ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

'Living Fossil' Tree Contains Genetic Imprints Of Rain Forests Under Climate Change Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT A "living fossil" tree species is helping a researcher understand how tropical forests responded to past climate change and how they may react to global warming in the future.

High-fat Diet Could Promote Development Of Alzheimer's Disease Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT Researchers have shown that the main neurological markers for Alzheimer's disease are exacerbated in the brains of mice fed a diet rich in animal fat and poor in omega-3s. Details of the study -- which suggests that diets typical of most industrialized countries promote the development of Alzheimer's -- are outlined in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

Grapes May Aid A Bunch Of Heart Risk Factors, Animal Study Finds Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT Could eating grapes help fight high blood pressure related to a salty diet? And could grapes calm other factors that are also related to heart diseases such as heart failure? A new study performed in animals suggests so.

Cancer Requires Support From Immune System To Develop Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT Tumors that grow around nerves in a rare genetic disease need cooperation from cells from the immune system in order to grow, according to scientists.

Mathematician Cracks Mystery Beatles Chord Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT It's the most famous chord in rock 'n' roll, an instantly recognizable twang rolling through the open strings on George Harrison's 12-string guitar: the opening chord to the Beatles song "A Hard Day's Night." Now, a researcher has used a mathematical calculation known as Fourier transform to solve the Beatles' riddle. The process allowed him to decompose the sound into its original frequencies using computer software and parse out which notes were on the record.

Negative Cues From Appearance Alone Matter For Real Elections Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT Brain-imaging studies reveal that voting decisions are more associated with the brain's response to negative aspects of a politician's appearance than to positive ones, says researchers. This appears to be particularly true when voters have little or no information about a politician aside from their physical appearance.

Clues To Planets' Birth Discovered In Meteorites Posted: 31 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT Meteorites that are among the oldest rocks ever found have provided new clues about the conditions that existed at the beginning of the solar system, solving a longstanding mystery and overturning some accepted ideas about the way planets form.

Drinking Milk To Ease Milk Allergy? Oral Immunotherapy Study Shows Promise -- But Do Not Try This At Home Posted: 31 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT Giving children with milk allergies increasingly higher doses of milk over time may ease, and even help them completely overcome, their allergic reactions, according to the results of a new study. However, the researchers emphasize that the findings require further research and advise parents and caregivers not to try oral immunotherapy without medical supervision.

Evidence Of Tsunamis On Indian Ocean Shores Long Before 2004 Posted: 31 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT A quarter-million people were killed when a tsunami inundated Indian Ocean coastlines the day after Christmas in 2004. Now scientists have found evidence that the event was not a first-time occurrence.

Pneumococcal Vaccine Could Prevent Numerous Deaths, Save Costs During A Flu Pandemic, Model Predicts Posted: 31 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT A new predictive model shows that vaccinating infants with 7 valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine -- the current recommendation--not only saves lives and money during a normal flu season by preventing related bacterial infections; it also would prevent more than 357,000 deaths during an influenza pandemic, while saving $7 billion in costs.

Predicting Evolution’s Next Best Move With Simulator Posted: 31 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT Biologists today are doing what Darwin thought impossible. They are studying the process of evolution not through fossils but directly, as it is happening. Now, by modeling the steps evolution takes to build, from scratch, an adaptive biochemical network, biophysicists have gone one step further. Instead of watching evolution in action, they show that they can predict its next best move.

Study In Transsexuals: Significant Genetic Link To Gender Identity Posted: 31 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT In the largest ever genetic study of male to female transsexuals, Australian researchers have found a significant genetic link between gender identity and a gene involved in testosterone action.

Ultrafast Lasers Show Snapshot Of Electrons In Action Posted: 31 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT In the quest to slow down and ultimately understand chemistry at the level of atoms and electrons, scientists have found a new way to peer into a molecule that allows them to see how its electrons rearrange as the molecule changes shape.

Key Mechanism Behind Cancer Spread Is Explained Posted: 31 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT Scientists have discovered the two key processes that allow cancer cells to change the way they move in order to spread through the body, according to a new study.

Astronauts To Vote From Space Posted: 31 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT In this day and age, people engage in their right to vote from all over the world. But this Nov. 4, few ballots will have traveled as far as those cast by two NASA astronauts.

Engineering Technique Can Identify Disease-causing Genes Posted: 31 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT Scientists believe that complex diseases such as schizophrenia, major depression and cancer are not caused by one, but a multitude of dysfunctional genes.

Local Retail Meat Safe From Antibiotic-resistant Organisms, Study Suggests Posted: 31 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT Rhode Island Hospital researchers report that findings from a new study of retail meat in the Providence, RI area indicate little to no presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The study, prompted by the identification of such organisms in retail meat in Canada, Europe and Asia, is among the first in this country to look at the possible spread of infection through retail meat.

U.S. Nicotine Addiction Reaches 15-year High Posted: 31 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT Nicotine dependence has reached a 15-year high, with nearly 75 percent of people currently seeking tobacco-dependence treatment categorized as highly nicotine dependent.

Mysterious Bat Disease Decimates Colonies: Newly Identified Fungus Implicated In White-nose Syndrome Posted: 31 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT White-nose syndrome in bats is a disease that is decimating bat populations in the northeast U.S. A previously undescribed, cold-loving fungus has been linked to white-nose syndrome, a condition associated with the deaths of over 100,000 hibernating bats in the northeastern United States.

New Way To Attack Some Forms Of Leukemia Discovered Posted: 31 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT What if a way could be found to reprogram cancerous cells back into normal cells? Researchers believes it may have found a way to do just that. Scientists discovered a way to disrupt the protein switch that is a critical component in the process to create white blood cells.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Locksmiths Posted: 31 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT Computer scientists have built a software program that can perform key duplication without having the key. Instead, the computer scientists only need a photograph of the key.

Anti-seizure Drug Could Be Fatal, New Research Shows Posted: 31 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT New research presented at CHEST 2008 shows that patients treated for their prolonged seizures with the sedative propofol may be at high risk for complications and even death.

Researchers Find New Way Of Measuring 'Reality' Of Virtual Worlds Posted: 31 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT A research team has developed a new way of measuring how "real" online virtual worlds are -- an important advance for the emerging technology that can be used to foster development of new training and collaboration applications by companies around the world.

Difficult To Read Instructions Decrease Motivation Posted: 31 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT A new study shows that if directions for a task are presented in a difficult-to-read style, the task will be viewed as being difficult, taking a long time to complete and lead to decreased motivation for completing the task.

One In 17 Men In Mediterranean Basin May Have A Phoenician As Direct Male-line Ancestor Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT The Phoenicians gave the world the alphabet and a love of the color purple, and a new study shows that they left some people their genes as well. The study finds that as many as one in 17 men in the Mediterranean basin may have a Phoenician as a direct male-line ancestor.

Antimalarial Drug Prevents Diabetes In Arthritis Patients, Study Suggests Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT New research sheds light on how an antimalarial drug may prevent the onset of diabetes in some high risk patients.

Marriage Dowry As Major Cause Of Poverty In Bangladesh Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT More than 35 million people in Bangladesh, around a quarter of its population, face acute poverty and hunger. Dowry payments of more than 200 times the daily wage and costly medical expenses are major causes of this chronic poverty says research from the University of Bath.

Gleevec Holds Potential As First Drug To Successfully Treat Neurofibromatosis, Scientists Report Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT The anti-cancer drug gleevec holds out promise to become the first effective treatment for neurofibromatosis, a genetic disease that has resisted treatments until now. The research team is conducting clinical tests of the drug following successful laboratory tests and a "compassionate use" of the drug.

EPA's Stormwater Program Needs Significant Overhaul Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT Radical changes to the US Environmental Protection Agency's stormwater program are necessary to reverse degradation of fresh water resources and ensure progress toward the Clean Water Act's goal of "fishable and swimmable" waters, says a new report. Increased water volume and pollutants from stormwater have degraded water quality and habitats in virtually every urban stream system.

Baby Talk: Roots Of Early Vocabulary In Infants' Learning From Speech Posted: 31 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT A new report describes an increasing emphasis among researchers in studying vocabulary development in infants. Recent findings have shown that infants are not only aware of the pieces that make up a word, but they are already aware of the entire word and by one year of age, children are able to recognize mispronunciations of words. In addition, there is a relationship between young children's performance in word recognition and their later language achievement.

Daylight Saving Time: Clock-shifts Affect Risk Of Heart Attack Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 PM CDT Adjusting the clocks to summer time on the last Sunday in March increases the risk of myocardial infarction in the following week, according to a new Swedish study. In return, putting the clocks back in the autumn reduces the risk, albeit to a lesser extent.

Cancer Drug Resistance: 'New' Estrogen Receptor Found To Be Key Player In Tamoxifen Resistance Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 PM CDT Researchers have discovered a novel way in which breast cancer cells become resistant to tamoxifen, the world's largest-selling breast cancer prevention and treatment drug. They say the findings could provide a way to identify tamoxifen users who are no longer benefiting from the drug, allowing doctors to try another therapy option sooner.

Amateur Sports Can Lead to Unexpected Health Problems Later in Life Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 PM CDT Taking up bowling or tennis is an excellent way to stay fit. But if you're not careful, you might find that these amateur sports can have unexpected long-term health risks.

Open-heart Surgery Should Remain Viable Treatment Option For People In Their 80s, According To Experts Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 PM CDT Patients 80 years and older who are in overall good health are perfectly able to withstand open-heart surgery, according to a new study.

Probing Antarctic Glaciers For Clues To Past And Future Sea Level Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 PM CDT Scientists believe the barely observed Aurora Subglacial Basin, which lies in East Antarctica, could represent the weak underbelly of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, the largest remaining body of ice on Earth, holding clues about how Earth's climate changed in the past and how future climate change will affect global sea level.

Office Workers Given Blue Light To Help Alertness Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 PM CDT Changing traditional white-light lighting to blue-enriched white light helped office workers stay more alert and less sleepy during the day, in a new study. The research also showed improvements in subjective measures of positive moods, work performance, fatigue in the evening, irritability, ability to concentrate and focus and eye strain. Furthermore the workers reported improved sleep at night.

Eating Red Meat Sets Up Target For Disease-causing Bacteria, Study Finds Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT Offering another reason why eating red meat could be bad for you, researchers have uncovered the first example of a bacterium that causes food poisoning in humans when it targets a non-human molecule absorbed into the body through red meats such as lamb, pork and beef.

Prostate Cancer Prevention: No Benefit For Use Of Selenium And Vitamin E Supplements, Study Shows Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT Initial, independent review of study data from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) shows that selenium and vitamin E supplements, taken either alone or together, did not prevent prostate cancer.

Do Dams Make A Difference? Similar Survival Rates For Pacific Salmon In Fraser And Columbia Rivers Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT Canadian and US researchers have made a surprising discovery that some endangered Pacific salmon stocks are surviving in rivers with hydroelectric dams as well as or better than in rivers without dams.

Well-known Drug (AAT) Could Overcome Obstacles To Islet Transplantation, Study Suggests Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT Researchers have demonstrated that treating diabetic animals with alpha-1-antitrypsin following an islet transplantation procedure eliminates the inflammation that causes islet transplants to fail.

Hazardous Levels Of Metal Ions Found In Many Commercial Table Wines, Study Suggests Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT Potentially hazardous levels of metal ions are present in many commercially available wines. An analysis of reported levels of metals in wines from 16 different countries found that only those from Argentina, Brazil and Italy did not pose a potential health risk owing to metals.

Night-time Driving Over Long Periods Increases Risk Of Accidents Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT Does driving at night affect the risk of accidents? Drowsiness resulting from a lack of sleep is a recognized risk factor which causes traffic accidents. But what happens if drivers combine extended driving and sleep deprivation?

Searching For Primordial Antimatter Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT Scientists are on the hunt for evidence of antimatter -- matter's arch nemesis -- left over from the very early Universe. New results using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Compton Gamma Ray Observatory suggest the search may have just become even more difficult.

Artificial Pancreas Could Revolutionize Treatment Of Type 1 Diabetes Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT Researchers across the globe are testing a computerized, subcutaneous system that could one day transform the way Type 1 diabetics manage their disease.

Significant Fossil Discovery In Utah Shows Land Plants Of 200 Million Years Ago Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT The importance of a new archeological site in St George, Utah, U.S. was recently highlighted. The site is significant because it is the only early Jurassic land flora known in the western United States.  It provides evidence that a variety of land plants were present in the area about 200 million years ago.

Aggressive Phototherapy Can Improve Neurodevelopmental Outcomes In Some Preemies Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT Researchers say the use of aggressive phototherapy reduces the odds that tiny premature infants will develop neurodevelopmental impairment such as cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness or physical or mental challenges.

Powered By Olive Stones? Turning Waste Stones Into Fuel Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT Olive stones can be turned into bioethanol, a renewable fuel that can be produced from plant matter and used as an alternative to petrol or diesel. This gives the olive processing industry an opportunity to make valuable use of 4 million tons of waste in olive stones it generates every year and sets a precedent for the recycling of waste products as fuels.

Our Cheatin' Brain: The Brain's Clever Way Of Showing Us The World As A Whole Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT Boundary extension is a mistake that we often make when recalling a view of a scene -- we will insist that the boundaries of an image stretched out farther than what we actually saw. Results of a new study indicate that boundary extension occurs when a scene is interrupted for as little as 42 milliseconds (quicker than an eye blink!) and even when volunteers know exactly what is being tested.

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Common Cold Symptoms Caused By Immune System -- Not The Cold Virus Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT Scientists confirm that it is how our immune system responds, not the rhinovirus itself, that causes cold symptoms. Of more than 100 different viruses that can cause the common cold, human rhinoviruses are the major cause.

Allergies May Protect Against Certain Types Of Cancer Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT A new article provides strong evidence that allergies are much more than just an annoying immune malfunction. They may protect against certain types of cancer.

World's Smallest Hand-held Instrument For Detecting Health And Safety Threats Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT Researchers in Indiana are describing development of the world's smallest complete mass spectrometer (MS), a miniature version of a standard lab device -- some of which would dominate a living room -- to identify tiny amounts of chemicals in the environment.

Cholesterol-lowering Drugs May Also Lower PSA, But Whether They Cut Cancer Risk Is Still Not Known Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT Popular cholesterol-busting drugs -- statins -- appear to lower men's PSA values along with their cholesterol levels, according to researchers. But whether the drugs prevent prostate cancer growth or just mask it is not known yet.

Predicting Boom And Bust Ecologies Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT While scholars may be a long way from predicting the ins and outs of the economy, biologists have uncovered fundamental rules that may govern population cycles in many natural systems.

Gender Affects Perceptions Of Infidelity Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 PM CDT A new study explored how men and women perceive online and offline sexual and emotional infidelity. When given the choice, men were more upset by sexual infidelity and women were more upset by emotional infidelity.

Methane Gas Levels Begin To Increase Again Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT The amount of methane in Earth's atmosphere shot up in 2007, bringing to an end a period of about a decade in which atmospheric levels of the potent greenhouse gas were essentially stable, according new research.

New Drug Target In Obesity: Fat Cells Make Lots Of Melanin Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT As millions of Americans gear up for the Thanksgiving holiday, a new report may provide some relief for those leery second helpings. Researchers describe a discovery that may allow some obese people avoid common obesity-related metabolic problems without losing weight: they make a common antioxidant, melanin, in excess. Even more promising is that some of the antioxidant drugs that can mimic the melanin effect are FDA-approved and available.

New Gene Responsible For Puberty Disorders Identified Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT A new gene responsible for some puberty disorders has been identified. Scientists found that the gene mutated in CHARGE syndrome – a multi-system disorder characterized by diverse problems from heart defects to hearing loss to cleft lip and palate and mental retardation – also accounts for about 6 percent of two puberty disorders.

Vaginal/Caesarean Combo Delivery Of Twins Safe, Study Suggests Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT Doctors need not go straight to Caesarean section when delivering twins, but can start with vaginal delivery of the first twin in many cases, researchers have found in a new study.

Methylmercury Warning Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT Recent studies hint that exposure to the toxic chemicals, such as methylmercury can cause harm at levels previously considered safe. A new analysis of the epidemiological evidence in the International Journal of Environment and Health, suggests that we should take a precautionary approach to this and similar compounds to protect unborn children from irreversible brain damage.

Facing Fears Early May Reduce Childhood Anxiety Posted: 30 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT Helping children face their fears may be more productive than focusing on other techniques to help them manage their anxieties, according to new research.

Programmable Genetic Clock Made Of Blinking Florescent Proteins Inside Bacteria Cells Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT Bioengineers have created the first stable, fast and programmable genetic clock that reliably keeps time by the blinking of fluorescent proteins inside E. coli cells. The clock's blink rate changes when the temperature, energy source or other environmental conditions change, a fact that could lead to new kinds of sensors that convey information about the environment through the blinking rate.

New Chemical Key Could Unlock Hundreds Of New Antibiotics Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT Chemistry researchers have found a novel signaling molecule that could be a key that will open up hundreds of new antibiotics unlocking them from the DNA of the Streptomyces family of bacteria.

Catching Earthquake Details With Ordinary Laptop Computers Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT Inside your laptop is a small accelerometer chip, there to protect the delicate moving parts of your hard disk from sudden jolts. It turns out that the same chip is a pretty good earthquake sensor, too -- especially if the signals from lots of them are compared, in order to filter out more mundane sources of laptop vibrations, such as typing.

Improved Rodent Trials Can Speed Cancer Drug Development, Expert Suggests Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT Better design of rodent trials could reduce the cost and time required for cancer drug development, according to an expert.

Pervasive Network Discovered Driving Protein Production And Placement In Cells Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT Researchers have uncovered what appears to be an extensive, but until now barely noticed, network of regulatory interactions that influence what proteins are made inside a cell, and when and where.

Abducted Children: Conventional Photos Alone Don't Aid The Search Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT People's ability to recognize abducted children is impaired when they view a photo of a smiling, clean child, but come into contact with the same child whose appearance is very different because he or she is upset, crying, disheveled or unkempt.

Real Robinson Crusoe: Evidence Of Alexander Selkirk’s Desert Island Campsite Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT An archaeological dig unearths evidence of the campsite of castaway Alexander Selkirk, the model for Robinson Crusoe.

Hurdles For Muscular Dystrophy Therapy Cleared Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT Boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy will usually lose the ability to walk by their teens and typically die before the age of 30. For years, scientists have studied the use of gene therapy as a possible way to correct the muscle deterioration, but hurdles such as the need to treat all muscles in the body, including both skeletal muscle and heart muscle, have challenged researchers looking for an effective therapy until now. New studies demonstrate an effective way to deliver gene therapy and scientist show that therapy can be beneficial for the heart.

Why Some Marine Algae Are Shaped Like Crumpled Paper Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT What is the connection between crumpled paper and marine algae? Saddle-like shapes similar to those found in an Elizabethan "ruff" collar, say physicists in a new article.

HIV-infected Patients Should Start HAART Sooner, Study Suggests Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT Under current treatment guidelines, highly active antiretroviral therapy should be considered for HIV-infected patients when their CD4+ T-cell counts fall below 350 cells per cubic millimeter (mm3). However, new epidemiological research suggests that patients with HIV may have less risk of dying if they begin HAART sooner.

New Supercomputer Can Do 50 Trillion Operations Per Second Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT In less time than the blink of an eye, the Translational Genomics Research Institute's new supercomputer at Arizona State University can do operations equal to every dollar in the recent Wall Street bailout. That would be 700 billion computations in less than 1/60th of a second.

Strengthen Restrictions On Off-label Promotion By Pharmaceutical Companies, Researchers Urge Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT Researchers are asking for tougher penalties and fines for pharmaceutical companies that market drugs for "off label" promotion, according to a new study. Researchers describe ways that the pharmaceutical industry uses marketing to encourage "the unmonitored, potentially dangerous use of drugs by patients for whom risks and benefits are unknown."

Climate Change Seeps Into The Sea Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT Good news has turned out to be bad. The ocean has helped slow global warming by absorbing much of the excess heat and heat-trapping carbon dioxide that has been going into the atmosphere since the start of the Industrial Revolution. All that extra carbon dioxide, however, has been a bitter pill for the ocean to swallow. It's changing the chemistry of seawater, making it more acidic and otherwise inhospitable, threatening many important marine organisms.

New Hormone Data Can Predict Menopause Within A Year Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT For many women, including the growing number who choose later-in-life pregnancy, predicting their biological clock's relation to the timing of their menopause and infertility is critically important.

Progress Toward New Storage Media: Reliable Nanopatterns On Chips Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT Scientists have produced reliable nanopatterns of a spin-transition compound on silicon oxide chips. This is a decisive step toward a new generation of molecular storage media.

MRSA Screening Downplayed As Effective Infection Control Intervention Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT Epidemiologists are downplaying the value of mandatory universal nasal screening of patients for MRSA, arguing that proven, hospital-wide infection control practices can prevent more of the potentially fatal infections.

Computer Scientists Seek New Framework For Computation Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT There have been several revolutions during the 60 year history of electronic computation, such as high level programming languages and client/server separation, but one key challenge has yet to be fully resolved. This is to break down large complex processes into small more manageable components that can then be reused in different applications.

Racial And Ethnic Disparities Detected In Patient Experiences Posted: 30 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT A study surveying patients in more than 1,500 physician practices has found racial and ethnic disparities in patient experiences, with minority patients having worse experiences than white patients. The findings suggest that while all doctors should be attentive to differences in patient experiences, Hispanic, Native American, and black patients are often visiting physician practices that are less patient-centered.

Statins Associated With Lower Risk Of Death From Pneumonia Posted: 29 Oct 2008 10:00 PM CDT Individuals who take cholesterol-lowering statins before being hospitalized with pneumonia appear less likely to die within 90 days afterward, according to a new report.

Toward Non-invasive Disease Diagnosis With Wellness Cards Posted: 29 Oct 2008 10:00 PM CDT Scientists are reporting development of a device that could serve as the electronic "reader" for a coming generation of "wellness cards," specimen holders used to diagnose disease from a drop of a patient's saliva or blood.

Exercise-induced Fatigue In Muscular Dystrophies Explained Posted: 29 Oct 2008 10:00 PM CDT A new study suggests that the prolonged fatigue after mild exercise that occurs in people with many forms of muscular dystrophy is distinct from the inherent muscle weakness caused by the disease. The research identifies a faulty signaling pathway that appears to cause exercise-induced fatigue in mouse models of muscular dystrophy and shows that Viagra can overcome the signaling defect and relieve the fatigue.

Reduce Computer Power Usage? Silicon Optical Fiber Made Practical Posted: 29 Oct 2008 10:00 PM CDT Scientists have, for the firsts time, been able to make a practical optical fiber with a silicon core.

New Understanding Of How We Remember Traumatic Events Posted: 29 Oct 2008 10:00 PM CDT Neuroscientists have discovered a new way to explain how emotional events can sometimes lead to disturbing long term memories.

NASA's Phoenix Mission Faces Survival Challenges Posted: 29 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT In a race against time and the elements, engineers with NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission hope to extend the lander's survival by gradually shutting down some of its instruments and heaters, starting this week.

In Mice, Anxiety Is Linked To Immune System Posted: 29 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT Scientists reveal that immune cells in the brain influence how mice respond to stressful situations.

'Cheshire Cat' Escape Strategy In Response To Marine Viruses Posted: 29 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT A novel defense strategy displayed in response to marine viruses by some of the most abundant unicellular organisms found in our oceans has recently been demonstrated. The results enable a clearer understanding of the origin of, and reasons for, sexual reproduction in eukaryotes.

Glutamate: Too Much Of A Good Thing In Schizophrenia? Posted: 29 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT Is schizophrenia a disorder of glutamate hyperactivity or hypoactivity? While the predominant hypothesis for many years was that schizophrenia was a glutamate deficit disorder, there is growing evidence of glutamate hyperactivity as well.

Virtual Screening Leads To Real Progress In Drug Design Posted: 29 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT Around 150 thousand people per year get the parasitic disease African sleeping sickness, but the only medicines to treat it are either difficult to administer, expensive, or toxic. Now a team of scientists has put computers to work to find a solution.

A Face By Any Other Name: Seeing Racial Bias Posted: 29 Oct 2008 07:00 PM CDT If Barack Obama had taken his mother's surname and kept his childhood nickname, American voters might literally see "Barry Dunham" as a quite different presidential candidate, a new study suggests. A name significantly changes our perception of someone's face and race, according to research in the journal Perception.

Amphibians' Ability To Predict Changes In Biodiversity Confirmed By New Study Posted: 29 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT Biologists have long suspected that amphibians, whose moist permeable skins make them susceptible to slight changes in the environment, might be good bellwethers for impending alterations in biodiversity during rapid climate change.

Women's Voices Become More High-pitched During Ovulation Posted: 29 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT A new study adds to mounting evidence that human ovulation -- a state once thought to be undetectable without medical equipment -- actually prompts a range of subtle but observable behaviors aimed at attracting the best possible mate.

Monitoring Broken Bones Without Using Electronics: Wireless Bone Monitor Posted: 29 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT The novel sensor is intended one day to help doctors monitor broken bones as they grow back together. Depending on the values of the forces measured by the sensor, they can decide whether the healing process is progressing normally or whether there is a danger that the fracture or implants might be overloaded. Until now doctors have used expensive and complicated electronic devices which sent the measured data to the outside world as radio signals.

Vaccinating Family Members Offers Important Flu Protection To Newborns Posted: 29 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT Vaccinating new mothers and other family members against influenza before their newborns leave the hospital creates a "cocooning effect" that may shelter unprotected children from the flu, a virus that can be life-threatening to infants, according to researchers at Duke Children's Hospital.

How Toxic Environmental Chemical DBT Affects The Immune System Posted: 29 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT Scientists have issued a report on the mechanism of toxicity of a chemical compound called Dibutyltin (DBT). DBT is part of a class of high toxic and widely distributed chemical compounds called organotins, DBT is most commonly used as an anti-fouling agent in paint, for example in the fishing and shipbuilding industries. It is also used in the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic tubes and bottles.

Methamphetamine Abuse Linked To Underage Sex, Smoking And Drinking Posted: 29 Oct 2008 04:00 PM CDT Children and adolescents who abuse alcohol or are sexually active are more likely to take methamphetamines, also known as 'meth' or 'speed.' New research reveals the risk factors associated with MA use, in both low-risk children (those who don't take drugs) and high-risk children (those who have taken other drugs or who have ever attended juvenile detention centers).

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