In the first study to closely examine the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake among U.S. children under the age of 5, Sarah Keim, PhD, principal investigator in the Center for Biobehavioral Health at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, has found what might be a troubling deficit in the diet of many youngsters. The study, published online today by Maternal and Child Nutrition, used data on nearly 2500 children age 12 to 60 months from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. PUFAs are essential to human health. A proper ratio ...

This news release is available in German. While ageing remains an inevitable fact of life, Max Planck researchers have discovered a microbe that stays forever young by rejuvenating every time it reproduces. The findings, published in Current Biology, provide fundamental insights into the mechanisms of aging. In general, even symmetrically dividing microbes do not split into two exactly identical halves. Detailed investigations revealed that there are mechanisms in place that ensure that one half receives older, often defective, cell material, whereas the other ...

Consumers who plan to buy eco-friendly bamboo apparel are attracted if the price is right, but their next consideration is the novelty of the product, according to a new study by Baylor University researchers. Bamboo has been championed by many as friendly to the environment, although the Federal Trade Commission issued a 2009 consumer alert noting that some pollutants are released in production from bamboo stalks. When it comes to product consumption in general, consumers are influenced by emotion, price, functionality, social image and curiosity, said lead researcher ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have published new findings in the hunt for a better treatment for macular degeneration. In studies using mice, a class of drugs known as MDM2 inhibitors proved highly effective at regressing the abnormal blood vessels responsible for the vision loss associated with the disease. "We believe we may have found an optimized treatment for macular degeneration," said senior study author Sai Chavala, MD, director of the Laboratory for Retinal Rehabilitation and assistant professor of Ophthalmology ...

In 2005 the Hubble Space Telescope spotted unusually small galaxies densely packed with red stars in the distant, young universe. They were nicknamed "red nuggets," not only because they are small and red but also their existence challenged current theories of galaxy formation, making them precious in astronomers' eyes. Since no "red nuggets" were seen nearby, astronomers wondered why they had disappeared over time. New research shows that they didn't disappear completely. In fact, they were simply hidden within the data of previous surveys. Astronomers now realize ...

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6042 Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society Sewage treatment removes widely used home and garden insecticides from wastewater INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 12, 2013 — Even though sewage treatment plants are not designed to remove tiny amounts of pesticides, they do an excellent job of dealing with the most widely used family of home and garden insecticides, scientists reported ...

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6042 Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society Late-breaking press conference schedule This release includes special "late-breaking" press conferences. For the rest of the press conference schedule on EurekAlert!, please click here. 246th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition Sept. 8-12, 2013 Attend in Person in Indianapolis or Access Live Audio & ...

Contact: Janne S. Tolstrup, Ph.D. jst@si-folkesundhed.dk 45-3532-6438 University of Southern Denmark Jonathan Howland, Ph.D., M.P.H, M.P.A. jhowl@bu.edu 617-638-5158 Boston University School of Medicine Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Older drinkers may experience fewer hangovers due to less intense drinking While hangovers may be a source of humor, their effects can be debilitating, costly, and even dangerous. A new study of hangovers across the lifespan has found that the tendency to experience hangovers decreases as age increases. Study ...

Contact: Denis M. McCarthy, Ph.D. mccarthydm@missouri.edu 573-882-0426 University of Missouri Mark B. Johnson, Ph.D. mjohnson@PIRE.org 301-755-2700 Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Sober drinking knowledge often fails 'in the moment' of intoxication Approximately one-third of all fatal crashes each year in the U.S. involve an alcohol-impaired driver. New research compares individuals' perceived dangerousness of driving after drinking while intoxicated with those perceptions while sober. Results ...

Contact: Brandon G. Bergman, Ph.D. bgbergman@partners.org 617-643-7563 Massachusetts General Hospital Christine Timko, Ph.D. ctimko@stanford.edu 650-617-2746 Department of Veterans Affairs Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Individuals with a dual diagnosis can benefit from 12-step programs too Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) can play an important role in addiction recovery. A new study examines the suitability of 12-step organizations for young adults with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders, referred ...

Contact: Antti Latvala, Ph.D. antti.latvala@helsinki.fi 358-9-19127224 University of Helsinki Michael Windle, Ph.D. e-mwindle@emory.edu 404-727-9868 Emory University Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Better verbal development during childhood linked to later drinking and intoxication Previous research has found contradictory linkages among cognition, verbal skills, and later alcohol use. A new study has found that better verbal development during childhood predicts more frequent drinking and intoxication during adolescence and young ...

Washington, DC (September 12, 2013) — A genetic variant on chromosome 2 is strongly linked with kidney failure in diabetic women but not in men, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings may help explain gender-specific differences in kidney failure, as well as why some diabetic women are prone to develop kidney failure. Worldwide, more than 370 million people have diabetes, which is the leading cause of kidney failure, or end stage renal disease. Within the non-diabetic population, women ...

Type 2 diabetes independently increases the risk of heart disease in premenopausal women, according to a study presented at the American Heart AssociationHigh Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013. Researchers studied 1,256 Argentine premenopausal and menopausal women with and without type 2 diabetes, ages 19 to 84, who underwent ultrasound imaging to measure plaque in their carotid arteries, the major artery running down the neck. Regardless of their age, family history, smoking history, having high blood pressure or menopausal status, plaque buildup was more ...

Measuring sodium in a child's urine may help doctors identify those at risk for having high blood pressure later in life, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013. In a small study, researchers used a new protocol to quickly screen 19 children who were 10-19-year-olds. Researchers found that of the eight who retained sodium seven had high blood pressure. The inability to properly excrete sodium in the body can occur during stress, such as when kids get nervous while in a doctor's office, so ...

Children with one or more high blood pressure readings were about three times more likely to develop the condition as adults, in a study presented at the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013. After accounting for age, gender and weight, researchers found a direct link between high blood pressure readings during childhood and high blood pressure in adulthood: The rate of high blood pressure during adulthood was 8.6 percent among those who didn't have high readings as children. The rate rose to 18 percent among those who ...

Obese children quadruple their risk and overweight children double their risk of developing high blood pressure in adulthood, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013. Researchers tracked the growth and blood pressure of 1,117 healthy adolescents from Indianapolis for 27 years, starting in 1986, and found: During childhood, 68 percent of the kids were a normal weight, 16 percent were overweight and 16 percent were obese. As adults, 119 of the participants were diagnosed with high blood pressure. Six ...

SHANGHAI, CHINA, AND LA JOLLA, CA – In a long-awaited finding, a team of Chinese and US scientists has determined the high-resolution atomic structure of a cell-surface receptor that most strains of HIV use to get into human immune cells. The researchers also showed where maraviroc, an HIV drug, attaches to cells and blocks HIV's entry. "These structural details should help us understand more precisely how HIV infects cells, and how we can do better at blocking that process with next-generation drugs," said Beili Wu, PhD, professor at the Shanghai Institute of Materia ...

Scientists have gotten the first close look at one of two co-receptors HIV uses to get its foot in the door of the immune system, a new study reports. Their insights could lead to better HIV drugs. CCR5, a receptor on the surface of human cells, is one of two main entry points the HIV virus uses to initiate its attack on the human immune system; by binding to it, an HIV protein can fuse to the cell membrane beneath, ultimately digging its way inside the cell. The other receptor that HIV uses to perform this feat is CXCR4. Both CCR5 and CXCR4 belong to a family of ...

A new study has shown that, contrary to popular belief, local domestic animals are unlikely to be the major source of antibiotic resistant Salmonella in humans. The result comes from a detailed study of DNA from more than 370 Salmonella samples collected over a 22-year period. By studying the genetic variation in the Salmonella bacteria and their drug resistance genes, researchers found that distinguishable bacterial populations exist in human and animal populations living side by side. Antibiotic resistance is considered to be one of the most important dangers to human ...

PITTSBURGH— The April 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza Factory Building in Bangladesh, in which more than 1,130 people were killed, is only the latest in a long line of events that has made plain the plight of the families whose loved ones go missing after conflict and disaster. In a new paper published in "Science," Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh ethics, policy and human rights experts argue that international structures are needed to promote more equal access to forensic identification technologies, ensure their fair and efficient use, ...

The juvenile Issus - a plant-hopping insect found in gardens across Europe - has hind-leg joints with curved cog-like strips of opposing 'teeth' that intermesh, rotating like mechanical gears to synchronise the animal's legs when it launches into a jump. The finding demonstrates that gear mechanisms previously thought to be solely man-made have an evolutionary precedent. Scientists say this is the "first observation of mechanical gearing in a biological structure". Through a combination of anatomical analysis and high-speed video capture of normal Issus movements, scientists ...

A genetic study has identified a biological process that influences whether we are right handed or left handed. Scientists at the Universities of Oxford, St Andrews, Bristol and the Max Plank Institute in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, found correlations between handedness and a network of genes involved in establishing left-right asymmetry in developing embryos. 'The genes are involved in the biological process through which an early embryo moves on from being a round ball of cells and becomes a growing organism with an established left and right side,' explains first ...

A local low-cost information campaign mainly targeted at citizens and involving doctors and pharmacists can significantly decrease total antibiotic prescribing, finds a paper published today on bmj.com. The excessive use of antibiotics is associated with resistance to these drugs and an increasing threat to global health. Antibiotics are also often unnecessarily and inappropriately prescribed. This is an issue that has been frequently addressed by health information campaigns. Campaigns can be moderately effective in restricting the excessive use of antibiotics although ...

Our current pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are projected to set the global mean temperature increase at around 3.5°C above pre-industrial levels, will expose 668 million people worldwide to new or aggravated water scarcity. This is according to a new study published today, 13 September, in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, which has calculated that a further 11 per cent of the world's population, taken from the year 2000, will live in water-scarce river basins or, for those already living in water-scarce regions, find that the ...

(Boston) -- A new study from the American Journal of Public Heath shows that U.S. states with higher estimated rates of gun ownership experience a higher number of firearms-related homicides. The study, led by a Boston University School of Public Health researcher, examines the National Rifle Association's (NRA) claim that increased gun ownership does not lead to increased gun violence. It is the largest study conducted to date into the correlation between gun ownership and firearms violence, and the first to comprehensively examine the issue since the tragic shooting ...