WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Aug. 7, 2012 – Prescribing calcium and vitamin D supplements for men at risk of bone loss from hormonal treatment for prostate cancer seems like good medicine. But new research from epidemiologists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center showed that this type of supplementation did not prevent bone loss and, in fact, may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and aggressive prostate cancer. The study was published online in the July issue of the journal The Oncologist. "It wouldn't be so bad if there simply was no obvious benefit," said Gary ...

Children fed healthy diets in early age may have a slightly higher IQ, while those on heavier junk food diets may have a slightly reduced IQ, according to new research from the University of Adelaide. The study - led by University of Adelaide Public Health researcher Dr Lisa Smithers - looked at the link between the eating habits of children at six months, 15 months and two years, and their IQ at eight years of age. The study of more than 7000 children compared a range of dietary patterns, including traditional and contemporary home-prepared food, ready-prepared baby ...

PITTSBURGH—Paris is one of those cities that has a look all its own, something that goes beyond landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and INRIA/Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris have developed visual data mining software that can automatically detect these sometimes subtle features, such as street signs, streetlamps and balcony railings, that give Paris and other cities a distinctive look. The software analyzed more than 250 million visual elements gleaned from 40,000 Google Street View images of Paris, London, New ...

New Rochelle, NY, August 7, 2012 — Vaccination against human papilloma virus (HPV) is recommended for young women to protect them from HPV infection and cervical cancer. Male HPV immunization is increasingly a topic of debate in the medical community. A timely review of the literature published in Viral Immunology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com), explores whether HPV vaccination of young men is warranted and cost effective. The article is available free online at the Viral Immunology (http://www.liebertpub.com/vim) ...

Plains bison are an iconic symbol of America on everything from coins to state flags. Now scientists writing in Conservation Biology are exploring how the cross-breeding of bison with domestic cattle in the late 1800s may still have unwanted effects on modern populations of the species. "The plains bison are an iconic symbol of rugged individualism and the will to survive," said Professor James Derr from Texas A&M University. "The population crash and the spectacular recovery over the last 125 years is a classic example of the resilience of this species and the success ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Even temporary rises in local temperatures significantly damage long-term economic growth in the world's developing nations, according to a new study co-authored by an MIT economist. Looking at weather data over the last half-century, the study finds that every 1-degree-Celsius increase in a poor country, over the course of a given year, reduces its economic growth by about 1.3 percentage points. However, this only applies to the world's developing nations; wealthier countries do not appear to be affected by the variations in temperature. "Higher ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Cities count the number of cars on the road in order to plan everything from the timing of stoplights to road repairs. But the in-road metal detectors that do the counting can make errors – most often by registering that a car is present when one isn't. One common error is called "splashover" because it usually involves an over-sensitive detector picking up the presence a vehicle in the next lane over – as if the signal from the car "splashed over" into the adjacent lane. Now Ohio State University researchers have developed software to help city managers ...

Psychological scientists have long known that the amount of information we can actively hold in mind at any given time – known as working memory – is limited. Our working memory capacity reflects our ability to focus and control attention and strongly influences our ability to solve problems. In a new article in the August issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Jennifer Wiley and Andrew Jarosz of the University of Illinois at Chicago explore the role of working memory capacity in both mathematical ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Dividing tasks among different individuals is a more efficient way to get things done, whether you are an ant, a honeybee or a human. A new study by researchers at Michigan State University's BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action suggests that this efficiency may also explain a key transition in evolutionary history, from single-celled to multi-celled organisms. The results, which can be found in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrate that the cost of switching between different tasks ...

(Boston) – Investigators at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System have identified a new gene linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings, published online in Molecular Psychiatry, indicate that a gene known to play a role in protecting brain cells from the damaging effects of stress may also be involved in the development of PTSD. The article reports the first positive results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of PTSD and suggests that variations in the retinoid-related orphan receptor ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- If past experience makes you think there's going to be one more cashew at the bottom of the bowl, you're likely to search through those mixed nuts a little longer. But what keeps the attention of a radiologist who sees just 70 suspicious lesions in 1,000 mammograms or a baggage screener who hasn't found a handgun in more than a year? The answer, according to biological theory and a laboratory study conducted by Duke University psychologists, may be to make those professional searchers believe there are more targets to be found. "In the real world, ...

Two studies published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry identify genetic mutations that play important roles in the condition commonly referred to as startle disease. Startle disease is characterized by an exaggerated response to noise and touch, which can interfere with breathing, cause catastrophic falls and even result in death. The newly identified genetic mutations affect how the signaling molecule glycine, which is responsible for sending messages between nerve cells, is both moved around and used in these cells. Startle disease, or hyperekplexia, emerges ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The unemployment rate differences among white males, women and minorities have decreased during the past few decades in the United States, but persistent inequalities continue among the groups, according to a study by an economist at the University of Missouri. Understanding these hidden differences in employment could help educators and policy makers develop more effective programs aimed at reducing unemployment inequality. "The belief that Americans are achieving equal levels of unemployment is flawed," said Peter Mueser, professor of economics at MU ...

Montreal, August 7, 2012 – Although it may not seem like much, the small wooden figurine Grandma brought back from the Holy Land has been blessed. She gives the souvenir to her grandchildren knowing she has done her job: deliver God into their lives. A recent study led by Hillary Kaell, an associate professor in the Department of Religion at Concordia University, and published in the Journal of Material Culture looks at why and to whom people give souvenir gifts – an area of study that little is known about. For her research, she chose to focus on Christian American women, ...

New Rochelle, NY, August 7, 2012—The body's natural reaction to reject replacement proteins represents a major obstacle to the successful use of gene therapy to cure a range of life-threatening diseases. A novel method that uses the body's own immune cells to induce tolerance to a specific protein was shown to suppress the rejection response, as described in an article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com). The article is available free online at the Human Gene Therapy (http://www.liebertpub.com/hum) website. "A ...

PHILADELPHIA – Bioengineered replacements for tendons, ligaments, the meniscus of the knee, and other tissues require re-creation of the exquisite architecture of these tissues in three dimensions. These fibrous, collagen-based tissues located throughout the body have an ordered structure that gives them their robust ability to bear extreme mechanical loading. Many labs have been designing treatments for ACL and meniscus tears of the knee, rotator cuff injuries, and Achilles tendon ruptures for patients ranging from the weekend warrior to the elite Olympian. One popular ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — California's hydropower is vulnerable to climate change, a University of California, Riverside scientist has advised policymakers in "Our Changing Climate," a report released July 31 by the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Energy Commission (CEC). "Climate change is expected to affect the quantity and timing of water flow in the state," explained Kaveh Madani, a former postdoctoral research scholar in UC Riverside's Water Science and Policy Center (WSPC), who led a research project on climate change effects on hydropower production, ...

1. Tuning into Contextual Clues May Help Doctors Improve Antibiotic Prescribing Habits Appropriate use of antibiotics can improve patient outcomes and reduce risk for antibiotic resistance. Febrile respiratory illnesses, or FRI, often present with vague, cold-like symptoms, making it difficult to discern whether the illness is viral or bacterial. Since there are few bedside clues that reliably distinguish viral from bacterial, physicians rely on contextual factors to aid treatment decisions. Contextual factors include epidemiology (for example, flu pandemic period) and ...

MINNEAPOLIS – Fainting has a strong genetic predisposition, according to new research published in the August 7, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Fainting, also called vasovagal syncope, is a brief loss of consciousness when your body reacts to certain triggers, such as emotional distress or the sight of blood. "The question of whether fainting is caused by genetic factors, environmental factors or a mixture of both has been the subject of debate," said study author Samuel F. Berkovic, MD, FRS, with the University ...

In the United States, clinicians are struggling to provide better and more affordable health care to more people—while keeping up with new scientific developments. The idea of a "learning health system" is one proposed solution for rapidly applying the best available scientific evidence in real-time clinical practice. In the August 7 Annals of Internal Medicine, a Group Health Cooperative team describes the experience of turning this intriguing concept into action. "In a learning health system, evidence and practice come together in a virtuous cycle, influencing each ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Two new studies offer insight into sex chromosome evolution by focusing on papaya, a multimillion dollar crop plant with a sexual problem (as far as growers are concerned) and a complicated past. The findings are described in two papers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research reveals that the papaya sex chromosomes have undergone dramatic changes in their short evolutionary histories (they are about 7 million years old; by comparison, human sex chromosomes began their evolution more than 167 million years ago). One of the ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — People living 700 to 900 years ago in Cahokia, a massive settlement near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, ritually used a caffeinated brew made from the leaves of a holly tree that grew hundreds of miles away, researchers report. The discovery – made by analyzing plant residues in pottery beakers from Cahokia and its surroundings – is the earliest known use of this "black drink" in North America. It pushes back the date by at least 500 years, and adds to the evidence that a broad cultural and trade network thrived in the Midwest ...

Hearing generic language to describe a category of people, such as "boys have short hair," can lead children to endorse a range of other stereotypes about the category, a study by researchers at New York University and Princeton University has found. Their research, which appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), also points to more effective methods to reduce stereotyping and prejudice. The study focused on "social essentialism," or the belief that certain social categories, such as race or gender, mark fundamentally distinct kinds of people. ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—August 6, 2012— Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered that an FDA-approved anti-epileptic drug reverses memory loss and alleviates other Alzheimer's-related impairments in an animal model of the disease. Scientists in the laboratory of Lennart Mucke, MD, who directs neurological research at Gladstone, conducted the research on mice genetically modified to simulate key aspects of Alzheimer's disease. In the study, they show how levetiracetam—a drug commonly prescribed for patients who suffer from epilepsy—suppresses abnormal brain activity ...

VIDEO: Harry Ostrer, M.D., discusses how his research into a new genetic analysis focusing on Jews from North Africa has provided an overall genetic map of the Jewish Diasporas. Dr.... Click here for more information. August 6, 2012 — (Bronx, NY) — A new genetic analysis focusing on Jews from North Africa has provided an overall genetic map of the Jewish Diasporas. The findings support the historical record of Middle Eastern Jews settling in North Africa during Classical Antiquity, ...