Dung beetles roll their feasts of dung away to avoid the hoards of other hungry competitors at the dung pile. But now a team of researchers from South Africa and Sweden have discovered that they also use their balls in another, rather clever way. The moist balls keep the beetles cool even as they push a weight up to 50 times heavier than their own bodies across the hot sand. "The beetles climb on top of their moist balls whenever their front legs and heads overheat," said Prof. Marcus Byrne from Wits University. "We stumbled upon this behaviour by accident while watching ...

Las Vegas, NV (October 22, 2012) – Research unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas suggests a possible overlap of symptoms of two prevalent GI disorders: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and further suggests a possible link between subtle GI tract inflammation and IBS symptoms—a link that is also the focus of the first systemic review of the literature on this topic and an editorial both published in this month's American Journal of Gastroenterology. One study ...

Las Vegas, NV (October 22, 2012) –-Non-compliance with vitamin and mineral supplementation protocols after bariatric surgery could lead to nutritional deficiencies and related health complications, such as heart damage, according to two separate case reports unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas. Case Report 1: "Malnutrition Secondary to Non-Compliance with Vitamin and Mineral Supplements after Gastric Bypass Surgery: Complex Problem, Simple Solution" Multivitamin supplementation is considered ...

Las Vegas, NV (October 22, 2012) – Patients with chronic constipation may be at increased risk of developing colorectal cancer and benign neoplasms, according to study findings unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas. The study, "Risk of Developing Colorectal Cancer and Benign Neoplasm in Patients with Chronic Constipation," investigated the prevalence and incidence of colorectal cancer and benign neoplasms in 28,854 patients with chronic constipation (CC) and 86,562 controls without CC that ...

Las Vegas, NV (October 22, 2012) – Women under age 50 who have been diagnosed with endometrial cancer, and first, second and third degree relatives of patients with colorectal cancer may have an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC), according to two separate studies unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas. Two other CRC-related studies presented at ACG 2012 investigated the impact of gender, race and obesity on the incidence of adenoma and advanced adenoma detection rates—suggesting ...

Las Vegas, NV, (October 22, 2012) – Statin use is associated with protection from esophagus cancer according to a new meta-analysis of existing clinical studies exploring the cancer prevention effects of statins presented by a Mayo Clinic researcher, Dr. Siddharth Singh, at the American College of Gastroenterology 77th Annual Scientific Meeting in Las Vegas, NV. Dr. Singh and his Mayo colleagues conducted a systematic review of eleven studies reporting 8,613 cases of esophageal cancer from studies including almost 1 million patients. Incidence of esophageal cancer ...

Las Vegas, NV (October 22, 2012) – Patients with Type 2 Diabetes may face an increased risk for Barrett's Esophagus (BE), regardless of other risk factors including smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), according to research unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas. The study, "Diabetes Mellitus Increases the Risk of Barrett's Esophagus: Results from A Large Population Based Control Case Study," suggests that, "if you have diabetes, your risk for Barrett's ...

Las Vegas, NV (October 22, 2012) – The number of patients dying from upper gastrointestinal bleeding has decreased over the past two decades, a result researchers attribute to the advances in medical and endoscopic therapies introduced over the past 20 years, according to a report unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas. One example of how such advances are impacting patient care is described in a separate case report also presented today on the first use of Hemospray™ (Cook Endoscopy) that saved the ...

Las Vegas, NV (October 22, 2012) – Marijuana use—both natural and synthetic—may cause cannabinoid hyperemesis (CH) a little-known but costly effect that researchers suggest is a serious burden to the health care system as it often leads to expensive diagnostic tests and ineffective treatments in an effort to find the cause of a patient's symptoms and provide relief, according to two separate case reports unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas. Cannabinoid hyperemesis is characterized by a history of ...

Las Vegas, NV, (October 22, 2012) – Advances in endoscopic technologies and techniques will be highlighted in clinical research presented at the 77th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Las Vegas, NV. A Press Briefing with experts on these topics is scheduled for Monday October 22, at 12:45 pm Pacific Daylight Time by dialing toll-free 888-850-4523 (participant code 424049). A new scarless option to treat rare swallowing disorder, achalasia Enhancements in a technique known as NOTES (natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery) ...

Las Vegas, NV (October 22, 2012) – Diabetic patients who suffer from a common complication of diabetes called gastroparesis may find that chronic electrical stimulation (ES) at specific acupuncture points could relieve gastroparesis symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, early satiety, abdominal fullness, upper abdominal pain and bloating, according to study results unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas. The study, "Chronic Electrical Stimulation at Acupuncture Points Improves Dyspeptic Symptoms," ...

Las Vegas, NV, (October 22, 2012) – Clinical evidence of the safety and effectiveness of electrical stimulation of a muscular valve in the esophagus demonstrates promising results in resolving symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) and is being presented at the 77th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Las Vegas, NV. Three studies examined small numbers of patients who had a device implanted that uses low energy electrical pulses to strengthen a weak or dysfunctional lower esophageal sphincter (LES) which is the underlying cause ...

Wits researchers have played a pivotal role in an AIDS study published today in the journal, Nature Medicine, which describes how a unique change in the outer covering of the virus found in two HIV infected South African women enabled them to make potent antibodies which are able to kill up to 88% of HIV types from around the world. This ground-breaking discovery provides an important new approach that could be useful in making an AIDS vaccine. The study, performed by members of the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) consortium, involves ...

SANTA BARBARA – Collaborators at Cottage Health System and University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) have identified biomarkers that may yield a revolutionary diagnostic test for pre-eclampsia, a complex and potentially life-threatening hypertensive condition affecting 5% of pregnancies worldwide. The most common dangerous complication of pregnancy, pre-eclampsia is potentially fatal and often mimics or is confused with other pregnancy-related conditions—such as swelling, gastric pain, and high blood pressure. Pre-eclampsia can lead to eclampsia, which carries a ...

Fairbanks, Alaska--Wildlife conservation efforts in the United States are facing habitat loss, climate change and major reductions in funding. To address these threats, a group of prominent wildlife biologists and policy experts is recommending the formation of a state-based national conservation-support network. Their proposal is published in the November issue of the journal BioScience. "We surveyed wildlife managers from every state and territory to assess the state of the wildlife conservation system," said co-author Brad Griffith, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. ...

Blasting over two million lights years from the centre of a distant galaxy is a supersonic jet of material that looks strikingly similar to the afterburner flow of a fighter jet, except in this case the jet engine is a supermassive black hole and the jet material is moving at nearly the speed of light. Research published over the weekend in the Astrophysical Journal Letters shows the galaxy-scale jet to have bright and dark regions, similar to the phenomenon in an afterburner exhaust called 'shock diamonds.' A new image of the previously studied jet reveals regularly ...

Sweden's only remaining cold-water coral reef, the Säcken reef in the Koster Fjord, is under threat of extinction. Because of that, researchers from the University of Gothenburg have started a restoration project where healthy corals from nearby reefs in Norway are being removed and placed on the Säcken reef. Coral reefs are known for their rich biological diversity. In Sweden, only one reef-building coral species exists, a cold-water coral called Lophelia pertusa. Lophelia pertusa requires an environment with a constant high level of salinity and low water temperatures ...

The European Science Foundation's (ESF) membership organisation for all medical research councils in Europe, the European Medical Research Concils (EMRC) has today released an ESF-EMRC Science Policy Briefing (SPB) entitled 'Open Access in Biomedical Research' highlighting the need to accelerate the adoption of open access to research articles in the biomedical sciences across Europe. Over the past few months, various reports and communications have been published on the topic of open access. These include the Finch Group report on 18 June 2012, the Publishing and the ...

Analysis of specific biomarkers in a cerebrospinal fluid sample can differentiate patients with Alzheimer's disease from those with other types of dementia. The method, which is being studied by researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, may eventually permit earlier detection of Alzheimer's disease. Due to the similarity of the symptoms, differentiating patients with Alzheimer's from those with other types of dementia – or patients with Parkinsondisease from those with other motor disorders – is often difficult. Making a proper diagnosis is essential if proper treatment ...

At the end of the 21st century, the temperature in the Baltic Sea will be higher and the salt content lower than at any time since 1850. If no action is taken to alleviate the effects of climate change, there may be major consequences for the marine environment. "This is the first time that anyone has taken a detailed look at how climate models and individual factors combine to affect a specific region. This makes this project unique," says Jonathan Havenhand from the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. A large ...

A daily dose of acetylsalicylic acid equivalent to a fourth of an aspirin may slow the decline in intellectual capacity among elderly individuals with high cardiovascular risk. This is shown in a study by Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, over a five year period studied how intellectual capacity changes among 681 elderly women (70 to 92 years) with heightened risk of suffering from a heart attack, vascular spasm or stroke. Of the 681 women, 129 received a low daily dose of acetylsalicylic ...

Patterns fascinate. Particularly stripes. Found in nature in zebras, they are also found in the most unlikely places, such as powdered drugs' mixing vessel walls. In an article about to be published in EPJ E, Nirmal Thyagu and his colleagues from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA, propose a traffic model to predict the formation of different patterns, ranging from stripes to spots. Thanks to simulations, Thyagu and colleagues showed the underlying stripe formation mechanism, which they propose stems from traffic-like jams, whereby particles move more slowly when surrounded ...

Istanbul, 22 October 2012: Experts in emergency cardiac care from around the world met in Istanbul to discuss ways to improve outcomes in patients with acute cardiac disease. This was the first annual meeting of the newly launched Acute Cardiovascular Care Association (ACCA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) (1). The congress concludes today. "The key message is that time saves lives," said Professor Tom Quinn, United Kingdom, member of the ACCA Board. "In cardiac emergencies, such as a heart attack, calling an ambulance immediately ensures the patient gets ...

This press release is available in German. The immune system is comprised of multiple cell types each capable of specialized functions to protect the body from invading pathogens and promote tissue repair after injury. One cell type, known as monocytes, circulates throughout the organism in the blood and enters tissues to actively phagocytose (eat!) foreign cells and assist in tissue healing. While monocytes can freely enter most bodily tissues, the healthy, normal brain is different as it is sequestered from circulating blood by a tight network of cells known as the ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – A simulated clinical experience guiding future pediatricians through interactions with breastfeeding moms appears to put the doctors at ease with the sensitive and important health topic, researchers say. "We showed that their confidence and comfort increased with the OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) interventions," said Dr. Kathryn McLeod, a pediatrician and educator at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University who developed the three simulated patient exams. Breastfeeding education typically falls to pediatricians ...