| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM Nano's brightest coming to Rice
(Rice University) Registration is open for Year of Nano events to be held Oct. 10-13 in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the carbon 60 molecule, the buckminsterfullerene, at Rice. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM Carnegie Mellon researchers create fluorescent biosensor to aid in drug development
(Carnegie Mellon University) Carnegie Mellon University has developed a new fluorescent biosensor that could aid in the development of an important class of drugs that target a crucial class of proteins called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). GPCRs are popular drug targets because of the pivotal role they play in cells' communication circuits responsible for regulating functions critical to health, including circuits involved in heart and lung function, mood, cognition and memory, digestion and the inflammatory response. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM Study finds respiratory symptoms more reliable indicator of H1N1, not fever alone
(Elsevier Health Sciences) New research shows that individuals with mild H1N1 infection may go undetected using standard diagnostic criteria, according to a study in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. The study concludes that coughing or other respiratory symptoms are more accurate in determining influenza infection than presence of a fever. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM Gender-bending fish on the rise in southern Alberta
(University of Calgary) Chemicals present in two rivers in southern Alberta are likely the cause of the feminization of fish say researchers at the University of Calgary who have published results of their study in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM The evolution of melanoma diagnosis: 25 years beyond the ABCDs
(American Cancer Society) Twenty-five years after publishing the mnemonic "ABCD" to facilitate the early diagnosis of melanoma, the group who came up with that moniker says early detection remains a key factor in lowering mortality from malignant melanoma. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM Researchers study benefits of white button mushrooms
(United States Department of Agriculture-Research, Education, and Economics) Agricultural Research Service-funded scientists have conducted an animal-model and cell-culture study showing that white button mushrooms enhanced the activity of critical cells in the body's immune system. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM Small increases in vaccine cost can cause large gaps in protection
(Harvard University) Public immunization efforts may be much more sensitive than previously realized to small changes in the perceived costs or risks of vaccination, scientists at Harvard University report this week. In some cases, the spread of vaccine avoidance via social networks can make the difference between a minor, localized outbreak and an epidemic four times as large. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM A breakthrough in tuberculosis research
(McGill University) The key to the fate of the macrophages is the balance between two kinds of eicosanoids. Eicosanoids are molecules that contribute to the control of our immune system. The genetic code of TB bacteria enables it to tip this balance in favor of necrosis, and human genetic analysis revealed that modification in eicosanoids production is associated with susceptibility or resistance to TB. Fortunately, drugs that target the production of eicosanoids are already in use for treating other inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM Western diet link to ADHD
(Research Australia) A new study from Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research shows an association between ADHD and a "Western-style" diet in adolescents. The research findings have just been published online in the international Journal of Attention Disorders. Leader of Nutrition studies at the Institute, Associate Professor Wendy Oddy, said the study examined the dietary patterns of 1800 adolescents from the long-term Raine Study and classified diets into 'Healthy' or 'Western' patterns. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM Playing with pills
(University of Stavanger) Drug calculations is a particularly hard course for many nursing students. A specially made computer game, developed at the University of Stavanger, is set to help students pass this vitally important exam. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM Popular diabetes drugs associated with fractures in type 2 diabetic patients
(The Endocrine Society) Postmenopausal women with diabetes taking thiazolidinediones (TZDS), including rosiglitazone and pioglitazone, may be at increased risk for fractures according to a new study accepted for publication in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Men with diabetes taking both loop diuretics and TZDs may also be at increased risk of fractures. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM Vitamin D deficiency linked to arterial stiffness in black teens
(The Endocrine Society) Vitamin D deficiency is associated with arterial stiffness, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, in black teens according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Black teens taking vitamin D supplementation of 2,000 international units per day had a decrease in central arterial stiffness. |
| 07/29/2010
12:00 AM New lab test could identify imatinib resistance
(American Association for Cancer Research) Scientists in Japan may have developed a way to accurately predict those patients who will resist treatment with imatinib, which is the standard of care for chronic myeloid leukemia. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Quality coronary bypass care can improve lives and cut costs
(University of California - San Francisco) A new analysis led by researchers at UCSF shows that avoiding lowest-volume hospitals and maximizing adherence to quality care processes are both effective approaches to reducing costs associated with coronary bypass surgery. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Arizona State is part of 5-university research effort to boost reading comprehension in kids
(Arizona State University) Two scientists at Arizona State University are on a core team of researchers from five universities awarded $20 million to improve listening and reading comprehension in preschool through third grade. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Intensive chemotherapy may be harmful to most older patients with acute myeloid leukemia
(American Society of Hematology) The prognosis for nearly three-quarters of elderly patients on intensive chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia is poor, with a median survival of less than six months, according to a study published online today in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Scripps research study opens the door to new class of drugs for epileptic seizures
(Scripps Research Institute) A chemical compound that boosts the action of a molecule normally produced in the brain may provide the starting point for a new line of therapies for the treatment of epileptic seizures, according to a new study by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Nanomaterials poised for big impact in construction
(Rice University) Nanomaterials are poised for widespread use in the construction industry, where they can offer significant advantages for a variety of applications ranging from making more durable concrete to self-cleaning windows. But widespread use in building materials comes with potential environmental and health risks when those materials are thrown away. Those are the conclusions of a new study published by Rice University engineering researchers this month in ACS Nano. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Brainstem, spinal cord images hidden in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel fresco
(Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions) Michelangelo, the 16th century master painter and accomplished anatomist, appears to have hidden an image of the brainstem and spinal cord in a depiction of God in the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers reports. These findings by a neurosurgeon and a medical illustrator, published in the May Neurosurgery, may explain long controversial and unusual features of one of the frescoes' figures. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Dense bones linked to raised risk for prostate cancer
(Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions) Men who develop prostate cancer, especially the more aggressive and dangerous forms that spread throughout the body, tend to retain denser bones as they age than men who stay free of the disease, suggests new research from Johns Hopkins and the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Aging and longevity tied to specific brain region in mice
(Washington University School of Medicine) The protein SIRT1 in the brain is tied into a mechanism that allows animals to survive when food is scarce, according to a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The research suggests that SIRT1 may be involved with the life span-increasing effect of low-calorie diets, they report. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Explore stroke care with Society of Interventional Radiology's CLOTS
(Society of Interventional Radiology) Catheter Lysis of Thromboembolic Stroke (CLOTS) -- an intensive five-day course offered by the Society of Interventional Radiology Oct. 24-28 in Dallas, Texas -- provides interventional radiologists, neurointerventionalists, vascular neurologists and fellows-in-training with the unique educational opportunity to review, observe and discuss all aspects of acute stroke management. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Can't place that face?
(American Friends of Tel Aviv University) In her "Face Lab" at Tel Aviv University, Dr. Galit Yovel is trying to understand the mechanisms at work in the face area of the brain called the "fusiform gyrus," combining cognitive psychology with techniques like brain imaging and electrophysiology. Her research may help business executives better match names with faces, and can lead to better facial recognition software to identify terrorists or criminals. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Why fad diets work well for some, but not others
(Genetics Society of America) Using fruit flies, researchers have found that genes interacting with diet, rather than diet alone, are the main cause of variation in metabolic traits, such as body weight. This helps explain why some diets work better for some people than others, and suggests that future diets should be tailored to an individual's genes rather than to physical appearance. |
| 07/28/2010
12:00 AM Electronic cigarettes require more suction than conventional brands
(University of California - Riverside) Stronger suction is required to smoke "electronic cigarettes" than conventional brands, with possible adverse effects on human health, researchers at the University of California, Riverside report. Using a smoking machine to compare the smoking properties of eight conventional cigarettes with five e-cigarette brands, the researchers also found that in the case of e-cigarettes, the aerosol density dropped after the first ten puffs, requiring still stronger suction thereafter to produce aerosol. |
