Women who breast-feed are far more likely to demonstrate a "mama bear" effect — aggressively protecting their infants and themselves — than women who bottle-feed their babies or non-mothers, according to a new study in the September issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. And when breast-feeding women behave aggressively, they register a lower blood pressure than other women, the study found. The results, the researchers say, suggest that breast-feeding can help dampen the body's typical stress response to fear, giving women ...

The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Paleoceanograpy (PA), Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), and Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences (JGR-G). 1. Was ocean acidification responsible for history's greatest extinction? Two hundred and fifty million years ago, the world suffered the greatest recorded extinction of all time. More than 90 percent of marine animals and a majority of terrestrial species disappeared, yet the cause of the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) die-off remains unknown. Various ...

PHILADELPHIA - A sideline visual test effectively detected concussions in collegiate athletes, according to a team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Concussed athletes scored an average of 5.9 seconds slower (worse) than the best baseline scores in healthy controls on the timed test, in which athletes read a series of numbers on cards and are scored on time and accuracy. This quick visual test, easily administered on the playing field, holds promise as a complement to other diagnostic tools for sports-related concussion. ...

Cerebral palsy is a devastating birth injury that results in damage to the brain and central nervous system of an infant or young child. The damage has life-changing effects on the child, their parents, and other loved ones. The emotional and financial burden of having a child born with cerebral palsy can seem overwhelming, especially if the birth injury was the result of the negligence of the doctor, the nurses, or another healthcare professional who was attending the birth. During labor, a baby experiences stress and sometimes experiences distress. A doctor or nurse ...

HOUSTON – (Aug. 31, 2011) – Using a patient's own bone marrow stem cells to treat acute stroke is feasible and safe, according to the results of a ground-breaking Phase I trial at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The trial was the first ever to harvest an acute stroke patient's own stem cells from the iliac crest of the leg, separate them and inject them back into the patient intravenously. The first patient was enrolled in March 2009 at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. This research, with additional funding from the National ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Troops overseas often want nothing more than to get back home to loved ones – but the reunion period often can be more emotionally taxing than the deployment. Returning service members are at a greater risk of both depressive symptoms and relationship distress, and research shows the two often go together, says University of Illinois researcher Leanne Knobloch (pronounced kuh-NO-block). That's not a good thing, since someone suffering from depressive symptoms "really needs the support of their romantic partner." In a study published in August in the ...

Only around 30 percent of medical malpractice cases result in a settlement for injured patients in the United States. This means that around 70 percent of these cases are thrown out or dismissed due to insufficient evidence or inadequate patient representation. Because these cases are so difficult to win, most medical malpractice attorneys will only take them on if serious or catastrophic injury has occurred. To evaluate the extent of your injuries, an experienced medical malpractice attorney will require both time and substantial information before progressing with ...

NEW YORK (Aug. 31, 2011) -- A landmark study in the late 1960s and early 1970s used marshmallows and cookies to assess the ability of preschool children to delay gratification. If they held off on the temptation to eat a treat, they were rewarded with more treats later. Some of the children resisted, others didn't. A newly published follow-up revisits some of the same children, now adults, revealing that these differences remain: Those better at delaying gratification as children remained so as adults; likewise, those who wanted their cookie right away as children were ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- University of Florida researchers may help resolve the public debate over America's future light source of choice: Edison's incandescent bulb or the more energy efficient compact fluorescent lamp. It could be neither. Instead, America's future lighting needs may be supplied by a new breed of light emitting diode, or LED, that conjures light from the invisible world of quantum dots. According to an article in the current online issue of the journal Nature Photonics, moving a QD LED from the lab to market is a step closer to reality thanks to a ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — UC Davis researchers have developed an accurate computer model to test the effects of medications for arrhythmia, or abnormal heart rhythm, before they are used in patients. The new tool -- described in the Aug. 31 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine -- will help scientists screen anti-arrhythmia medications early in the drug-development pipeline and eventually guide physicians in prescribing those interventions to patients who could benefit the most. "Drug development for arrhythmia has failed because it is difficult to anticipate ...

The Kingston, New Jersey law firm of Hanan M. Isaacs is pleased to announce that managing partner Hanan Isaacs has been named by New Jersey Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top attorneys in New Jersey for 2011. Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are afforded this distinction by Super Lawyers. When asked about receiving this recognition for the second consecutive year, Attorney Isaacs said, "I am humbled to be recognized by Super Lawyers again this year. My focus is on effectively representing my New Jersey clients, so the recognition is gratifying." SUPER ...

When it comes to defibrillators, simpler may be safer, even though more complex machines are used on a majority of patients. That's according to a new study from a team that included University of Colorado School of Medicine researcher Paul Varosy, MD. The group reviewed more than 100,000 records of cardiac patients. They found that there was more chance of surgical problems and death with devices that require electrical leads to be attached to two chambers of the heart compared to those that work on one chamber. Although there are potential theoretical benefits, the ...

PHILADELPHIA — In solid materials with regular atomic structures, figuring out weak points where the material will break under stress is relatively easy. But for disordered solids, like glass or sand, their disordered nature makes such predictions much more daunting tasks. Now, a collaboration combining a theoretical model with a first-of-its kind experiment has demonstrated a novel method for identifying "soft spots" in such materials. The findings from University of Pennsylvania and Syracuse University physicists may lead to better understanding of the principles that ...

Few topics are as likely to provoke a heated response as concealed carry laws and their effect on crime. Proponents of the laws claim more guns mean less crime. In Pennsylvania, they certainly mean more guns. Concealed Carry Since the 1980s, the numbers of citizens licensed to carry a concealed gun has grown from less than a million to 6 million, The Daily Item reported recently. The story notes nearly 1 in 11 people in Synder County has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Pennsylvania Above Average They point out that while 1 of 50 Americans has a license ...

LA JOLLA, CA – August 31, 2011 - Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown that a particular white blood cell plays a direct role in the development and spread of cancerous tumors. Their work sheds new light on the development of the disease and points toward novel strategies for treating early-stage cancers. The study was published in September 2011 print issue of the American Journal of Pathology. Scripps Research Professor James Quigley, Staff Scientist Elena Deryugina, and colleagues had previously demonstrated that white blood cells known as neutrophils—bone ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Here's an easy way to improve your health: trust your neighbors. A new study from the University of Missouri shows that increasing trust in neighbors is associated with better self-reported health. "I examined the idea of 'relative position,' or where one fits into the income distribution in their local community, as it applies to both trust of neighbors and self-rated health," said Eileen Bjornstrom, an assistant professor of sociology in the MU College of Arts and Science. "Because human beings engage in interpersonal comparisons in order to gauge ...

Increasing H-1B Visa Cap, Length of Stay May Improve Economy Innovation is one of the keys to a strong economy. The way to ensure more innovation in the U.S., some argue, is to improve immigration for highly-skilled professionals. This is the message that Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, brought to a group of Silicon Valley executives during a hearing about how to improve the way the government processes visa applications. In particular, Congressman Issa called the H-1B visa system -- the nonimmigrant ...

For motorcyclists in Minnesota, summer is the time to hit the road on a bike. This summer, however, riding is proving to be more dangerous than ever, as tragic accidents have risen alarmingly. Accidents involving motorcycles have killed at least 22 people so far this year in the state, up significantly from 2010. More Danger Ahead? Minnesota's Department of Public Safety is concerned that motorcycle deaths will only increase. "August and September are typically high-traffic and high-fatal months for riders," Bill Shaffer, the motorcycle program coordinator ...

Critical life course events and experiences — in both youth and middle adulthood — may contribute to health and cognition in later life, according to a new supplemental issue of the Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. Furthermore, the authors find that the processes of aging linked to cognition and those linked to health should be studied simultaneously, as part of the same set of processes. There also is an emerging consensus that a multidisciplinary theoretical approach is necessary to understand the nature of the processes ...

University of Florida researchers have modified a toxic chemical produced by tiny marine microbes and successfully deployed it against laboratory models of colon cancer. Writing today in ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, UF medicinal chemists describe how they took a generally lethal byproduct of marine cyanobacteria and made it more specifically toxic — to cancer cells. When the scientists gave low doses of the compound to mice with a form of colon cancer, they found that it inhibited tumor growth without the overall poisonous effect of the natural product. Even at ...

Driving drunk on Easter Sunday, Virginia resident William Daniels blew through a Utica, New York stop sign and plowed into another car, killing the driver. Daniels himself was injured and charged with aggravated vehicular manslaughter, aggravated vehicular assault and aggravated DWI (driving while intoxicated). Daniels initially pled not guilty to the charges and contested the warrantless drawing of his blood at the crash scene while he was unconscious. Though unconscious when blood was drawn for alcohol testing, Daniels may have been talking after the crash and admitted ...

New Strategy for Developing Rapid Diagnostics An international consortium of researchers has devised a novel strategy for developing rapid, inexpensive diagnostic tests for microbial infections. Effective treatment of microbial infection is critically dependent on early diagnosis and identification of the causative organism. One inexpensive, rapid and adaptable to point-of-care diagnostic method is immunoassay for microbial antigens that are shed into bodily fluids during infection. A major barrier to developing these diagnostics is determining which of the hundreds ...

Much of the United States sweated through an unusually humid heat wave during July, a month that brought record-breaking temperatures to many areas across the Great Plains. As temperatures soared, NASA satellites observed the unusual weather from above. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), an instrument launched on the Aqua satellite in 2002, is unique in its ability to yield highly accurate data about the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere and the part that most directly affects life on Earth. Hot temperatures struck Texas and Oklahoma particularly ...

More and more vehicles are hitting the roads during this busy driving season. Unfortunately, with this extra traffic comes an increase in motor vehicle accidents - some of the more dangerous involving large trucks. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,380 people were killed in crashes involving commercial trucks in 2009, a 20 percent decrease from the previous year. Although fatalities from semi truck crashes are declining, motorists should still be aware that large trucks' size, weight, visibility and braking abilities make semi trucks ...

It comes as no surprise that workers in certain physically intensive fields are more susceptible to serious on the job injuries. However, until quite recently, research on work-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been sorely lacking, despite its status as a leading cause of death. A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has identified the most at-risk groups, and will hopefully inspire employers to engage in targeted strategies to protect their workers from TBI. Construction Accidents: Common Causes Almost 7,300 workers died as a ...