still calls Australia home
A new study in the journal PLoS ONE has confirmed that Djarthia, a primitive mouse-like creature that lived 55 million years ago, is also a primitive relative of the small marsupial known as the Monito del Monte -- or "little mountain monkey" -- from the dense humid forests of Chile and Argentina.
Contact: Bob Beale
bbeale@unsw.edu.au
61-411-705-435
Public Library of Science
Public Release: 25-Mar-2008
Health Physics
Exposure to low levels of radon appears to reduce the risk of lung cancer, new study finds
Exposure to levels of radon gas typically found in 90 percent of American homes appears to reduce the risk of developing lung cancer by as much as 60 percent, according to a study in the March issue of Health Physics. The finding differs significantly from results of previous case-control studies of the effects of low-level radon exposure, which have detected a slightly elevated lung cancer risk (but without statistical significance) or no risk at all.
Contact: Michael Dorsey
mwdorsey@wpi.edu
508-831-5609
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Public Release: 25-Mar-2008
Psychological Science
Running words together: The science behind cross-linguistic psychology
While communication may be recognized as a universal phenomenon, differences between languages -- ranging from word order to semantics -- undoubtedly remain as they help to define culture and develop language. Yet, little is understood about similarities and differences in languages around the world and how they affect communication. Recently, however, two studies have emerged that aid in our understanding of cross-linguistic distinctions in language usage.
Contact: Katie Kline
kkline@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300 x133
Association for Psychological Science
Bison bones bolster idea Ice Age seafarers first to Americas
National Post
Major food source threatened by climate change
Rice yields will be hit hard by predicted changes in climate, with the potential to cause widespread food shortages
00:01 24 March 2008
Antarctic ice shelf 'hanging by a thread'

A thin strip of ice, just 6 kilometres wide, is all that is holding back the collapse of a huge ice shelf in Antarctica, according to glaciologists
18:08 25 March 2008
Well
When the Bully Sits in the Next Cubicle
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Unlike the playground bully, who often resorts to physical threats, the work bully sets out on a course of constant but subtle harassment.
Global Update
Indonesia: Warnings on Failure to Contain Avian Flu and on Increased Risk of Deadly Mutation
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Published: March 25, 2008
The avian flu situation in Indonesia is grave, and the risk of mutation into a human pandemic form will worsen if more is not done, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization warned last week.
The Candidates as Cousins Much Removed
By AMY HARMON
Next time you’re considering whether to run for president, don’t forget the value of the fast and free genealogical research that comes with candidacy.
Regulators Stamp Copper as a Germ Killer
By BARNABY J. FEDER
Federal regulators approved a group of copper alloys, including brass and bronze, as capable of killing bacteria and microbes effectively enough to protect human health.
For Carbon Emissions, a Goal of Less Than Zero
By MATTHEW L. WALD
At laboratories in the United States and abroad, the search is on to develop fuels from sources that remove more greenhouse gas than they produce.
What a Rodent Can Do With a Rake in Its Paw
By SANDRA BLAKESLEE
For the first time, rodents have been trained to wield tools in the laboratory and other species may soon join them.
Public Release: 26-Mar-2008
Neurology
Larger belly in mid-life increases risk of dementia
People with larger stomachs in their 40s are more likely to have dementia when they reach their 70s, according to a study published in the March 26, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Contact: Angela Babb
ababb@aan.com
651-695-2789
American Academy of Neurology
Public Release: 26-Mar-2008
New England Journal of Medicine
Coronary calcium testing predicts future heart ailments
Calcium deposits in coronary arteries provide a strong predictor for possible future heart attacks and cardiac diseases, and detecting such deposits can be valuable for promoting overall cardiac health, according to a study led by the University of California, Irvine, and appearing in the March 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Contact: Tom Vasich
tmvasich@uci.edu
949-824-6455
University of California - Irvine
Public Release: 26-Mar-2008
Psychological Science
Study shows the upside of anger
Here's a maxim from the "duh" department: People typically prefer to feel emotions that are pleasant, like excitement, and avoid those that are unpleasant, like anger. But a new study appearing in the April issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, says this may not always be the case.
Contact: Catherine West
cwest@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300
Association for Psychological Science
Public Release: 26-Mar-2008
A ton of bitter melon produces sweet results for diabetes
Scientists have uncovered the therapeutic properties of bitter melon, a vegetable and traditional Chinese medicine, that make it a powerful treatment for type 2 diabetes.
Contact: Alison Heather
a.heather@garvan.org.au
61-292-958-128
Research Australia
Public Release: 26-Mar-2008
Circulation
Folate scores a win in animal studies: Brief, high doses of B vitamin blunt damage from heart attack
Long known for its role in preventing anemia in expectant mothers and spinal birth defects in newborns, the B vitamin folate, found in leafy green vegetables, beans and nuts has now been shown to blunt the damaging effects of heart attack when given in short-term, high doses to test animals.
National Institutes of Health, Peter Belfer Laboratory Foundation, American Heart Association, Belgian American Educational Foundations, Antwerp
Contact: David March
dmarch1@jhmi.edu
410-955-1534
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
'First European' had a mountain retreat in Spain
Fossils unearthed in northern Spain are around 1.1 million years old and represent our earliest known European' hominin ancestors
18:00 26 March 2008
Saturn's moon Enceladus surprisingly comet-like
The moon's composition resembles that of a comet – a puzzle since it formed much closer to the Sun
21:24 26 March 2008
Neanderthals wore make-up and liked to chat
Pigment sticks discovered at various sites suggest that Neanderthals painted their bodies – and if they did that, they talked, say experts
09:24 27 March 200
Public Release: 27-Mar-2008
Science Express
Rates of rare mutations soar 3 to 4 times higher in schizophrenia
People with schizophrenia have high rates of rare genetic deletions and duplications that likely disrupt the developing brain. These anomalies were found in 15 percent of adult onset schizophrenia patients and 20 percent of child and adolescent onset patients, compared with only 5 percent of healthy participants. Collectively, the mutations carried by patients were significantly more likely than those in healthy participants to disrupt genes involved in brain development -- potentially implicating hundreds of genes.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
Contact: Jules Asher
NIMHpress@mail.nih.gov
301-443-4536
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
Public Release: 27-Mar-2008
Molecular Cell
Scientists find a key culprit in stroke brain cell damage
Researchers have identified a key player in the killing of brain cells after a stroke or a seizure. The protein asparagine endopeptidase unleashes enzymes that break down brain cells' DNA, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Holly Korschun
hkorsch@emory.edu
404-727-3990
Emory University
Public Release: 28-Mar-2008
Childhood Research Quarterly
Preschool kids do better when they talk to themselves, research shows
Parents should not worry when their pre-schoolers talk to themselves; in fact, they should encourage it, says a new study from George Mason University. The study shows that children do better on motor tasks when they talk to themselves out loud than when they are silent. Researchers also looked for the first time at the ways that autistic children talk to themselves and the effectiveness it has on the way they do things.
Contact: Tara Laskowski
tlaskows@gmu.edu
703-993-8815
George Mason University
UC-San Diego Medical Center reports United States' first oral appendix removal
On Wednesday, March 12, 2008, surgeons at UC San Diego Medical Center performed what is believed to be the country’s first removal of a diseased appendix through the mouth.
Public Release: 28-Mar-2008
Appendix
On March 26, 2008, surgeons at UC-San Diego Medical Center removed an inflamed appendix through a patient's vagina, a first in the United States. Patient Diana Schlamadinger, reported only minor discomfort. Key to these surgical clinical trials is collaboration with medical device companies to develop new minimally-invasive tools.
Contact: Jackie Carr
jcarr@ucsd.edu
619-543-6163
University of California - San Diego
Public Release: 28-Mar-2008
Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery
Mysterious fevers of unknown origin: Could surgery be a cure?
A child spikes a high fever like clockwork every 3-6 weeks, sometimes as high as 104 or 105 degrees, and sometimes causing seizures. No infection or any other cause is ever found. Yet, according to a report in the Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, tonsillectomy is almost always curative. The reason remains a mystery, but desperate families are opting for surgery as a last-ditch measure and finding it to be life-changing.
Clinical Research Program, Committee of Clinical Investigation, Department of Otolaryngology at Children's Hospital Boston
Contact: Keri Stedman
keri.stedman@childrens.harvard.edu
617-919-3110
Children's Hospital Boston
Bear Attack? Not to Worry
A rifle apparently doesn’t work as well as a cannister of red pepper spray. The spray stopped the bears’ “undesirable behavior” more than 90 percent of the time
By John Tierney
March 28, 2008,  12:26 pm
Anti-landmine campaigners turn sights on war robots
Electronic systems that independently decide when to kill should be banned under treaties like those against landmines, a group says
11:29 28 March 2008
Electroshocking plants brings chemical rewards
Exposing plants to electric currents stimulates overproduction of biochemicals and could be a cheap way of deriving useful compounds
12:21 28 March 2008
Public Release: 30-Mar-2008
Society for General Microbiology's 162nd Meeting
Green tea helps beat superbugs
Green tea can help beat superbugs according to Egyptian scientists speaking March 31, 2008 at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting being held this week at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
Contact: Lucy Goodchild
l.goodchild@sgm.ac.uk
44-011-898-81843
Society for General Microbiology