Ann Arbor, Mich. – Pregnant women in Ghana who slept on their back (supine sleep) were at an increased risk of stillbirth compared to women who did not sleep on their back, according to new research led by a University of Michigan researcher. In the study, published this month in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, researchers found that supine sleep increased the risk of low birth weight by a factor of 5 and that it was the low birth weight that explained the high risk for stillbirth in these women. The study's senior author, Louise O'Brien, Ph.D., ...

AMHERST, Mass. – Although it's known that construction of homes in suburban areas can have negative impacts on native plants and animals, a recent study led by University of Massachusetts Amherst ecologist Susannah Lerman suggests that well- managed residential development such as provided by homeowners associations (HOA) can in fact support native wildlife. For their recent study published in Ecology and Society, Lerman and her colleagues Kelly Turner and Christofer Bang of Arizona State University (ASU), Phoenix, set out to assess whether neighborhoods managed by HOAs ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Patients at Michigan hospitals are less likely to experience a urinary tract infection caused by a catheter than at other hospitals in the country, according to a new study by the University of Michigan. Michigan hospitals lead the way in using key prevention practices to reduce the number of catheter-associated UTIs and also have lower rates of UTIs – which are one of the most common hospital-acquired infections in the nation– according to the new findings that appear in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine. "Hospitals ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Solutions that meet the broad, varied, and often competing priorities of conservation are difficult to come by. Research published in the March 28 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences takes a hard look at why, in an effort to find ways to resolve the issue. "People often think of conservation solutions that are effective, cost-efficient, and equitable –– the so-called triple bottom line solutions –– as the holy grail, the best possible outcome," said Ben Halpern, researcher at UC Santa Barbara's National Center for ...

Boston – Hospital readmissions are a costly problem for patients and for the United States health care system with studies showing nearly 20 percent of Medicare patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge at an annual cost of $17 billion. Preventing avoidable readmissions could result in improved patient care and significant cost savings. In a new model developed at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), researchers help clinicians identify which medical patients are at the greatest risk for potentially avoidable hospital readmissions so extra steps ...

Researchers have identified areas off southern California with high numbers of whales and assessed their risk from potentially deadly collisions with commercial ship traffic in a study published in the scientific journal Conservation Biology. Scientists from NOAA Fisheries, the Marine Mammal Commission and Cascadia Research Collective analyzed data collected over seven years by NOAA on marine mammal and ecosystem research surveys in the Southern California Bight. Maps predicting the density of endangered humpback, fin and blue whales were developed by merging the observed ...

Scientists have confirmed the discovery of the first-ever, two-headed bull shark. The study, led by Michigan State University and appearing in the Journal of Fish Biology, confirmed the specimen, found in the Gulf of Mexico April 7, 2011, was a single shark with two heads, rather than conjoined twins. There have been other species of sharks, such as blue sharks and tope sharks, born with two heads. This is the first record of dicephalia in a bull shark, said Michael Wagner, MSU assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife, who confirmed the discovery with colleagues ...

The advent of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have made us all more connected, but long-distance social networks existed long before the Internet. An article published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences sheds light on the transformation of social networks in the late pre-Hispanic American Southwest and shows that people of that period were able to maintain surprisingly long-distance relationships with nothing more than their feet to connect them. Led by University of Arizona anthropologist Barbara Mills, the study is based ...

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Researchers are digging deeper into whether infants' ability to learn new words is shaped by the particular language being acquired. A new Northwestern University study cites a promising new research agenda aimed at bringing researchers closer to discovering the impact of different languages on early language and cognitive development. For decades, researchers have asked why infants learn new nouns more rapidly and more easily than new verbs. Many researchers have asserted that the early advantage for learning nouns over verbs is a universal feature ...

Madison, Wis. — New findings from nonhuman primates suggest that an overactive core circuit in the brain, and its interaction with other specialized circuits, accounts for the variability in symptoms shown by patients with severe anxiety. In a brain-imaging study to be published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health describe work that for the first time provides an understanding of the root causes of clinical variability in anxiety disorders. Using a ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – A new study suggests that migraines are related to brain abnormalities present at birth and others that develop over time. The research is published online in the journal Radiology. Migraines are intense, throbbing headaches, sometimes accompanied by nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light. Some patients experience auras, a change in visual or sensory function that precedes or occurs during the migraine. More than 300 million people suffer from migraines worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Previous research on migraine patients ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Scientists have identified two new species of mouse lemur, the saucer-eyed, teacup-sized primates native to the African island of Madagascar. The new study brings the number of recognized mouse lemur species to 20, making them the most diverse group of lemurs known. But because these shy, nocturnal primates look so much alike, it's only possible to tell them apart with genetic sequencing. The new mouse lemurs weigh 2.5 to 3 ounces (about 65 to 85 grams) and have grey-brown fur. "You can't really tell them apart just looking at them through binoculars ...

Chevy Chase, MD ––The content of a person's breath may indicate how susceptible they are to weight gain, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). People whose breath has high concentrations of both hydrogen and methane gases are more likely to have a higher body mass index and percentage of body fat, according to the findings. The combination of the two gases signals the presence of a microorganism that may contribute to obesity. A person exhales larger amounts of hydrogen ...

Chevy Chase, MD ––For women enduring hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause, a new model could better estimate the timing of the final menstrual period, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) developed a formula using the levels of two hormones to estimate when the final menstrual period would occur. The calculation relies on changing levels of estradiol, a hormone present in the ovary, and follicle stimulating ...

Chevy Chase, MD ––Maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D can help people breathe better and may even protect against tuberculosis (TB), according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). The study of more than 10,000 Korean adults found that lung function improved when people had absorbed more vitamin D into their bodies. Vitamin D is absorbed primarily through sunlight, with a healthy diet as a secondary source. Without enough vitamin D to aid calcium absorption, children and adults ...

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida have developed a small molecule that inhibits STAT3, a protein that causes cancer. This development could impact the treatment of several tumor types, including breast, lung, prostate and others that depend on STAT3 for survival. The study appeared in the Jan. 15 online issue of Cancer Research, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research. "STAT3 has been associated with poor prognosis and resistance to chemotherapy in patients with cancer," explained Said M. Sebti, ...

(Washington, DC) – The traditional Southern inflections associated with the Philadelphia regional accent are increasingly being displaced by Northern influences. A recent study supported by the National Science Foundation documents this trend through an analysis of Philadelphia neighborhood speech patterns over more than a century. The study, "A Hundred Years of Sound Change," to be published in the March 2013 issue of the scholarly journal Language, is authored by University of Pennsylvania linguists William Labov, Ingrid Rosenfelder and Josef Fruehwald. Labov and his ...

LOS ANGELES — (EMBARGOED UNTIL 12 A.M. EST ON MARCH 26, 2013) – How much a person eats may be only one of many factors that determines weight gain. A recent Cedars-Sinai study suggests that a breath test profile of microorganisms inhabiting the gut may be able to tell doctors how susceptible a person is to developing obesity. The study, published online Thursday by The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, shows that people whose breath has high concentrations of both hydrogen and methane gasses are more likely to have a higher body mass ...

Bankruptcy options: Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13 Article provided by Mark T. Young & Associates Visit us at http://www.marktyoung.com Most people in Tennessee are aware of bankruptcy to some degree or another, and many know that it can provide a fresh start for individuals who find themselves unable to get out of debt as a result of job loss, illness or other financial difficulty. What many people do not know, however, is that bankruptcy is far from one-size-fits-all. In fact, there different types of bankruptcy for different situations, each with its own set of ...

Thinking of selling your business? Ask these questions first Article provided by Law Offices of Kenneth T. Wasserman Visit us at http://www.kenwasserman.com The decision to sell a business is never one that should be taken lightly. While selling a business can provide the former owner with a welcome influx of cash, doing it at the wrong time -- or making mistakes that rob the business of its true value -- can prevent business owners from recognizing the gains they expected. If you are thinking about selling your business, it is a good idea to start working with ...

Teen driving deaths on the rise nationwide but not in New Jersey Article provided by The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. Visit us at http://www.theepsteinlawfirm.com According to the Governors' Highway Safety Association, teenage driver deaths are rising at a significant rate across the nation. Preliminary data revealed in a report produced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) earlier this year shows that 16 and 17-year-old drivers are involved in fatal accidents at a 15 to 25 percent higher rate than in previous years. Some believe that the rise ...

TX legislators make another attempt to ban texting while driving Article provided by Hoffman Kaliser & Messina, P.C. Visit us at http://www.hkmlawyers.com Chances are, if you haven't personally been guilty of this behavior, you know someone who has -- texting while behind the wheel. Despite nationwide public awareness campaigns and numerous studies detailing the dangers of such behavior, many people continue to pay attention to their cellphones when they should be focusing on the road. Texting while driving is a dangerous form of distraction, as it occupies ...

How to Modify a Child Custody Agreement in Illinois Article provided by Fawell & Fawell, Ltd. Visit us at http://www.fawelllaw.com/ Child custody can often be the most contentious issue between parents going through divorce or--at least--one of the most anxiety ridden events because parents want to spend as much time as possible with their children. In Illinois a child custody agreement can be updated or changed, but the ease of modification depends on the circumstances. A child custody order can be changed by agreement of the parents, or it can be changed when ...

Injured during work? Then you might be under surveillance now Article provided by Wolf, Baldwin & Associates, P.C. Visit us at http://www.workerscomplawyerpa.com Workplace injuries in Pennsylvania happen frequently; a worker may suffer back pain, carpel tunnel syndrome or be involved in a workplace accident. These injuries may prevent workers from performing their essential job functions to the extent they can no longer work. Workers' compensation is employer-provided insurance that allows injured workers to obtain compensation for lost wages and pay medical ...

Medical debt is a leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States Article provided by Costello & Costello, P.C. Visit us at http://www.costellolaw.com A study recently released in the American Journal of Medicine found medical debt contributed to over 62 percent of bankruptcy petitions. The researchers also found those who needed to file for bankruptcyrelief were often middle aged, middle class, college educated homeowners. There were two main causes for financial hardship tied to medical debt: an illness that kept an individual from working and earning ...