ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite reports indicating job dissatisfaction among some physicians, at least one group of doctors seems to be starting their careers on the right note - pediatricians. The majority of new general pediatricians say the most important factor in their top choice for their first job was lifestyle, spouses or family - and more than two- thirds believe their current jobs are consistent with their career goals, a new University of Michigan study says. The findings, which appear today in Pediatrics, come just as medical students around the country learned ...

Tumors that produce more stress granules are more likely to metastasize, according to a study published in The Journal of Cell Biology. The results suggest that drugs to inhibit the formation of these structures might rein in cancer metastasis. When cells are under duress, they curtail almost all protein synthesis and stash their mRNAs in stress granules. These structures help healthy cells, but they also allow tumor cells to survive harsh conditions. A protein named YB-1, which is overexpressed in many types of tumors, accumulates in stress granules, but researchers ...

WASHINGTON - When it comes to adolescents with math and science homework, more isn't necessarily better -- an hour a day is optimal -- but doing it alone and regularly produces the biggest knowledge gain, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. Researchers from the University of Oviedo in Spain looked at the performance of 7,725 public, state-subsidized and private school students in the principality of Asturias in northern Spain. The students had a mean age of 13.78. Girls made up 47.2 percent of the sample. The article was published ...

Research by biologists at the University of York has identified new mechanisms potentially driving progression of an aggressive form of dementia. The research, which was funded by Alzheimer's Society and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), is published today in The Journal of Cell Biology. Working with scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and University of Puerto Rico, the researchers studied how synapses - the connections between neurons - are affected by changes in the protein CHMP2B that are linked to Frontotemporal ...

LOS ANGELES (March 23, 2015) - Men who exercise more have better erectile and sexual function, regardless of race, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. While past studies have highlighted the relationship between better erectile function and exercise, African-American men have been underrepresented in this literature. "This study is the first to link the benefits of exercise in relation to improved erectile and sexual function in a racially diverse group of patients," said Adriana Vidal, PhD, senior author of the study and investigator ...

DENVER, March 23, 2015 -- Saccharin, the artificial sweetener that is the main ingredient in Sweet 'N Low®, Sweet Twin® and Necta®, could do far more than just keep our waistlines trim. According to new research, this popular sugar substitute could potentially lead to the development of drugs capable of combating aggressive, difficult-to-treat cancers with fewer side effects. The finding will be presented today at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. The meeting features nearly ...

DENVER, March 23, 2015 -- Squid are the ultimate camouflage artists, blending almost flawlessly with their backgrounds so that unsuspecting prey can't detect them. Using a protein that's key to this process, scientists have designed "invisibility stickers" that could one day help soldiers disguise themselves, even when sought by enemies with tough-to-fool infrared cameras. The researchers will present their work today at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS, the world's largest scientific society, is holding the meeting ...

DENVER, March 23, 2015 -- More than a year into Colorado's experiment legalizing marijuana, labs testing the plants are able for the first time to take stock of the drug's potency and contaminants -- and openly paint a picture of what's in today's weed. At the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), one such lab will present trends -- and some surprises -- that its preliminary testing has revealed about the marijuana now on the market. ACS, the world's largest scientific society, is holding the meeting here through Thursday. It features ...

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen are the first in the world to develop a secure way of measuring the important protein apo-M. This could prove relevant for research into diseases such as diabetes, arteriosclerosis and sclerosis. For the first time, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have managed to develop a secure way of measuring the protein apo-M in our blood. The protein is interesting because it may prove important to research into diseases such as multiple sclerosis, arteriosclerosis and diabetes. 'We know that apo-M is of importance to ...

States that have expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are capturing an increased number of people with previously undiagnosed diabetes, allowing them to begin treatment earlier, potentially reducing complications and other negative outcomes, according to a study being published online today and in the May issue of Diabetes Care. The release of the study coincides with the 5th anniversary of the ACA, which expanded Medicaid eligibility to reach nearly all non-elderly adults with incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level ...

Coral Gables, Fla. (March 23, 2015) - A new study shows that providing women with skills to manage stress early in their breast cancer treatment can improve their mood and quality of life many years later. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest that women given the opportunity to learn stress management techniques during treatment may benefit well into survivorship. At the turn of the century, 240 women with a recent breast cancer diagnosis participated in a randomized trial that tested the effects ...

Scientists have found that genetic changes in bowel tumours are linked to the way the body's immune system responds to the cancer, according to research published today (Monday) in the journal Oncoimmunology*. For the first time, Cancer Research UK researchers at the University of Birmingham have found that certain genetic flaws in bowel cancer are more likely to trigger an immune response at the site of tumours, meaning that treatments to boost this immune response further could potentially be helpful for these patients. Finding out what's happening in a cancer patient's ...

Climate change could accelerate the emergence of vector-borne diseases such as chikungunya, dengue fever, and West Nile virus in the UK, warn leading public health experts Dr Jolyon Medlock and Professor Steve Leach from the Emergency Response Department at Public Health England, writing in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. Findings from the Review indicate that vector-borne diseases, which are transmitted by insects such as mosquitoes and ticks, are on the rise and have spread into new territories across Europe over the past decade (eg, malaria in Greece, West ...

A new study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) has found that for young, healthy women taking spironolactone to treat hormonal acne, frequent office visits and blood draws are an unnecessary health care expense. For the approximately 1,000 patients studied, blood tests to monitor potassium levels did not change the course of treatment, but the tests cumulatively totaled up to $80,000. The research team suggests that routine potassium monitoring should no longer be recommended for this patient population in order to improve the patient care experience, ...

DENVER, March 22, 2015 -- Taking vitamin D supplements could slow or even reverse the progression of less aggressive, or low-grade, prostate tumors without the need for surgery or radiation, a scientist will report today. His team will describe the approach in one of nearly 11,000 presentations at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. The meeting is being held here through Thursday. If a tumor is present in a prostate biopsy, a pathologist grades its aggressiveness on a scale known as ...

DENVER, March 22, 2015 -- Scientists will report in a presentation today that they have turned to the opossum to develop a promising new and inexpensive antidote for poisonous snake bites. They predict it could save thousands of lives worldwide without the side effects of current treatments. The presentation will take place here at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. The meeting features nearly 11,000 reports on new advances in science and other topics. It is being held through Thursday. Worldwide, ...

DENVER, March 22, 2015 -- Construction crews may someday use a plant molecule called lignin in their asphalt and sealant mixtures to help roads and roofs hold up better under various weather conditions. It also could make them more environmentally friendly, according to a researcher today at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The meeting, attended by thousands of scientists, features nearly 11,000 reports on new advances in science and other topics. It is being held here through Thursday. Currently, a by-product of crude ...

DENVER, March 22, 2015 -- Chlorine, a disinfectant commonly used in most wastewater treatment plants, may be failing to completely eliminate pharmaceuticals from wastes. As a result, trace levels of these substances get discharged from the plants to the nation's waterways. And now, scientists are reporting preliminary studies that show chlorine treatment may encourage the formation of new, unknown antibiotics that could also enter the environment, potentially contributing to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. The research, which will be presented today at ...

DENVER, March 22, 2015 -- Microbes may just be the next diet craze. Researchers have programmed bacteria to generate a molecule that, through normal metabolism, becomes a hunger-suppressing lipid. Mice that drank water laced with the programmed bacteria ate less, had lower body fat and staved off diabetes -- even when fed a high-fat diet -- offering a potential weight-loss strategy for humans. The team will describe their approach in one of nearly 11,000 presentations at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest ...

DENVER, March 22, 2015 -- A pair of air pollutants linked to climate change could also be a major contributor to the unparalleled rise in the number of people sneezing, sniffling and wheezing during allergy season. The gases, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone, appear to provoke chemical changes in certain airborne allergens that could increase their potency. That, in combination with changes in global climate, could help explain why airborne allergies are becoming more common. The findings will be presented today at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the ...

DENVER, March 22, 2015 -- One person's trash literally could become another's high-tech treasure, according to researchers who have developed a way to turn discarded packing peanuts into components for rechargeable batteries that could outperform the ones we use currently. They will report on the process for the first time today. The talk will be one of nearly 11,000 presentations here at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, taking place here through Thursday. A brand-new video on the research ...

A new paper by Zhi Da, Viola D. Hank Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Notre Dame, find that residential electricity usage can track household production in real time and helps to price assets. "The importance of household production in economics has been recognized by Nobel Laureate Gary Becker back in 1960s but measuring what household produces at home has been an empirical challenge," Da said." For example, it has been a puzzle why certain industries such as consumer product, food, and clothing earn higher average returns than others such as steel ...

A new study from Princeton University sheds light on the handing over of genetic control from mother to offspring early in development. Learning how organisms manage this transition could help researchers understand larger questions about how embryos regulate cell division and differentiation into new types of cells. The study, published in the March 12 issue of the journal Cell, provides new insight into the mechanism for this genetic hand-off, which happens within hours of fertilization, when the newly fertilized egg is called a zygote. "At the beginning, everything ...

Irvine, Calif., March 20, 2015 - A controversial decision in 2011 to blow up Mississippi River levees reduced the risk of flooding in a city upstream, lowering the height of the rain-swollen river just before it reached its peak, according to a newly published computer modeling analysis led by UC Irvine scientists. The work focused on a Missouri agricultural area called the New Madrid Floodway that was inundated when the levees were detonated. The researchers found that the region would have flooded anyway if the river had been allowed to overtop the levee banks. And ...

Banning sodas from school vending machines, building walking paths and playgrounds, adding supermarkets to food deserts and requiring nutritional labels on restaurant menus: Such changes to the environments where people live and work are among the growing number of solutions that have been proposed and attempted in efforts to stem the rising obesity epidemic with viable, population-based solutions. But which of these changes actually make an impact? To answer that question, many public health researchers take advantage of "natural experiments"--looking at people's calorie ...