The press release
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Science15 Nov 2012

Feinstein Institute researchers discover plant derivative

MANHASSET, NY – Researchers at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered that tanshinones, which come from the plant Danshen and are highly valued in Chinese traditional medicine, protect against the life-threatening condition sepsis. The findings are published in the December issue of Biochemical Pharmacology. Inflammation is necessary for maintaining good health – without inflammation, wounds and infections would never heal. However, persistent and constant inflammation can damage tissue and organs, and lead to diseases such as sepsis. Sepsis affects ...

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Environment15 Nov 2012

Researchers tap into CO2 storage potential of mine waste

VANCOUVER, CANADA, NOVEMBER 15, 2012 -- It's time to economically value the greenhouse gas-trapping potential of mine waste and start making money from it, says mining engineer and geologist Michael Hitch of the University of British Columbia (UBC). Hitch studies the value of mine waste rock for its CO2-sequestration potential, or "SP." He says mining companies across Canada will, in future, be able to offset CO2 emissions with so-named "SP rock," and within 25 years could even be selling emissions credits. Digging, trucking and processing make mining an energy-intensive ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

Eating more fish could reduce postpartum depression

Low levels of omega-3 may be behind postpartum depression, according to a review lead by Gabriel Shapiro of the University of Montreal and the Research Centre at the Sainte-Justine Mother and Child Hospital. Women are at the highest risk of depression during their childbearing years, and the birth of a child may trigger a depressive episode in vulnerable women. Postpartum depression is associated with diminished maternal health as well as developmental and health problems for her child. "The literature shows that there could be a link between pregnancy, omega-3 and the ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

Family commitment blended with strong religion dampens civic participation, Baylor researcher finds

Blending religion with familism — a strong commitment to lifelong marriage and childbearing — dampens secular civic participation, according to research by a Baylor University sociologist. "Strong family and strong religion. What happens when they meet? Is that good for the larger society? It is not always as it seems," said Young-Il Kim, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow in Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion. His study — "Bonding alone: Familism, religion and secular civic participation" — is published online in Social Science Research. The findings are based on analysis ...

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Physics15 Nov 2012

New study finds milk-drinking kids reap physical benefits later in life

Starting a milk drinking habit as a child can lead to lifelong benefits, even improving physical ability and balance in older age, according to new research. A new study published in Age & Aging found an increase of about one glass of milk a day as a child was linked to a 5% faster walking time and 25% lesser chance of poor balance in older age. The researchers suggest a "public health benefit of childhood milk intake on physical function in old age" – a finding that has huge potential for adults over 65, a population expected reach more than 70 million by the year 2030, ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

How 'black swans' and 'perfect storms' become lame excuses for bad risk management

The terms "black swan" and "perfect storm" have become part of public vocabulary for describing disasters ranging from the 2008 meltdown in the financial sector to the terrorist attacks of September 11. But according to Elisabeth Paté-Cornell, a Stanford professor of management science and engineering, people in government and industry are using these terms too liberally in the aftermath of a disaster as an excuse for poor planning. Her research, published in the November issue of the journal Risk Analysis, suggests that other fields could borrow risk analysis strategies ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

A new way of looking at Prader-Willi Syndrome

An Australian study reveals that people with the rare genetic disorder known as Prader-Willi Syndrome may have an impaired autonomic nervous system. This discovery opens up a new way of looking at the insatiable appetite experienced by all sufferers, as well as their very high risk of cardiovascular disease. The autonomic nervous system controls our inner organs, including our gut, heart, liver and blood vessels. It is a finely tuned, dynamic system, responding moment-by-moment to the body's needs. Researchers from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, including ...

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Medicine15 Nov 2012

Scientists show protein-making machinery can switch gears with a small structural change process, which may have implications for immunity and cancer therapy, compared to the movie The Transformers

JUPITER, FL, November 15, 2012 – For the past several years, Min Guo, an assistant professor at The Scripps Research Institute, has focused on the intricate actions of an ancient family of catalytic enzymes that play a key role in translation, the process of producing proteins. These complex enzymes are a group of fundamental molecules that make building blocks for protein production. Present in every cell, these enzymes—known as aminoacyl-transfer RNA synthetases (tRNA synthetases)—select the proper amino acid and assign them to transfer RNAs to make a protein in the ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

Genetics point to serious pregnancy complication

New research at the University of Adelaide has revealed a genetic link in pregnant mums - and their male partners - to pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening complication during pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia involves high blood pressure and fluid retention and can cause damage to the kidneys and liver. About 7% of pregnancies are affected by pre-eclampsia. In a paper now online in the journal Placenta ahead of print publication, the researchers say they have found a genetic variant involving the AGT2R gene, which may predispose women to pre-eclampsia. However, the genetic variant ...

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Energy15 Nov 2012

VTT developes future energy solutions in cooperation with residents

VTT is developing future energy solutions in cooperation with residents of the new research hotel in Otaniemi. The hotel offers rented furnished accommodation to visiting foreign research scientists, who will move in to the new building in November. The four-storey research hotel is located at Otaranta 4 and overlooks the sea. The hotel has 52 rooms ranging from 30 to 80 square metres, with common areas and facilities on each floor. Residents' energy behaviour matters – up to a fourfold difference in consumption Research Professor Miimu Airaksinen says that the role ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

Mercury poisoning ruled out as cause of Tycho Brahe's death

In 2010, Tycho Brahe was exhumed from his grave in Prague, an event which received extensive international media coverage. Since then, a Danish-Czech team of researchers has been working to elucidate the cause of Tycho Brahe's death. The results of this intensive work now make it possible to rule out mercury poisoning as a cause of death. For over four hundred years, Tycho Brahe's untimely death has been a mystery. He died on 24 October 1601 only eleven days after the onset of a sudden illness. Over the centuries, a variety of myths and theories about his death have arisen. ...

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Social Science15 Nov 2012

Study finds asthma is not linked to lower educational attainment

Research led by Queen Mary, University of London has found that having asthma is not linked to poorer scores in national school examinations. In contrast, ethnicity and social deprivation were associated with poorer educational outcomes in the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE. Long-term conditions in childhood – of which asthma is now the most common – may have a major impact on educational performance. However, in one of the world's first studies to link health, housing, benefits and educational data in over 12,000 children, researchers from Queen Mary, University ...

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Medicine15 Nov 2012

Structure of enzyme unravelled providing basis for more accurate design of chemotherapeutic drugs

Cambridge, MA, November 15, 2012 – A group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have for the first time described the structure of the active site core of topoisomerase II alpha, an important target for anti-cancer drugs. The type II topoisomerases are important enzymes that are involved in maintaining the structure of DNA and chromosome segregation during both replication and transcription of DNA. One of these enzymes, topoisomerase II alpha, is involved in the replication of DNA and cell proliferation, and is highly expressed in rapidly dividing ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

When the going gets tough, the tough get... more relief from a placebo?

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Are you good at coping when life gets tough? Do people call you a straight-shooter? Will you help others without expecting anything in return? Those personality traits might do more than help you win a popularity contest. According to new University of Michigan-led neuroscience research, those qualities also might make you more likely to get pain relief from a placebo – a fake medicine. And, the researchers show, it's not just your mind telling you the sham drug is working or not. Your brain's own natural painkiller chemicals may actually respond ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

Oxytocin keeps flirting folks at arm's length

Flirting brings women and men closer. But the "social distance" ensures that they will keep a certain spatial distance from each other. Researchers under the leadership of the University of Bonn studied whether this distance can be diminished by the so-called love hormone, oxytocin. The exact opposite turned out to be true – men who were in a committed relationship even maintained a greater distance from an attractive woman when under the influence of oxytocin than their control group. The study has just been published in the renowned "Journal of Neuroscience." When people ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

'It’s not like CSI': The science of the search for Richard III

Search for King Richard III press portal: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/media-centre/richard-iii DNA testing, environmental sampling and radiocarbon dating are some of the tests being undertaken to determine whether the skeleton found in Leicester was once Richard III - and there are also plans to do a facial reconstruction. Lead archaeologist Richard Buckley, of the University of Leicester's Archaeological Services, has explained the schedule for the scientific processes the skeleton is being subjected to. The complexity and rigorousness of the tests – along ...

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Medicine15 Nov 2012

RSV study shows potential for vaccine strategies to protect babies

Research by the University of Warwick indicates that vaccinating families could protect young babies against a common winter virus which can be fatal for infants under six months. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) typically leads to mild, cold-like symptoms in adults and older children but can be more serious and even fatal in infants under the age of six months as it can lead to bronchiolitis and pneumonia. The virus is commonly found all over the world. In the UK, outbreaks generally start in November or December and last four to five months, peaking over the Christmas ...

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Space15 Nov 2012

Meteorites reveal warm water existed on Mars

Image of the Lafayette meteorite available from pressoffice@le.ac.uk New research by the University of Leicester and The Open University into evidence of water on Mars, sufficiently warm enough to support life, has been published this week in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. The study determined that water temperatures on the Red Planet ranged from 50°C to 150°C. Microbes on Earth can live in similar waters, for example in the volcanic thermal springs at Yellowstone Park, the scientists behind the research point out. The research is based on detailed ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

Cash cuts increase smoking death risk for world's poor, study says

Proposed funding cuts within the international body responsible for tobacco control will leave the world's poorest countries more vulnerable to smoking-related diseases, a study suggests. As many as 80 countries from the developing world, such as Paraguay, Rwanda, and Kyrgyzstan, could effectively be excluded from the forum tasked with reducing global tobacco use should the cuts go ahead. The World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is considering cutting its funding for delegates from poorer countries to attend meetings. Parties ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

Thermogenerator from the printer

The computer activates an alarm: the machine's motor is threatening to overheat. The thermosensor attached directly to the motor housing reports the threat. The information is transmitted to the maintenance service which ensures that the cause is identified. Sensors can be used in factories, car manufacturers and other areas in everyday life. They measure temperature, humidity and wear and tear. Data is transmitted to the computer via wireless communication and read out. This enables the provision of information on the condition of parts – for instance, whether maintenance ...

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Medicine15 Nov 2012

GW Research chosen as 'paper of the week' for blood coagulation discovery

WASHINGTON (Nov. 15, 2012) – Researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) will be featured as a top paper in next week's issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Research by Rakesh Kumar, Ph.D., Catharine Birch McCormick Endowed Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Beatriz Sánchez-Solana, postdoctoral fellow at the department of biochemistry and molecular medicine, both at SMHS, has been selected as the journal's "Paper of the Week". The ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

President's Bioethics Commission posts Study Guide

Washington, D.C. – The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues today released an ethics study guide based on the Commission's investigation into the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) experiments conducted in Guatemala in the 1940s. A Study Guide to "Ethically Impossible" STD Research in Guatemala from 1946 to 1948 is designed for use by higher education and other interested members of the public. It is free and available for immediate use in classrooms and elsewhere at www.bioethics.gov. "As the world is now aware, the PHS research involved intentionally ...

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Medicine15 Nov 2012

ACA: More than a million women could gain access to potentially life saving tests for cancer

WASHINGTON—A study by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) indicates that full implementation of the Affordable Care Act would expand health insurance coverage for more low-income women, enabling more than a million women to obtain potentially life-saving screening for breast and cervical cancer. The study, "Health Care Reform and Women's Insurance Coverage for Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening," was published in a recent issue of the journal Preventing Chronic Disease. In the past, many low income women ...

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Medicine15 Nov 2012

Protein tug of war points toward better therapies for cardiovascular disease

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Two proteins are in a tug of war that determines how much the body makes of superoxide, a highly reactive and potentially destructive product of oxygen that's dramatically elevated in cardiovascular disease, researchers report. Their finding indicates an antiulcer drug just may help the body reduce excessive levels. Hsp90 and Hsp70 are both heat shock proteins but appear to have opposite effects on reactive oxygen species production, said Dr. David J.R. Fulton, Interim Director of the Vascular Biology Center at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia ...

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Science15 Nov 2012

Researchers uncover some good news for BC's troubled salmon populations

Researchers uncover some good news for BC's troubled salmon populations A University of Alberta led research team has some positive news for British Columbia's pink salmon populations, and the salmon farming industry that has struggled to protect both captive and wild salmon from sea lice infestations. There has long been concern that concentrations of sea lice in BC's fish farming pens spread to wild fish stock in surrounding waters. The researchers discovered that by changing the timing of sea lice treatments, one salmon farming region not only improved the health ...

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