Public Release: 28-Apr-2008
Neurology
Epilepsy drug causes bone loss in young women
Young women who took the commonly used epilepsy drug phenytoin for one year showed significant bone loss compared to women taking other epilepsy drugs, according to a study published in the April 29, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Contact: Rachel Seroka
rseroka@aan.com
651-695-2738
American Academy of Neurology
Public Release: 28-Apr-2008
JAMA
Use of hemoglobin-based blood substitutes associated with increased risk of death, heart attack
An analysis of studies involving the use of hemoglobin-based blood substitutes indicates their use is associated with an increased risk of death and heart attack, according to a JAMA study being released early online, and will appear in print in the May 21 issue of JAMA.
Contact: Sara Byars
301-496-2563
JAMA and Archives Journals
Public Release: 28-Apr-2008
Archives of Internal Medicine
Osteoporosis drug Fosamax linked to heart problem
Women who have used Fosamax are nearly twice as likely to develop the most common kind of chronically irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation) than are those who have never used it, according to research from Group Health and the University of Washington published in the April 28 Archives of Internal Medicine.
NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Contact: Rebecca Hughes
hughes.r@ghc.org
206-287-2055
Group Health Cooperative Center for Health Studies
Public Release: 28-Apr-2008
Reviews in the Neurosciences
Spinal cord injury research hampered by animal models, says new study
Research on traumatic spinal cord injuries is hampered by a reliance on animal experiments that don't accurately predict human outcomes, says a new study in the upcoming edition of the peer-reviewed journal Reviews in the Neurosciences. The review was written by scientists with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Contact: Simon Chaitowitz
schaitowitz@pcrm.org
202-686-2210
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Public Release: 28-Apr-2008
Psychological Science
What does it mean to be alive?
Understanding the concept of a "living thing" is a late developmental achievement. New research, supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, proposes that the way in which "alive" and other biological concepts are named within a given language shapes their understanding and acquisition in children.
National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Catherine West
cwest@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300
Association for Psychological Science
Public Release: 28-Apr-2008
NeuroImage
Brookhaven scientists explore brain's reaction to potent hallucinogen
Brain-imaging studies performed in animals at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory provide researchers with clues about why an increasingly popular recreational drug that causes hallucinations and motor-function impairment in humans is abused. Using trace amounts of Salvia divinorum -- also known as "salvia," a Mexican mint plant -- Brookhaven scientists found that the drug's behavior in the brains of primates mimics the extremely fast and brief "high" observed in humans.
US Department of Energy
Contact: Kendra Snyder
ksnyder@bnl.gov
631-344-8191
DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
LSD inventor Albert Hofmann dies
Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered the hallucinogenic drug LSD, has died of a heart attack at his home in Basel at the age of 102.

Public Release: 28-Apr-2008
Psychological Science
Cause and affect: Emotions can be unconsciously and subliminally evoked, study shows
Most people agree that emotions can be caused by a specific event and that the person experiencing it is aware of the cause, such as a child's excitement at the sound of an ice cream truck. But recent research suggests emotions also can be unconsciously evoked and manipulated.
Contact: Katie Kline
kkline@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300 x133
Association for Psychological Science
Public Release: 28-Apr-2008
Nature Geoscience
Before fossil fuels, Earth's minerals kept CO2 in check
Over millions of years carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been moderated by a finely-tuned natural feedback system -- a system that human emissions have recently overwhelmed. A joint University of Hawaii/Carnegie Institution study published in the advance online edition of Nature Geoscience links the pre-human stability to connections between carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the breakdown of minerals in the Earth's crust.
Contact: Ken Caldeira
kcaldeira@stanford.edu
650-704-7212
Carnegie Institution
Invention: Plastic red blood cells
This week's patent applications include flexible polymer blood cells, a microwave to soften rocks for tunnelling, and a vaccine for genital herpes
13:50 28 April 2008
Glass chip spins silk just like a spider
An artificial version of a spider's silk duct could soon let humans make use of the material's amazing properties
22:00 28 April 2008
Simple brain exercise can boost IQ
Scientists say they have found a task that can add points to a person's IQ – and the harder you train, the more you gain
22:00 28 April 2008
Public Release: 29-Apr-2008
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
Aspirin-like compounds increase insulin secretion in otherwise healthy obese people
Aspirin-like compounds can claim another health benefit: increasing the amount of insulin produced by otherwise healthy obese people. Obesity is associated with insulin resistance, the first step toward type 2 diabetes.
Contact: Charles Blue
cblue@endo-society.org
301-941-0240
The Endocrine Society
Public Release: 29-Apr-2008
Journal of American Chemical Society
Scientists make chemical cousin of DNA for use as new nanotechnology building block
While scientists are fully exploring the promise of DNA nanotechnology, Biodesign Institute researcher John Chaput is working to give scientists brand new materials to aid their designs. Chaput and his research team have made the first self-assembled nanostructures composed entirely of glycerol nucleic acid -- a synthetic analog of DNA.
Contact: Joe Caspermeyer
joseph.caspermeyer@asu.edu
480-727-0369
Arizona State University
Public Release: 29-Apr-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Ancient sunflower fuels debate about agriculture in the Americas
Lentz and his fellow researchers have documented archaeological, linguistic, ethnographic and ethnohistoric data demonstrating that the sunflower had entered the repertoire of Mexican domesticates by 2600 B.C., that its cultivation was widespread in Mexico and extended as far south as El Salvador by the first millennium B.C., that it was well known to the Aztecs, and that it is still in use by traditional Mesoamerican cultures today.
National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society
Contact: Wendy Hart Beckman
wendy.beckman@uc.edu
513-556-1826
University of Cincinnati
Public Release: 29-Apr-2008
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Immune system kick-started in moist nasal lining in sinusitis, asthma and colds
Scientists at Johns Hopkins have outlined a new path for potential therapies to combat inflammation associated with sinusitis and asthma based on a new understanding of the body’s earliest immune response in the nose and sinus cavities.
National Institutes of Health, Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute
Contact: David March
dmarch1@jhmi.edu
410-955-1534
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Public Release: 29-Apr-2008
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Absinthe uncorked: The 'Green Fairy' was boozy -- but not psychedelic
A new study may end the century-old controversy over what ingredient in absinthe caused the exotic green aperitif's supposed mind-altering effects and toxic side-effects when consumed to excess. The report is the most comprehensive analysis of authentic 19th century absinthe to date.
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-4400
American Chemical Society
Public Release: 29-Apr-2008
Environmental Science & Technology
Public Release: 29-Apr-2008
TAU researchers examine 'great expectations' in the workplace
A new study finds that managers who expect more from their employees get more from them, too.
Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Public Release: 29-Apr-2008
Obama, Bill Clinton have common ground
Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton have more in common than their voter party registration cards. According to Ted Goertzel, a professor of sociology at Rutgers University-Camden, both men may owe their current success to their past upbringing by single mothers during many of their critical childhood years.
Contact: Mike Sepanic
msepanic@camden.rutgers.edu
856-225-6026
Rutgers University
Dog's bark means more than its bite

Dogs bark for different reasons and heart rates show that other dogs can tell the difference
15:08 29 April 2008
Public Release: 30-Apr-2008
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Are you looking at me?
In humans, the eyes are said to be the 'window to the soul,' conveying much about a person's emotions and intentions. New research demonstrates for the first time that birds also respond to a human's gaze.
Natural Environment Research Council, University of Bristol
Contact: Cherry Lewis
Cherry.lewis@bristol.ac.uk
44-117-928-8086
University of Bristol
To Save a Species, Serve It for Dinner
By KIM SEVERSON
Saving plants and animals that were once fairly commonplace in America and are now threatened or endangered often involves urging people to eat them.
    * Interactive Interactive Map: Encouraging a Comeback of Disappearing Foods
Some Athletes’ Genes Help Outwit Doping Test
By GINA KOLATA
A study showed that large numbers of men show false negatives in screens testing for doping with testosterone.
Public Release: 30-Apr-2008
Archives of Disease in Childhood
Incubator electromagnetic fields alter newborns' heart rates
The electromagnetic fields produced by incubators alter newborns' heart rates, reveals a small study published ahead of print in the Fetal and Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Contact: Rachael Davies
rdavies@bma.org.uk
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Public Release: 30-Apr-2008
Alzheimer's disease risks are gender specific
The risks of developing Alzheimer's disease differ between the sexes, with stroke in men, and depression in women, critical factors, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
Contact: Rachael Davies
rdavies@bma.org.uk
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Public Release: 30-Apr-2008
Ancient 'Nutcracker Man' challenges ideas on evolution of human diet
Tiny marks on the teeth of an ancient human ancestor known as the "Nutcracker Man" may upset current evolutionary understanding of early hominid diet.
Contact: Bobbie Mixon
bmixon@nsf.gov
703-292-8485
National Science Foundation
Public Release: 30-Apr-2008
Journal of Cognitive Systems Research
Decoding the dictionary: Study suggests lexicon evolved to fit in the brain
The latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary boasts 22,000 pages of definitions. While that may seem far from succinct, new research suggests the reference manual is meticulously organized to be as concise as possible -- a format that mirrors the way our brains make sense of and categorize the countless words in our vast vocabulary.
Contact: Amber Cleveland
clevea@rpi.edu
518-276-2146
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Public Release: 30-Apr-2008
A model photochemical compass for bird navigation
A team of researchers at Arizona State University and the University of Oxford are the first to model a photochemical compass that may simulate how migrating birds use light and Earth's weak magnetic field to navigate. The team reports in the April 30, 2008, online issue of Nature that the photochemical model becomes sensitive to the magnitude and direction of weak magnetic fields similar to Earth's when exposed to light.
Contact: Jennifer Grasswick
jgrasswi@nsf.gov
703-292-4972
National Science Foundation
Public Release: 30-Apr-2008
Molecular Cell
UIC scientists discover how some bacteria survive antibiotics
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered how some bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment by turning on resistance mechanisms when exposed to the drugs. The findings could lead to more effective antibiotics to treat a variety of infections.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Sam Hostettler
samhos@uic.edu
312-355-2522
University of Illinois at Chicago
Finger Digital revolution

How a US man was able to grow back a missing finger
H.P. Unveils New Memory Technology
By JOHN MARKOFF
A device, called a memristor, is an electrical resistor with memory properties. The technology could eventually build very dense chips that go beyond DRAM and use much less power.
In a New Climate Model, Short-Term Cooling in a Warmer World
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Climatologists will create decade-long climate forecasts, just as meteorologists craft weeklong weather forecasts.
 Public Release: 1-May-2008
Sleep
A consistent, worldwide association between short sleep duration and obesity
A study published in the May 1 issue of the journal SLEEP is the first attempt to quantify the strength of the cross-sectional relationships between duration of sleep and obesity in both children and adults. Cross-sectional studies from around the world show a consistent increased risk of obesity among short sleepers in children and adults, the study found.
Contact: Jim Arcuri
jarcuri@aasmnet.org
708-492-0930
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Public Release: 1-May-2008
Clinical Cancer Research
Biomarker predicts malignancy potential of HG-PIN lesions in the prostate
Men whose prostate cancer screenings show high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia may find themselves in limbo, "stuck" between diagnoses -- they are told prostate cancer has not yet developed, but it might, and they are advised to undergo repeated needle biopsies as a precaution.
Contact: Jeremy Moore
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
267-646-0557
American Association for Cancer Research
Public Release: 1-May-2008
Cancer Research
Early treatment of stomach infection may prevent cancer
Based on research using a new mouse model of gastritis and stomach cancer, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say that prompt treatment of Helicobacter pylori infections reverses damage to the lining of the stomach that can lead to cancer.
Contact: Jeremy Moore
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
267-646-0557
American Association for Cancer Research
'Sexy' voice gives fertile women away
Subtle changes in a woman's voice make it sound more attractive during her fertile days, say researchers
10:00 01 May 2008
DNA Tests Confirm the Deaths of the Last Missing Romanovs
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
For nine decades after the Bolsheviks shot Czar Nicholas II and his family, there had been no traces of the remains of Crown Prince Aleksei.
Public Release: 1-May-2008
Flower power may bring ray of sunshine to cancer sufferers
Dr. Jonathan Harris, a senior lecturer in Queensland University of Technology's Faculty of Science, and PhD student Joakim Swedberg, both from the University's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, are working on the naturally occurring molecule, and have received over $600,000 worth of grants this year to support their research.
Contact: Sharon Thompson
sharon.thompson@qut.edu.au
073-138-4494
Queensland University of Technology
Public Release: 1-May-2008
Nature Geoscience
FSU geochemist challenges key theory regarding Earth's formation
Working with colleagues from NASA, a Florida State University researcher has published a paper that calls into question three decades of conventional wisdom regarding some of the physical processes that helped shape the Earth as we know it today.
Contact: Munir Humayun
humayun@magnet.fsu.edu
850-644-1908
Florida State University
Public Release: 1-May-2008
International Journal of Biotechnology
Wakame waste
Bacteria that feed on seaweed could help in the disposal of pollutants in the world's oceans, according to a new study by researchers in China and Japan. The discovery is reported in the International Journal of Biotechnology, an Inderscience publication.
Contact: Shinichi Nagata
nagata@maritime.kobe-u.ac.jp
Inderscience Publisher
Public Release: 1-May-2008
World first: researchers develop completely automated anesthesia system
Researchers at McGill University and the McGill University Health Center have performed the world's first totally automated administration of an anesthetic. Nicknamed "McSleepy," the new system developed by the researchers administers drugs for general anesthesia and monitors their separate effects completely automatically, with no manual intervention.
Contact: Pascal Zamprelli
pascal.zamprelli@mcgill.ca
514-398-1385
McGill University
Public Release: 2-May-2008
$45 billion a year is spent by public on health costs for full-time workers and families
Health insurance coverage and unpaid health care for full-time workers and their family members without employer coverage costs the US public $45 billion a year, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. This includes $33 billion in the cost of public coverage such as Medicaid and SCHIP, and $12 billion in uncompensated care expenses -- which are paid by Federal, state and local governments and shifted to other payers -- provided to uninsured workers and dependents.
The Commonwealth Fund
Contact: Mary Mahon
mm@cmwf.org
212-606-3853
Commonwealth Fund
Ancient bird is missing link to Archaeopteryx
A spectacularly preserved new Chinese fossil reveals a previously unseen stage in the early evolution of flight
11:27 02 May 2008
Public Release: 2-May-2008
Environmental Microbiology
Bees disease -- 1 step closer to finding a cure
Scientists in Germany have discovered a new mechanism of infection for the most fatal bee disease. American Foulbrood is the only infectious disease which can kill entire colonies of bees. Every year, this notifiable disease is causing considerable economic loss to beekeepers all over the world. The only control measure is to destroy the infected hive.
Contact: Lucy Mansfield
lucy.mansfield@oxon.blackwellpublishing.com
44-018-654-76241
Wiley-Blackwell
Public Release: 3-May-2008
American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting
Commonly used medications associated with impaired physical function in older adults
Older adults who take drugs designed to block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine -- including common medications for incontinence, high blood pressure and allergies -- are more likely to be dependent in one or more activities of daily living and to walk slower, according to new findings from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.
National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Contact: Karen Richardson
krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu
336-716-4453
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Public Release: 4-May-2008
Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting
Nearly one-third of US parents don't know what to expect of infants
Almost one-third of US parents have a surprisingly low-level knowledge of typical infant development and unrealistic expectations for their child's physical, social and emotional growth, according research from the University of Rochester. The new findings, which suggest that such false parenting assumptions can not only impair parent-child interactions, but also rob kids of much-needed cognitive stimulation, will be presented Sunday, May 4, at the Pediatric Academic Society meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Contact: Becky Jones
rebecca_jones@urmc.rochester.edu
585-275-8490
University of Rochester Medical Center
Public Release: 4-May-2008
Nature Biotechnology
Turning fungus into fuel
A spidery fungus with a voracious appetite for military uniforms and canvas tents could hold the key to improvements in the production of biofuels, a team of government, academic and industry researchers has announced.
US DOE Joint Genome Institute
Contact: James E. Rickman
jamesr@lanl.gov
505-665-9203
DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory