Audio available at: https://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/24616.aspx When cigarette taxes rise, hard-core smokers are more likely than lighter smokers to cut back, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "Most clinicians and researchers thought these very heavy smokers would be the most resistant to price increases," says first author Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg, PhD. "Many believed this group was destined to continue smoking heavily forever, but our study points out that, in fact, change can occur. And that's very good news." States ...

SALT LAKE CITY—Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) researchers Michael Deininger, M.D., Ph.D., and Thomas O'Hare, Ph.D., were part of a team that found a potent oral drug, ponatinib, effective in patients who have developed resistance to standard treatments for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic lymphoma (Ph+ ALL). The New England Journal of Medicine released results of the trial today. In the phase I clinical trial conducted at five cancer centers nationwide, ponatinib was highly active in patients with CML and Ph+ ALL ...

Mice with a condition that serves as a laboratory model for Down syndrome perform better on memory and learning tasks as adults if they were treated before birth with neuroprotective peptides, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Down syndrome results when an individual receives an extra copy of chromosome 21. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Down syndrome occurs in 1 of every 691 births. Features of Down syndrome include delays in mental and physical development and poor muscle tone. These features may vary greatly, ...

A small pocket of Western Australia's remote outback is set to become the eye on the sky and could potentially save the world billions of dollars. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio telescope, unveiled today, Friday 30 November, will give the world a dramatically improved view of the Sun and provide early warning to prevent damage to communication satellites, electric power grids and GPS navigation systems. The $51 million low-frequency radio telescope will be able to detect and monitor massive solar storms, such as the one that cut power to six million people ...

SALT LAKE CITY – Given the right equipment, training and skill, an individual surgeon can expect to provide the best possible care on a consistent basis. But how do you get an entire system of surgeons — each with his or her own ideas, backgrounds, and routines — to provide that same level of care? A series of studies directed by Intermountain Healthcare's Oncology Clinical Program shows that it's possible to improve care across the board if you tackle the problem in a standardized way, relying on the best evidence available. "It sounds simple, but it's really very ...

New research shows first evidence of paternal voice recognition in solitary foraging species, provides insight into early primates from which humans evolved Think of the last time you screamed. Chances are you attracted someone's attention. What about the last time someone flirted with you? You were likely more selective in your response. New research findings from Arizona State University and the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover in Germany demonstrate that a less social species – the grey-mouse lemur - pays attention to alarm calls regardless of whom they ...

Rocky planets are thought to form through the random collision and sticking together of what are initially microscopic particles in the disc of material around a star. These tiny grains, known as cosmic dust, are similar to very fine soot or sand. However, in the outer regions around a brown dwarf -- a star-like object, but one too small to shine brightly like a star -- astronomers expected that grains could not grow because the discs were too sparse, and particles would be moving too fast to stick together after colliding. Also, prevailing theories say that any grains ...

The only way to protect against HIV and unintended pregnancy today is the condom. It's an effective technology, but not appropriate or popular in all situations. A University of Washington team has developed a versatile platform to simultaneously offer contraception and prevent HIV. Electrically spun cloth with nanometer-sized fibers can dissolve to release drugs, providing a platform for cheap, discrete and reversible protection. The research was published this week in the Public Library of Science's open-access journal PLoS One. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ...

Two-thirds of Australian mums-to-be are in the dark when it comes to how much weight they should gain during pregnancy. Susie de Jersey from Queensland University of Technology's (QUT) Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) and senior dietician at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital said a third of women surveyed gained too much weight during pregnancy. Another third struggled to gain enough weight with some mothers recording a lower weight just before giving birth than they did before falling pregnant. "The majority of the women in the study knew ...

Elaborate secondary sexual displays are often overlooked because many species attract mates through sensory modalities imperceptible to humans, including ultraviolet light, ultrasound, electrical signals, or pheromones. Also, sexual coloration may only be expressed briefly during courtship (ephemeral courtship dichromatisms) to avoid attracting predators. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are a widely studied model organism, though there have been few studies on their mating behaviour. Like many schooling fish, zebrafish do not appear sexually dichromatic to humans; there are no ...

Children and young people in Europe are exposed to all kinds of fast food, crisps and fizzy drinks – so how can they learn to resist the temptation to indulge? This is the question that the European research project TEMPEST was set up to answer. The research project involves researchers from nine European countries and one of the team members is Liliya Nureeva, a PhD student at Aarhus University. The TEMPEST research project has prepared strategies for children to use to suppress or control their desire to scoff sweets and snacks. One of the main objectives of the ...

After two decades of satellite observations, an international team of experts brought together by ESA and NASA has produced the most accurate assessment of ice losses from Antarctica and Greenland to date. This study finds that the combined rate of ice sheet melting is increasing. The new research shows that melting of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets has added 11.1 mm to global sea levels since 1992. This amounts to about 20% of all sea-level rise over the survey period. About two thirds of the ice loss was from Greenland, and the remainder was from Antarctica. ...

TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2012—How-to books are full of advice on what makes a good mentor. But what makes a good mentee and what chemistry is needed to make the relationship work? People being mentored should be open to feedback and be active listeners, according to a new research paper. They should also be respectful of their mentor's time, including being on time and prepared for meetings. And it helps to follow at least some of their advice. "Successful mentorship is vital to career success and satisfaction for both mentors and mentees," said Dr. Sharon Straus, a researcher ...

Amsterdam, NL, November 30, 2012 – Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders typically characterized by difficulties in social interactions and delayed or abnormal language development. Although ASD reportedly affects 1 in 88 people in the United States, to date there have been no distinctive biomarkers to diagnose the disease. In a special themed issue of Disease Markers, investigators report on the current understanding of ASD genetics and the possibilities of translating genetic research toward biomarker development in ASD. "Although some individuals ...

If the 4.9 million barrels of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 Deep Water Horizon spill was a ecological disaster, the two million gallons of dispersant used to clean it up apparently made it even worse – 52-times more toxic. That's according to new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes (UAA), Mexico. The study found that mixing the dispersant with oil increased toxicity of the mixture up to 52-fold over the oil alone. In toxicity tests in the lab, the mixture's effects increased mortality ...

ROCK HILL, S.C. - When people hear about exotic plants invading a new environment, there is usually a negative connotation. They often think of plants like kudzu, Chinese privet, or Japanese honeysuckle, whose thuggish behavior can push out the native plants in their backyard or local parks. While this worse case scenario can happen, it isn't always the case, according to ecologists at Winthrop University and Brown University in an article published in the journal Ecology Letters. "Basically, we found that exotics plants grow more and can essentially out-compete natives, ...

Washington, November 30, 2012 -- Current hospital cleaning protocol may be inadequate to rid patient rooms of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii, according to a study in the December issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). A team of researchers from the University of Maryland collected 487 cultures from 32 hospital rooms occupied by just-discharged patients with a known history of MDR A. baumannii both before and after terminal cleaning ...

Researchers at the University of Seville (Spain) have developed a technique for estimating grape composition and variety using computer imaging. They have also put forward an index for identifying the ripeness of seeds without the need for chemical analysis. This new method can help to decide the best moment for picking. The normal procedure for identifying the sugar content of grapes involves chemical analysis. But this is a long and tedious task that tells vine-growers when to start picking their grapes. Now though, scientists at the University of Seville (US) are proposing ...

Not everyone has a taste for fish, even though it is a natural source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. And while a growing number of omega-3 enriched foods may net health benefits for people who resist the lure of salmon or sashimi, milk remains the product that has gotten away in what has become a billion-dollar health industry. But now, food science researchers at Virginia Tech may have reeled milk into the omega-3 delivery system, showing it is possible to incorporate fish oil into milk and dairy-based beverages in amounts sufficient to promote heart health, ...

Researchers in the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute have discovered how a common diarrhea-causing bacterium sends the body's natural defenses into overdrive, actually intensifying illness while fighting infection. The discovery, recently published in PLOS One, may lead to new drug treatments for Clostridium difficile, a common germ in health care-associated infections often referred to as C. diff. It has been linked to the death of 14,000 Americans annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers ...

PHILADELPHIA – As public health researchers continue efforts to understand the effects of neighborhood conditions on health, residents themselves can provide valuable insights regarding public health issues and potential solutions. A new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania uses in-depth interviews with local residents to examine perspectives on how vacant land affects community, physical, and mental health. The study highlights the importance of community engagement in promoting urban revitalization. Full results of ...

"The United States is, as in so many things involving the criminal justice system, the country most in need of change. It is also, because of the entrenched constitutional bases of its prosecution systems, probably the most resistant to change," Michael Tonry argues in Prosecutors and Politics: A Comparative Perspective. The latest volume in the Crime and Justice series presents research that critically examines the role of prosecutors within the United States and cross-nationally, asking the question: Can policy makers look across national boundaries to find ways to ...

Sweeping environmental policies come with hidden challenges – not only striving to achieve sustainability and benefit the environment – but over time ensuring the program itself can endure. Scientists at Michigan State University and their colleagues in China are examining China's massive Grain to Green Program (GTGP) – an effort to persuade farmers to return cropland to forest through financial incentives. Their results were reported in this week's journal Ecological Indicators. The goal – developing a unique targeted approach that applies the combination of environmental ...

This press release is available in German. Scientists from the DZNE sites in Göttingen and Bonn, the UMG as well as from the US participated in this basic research project on Alzheimer's disease. The study is published in "EMBO Molecular Medicine". The researchers led by Prof. André Fischer, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Medical Center Gottingen and Site Speaker of the DZNE in Göttingen, investigated mice with a modified genetic background. The animals showed behavioural disorders and brain deposits that are typically associated with Alzheimer's ...

This press release is available in German. The carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere continues to climb and heat up the climate. The gas is, however, indispensable for plants, as they use the carbon it provides to form glucose and other important substances. Therefore, the more carbon dioxide the better? The equation is unfortunately not as simple as that. The plants, which ensure our basic food supply today, have not been bred for vertical growth but for short stalks and high grain yields. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology ...