NewsRx Health & Science back issues from December 2008:
Study finds Canada's supervised injection facility cost-effective.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Canada's only supervised injection facility is extending lives and saving the health-care system millions of dollars, a new study shows. In analyzing the cost-effectiveness of Vancouver-based Insite, a safe injection facility in a downtown neighbourhood where about 5,000 ...
Novel regulatory step during HIV replication.
Dec 07, 2008 ... A previously unknown regulatory step during human immunodeficiency (HIV) replication provides a potentially valuable new target for HIV/AIDS therapy, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Their study, published ...
Alcohol sponsorship linked to hazardous drinking in sportspeople.
Dec 07, 2008 ... A new study provides the first evidence of a link between alcohol-industry sponsorship and hazardous drinking among sportspeople. Researchers from The University of Manchester and the University of Newcastle in Australia quizzed nearly 1,300 sportspeople and found ...
JCI online early table of contents: Nov. 13, 2008.(Report)
Dec 07, 2008 ... The protein TRPA1 feels the pain of alkaline pH Many biological conditions cause a rise in the pH of the environment in which cells in our body exist (i.e., the environment becomes alkaline). Some of these conditions, e.g., respiratory alkalosis due to hyperventilation and the ...
Psychological interventions associated with breast cancer survival.
Dec 07, 2008 ... A new study finds that breast cancer patients who participate in intervention sessions focusing on improving mood, coping effectively, and altering health behaviors live longer than patients who do not receive such psychological support. Published in the December 15, 2008 issue of CANCER, ...
'Enlightened' atoms stage nano-riot againsts uniformity.
Dec 07, 2008 ... When atoms in a crystal are struck by laser light, their electrons, excited by the light, typically begin moving back and forth together in a regular pattern, resembling nanoscale soldiers marching in a lockstep formation. But according to a new theory developed by Johns Hopkins ...
Men who take aspirin have significantly lower PSA levels.
Dec 07, 2008 ... The use of aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is significantly associated with lower PSA levels, especially among men with prostate cancer, say researchers at Vanderbilt University. This large analysis known as the Nashville Men's Health Study ...
New life beneath sea and ice.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Scientists have long known that life can exist in some very extreme environments. But Earth continues to surprise us. At a European Science Foundation and COST (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) 'Frontiers of Science' meeting in Sicily in ...
Antibodies to cockroach and mouse proteins associated with asthma and allergies risk.
Dec 07, 2008 ... New York, NY -- A study released by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health shows that developing antibodies to cockroach and mouse proteins is associated with a greater risk for wheeze, hay ...
Canadian cold/flu breakthrough remedy undergoes NCI-sponsored trial in leukemia patients.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Cancer patients u with their weakened immune systems u are particularly vulnerable when the cold and flu season hits. To help, the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) is sponsoring a landmark trial to see whether a unique Canadian cold remedy u COLD-FX u can help. The trial ...
Ginkgo proves ineffective in preventing dementia, Alzheimer's disease.(Clinical report)
Dec 07, 2008 ... One of the most widely used herbal supplements for improving memory and cognition has no impact on the development of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, according to new results from a $30 million, multi-center study. The Ginkgo biloba for the Evaluation of Memory (GEM) Study was ...
Nanoparticles in the home: More and smaller than previously detected.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Extremely small nanoscale particles are released by common kitchen appliances in abundant amounts, greatly outnumbering the previously detected, larger-size nanoparticles emitted by these appliances, according to new findings* by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and ...
Teacher qualifications more equally distributed across New York City public schools.
Dec 07, 2008 ... November 5, 2008 uRecent changes u including new laws and new routes into teaching with lowered cost for individuals to enter the profession u have dramatically changed the characteristics of teachers, particularly in large urban districts. A new study in the Journal of Policy Analysis and ...
US executive branch drives foreign policy.
Dec 07, 2008 ... A new study in the journal International Studies Perspectives examines U.S. foreign policy towards three Middle Eastern states and finds that the executive branch is often the driving force in foreign policy. Also, U.S. foreign policies tend to be reciprocal in nature. Rachel ...
Corralling the carbon cycle.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Scientists may have overcome a major hurdle to calculating how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed and released by plants, vital information for understanding how the biosphere responds to stress and for determining the amount of carbon that can be safely emitted by human activities. The ...
Widely used cancer drug associated with significantly increased risk of blood clots.
Dec 07, 2008 ... An analysis of randomized controlled trials indicates that use of the cancer drug bevacizumab is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (blood clots in the deep veins of the legs or in the lungs), according to an article in the November 19 issue of JAMA. ...
Drops in blood oxygen levels may be key to sudden death in some epilepsy patients.
Dec 07, 2008 ... A new study by researchers at UC Davis Medical Center suggests that the sudden unexplained deaths of some epilepsy patients may be a result of their brains not telling their bodies to breathe during seizures. "Significant drops in blood oxygen levels are more common than we ...
TECNALIA leads Spanish research in future Internet.
Dec 07, 2008 ... The TECNALIA Technological Corporation is leading research in Spain on The Future Internet through projects within the 7th EU Framework Programme such as m:Ciudad, MUGGES and 4WARD, with the aim of promoting a structural change in the Network of Networks and designing of a new architecture ...
Mysterious microbe may play important role in ocean ecology.
Dec 07, 2008 ... SANTA CRUZ, CA--An unusual microorganism discovered in the open ocean may force scientists to rethink their understanding of how carbon and nitrogen cycle through ocean ecosystems. A research team led by Jonathan Zehr, professor of ocean sciences at the University of California, Santa ...
Floppy-footed gibbons help us understand how early humans may have walked.
Dec 07, 2008 ... The human foot is a miracle of evolution. We can keep striding for miles on our well-sprung feet. There is nothing else like them, not even amongst our closest living relatives. According to Evie Vereecke, from the University of Liverpool, the modern human foot first appeared about 1.8 ...
No honeymoon replays: People don't want to taint special memories.
Dec 07, 2008 ... That unforgettable honeymoon has a special place in your memoryuso special that you might be reluctant to try to repeat it. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says people tend to treat their memories of previous special experiences as assets to be protected. "When ...
Forests may play overlooked role in regulating climate.
Dec 07, 2008 ... In a study to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists led by a team at the University of New Hampshire show that forests may influence the Earth's climate in important ways that have not previously been recognized. When sunlight reaches ...
Individuals with HIV have higher risk of non-AIDS cancers.
Dec 07, 2008 ... The risk of non-AIDS cancer is higher for individuals infected with HIV than for the general population, according to a meta-analysis presented here at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. ...
Biomedical engineers' detective work reveals antibiotic mechanism.
Dec 07, 2008 ... A series of genetic clues led a team of Boston University biomedical engineers to uncover exactly how certain antibiotics kill bacteria. The findings could help rejuvenate the efficacy of older antibiotics and reveal new antibiotic targets within bacterial cells. "The research ...
World's earliest nuclear family found.
Dec 07, 2008 ... The researchers dated remains from four multiple burials discovered in Germany in 2005. The 4,600-year-old graves contained groups of adults and children buried facing each other u an unusual practice in Neolithic culture. One of the graves was found to contain a ...
New clue emerges for cellular damage in Huntington's disease.
Dec 07, 2008 ... CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (November 17, 2008) u "Huntington's disease presents an ideal vantage point to study neurodegenerative disease, because we know the misfolded protein that's responsible," says Martin Duennwald, formerly a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Whitehead Member Susan ...
Crafting your image for your 1,000 friends on Facebook or MySpace.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Students are creating idealized versions of themselves on social networking websites u Facebook and MySpace are the most popular u and using these sites to explore their emerging identities, UCLA psychologists report. Parents often understand very little about this phenomenon, they say. ...
Alpine rivers hold important clues for preserving biodiversity and coping with climate change.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Marginal plants, particularly trees, play a crucial role in sustaining the biodiversity of Europe's big river systems, according to a recently held workshop organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF). This finding provides important clues for protecting Europe's rivers against a ...
Farming and chemical warfare: A day in the life of an ant?
Dec 07, 2008 ... One of the most important developments in human civilisation was the practice of sustainable agriculture. But we were not the first - ants have been doing it for over 50 million years. Just as farming helped humans become a dominant species, it has also helped leaf-cutter ants become ...
Impact of insulin pump under study.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Using an insulin pump to manage diabetes is more convenient than managing the disease with daily insulin injections. That much, physicians already know. But the pump's impact on the lives of diabetics and their primary caregivers is an important question that hasn't been ...
Non-white med students reject therapies associated with their culture.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Non-white medical students are more likely to embrace orthodox medicine and reject therapies traditionally associated with their cultures. That is one finding from an international study that measures the attitudes of medical students toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) ....
'Cascading effect' of childhood experiences may explain serious teen violence.(Report)
Dec 07, 2008 ... Adverse experiences early in life can lead to minor childhood behavior problems, which can grow into serious acts of teen violence, according to new research. This "cascading effect" of repeated negative incidents and behaviors is the focus of an article in the November/December edition of ...
Supportive teachers, peers can ease negative effects of frequent moves in elementary school.(Clinical report)
Dec 07, 2008 ... When children change schools in elementary school, dips in academic performance and classroom participation can follow. But having a supportive teacher who encourages other students to accept newcomers can go a long way toward helping children make a smooth transition. That's ...
New study bolsters beliefs about DNA repair.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Aucott et al. report the first in vivo experiments on the heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) family, which sidles up to silent DNA. The results, to be published in the Nov. 17 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, add to the evidence that the different versions of the proteins help cells fix ...
Seasonal affective disorder may be linked to genetic mutation, study suggests.
Dec 07, 2008 ... With the days shortening toward winter, many people will begin to experience the winter blahs. For some, the effect can be devastating. About 6 percent of the U.S. population suffers from seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, a sometimes-debilitating depression that begins in the ...
New CT technology shows anorexia impairs adolescent bone development.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Children and teenagers with even mild cases of anorexia exhibit abnormal bone structure, according to a new study appearing in the December issue of Radiology and presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). "Adolescence is the most ...
Planetary 'first family' discovered by astronomers using Gemini and Keck Observatories.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope and W.M. Keck Observatory on Hawaii's Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the Hawaiian chain, have obtained the first-ever direct images identifying a multi-planet system around a normal star. The Gemini images allowed the ...
Turtles alter nesting dates due to temperature change says ISU researcher.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Turtles nesting along the Mississippi River and other areas are altering their nesting dates in response to rising temperatures, says a researcher from Iowa State University. Fred Janzen, a professor in ecology, evolution and organismal biology, has studied turtle nesting habits ...
Research-based program found to enhance impact of Head Start on school readiness.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Head Start, the federal program that provides comprehensive services to low-income children and their families, has had a positive effect on some aspects of school readiness, but not others. A new study shows that a program designed to make it easier to integrate research into the ...
First trachea transplant without immunosuppression.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Tissue engineering has made possible this doubly innovative operation - the first trachea transplant and the first tissue transplant to be performed without the need for immunosuppression. Professor Paolo Macchiarini, Head of the thoracic surgery department of Hospital Clinic has led the ...
Portuguese scientists discover new mechanism that regulates formation of blood vessels.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Researchers in one of the external groups of the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia (IGC), in Portugal, have discovered a novel mechanism which regulates the process whereby new blood vessels are formed and wounds heal, including chronic wounds, such as those found in diabetic patients and ...
Simple new method detects contaminants in life-saving drug.
Dec 07, 2008 ... ANN ARBOR, Mich.---The blood-thinning drug heparin is highly effective when used to prevent and treat blood clots in veins, arteries and lungs, but earlier this year its reputation as a lifesaver was sullied when contaminated heparin products caused serious allergic reactions that led to a ...
Breaking BubR1 mimics genetic shuffle seen in cancer cells.
Dec 07, 2008 ... A study of how one protein enzyme, BubR1, helps make sure chromosomes are equally distributed during mitosis might explain how the process of cell division goes so awry in cancer, according to researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center. Their findings might offer a better understanding of ...
Systems biology brings hope of speeding up drug development.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Almost every day brings news of an apparent breakthrough against cancer, infectious diseases, or metabolic conditions like diabetes, but these rarely translate into effective therapies or drugs, and even if they do clinical development usually takes well over a decade. One reason is that ...
Primary care provides patients with better outcomes at lower cost.
Dec 07, 2008 ... A white paper, How is a Shortage of Primary Care Physicians Affecting the Quality and Cost of Medical Care?, released by the American College of Physicians (ACP) documents the value of primary care by reviewing 20 years of research. An annotated bibliography based on a literature review of ...
Surface plasmon resonances of metal nanoparticles in array can have narrower spectral widths.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have demonstrated experimentally and theoretically that the surface plasmon resonances of metal nanoparticles in a periodic array can have considerably narrower spectral widths than those of isolated metal ...
Gemini releases historic discovery image of planetary 'first family'.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope and W.M. Keck Observatory on Hawaii's Mauna Kea have obtained the first-ever direct images identifying a multi-planet system around a normal star. The Gemini images allowed the international team to make the initial discovery of two ...
Where have all the students gone?
Dec 07, 2008 ... Why are the number of students studying soil science as a major declining across the United States? Mary Collins, University of Florida, Gainesville, writes about this in an article published in the 2008 Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education. ...
Hubble directly observes planet orbiting Fomalhaut.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Estimated to be no more than three times Jupiter's mass, the planet, called Fomalhaut b, orbits the bright southern star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away in the constellation Piscis Austrinus (the Southern Fish). Fomalhaut has been a candidate for planet hunting ever since ...
Top scientific meeting urges coordinated response to economic and environmental crises.
Dec 07, 2008 ... A fix for the economy must address ecological threats, a top international scientific meeting here has urged. Human society is moving dangerously beyond the planet's natural limits in a striking parallel to the financial debt crisis. "We're running the planet like a subprime loan," Dr ....
Unhappy people watch TV, happy people read/socialize, says study.
Dec 07, 2008 ... A new study by sociologists at the University of Maryland concludes that unhappy people watch more TV, while people who describe themselves as very happy spend more time reading and socializing. The study appears in the December issue of the journal Social Indicators Research. ...
Sleep helps people learn complicated tasks.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Sleep helps the mind learn complicated tasks and helps people recover learning they otherwise thought they had forgotten over the course of a day, research at the University of Chicago shows. Using a test that involved learning to play video games, researchers showed for the ...
Hybrid cars too quiet for pedestrian safety? Add engine noise, say human factors researchers.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Important pedestrian safety issues have emerged with the advent of hybrid and electric vehicles. These vehicles are relatively quietuthey do not emit the sounds pedestrians and bicyclists are accustomed to hearing as a vehicle approaches them on the street or at an intersection. In a ...
Angular observation of joints of geckos moving on horizontal and vertical surfaces.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Scholars in the Institute of Bio-inspired Structure and Surface Engineering (IBSS), Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) used a three-dimensional locomotion video-recording and measuring system to observe and measure the angular rotation of joints in gecko's limbs when ...
Calcium may only protect against colorectal cancer in presence of magnesium.
Dec 07, 2008 ... High magnesium intake has been associated with low risk of colorectal cancer. Americans have similar average magnesium intake as East Asian populations. If that were all that were involved, observers might expect both groups to have similar risk for colorectal cancer. However, ...
Cancer treatment may result in bone loss.
Dec 07, 2008 ... This press release is available in French. Montreal, November 13, 2008 u A new cross-Canada study has found that breast and prostate cancer treatment can foster bone loss. In the online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the scientists explain how loss of bone mass might affect ...
UK study shows kids are active but not eating their '5-a-day'.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Most children are still failing to eat five pieces of fruit and veg a day, though their levels of physical activity do meet current Government recommendations, according to the SPEEDY study (Sport, Physical activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young people). The ...
Landmark study defines benefits of early HIV testing and treatment for infected infants.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Testing very young babies for HIV and giving antiretroviral therapy (ART) immediately to those found infected with the virus dramatically prevents illness and death, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study found that giving ART to HIV-infected infants ...
Breakthrough in cell-type analysis offers new ways to study development and disease.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Like skilled assassins, many diseases seem to know exactly what types of cells to attack. While decimating one cadre of cells, diseases will inexplicably spare a seemingly identical group of neighbors. What makes cells vulnerable or not depends largely on the kinds and amounts of proteins ...
Patience during stalled labor can avoid many C-sections, UCSF study shows.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Pregnant women whose labor stalls while in the active phase of childbirth can reduce health risks to themselves and their infants by waiting out the delivery process for an extra two hours, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco. ...
Serial cohabiters less likely than others to marry.
Dec 07, 2008 ... A new study in the Journal of Marriage and Family found that serial cohabiters are less likely than single-instance cohabiting unions to result in marriage. Similarly if serial cohabiters marry, divorce rates are very high. Daniel T. Lichter of Cornell University and Zhenchao of ...
Microarray analysis improves prenatal diagnosis.
Dec 07, 2008 ... HOUSTON -- (Nov. 17, 2008) -- A "chip" or array that can quickly detect disorders such as Down syndrome or other diseases associated with chromosomal abnormalities proved an effective tool in prenatal diagnosis in a series of 300 cases at Baylor College of Medicine, said researchers in a ...
What the social lives of brewer's yeast say about evolution.(Report)
Dec 07, 2008 ... As any good beer brewer knows, the yeast used in fermentation stick together in large clumps consisting of thousands of cells that settle out where they are easily removed. Brewers had even traced this behavior to a gene that encodes a sticky protein that sits on the surface of yeast ...
Survival of head and neck cancer patients is greatly affected by coexisting ailments.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Current estimates for head and neck cancer survival are largely inaccurate because they widely disregard many of the most common diseases such patients have in addition to their primary cancer, says Jay Piccirillo, M.D., a head and neck specialist at Washington University School of ...
Teaching breast health early to reduce breast cancer mortality in D.C.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Early breast health education may be the key to lowering breast cancer mortality rates in Washington, D.C., which has the highest rates in the country, according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in ...