Public Release: 7-Sep-2008
Nature
As easy as 1, 2, 3: Number sense correlates with test scores
Knowing how precisely a high school freshman can estimate the number of objects in a group gives you a good idea how well he has done in math as far back as kindergarten.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Lisa DeNike
dro@jhu.edu
443-287-9960
Johns Hopkins University
Public Release: 7-Sep-2008
Society for General Microbiology Autumn 2008 Meeting
Rattlesnake-type poisons used by superbug bacteria to beat our defenses
Colonies of hospital superbugs can make poisons similar to those found in rattlesnake venom to attack our bodies' natural defenses, scientists heard today (Monday Sept. 8, 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin.
Contact: Lucy Goodchild
l.goodchild@sgm.ac.uk
44-078-248-83010
Society for General Microbiology
Public Release: 8-Sep-2008
Cancer
Anti-inflammatory drugs may mask prostate cancer marker
Regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, may reduce serum levels of the prostate biomarker, PSA, and hence may alter the detection of prostate cancer in individuals who take these medications.
Contact: David Sampson
david.sampson@cancer.org
American Cancer Society
Public Release: 8-Sep-2008
Astrophysical Journal
Mind the gap
Astronomers have been able to study planet-forming discs around young Sun-like stars in unsurpassed detail, clearly revealing the motion and distribution of the gas in the inner parts of the disc. This result, which possibly implies the presence of giant planets, relies on the use of a very clever method enabled by ESO's Very Large Telescope.
Contact: Henri Boffin
hboffin@eso.org
ESO
Public Release: 8-Sep-2008
Fathers need their children
Single fathers should never be prevented from seeing their children. Even in the toughest family conflicts, interaction should always continue between father and child according to a Université de Montréal researcher.
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
Contact: Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins
sylvain-jacques.desjardins@umontreal.ca
514-343-7593
University of Montreal
Public Release: 8-Sep-2008
Infidelity dissected: New research on why people cheat
The probability of someone cheating during the course of a relationship varies between 40 and 76 percent. "It's very high," says Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier, PhD student at the Université de Montréal Department of Psychology.
Contact: Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins
sylvain-jacques.desjardins@umontreal.ca
514-343-7593
University of Montreal
Public Release: 8-Sep-2008
Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets
Valley networks on Mars formed during long period of episodic flooding
A new study suggests that ancient features on the surface of Mars called valley networks were carved by recurrent floods during a long period when the martian climate may have been much like that of some arid or semiarid regions on Earth. An alternative theory that the valleys were carved by catastrophic flooding over a relatively short time is not supported by the new results.
NASA
Contact: Tim Stephens
stephens@ucsc.edu
831-459-2495
University of California - Santa Cruz
Public Release: 8-Sep-2008
Journal of American Chemical Society
Carbon molecule with a charge could be tomorrow's semiconductor
As part of the research to place gadolinium atoms inside the carbon cage of a fullerene molecule for MRI applications, Virginia Tech researchers created an 80-atom carbon molecule with two yttrium ions inside. They then replaced one of the carbon atoms with an atom of nitrogen and discovered that the extra electron ducks inside between the yttrium ions, forming a one-electron bond with unique spin properties that can be altered.
Contact: Susan Trulove
STrulove@vt.edu
540-231-5646
Virginia Tech
Did we out-breed slow-maturing Neanderthals?
Skull reconstructions suggest we might have traded some intelligence for smaller, cheaper brains that meant we could reproduce faster
22:00 08 September 2008
Public Release: 9-Sep-2008
Journal of National Cancer Institute
US hospitals 'flunk' colon cancer
A Northwestern University study has found the majority of hospitals don't check enough lymph nodes after a patient's colon cancer surgery to determine if the disease has spread. Leading oncology organizations have recommended a minimum of 12 lymph nodes be examined to determine if colon cancer has metastasized. That affects whether a patient receives chemotherapy, which significantly improves survival. Yet, more than 60 percent of nearly 1,300 institutions in the US failed to check enough nodes.
American College of Surgeons, American Cancer Society, NIH/National Cancer Institute
Contact: Marla Paul
Marla-Paul@northwestern.edu
312-503-8928
Northwestern University
Essay
The Pitfalls of Linking Doctors’ Pay to Performance
By SANDEEP JAUHAR, M.D
Sometimes plans to reward doctors can hurt patients.
Public Release: 9-Sep-2008
JAMA
Study in JAMA study links primary care shortage with salary disparities
The nation's shortage of primary care physicians has been linked to a host of poor health outcomes, and a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that salary disparities play a major role in the shortage.
Contact: Sam Fahmy
sfahmy@uga.edu
706-542-5361
University of Georgia
Any River Will Do for One Spawning Fish
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
The sea lamprey can’t go home again, and researchers think they know why.
Vital Signs
Aging: Lack of B12 Linked to Brain Shrinkage
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
Low levels of the vitamin B12 may lead to a reduction in brain volume, a new study shows.
A Look at Nonsmokers Who Get Lung Cancer
By DENISE GRADY
Up to 15 percent of lung cancer cases occur in nonsmokers. Is there any reason why?
* Times Health Guide: Lung cancer
Public Release: 9-Sep-2008
BA Festival of Science
New drug hope for cystic fibrosis patients
A new drug therapy may represent a tremendous step forward in the treatment of some 70,000 cystic fibrosis patients worldwide, Dr. David Sheppard from the University of Bristol will tell an audience at the BA Festival of Science in Liverpool tomorrow. Speaking ahead of the conference, Dr. Sheppard said: "The early results with VX-770 suggest that drug therapies which target defects at the root of the disease have the potential to improve greatly the quality of life of CF patients."
Contact: Dara O'Hare
dara.ohare@bristol.ac.uk
44-011-733-17033
University of Bristol
Really?
The Claim: Aloe Vera Gel Can Heal Burns.
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
Does aloe vera do anything for burns?
Public Release: 9-Sep-2008
Landmark study reports breakdown in biotech patent system
The world's intellectual property system is broken. It's stopping lifesaving technologies from reaching the people who need them most in developed and developing countries, according to the authors of a report released in Ottawa today by an international coalition of experts.
Government of Canada
Contact: Coimbra Sirica
csirica@burnesscommunications.com
631-757-4027
Burness Communications
'Water bears' are first animal to survive space vacuum
The tiny invertebrates, also known as tardigrades, survived in the vacuum of space for 10 days
17:50 08 September 2008
Urology Field Slowly Altered, by Women
By BARRON H. LERNER, M.D
It turns out that the field of urology is undergoing a gender transformation.
Public Release: 9-Sep-2008
Cancer Cell
Penn researchers identify natural tumor suppressor
Researchers have identified a key step in the formation -- and suppression -- of esophageal cancers and perhaps carcinomas of the breast, head and neck. By studying human tissue samples, they found that Fbx4, a naturally occurring enzyme, plays a key role in stopping production of another protein called Cyclin D1, which is thought to contribute to the early stages of cancer development.
National Institute of Health, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Contact: Karen Kreeger
karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu
215-349-5658
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Findings
As Barriers Disappear, Some Gender Gaps Widen
By JOHN TIERNEY
The personality gap among the genders seems to be widening in modern society.
Public Release: 9-Sep-2008
Environmental Health Perspectives
Calcium during pregnancy reduces harmful blood lead levels
Pregnant women who take high levels of daily calcium supplements show a marked reduction in lead levels in their blood, suggesting calcium could play a critical role in reducing fetal and infant exposure.
Contact: Laura Bailey
baileylm@umich.edu
734-764-1552
University of Michigan
Public Release: 10-Sep-2008
Psychological Science
Searching in space and minds: IU research suggests underlying link
New research from Indiana University has found evidence that how we look for things, such as our car keys or umbrella, could be related to how we search for more abstract needs, such as words in memory or solutions to problems. "Common underlying search mechanisms may exist that drive our behavior in many different domains," said IU cognitive scientist Peter Todd.
National Institutes of Health, US Department of Education, National Science Foundation, Indiana University
Contact: Peter Todd
pmtodd@indiana.edu
812-855-3914
Indiana University
Friendly Invaders
By CARL ZIMMER
New research suggests that exotic species, instead of causing extinctions, may actually aid diversity.
Observatory
Marijuana Ingredient May Fight Bacteria
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
Researchers have discovered that the main active ingredient in marijuana shows promise as an antibacterial agent
Study tracks 'pathways to terror'
By Jonathan Amos Science reporter, BBC News
Scientists believe they have a clearer idea of what makes a terrorist after interviewing a group of Islamic extremists in Pakistan.
Public Release: 10-Sep-2008
Cell Host & Microbe
UT Southwestern: Killing bacteria isn't enough to restore immune function after infection
A bacterial molecule that initially signals to animals that they have been invaded must be wiped out by a special enzyme before an infected animal can regain full health,
researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Contact: Kristen Holland Shear
kristen.hollandshear@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center
The double firing burst
Astronomers from around the world combined data from ground- and space-based telescopes to paint a detailed portrait of the brightest explosion ever seen.
The observations reveal that the jets of the gamma-ray burst called GRB 080319B were aimed almost directly at the Earth.
Public Release: 10-Sep-2008
New England Journal of Medicine
Aberrations in region of chromosome 1q21.1 associated with broad range of disorders in children
A submicroscopic variation in a region of human chromosome 1q21.1 is associated with a broad range of disorders and levels of impairment, including
mental retardation, autism, heart defects, hand deformities and other conditions.
National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, others
Contact: Leila Gray
206-685-0381
University of Washington
Public Release: 10-Sep-2008
American Naturalist
In spiders, size matters: Small males are more often meals
A number of hypotheses have been proposed for why females eat males before or after mating. After looking at a wide range of data, researchers found that
sexual cannibalism may not be a complex evolutionary balancing act of costs and benefits but rather a case of a hungry female eating a male when he is small enough to catch.
Contact: Patricia Morse
pmorse@press.uchicago.edu
773-702-0446
University of Chicago Press Journals
How lager yeasts came in from the cold, twice
The two main types of lager beer might owe their existence to two genetic ancestors capable of surviving Bavarian winters
21:01 10 September 2008
Public Release: 11-Sep-2008
Science
Dinosaurs' 'superiority' challenged by their crocodile cousins
In a paper published today in Science, Steve Brusatte and Professor Mike Benton challenge the general consensus among scientists that there must have been
something special about dinosaurs that helped them rise to prominence.
Contact: Hannah Johnson
hannah.johnson@bristol.ac.uk
44-117-331-8092
University of Bristol
Public Release: 11-Sep-2008
Science
Key enzyme for regulating heart attack damage found, Stanford scientists report
Marauding molecules cause the tissue damage that underlies heart attacks, sunburn, Alzheimer's and hangovers. But scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine
say they may have found ways to combat the carnage after discovering an important cog in the body's molecular detoxification machinery.
Contact: Erin Digitale
digitale@stanford.edu
650-724-9175
Stanford University Medical Center
Ancient genetic imprint unites the tribes of India
Regardless of caste, language or geographical location, DNA from the very earliest settlers still links the nation's many peoples
11:19 11 September 2008
Ancient Figs May Be First Cultivated Crops
NPR
Public Release: 11-Sep-2008
Stem Cells
Stem cell regeneration repairs congenital heart defect
Mayo Clinic investigators have demonstrated that stem cells can be used to regenerate heart tissue to treat dilated cardiomyopathy, a congenital defect.
Publication of the discovery was expedited by the editors of Stem Cells, and appeared online in the "express" section of the journal's Web site.
National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, Marriott Foundation, Ted Nash Long Life Foundation, Ralph Wilson Medical Research Foundation, Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, Culture and Technology
Contact: Robert Nellis
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic
Public Release: 11-Sep-2008
Nature Clinical Practice
The pepperoni pizza hypothesis
For up to a million women, enjoying a piece of pepperoni pizza has painful consequences. They have a chronic bladder condition that causes pelvic pain.
Spicy food, as well as citrus and caffeine, can intensify the pain, which is so intense some women inject lidocaine into their bladders.
Researchers previously thought chemicals from the food irritated the bladder. A surprising discovery from Northwestern University reveals the symptoms
actually are being provoked by the colon. The discovery opens up new treatment possibilities.
NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Contact: Marla Paul
Marla-Paul@northwestern.edu
312-503-8928
Northwestern University
US army is breaking rules to make terrorists talk
Psychiatrists are being trained in how to interrogate terror suspects, despite internationally agreed codes of conduct barring doctors from such work
17:44 11 September 2008
Stroking reveals pleasure nerve
By Jenny Carpenter Science reporter, BBC News
A new touch-sensitive nerve fibre responsible for the sense of pleasure experienced during stroking has been described at a UK conference today.
Saturn magnetises its moon Titan
Even when the moon wanders outside of Saturn's magnetic sphere of influence, it retains a magnetic field that can protect its thick atmosphere
20:08 11 September 2008
How genes pick our mates for us
Do humans look for partners with similar immune systems to our own, or different ones? The answer may depend on where you come from
18:12 12 September 2008
Newfoundland Viking site remarkable
L'Anse aux Meadows likely marks the first European contact with New World -- 500 years before Columbus