ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Friday, July 18, 2008
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Alzheimer's Drug Reverses Cognitive Decline Over 12 Month Period In Early Human Testing (July 18, 2008) -- A drug once approved as an antihistamine in Russia improved thinking processes and ability to function in patients with Alzheimer's disease in a new study. Dimebon is the first drug tested for Alzheimer's disease that demonstrated continued improvement in patients over a 12 month period. ... > full story
Booster Vaccination May Help With Possible Future Avian Influenza Pandemic (July 18, 2008) -- New evidence suggests that a booster vaccination against H5N1 avian influenza given years after initial vaccination with a different strain may prove useful in controlling a potential future pandemic. ... > full story
Distribution Of A Species Of Butterfly Predicted Using Geometric Variables (July 18, 2008) -- Biologists have recently explored the distribution of the butterfly Iolana iolas, one of the endangered species in the Madrid region whose population dynamics are determined by its host plant. The study proposes a new path for designing conservation plans for the species using geometric variables. ... > full story
Improving Understanding Of Cell Behavior In Breast Cancer (July 18, 2008) -- The invasion and spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body, known as metastasis, is a principal cause of death in patients diagnosed with breast cancer. ... > full story
Modeling Erosion Damage From Ephemeral Gullies (July 18, 2008) -- Ephemeral gullies are common features on agricultural landscapes. Concentrated water flows can erode cropland soils and carve out these small drainage ditches, which then transport field runoff laden with eroded sediments into nearby streams. In fact, these gullies may lead to soil losses that exceed soil losses from sheet or rill erosion. ... > full story
Type 2 Diabetes: Culturally-tailored Education Can Improve Blood Sugar Control (July 18, 2008) -- Using community-based health advocates, delivering information within same-gender groups or adapting dietary and lifestyle advice to fit a particular community's likely diet can help people with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar levels, certainly for up to six months, following health education. This conclusion was reached by a team of Cochrane researchers after they considered the data in 11 trials that involved 1,603 people. ... > full story
Should We Move Species To Save Them From Climate Change? (July 18, 2008) -- Many species must move to new areas to survive climate change. Often, this seems impossible. Species stranded on mountain tops in southern Europe that are becoming too hot for them, for instance, are unlikely to be able to reach northern Europe unaided. So should humans step in to help? The journal Science reports that conservation scientists are calling for new conservation tactics, such as assisted migration, in the face of the growing threat of climate change. ... > full story
Breast Self-exams Do Not Appear To Reduce Breast Cancer Deaths (July 18, 2008) -- A review of recent studies says there is no evidence that self-exams actually reduce breast cancer deaths. Instead, the practice may be doing more harm than good, since it led to almost twice as many biopsies that turned up no cancer in women who performed the self-exams, compared to women who did not do the exams. ... > full story
Farming At Young Age May Lead To Bone Disease In Adulthood (July 18, 2008) -- Although farm chores are likely to keep young boys in shape and out of trouble, environmental health experts caution that it could be harmful to overall bone health if done too often at a young age. ... > full story
Brain Cancer Study: Magnitude Of Post-vaccine Immune Response Linked To Clinical Outcomes (July 18, 2008) -- Researchers conducting a clinical trial of a dendritic cell vaccine designed to fight malignant brain tumors called glioblastoma multiforme have found a correlation between the "intensity" of a patient's immune response and clinical outcome, according to an article in the journal Cancer Research. ... > full story
Defining Complications From Organophosphate Poisoning From Pesticides (July 18, 2008) -- Every year, many thousands of people die as a result of poisoning by pesticides; one of the commonest types of pesticides involved are the organophosphates. Amongst individuals with organophosphate poisoning, changes in nerve transmission are seen before the development of intermediate syndrome, a complication involving muscle weakness that can lead to respiratory failure and poor outcome. ... > full story
Chronic Fatigue Patients Benefit From Cognitive Behavior Therapy (July 18, 2008) -- Cognitive behavior therapy is effective in treating the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, according to a recent systematic review carried out by Cochrane researchers. ... > full story
Could Arthritis Wonder Drugs Provide Clues For Other Diseases? (July 17, 2008) -- Drugs that have helped treat millions of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers may hold the key to many more medical conditions, including atherosclerosis -- a leading cause of heart disease -- says the researcher who jointly invented and developed them. ... > full story
Organ Transplantation Linked To Cancer Risk: Mechanism Exposed (July 17, 2008) -- Researchers have determined a novel mechanism through which organ transplantation often leads to cancer, and their findings suggest that targeted therapies may reduce or prevent that risk. ... > full story
Record-setting Dead Zones Predicted For Gulf Of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay (July 17, 2008) -- Record-setting "dead zones" in the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay appear likely this summer, according to new forecasts. Scientists make the annual forecasts using models driven by nutrient load estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey. ... > full story
TG2 Identified As Potential Therapeutic Target In Chemo-resistant Ovarian Cancer (July 17, 2008) -- Researchers connect overexpression of tissue type transglutaminase with poor prognosis in ovarian cancer, identify the relevant pathway, and shut TG2 down with an siRNA liposomal nanoparticle. They previously pinpointed TG2's role in resistant and metastatic melanoma and breast and pancreatic cancers. This crucial protein fuels different cancers through different pathways. ... > full story
Keeping Invasive Species Out Of The Great Lakes (July 17, 2008) -- The United States should follow Canada's lead and adopt standards identical to those proposed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to prevent invasive species from entering the Great Lakes, says a new report from the United States' National Research Council. Both nations should ensure that only vessels adhering to these standards gain access to the lakes, and binational surveillance measures should be in place to monitor the presence of aquatic invasive species. ... > full story
New Study Replicates Association Between Genetic Variation And Antidepressant Treatment Response (July 17, 2008) -- Pharmacogenetics, the study of genetic variation that influences an individual's response to drugs, is an important and growing focus in all of medical research, including psychiatry. ... > full story
Three Red Spots Mix It Up On Jupiter (July 17, 2008) -- A new sequence of Hubble Space Telescope images offers an unprecedented view of a planetary game of Pac-Man among three red spots clustered together in Jupiter's atmosphere. The images were taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, developed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. ... > full story
Low-fat Diets May Not Be Best For Weight Loss, Study Suggests (July 17, 2008) -- Low-carbohydrate and Mediterranean diets may be just as safe and effective in achieving weight loss as the standard, medically prescribed low-fat diet, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Although participants actually decreased caloric intake a similar amount. They lost only 6.5 lbs. (2.9 kg) compared to 10 lbs. (4.4 kg) on the Mediterranean diet, and 10.3 lbs. (4.7 kg) on the low-carbohydrate diet. ... > full story
Great Ape Trust To Provide Home For Entertainment Orangutans (July 17, 2008) -- A group of orangutans who appeared in Hollywood films, television commercials and magazine advertisements is being relocated to Great Ape Trust of Iowa -- a significant move that begins to close the curtain in the United States on the decades-long use of orangutans in the entertainment industry. ... > full story
New Therapies Revealed For Diabetes-induced Microvascular Disease (July 17, 2008) -- New findings could lead to future treatments to prevent lower limb amputations in diabetes. Diabetes can have serious complications like gangrene and skin ulcers due to a restriction of blood supply to and healing capacity of the affected areas and this causes the dysfunction of cells lining the blood vessels. Legs and feet are often severely affected, and, after blood supply is obstructed or injury, the tissue seems to be unable to heal itself by growing new blood vessels making the situation much worse. ... > full story
Fuel From Food Waste: Bacteria Provide Power (July 17, 2008) -- Researchers have combined the efforts of two kinds of bacteria to produce hydrogen in a bioreactor, with the product from one providing food for the other. This technology has an added bonus: leftover enzymes can be used to scavenge precious metals from spent automotive catalysts to help make fuel cells that convert hydrogen into energy. ... > full story
Using Genetics To Improve Traditional Psychiatric Diagnoses (July 17, 2008) -- Psychiatry has begun the laborious effort of preparing the DSM-V, the new iteration of its diagnostic manual. In so doing, it once again wrestles with the task set by Carl Linnaeus, to "cleave nature at its joints." However, these "joints," the boundaries between psychiatric disorders, such as that between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are far from clear. We now know that symptoms of bipolar disorder may be seen in patients with schizophrenia and the reverse is true, as well. ... > full story
Single Boulder May Prove That Antarctica And North America Were Once Connected (July 17, 2008) -- A lone granite boulder found against all odds high atop a glacier in Antarctica may provide additional key evidence to support a theory that parts of the southernmost continent once were connected to North America hundreds of millions of years ago. ... > full story
Gene That Regulates And Blocks Ovulation Discovered (July 17, 2008) -- Researchers have unlocked the mystery of a gene with the potential to both regulate and block ovulation. The findings could lead to the development of pharmaceuticals that activate the Lrh1 gene, which may prove critical in giving infertile couples hope in producing children. ... > full story
Icelandic Volcanoes Help Researchers Understand Potential Effects Of Eruptions (July 17, 2008) -- For the first time, researchers have taken a detailed look at what lies beneath all of Iceland's volcanoes -- and found a world far more complex than they ever imagined. They mapped an elaborate maze of magma chambers -- work that could one day help scientists better understand how earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in Iceland and elsewhere in the world. ... > full story
First Worldwide Analysis Of Cancer Survival Finds Wide Variation Between Countries (July 17, 2008) -- Cancer survival varies widely between countries according to a new worldwide study with more than 100 investigators. Black men and women have substantially lower survival than white men and women in the United States, but US has the highest survival for prostate cancer of all 31 countries included. ... > full story
Phoenix Rasps Frozen Layer, Collects Sample (July 17, 2008) -- A powered rasp on the back of the robotic arm scoop of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander successfully drilled into the frozen soil and loosened material that was collected in the lander's scoop. ... > full story
Old Eyes Can Learn New Tricks; Findings Offer Hope For Adults With 'Lazy Eye' (July 17, 2008) -- New evidence that the brain regions responsible for vision are capable of adapting in adults offers new hope for those with an untreated condition commonly known as lazy eye. Also called amblyopia, the condition is the most prevalent cause of visual impairment in a single eye, affecting about six million people in the United States alone. ... > full story
New Kind Of MRI Enables Study Of Magnets For Computer Memory, Plaques In Blood Vessels (July 17, 2008) -- What is there to see inside a magnet that's smaller than the head of a pin? Quite a lot, say physicists who've invented a new kind of MRI technique to do just that. The technique may eventually enable the development of extremely small computers, and even give doctors a new tool for studying the plaques in blood vessels that play a role in diseases such as heart disease. ... > full story
Oxygen Therapy Might Ease Pain Of Migraine, Cluster Headaches (July 17, 2008) -- Two types of oxygen therapy could some help for adults who suffer from disabling migraine and cluster headaches. Reviewers concluded that hyperbaric treatment might give some relief for migraine headache and that oxygen therapy at normal room pressure might provide similar relief for cluster headache. ... > full story
Mount St. Helens Officially Slumbers -- Alert Level Goes Back To Normal (July 17, 2008) -- Scientists say the nearly three and a half years of eruption at Mount St. Helens is over for now and have lowered the volcano alert level from Advisory to Normal and the aviation color code from Yellow to Green. ... > full story
Turning On Hormone Tap Could Aid Osteoporosis Fight (July 17, 2008) -- A potential new drug that "opens the taps" for the release of useful hormones could stimulate new bone growth -- and may eventually bring relief to osteoporosis sufferers. ... > full story
Outlook For Air Quality In Beijing For Olympics Is Borderline (July 17, 2008) -- The outlook for air quality in Beijing during the Olympics is borderline, and there's little that the Chinese government can do to improve it. That's the conclusion drawn by atmospheric chemists who analyzed pollution data collected regularly for the last five years by Chinese scientists. Locally generated pollutants in Beijing consist primarily of organic matter from transportation, factories and cooking, while regional sources of pollution include ammonium sulfates and ammonium nitrates from coal-burning power plants, industry and transportation sources, which are easily transported long distances in the atmosphere. ... > full story
After Emergency Room Visit, Many Patients In A Fog (July 17, 2008) -- Every year, more than 115 million patients enter emergency rooms at hospitals around the nation. And more than three-quarters of them leave with an impression of what happened -- or what should happen next -- that doesn't match what their emergency care team would want. ... > full story
Frogs With Disease-resistance Genes May Escape Extinction (July 17, 2008) -- As frog populations die off around the world, researchers have identified certain genes that can help the amphibians develop resistance to harmful bacteria and disease. The discovery may provide new strategies to protect frog populations in the wild. New work examines how genes encoding the major histocompatibility complex affect the ability of frogs to resist infection by a bacterium that is associated with frog population declines. ... > full story
Genetic Variation Increases HIV Risk In Africans (July 17, 2008) -- A genetic variation which evolved to protect people of African descent against malaria has now been shown to increase their susceptibility to HIV infection by up to 40 percent, according to new research. Conversely, the same variation also appears to prolong survival of those infected with HIV by approximately two years. ... > full story
Giant Clams 'Secure For Another Generation' After Philippine Re-seeding (July 17, 2008) -- Re-seeding programs on over 50 reefs are securing the survival of the giant clam for at least another generation. The clams, the world's largest bivalve mollusks and the star of lurid but mostly imaginary literary and cinematic depictions of trapped divers, can live for over a century. They have been known to exceed 1.4 meters in length and weigh in at over 260 kilograms. ... > full story
Allergy To Road Traffic: Exposure To Traffic-related Air Pollution Linked To Onset Of Allergic Diseases In Children (July 17, 2008) -- Allergic diseases appear more often in children who grow up near busy roads according to a new study involving several thousand children. It was shown that an escalation of asthmatic bronchitis and allergic sensitization to pollen and other common allergens occurred with increasing exposure to fine dust. Increased exposure to nitric oxide was linked to increases in eczema. ... > full story
Could Climate Change Impact Costa Rica? New Study Says Yes (July 17, 2008) -- Climate change could have a major impact on the environment of Costa Rica, upsetting delicate mountain cloud forests, and causing a decrease in plant and animal species in a region famous for its biodiversity. Regional climate models predict that the area will become warmer and drier as climate change accelerates. ... > full story
Can You Be Born A Couch Potato? Genetic Influence Found In Active And Sedentary Behavior Of Mice (July 17, 2008) -- The key to good health is to be physically active. The key to being active is... to be born that way? In two genetic analyses performed on mouse hybrids descended from strains known for their high and low levels of physical activity, researchers have located six single and several interacting sets of genes that have a large effect on the animals' predisposition to engage in physical activity. The research points to the profound influence of genes governing dopamine regulation in the brain and suggests that active or inactive behavior may be inherited in mammals. ... > full story
New Way To Weigh Giant Black Holes (July 17, 2008) -- How do you weigh the biggest black holes in the universe? One answer now comes from a completely new and independent technique that astronomers have developed using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. By measuring a peak in the temperature of hot gas in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4649, scientists have determined the mass of the galaxy's supermassive black hole. The method, applied for the first time, gives results that are consistent with a traditional technique. ... > full story
Further Evidence For Genetic Contribution To Autism (July 17, 2008) -- Some parents of children with autism evaluate facial expressions differently than the rest of us -- and in a way that is strikingly similar to autistic patients themselves, according to new research by neuroscientist. ... > full story
Detecting Flu Viruses In Remote Areas Of The World (July 17, 2008) -- Researchers are reporting an advance in the quest for a fast, sensitive test to detect flu viruses -- one that requires no refrigeration and can be used in remote areas of the world where new flu viruses often emerge. Their new method is the first to use sugar molecules rather than antibodies. ... > full story
Young Adults With Prehypertension Are More Likely To Have Atherosclerosis Later In Life (July 17, 2008) -- Prehypertension during young adulthood is common and is associated with coronary atherosclerosis, according to a new study. The findings suggest that young adults should try to keep their blood pressure below 120/80 mmHg. ... > full story
First Humans To Settle Americas Came From Europe, Not From Asia Over Bering Strait Land-ice Bridge, New Research Suggests (July 17, 2008) -- New research by a geography professor and his students on the creation of Kankakee Sand Islands of Northwest Indiana is lending support to evidence that the first humans to settle the Americas came from Europe, a discovery that overturns decades of classroom lessons that nomadic tribes from Asia crossed a Bering Strait land-ice bridge. ... > full story
Categories Help Us Make Happier Choices (July 17, 2008) -- Most of us have stood in a supermarket aisle, overwhelmed with the array of choices. Making those choices is easier if the options are categorized, according to a new research. ... > full story
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