WASHINGTON — Emergency department information systems (EDIS), a significant focus of both federal legislation and U.S. health care reform, may ultimately improve the quality of medical care delivered in hospitals, but as currently configured present numerous threats to health care quality and patient safety. Two physician work groups in the American College of Emergency Physicians assessed the potential harm lurking in EDIS and make recommendations on how to improve patient safety as these systems are implemented across the country. Their findings were published online ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — MIT biologists have discovered a mechanism that allows cells to read their own DNA in the correct direction and prevents them from copying most of the so-called "junk DNA" that makes up long stretches of our genome. Only about 15 percent of the human genome consists of protein-coding genes, but in recent years scientists have found that a surprising amount of the junk, or intergenic DNA, does get copied into RNA — the molecule that carries DNA's messages to the rest of the cell. Scientists have been trying to figure out just what this RNA might be ...

The 'computer nerd' is a well-known stereotype in our modern society. While this stereotype is inaccurate, it still has a chilling effect on women pursuing a qualification in computer science, according to a new paper by Sapna Cheryan from the University of Washington in the US, and colleagues. However, when this image is downplayed in the print media, women express more interest in further education in computer science. The work is published online in Springer's journal, Sex Roles. Despite years of effort, it has proven difficult to recruit women into many fields that ...

Investigators in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network have uncovered a connection between how tumor cells use energy from metabolic processes and the aggressiveness of the most common form of kidney cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Their findings demonstrate that normal metabolism is altered in ccRCC tumor cells, and involves a shift from using one metabolic pathway to another. This change – termed a metabolic shift – correlates with tumor stage and severity in some cases. The scientists also found mutations in a pathway that may cause increased ...

AUDIO: Rats like those used in University of Illinois speech and hearing sciences professor Aaron Johnson's study make ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) that are above the range of human hearing, but special... Click here for more information. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new study shows that the vocal training of older rats reduces some of the voice problems related to their aging, such as the loss of vocal intensity that accompanies changes in the muscles of the larynx. This is an ...

The oxygen content of the ocean may be subject to frequent ups and downs in a very literal sense — that is, in the form of the numerous sea creatures that dine near the surface at night then submerge into the safety of deeper, darker waters at daybreak. Research begun at Princeton University and recently reported on in the journal Nature Geoscience found that animals ranging from plankton to small fish consume vast amounts of what little oxygen is available in the ocean's aptly named "oxygen minimum zone" daily. The sheer number of organisms that seek refuge in water ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Nanoparticles that deliver short strands of RNA offer a way to treat cancer and other diseases by shutting off malfunctioning genes. Although this approach has shown some promise, scientists are still not sure exactly what happens to the nanoparticles once they get inside their target cells. A new study from MIT sheds light on the nanoparticles' fate and suggests new ways to maximize delivery of the RNA strands they are carrying, known as short interfering RNA (siRNA). "We've been able to develop nanoparticles that can deliver payloads into cells, ...

SAN ANTONIO (June 24, 2013) — Patients with type 2 diabetes fare significantly better if they are started on three medications at the time of diagnosis than if they are prescribed a single drug and have other therapies added later, a San Antonio researcher said June 22 at the 73rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in Chicago. The findings, from a study funded by the association, could revise the way physicians manage the endocrine disease. Comparison UT Medicine San Antonio physician Ralph DeFronzo, M.D., chief of the Diabetes Division in the ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (June 24, 2013) - Sophisticated new optical quality metrics can identify older adults likely to have more rapid age-related declines in vision, suggests a study, "Factors Accounting for the 4-Year Change in Acuity in Patients Between 50 and 80 Years", in the July issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. The study by Darren E. Koenig, OD, PhD, and colleagues of University of Houston College of Optometry defines ...

Chicago, June 24, 2013—The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has released results of a major survey exploring resilience of people and neighborhoods directly affected by Superstorm Sandy. The study reveals the importance of social factors such as neighborhood bonds and social supports in coping with the storm and its aftermath. Striking landfall in the United States on October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy affected large areas of coastal New York and New Jersey, devastated communities, killed more than 130 people, and caused tens of billions of ...

Evolution, it seems, sometimes jumps instead of crawls. A research team led by a University of Chicago scientist has discovered two key mutations that sparked a hormonal revolution 500 million years ago. In a feat of "molecular time travel," the researchers resurrected and analyzed the functions of the ancestors of genes that play key roles in modern human reproduction, development, immunity and cancer. By re-creating the same DNA changes that occurred during those genes' ancient history, the team showed that two mutations set the stage for hormones like estrogen, ...

EAST BOOTHBAY, MAINE -- A research team led by Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences has discovered that marine microbes are adapted to very narrow and specialized niches in their environment. This may explain why so few of these microbes—usually less than 1%—can be grown for study in the laboratory. By utilizing new genetic tools, the researchers' new ability to read and interpret genetic information from the remaining 99% will be pivotal in detecting and mitigating the impact of human activities in the ocean. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the study was published ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Some open-minded people can be swayed to support government intervention on climate change – but only if they are presented with both the benefits and the costs, a new study suggests. Researchers found that those who were open-minded didn't change their view if they heard arguments for only one side of the issue. People who are relatively more closed-minded did not change their mind regardless of the messages they received, or what their original views were. There was also no evidence of open-minded people becoming less supportive of government intervention, ...

Bacterial DNA may integrate into the human genome more readily in tumors than in normal human tissue, scientists have found. The researchers, affiliated with the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute for Genome Sciences, analyzed genomic sequencing data available from the Human Genome Project, the 1,000 Genomes Project and The Cancer Genome Atlas. They considered the phenomenon of lateral gene transfer (LGT), the transmission of genetic material between organisms in a manner other than than traditional reproduction. Scientists have already shown ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Rural women with breast cancer are less likely than their urban counterparts to receive recommended radiation therapy after having a lumpectomy, a breast-sparing surgery that removes only tumors and surrounding tissue, a study by Mayo Clinic and others found. The difference is one of several rural disparities in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment the researchers discovered. The findings are being presented at the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting in Baltimore. "These study results are concerning," says Elizabeth Habermann, Ph.D., associate scientific ...

Several studies have shown that how much parents say to their children when they are very young is a good predictor of children's vocabulary at the point when they begin school. In turn, a child's vocabulary size at school entry strongly predicts level of success throughout schooling even into high school and college. A new study by psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania now shows that early vocabulary improvement is likely to have more to do with the "quality" of the interactions in which the words are used rather than the sheer quantity of speech directed ...

Just what size is a "small" drink—8 ounces, 12 ounces, 16 ounces? The truth is, those are all "small" sizes depending on what restaurants and fast food joints you go to. As customers, we are used to ordering food based on relative size, but according to a new study from Cornell University, these seemingly standard labels impact our entire eating experience. Dr. David R. Just and Dr. Brian Wansink of the Cornell Food & Brand Lab designed a study to understand how portion labels impact what you're willing to pay for your food as well as how much you actually eat. The researchers ...

A new study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at UC San Francisco offers encouraging findings that researchers hope may one day lead to a treatment option for people who suffer from alcohol abuse disorders and other addictions. In the study, conducted in rats, the UCSF researchers were able to identify and deactivate a brain pathway linked to the memories that cause cravings for alcohol, thus preventing the animals from seeking alcohol and drinking it, the equivalent of relapse. "One of the main causes of relapse is craving, triggered by ...

PITTSBURGH—A landmark study investigating the long-term effects of weight loss on the risks of cardiovascular disease among patients with Type 2 diabetes has now concluded, with significant results to be published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and at clinical facilities throughout the United States, the multicenter clinical trial investigated the effects of an intensive lifestyle intervention program, intended to achieve and maintain weight loss in overweight or obese people with Type 2 diabetes, on rates of cardiovascular ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Despite concerns to the contrary, very little of the variation in Emergency Department (ED) imaging utilization is attributable to physician experience, training or gender, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. Imaging exams like X-rays and CT scans are common in the ED. In 2010, slightly more than 47 percent of all ED visits in the United States had an imaging exam associated with them. "Analyzing and understanding drivers of use of imaging in the ED is important for several reasons," said Christopher L. Sistrom, M.D., ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Moderate-intensity exercise reduces fat stored around the heart, in the liver and in the abdomen of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, even in the absence of any changes in diet, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin, a hormone that regulates the movement of sugar into the cells, or when the cells resist the effects of insulin. The disease can lead to a wide range of complications, including damage to the eyes and kidneys and hardening of the arteries. Exercise ...

Athens, Greece, 25 June 2013. Drinking excessive amounts of cola and eating honey made from the pollen of Rhododendrons can cause unusual syncope (fainting) and symptoms of arrhythmia, report two case studies presented as abstracts at the EHRA EUROPACE 2013 meeting, in Athens 23 to 26 June. "Both these studies underline the importance of clinicians taking detailed medical histories for patients with unexplained arrhythmias and including questions about their dietary intakes," says Professor Andreas Goette, the EHRA Scientific Programme Committee chairperson. In the first ...

Athens-- The 2013 ESC Guidelines on Cardiac Pacing and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy¹ developed in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), have created a new classification system for bradyarrhythmias according to mechanisms rather than aetiology. The guidelines, presented at the EHRA EUROPACE meeting 23-26 June in Athens, Greece, and published simultaneously in the European Heart Journal and Europace, have been redesigned to offer a more accessible format for users. Greater emphasis than ever before has been placed on a practical 'how to' approach ...

A new palm-sized microarray that holds 1,200 individual cultures of fungi or bacteria could enable faster, more efficient drug discovery, according to a study published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Scientists at the University of Texas at San Antonio and the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at Fort Sam Houston have developed a microarray platform for culturing fungal biofilms, and validated one potential application of the technology to identify new drugs effective against Candida albicans biofilms. The nano-scale ...

HUNTSVILLE (6/25/13) -- Gun possession arrests made by a concentrated, proactive patrol unit in the Houston Police Department were linked to significant reductions in subsequent crimes involving firearms, a study by Sam Houston State University found. "These findings add to the growing evidence that supports the use of directed patrols to target illegal gun possession in high crime locations," wrote Dr. William Wells, who co-authored the study with Yan Zhang and Jihong Zhao at SHSU's College of Criminal Justice. "An interesting phenomenon observed in Houston and in other ...