BOSTON — Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine have discovered that eating mushrooms containing vitamin D2 can be as effective at increasing and maintaining vitamin D levels (25–hydroxyvitamin D) as taking supplemental vitamin D2 or vitamin D3. These findings will be presented Monday, April 22, at the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, which is being held in conjunction with the Experimental Biology 2013 meeting in Boston. The findings also will appear concurrently as an open-access article in the journal Dermato-Endocrinology. ...

BOSTON — When the space shuttle Atlantis touched down in the summer of 2011 at Cape Canaveral, closing the book on the U.S. shuttle program, a team of U.S. Army researchers stood at the ready, eager to get their gloved hands on a small device in the payload that housed a set of biological samples. On Monday, April 22, at the Experimental Biology 2013 conference in Boston, the team will present the results of nearly two years' worth of study on those samples, results that shed light on how the human immune system responds to stress and assaults while in space – and maybe ...

Boston, MA—Since 1977, there has been a 70% increase in caffeine consumption among children and adolescents. Whether it is coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks, our children are consuming more of it. One well documented effect of caffeine is improved cognitive performance on certain tasks. However, scientists also hypothesize that habitual caffeine use may lead to greater neural rewards if the caffeine drinker were to consume illicit drugs. To add more to the research base regarding caffeine's effect on cognition in children and teens, Jennifer Temple, PhD, University ...

Boston, MA—Accurately depicting dinosaur anatomy has come a long way since the science fiction films of the 1960s. In celebration of the American Association of Anatomists' (AAA) 125th anniversary, renowned dinosaur anatomy expert Dr. Lawrence Witmer will deliver a lecture reflecting on the AAA's first President Joseph Leidy, also a preeminent American dinosaur paleontologist, and the modernizing of prehistoric bones. Witmer will show how the Visible Interactive Dinosaur (VID) project recreates soft-tissue systems within a 3D digital environment. VID, funded by the National ...

A new review of insect pollinators of crops and wild plants has concluded they are under threat globally from a cocktail of multiple pressures, and their decline or loss could have profound environmental, human health and economic consequences. Globally, insects provide pollination services to about 75% of crop species and enable reproduction in up to 94% of wild flowering plants. Pollination services provided by insects each year worldwide are valued at over US$200 billion. The review, published today (22 April 2013) in the scientific journal 'Frontiers in Ecology ...

Chicago — (April 22, 2013) – The health benefits of fibre are relatively well known yet average fibre intake around the world continues to be inadequate (1,2). Many diets continue to lack recommended servings of foods naturally high in fibre like fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and whole grains resulting in low fibre intake (3). Three new studies contribute to the growing body of evidence for the health benefits of added fibres in the diet. These types of fibre can be added to a wide range of foods and contribute similar health benefits as "intact" fibres, providing a ...

Chicago — (April 22, 2013) – Sodium intake around the world is well in excess of physiological needs (1) and public health authorities agree that chronic excess sodium intake can increase blood pressure and the risk of heart attack and stroke (2). However, despite recommendations to lower sodium consumption over the last decade, actual intake continues to rise. Rising Sodium Intake Research supported by Tate & Lyle was presented today at the American Society for Nutrition Experimental Biology (3) conference in Boston which indicates that in the United States, sodium ...

AUDIO: Dr. Robert Hess from McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) has used the popular puzzle video game Tetris in an innovative approach to... Click here for more information. A research team led by Dr. Robert Hess from McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) has used the popular puzzle video game Tetris in an innovative approach to treat adult amblyopia, commonly ...

Geneva, Switzerland: Giving palliative radiotherapy to elderly patients with painful bone metastases can significantly improve their quality of life, a Dutch researcher told the 2nd Forum of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) today (Monday). With the number of elderly patients who suffer from metastatic disease on the increase due to the ageing of the population and the ability to prolong the palliative phase of cancers, this finding has important implications for clinical practice, said Dr Paulien Westhoff from the Department of Radiotherapy ...

DAVIS, CA, April 22, 2013 – Three new studies involving tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts) were presented this week at the Experimental Biology Meeting in Boston, MA. Tree nut consumption was associated with a better nutrient profile and diet quality; lower body weight and lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome; and a decrease in several cardiovascular risk factors compared to those seen among non-consumers. First, the Adventist Health Study looked at the effect of nut intake on the risk of metabolic ...

Two Spanish scientists have designed an equation that provides a highly accurate estimate of an individual's speed based on stride length. They used data from professional athletes and walking and running experiments on a beach in order to come up with the equation. The result has applications in the study of fossil trackways of human footprints. In the spring of 2008, 14 palaeontology students from the Complutense University of Madrid ran along a beach in Asturias (Spain) at the request of a planetary geologist who was a friend of their fieldwork director. Javier Ruiz, ...

Individual cancer cells that break away from the original tumor and circulate through the blood stream are considered responsible for the development of metastases. These dreaded secondary tumors are the main cause of cancer-related deaths. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detectable in a patient's blood are associated with a poorer prognosis. However, up until now, experimental evidence was lacking as to whether the "stem cell" of metastasis is found among CTCs. "We were convinced that only very few of the various circulating tumor cells are capable of forming a secondary ...

In various studies across different countries the reported one year mortality risks after hip fracture can vary anywhere from 5 to 50 %. In India, however, there has been little research on the risk of mortality and functional impairment following hip fracture. In an oral presentation held during the European Congress on Osteoporosis & Osteoarthritis in Rome, Italy, held from April 17 to 20 in Rome, Italy, researchers from Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India presented findings from a prospective study which found that patients had a high rate of one-year mortality ...

Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2013 – Biological Psychiatry is proud to announce this week's publication of a special issue focusing on the question of food as an addiction. Addiction is the continued or compulsive use of a substance, despite negative and/or harmful consequences. Over the years, addiction has come to be re-defined to include behaviors, as well as substances, and the term is now used to describe significant problems with alcohol, nicotine, drugs, gambling, internet use, and sex. The 'major' addictions, like alcoholism and drug abuse, stimulate significant ...

Although hip fractures in older patients are known to be a major cause of long term disability and increased risk of death, less is known about the relationship between surgical delay after hip fracture and mortality risk. A study by Belgian investigators shows that that in older patients with hip fracture, surgical delay of more than 48 hours is significantly and independently associated with increased long-term mortality, even after adjusting for age, sex, and co-morbidities. The study analysed data from 32,383 participants with 1 years of follow-up, extracted from ...

North Carolina State University researchers studying aquatic organisms called Daphnia have found that exposure to a chemical pesticide has impacts that span multiple generations – causing the so-called "water fleas" to produce more male offspring, and causing reproductive problems in female offspring. "This work supports the hypothesis that exposure to some environmental chemicals during sensitive periods of development can cause significant health problems for those organisms later in life – and affect their offspring and, possibly, their offspring's offspring," says ...

Fragility fractures due to osteoporosis are a major cause of disability or premature death in older adults. Those at highest risk are patients who have already suffered one fragility fracture; they are at twice the risk of suffering a future fracture compared to others who have not fractured. Nevertheless health care systems around the world are failing to identify and treat these patients, leaving them exposed to debilitating and life-threatening secondary fractures. Based on evidence from numerous global studies, a new report, 'Capture the Fracture: A Best Practice ...

Amsterdam, April 22, 2013 – A target article recently published in Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (JARMAC) reviews various high-profile false convictions. It provides an overview of classic psychological research on expectancy and observer effects and indicates in which ways forensic science examiners may be influenced by information such as confessions, eyewitness identification, and graphical evidence. The target article authors, Saul Kassin and Jeff Kukucka, of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Itiel Dror, University College, London, point ...

ANN ARBOR, MI - Consuming grapes may help protect against organ damage associated with the progression of metabolic syndrome, according to research presented Monday at the Experimental Biology conference in Boston. Natural components found in grapes, known as polyphenols, are thought to be responsible for these beneficial effects. The study, led by investigator E. Mitchell Seymour, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan Health System, studied the effects of a high fat, American-style diet both with added grapes and without grapes (the control diet) on the heart, liver, ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan State University criminologist dug into the seamy underbelly of online credit card theft and uncovered a surprisingly sophisticated network of crooks that is unique in the cybercrime domain. The thieves, Thomas Holt found, run an online marketplace for stolen credit data similar to eBay or Amazon where reputations drive sales. Thieves sell data and money laundering services, advertised via web forums, and send and receive payments electronically or through an intermediary. They even provide feedback on transactions to help weed out sellers ...

(Boston)—Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered that eating mushrooms containing Vitamin D2 can be as effective at increasing and maintaining vitamin D levels (25–hydroxyvitamin D) as taking supplemental vitamin D2 or vitamin D3. These findings will be presented at the American Society for Biochemistry and Microbiology annual meeting in Boston on April 22 and also concurrently appear in Dermato-Endocrinology on line open access. Vitamin D is crucial for good bone health and muscle strength; adequate amounts help the body maintain ...

Published today, a special issue of the Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society – Biological Sciences, addresses a major challenge facing our society: feeding a global population that is simultaneously growing and increasing its per capita food consumption, while preventing widespread ecological and social impoverishment. According to Michael T. Coe, Senior Scientist at The Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) and one of the issue's co-editors, "One important finding presented in these papers is that landowners respond quickly to external and internal forces, particularly ...

TORONTO, April 22, 2013--Academic medical centres invest considerable time, money and other resources in leadership training programs, yet there is no evidence such programs work, a new study has found. In particular, researchers led by Dr. Sharon Straus at St. Michael's Hospital said they could not determine whether participation in these leadership programs addresses the "paucity of women leaders" in faculty positions at teaching hospitals or which components of leadership training are most effective for women. Her findings were published online in the journal Academic ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Older adults represent an important and growing demographic in emergency departments (ED) across the country, with urinary tract infections (UTIs) being one of the leading causes for ED visits. In fact, UTIs, which can progress to serious health concerns, are the fourth most common diagnosis in women over age 65. But a new study at Rhode Island Hospital has found that many such women receive treatment for a UTI, but have no firm evidence of such an infection, resulting in the prescribing of unnecessary antibiotics. The study is published online in advance ...

Just as humans can follow complex social situations in deciding who to befriend or to abandon, it turns out that animals use the same level of sophistication in judging social configurations, according to a new study that advances our understanding of the structure of animal social networks. The study, which appears today in the journal Animal Behaviour, is the first in which researchers applied a long-standing theory in social psychology called "structural balance," which is used to analyze human relationships, to an animal population to better understand the mechanisms ...