A study involving nearly 10,000 cardiac arrest patients from 10 North American regions has shown that extending the period of initial cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by paramedics and firefighters from one to three minutes provides no benefit. The study, led by Dr. Ian Stiell of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) and the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC), resolves a worldwide controversy about cardiac arrest care. It is the largest randomized cardiac arrest trial in the world, published in the New England Journal ...

Researchers have undertaken the most comprehensive investigation of genetic variance in human metabolism and discovered new insights into a range of common diseases. Their work has revealed 37 new variants that are associated with concentrations of metabolites in the blood. Many of these match variants associated with diseases such as chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and blood clotting. The team conducted the largest ever study of the human genome for genetic variants associated with metabolites - the biochemical compounds representing the start or end of metabolic ...

A new study suggests that Homo erectus, a precursor to modern humans, was using advanced toolmaking methods in East Africa 1.8 million years ago, at least 300,000 years earlier than previously thought. The study, published this week in Nature, raises new questions about where these tall and slender early humans originated and how they developed sophisticated tool-making technology. Homo erectus appeared about 2 million years ago, and ranged across Asia and Africa before hitting a possible evolutionary dead-end, about 70,000 years ago. Some researchers think Homo erectus ...

A faint star in the constellation of Leo (The Lion), called SDSS J102915+172927 [1], has been found to have the lowest amount of elements heavier than helium (what astronomers call "metals") of all stars yet studied. It has a mass smaller than that of the Sun and is probably more than 13 billion years old. "A widely accepted theory predicts that stars like this, with low mass and extremely low quantities of metals, shouldn't exist because the clouds of material from which they formed could never have condensed," [2] said Elisabetta Caffau (Zentrum fur Astronomie der Universitat ...

For the first time, researchers at the University of California, Davis, have demonstrated that forest trees have the ability to tap into nitrogen found in rocks, boosting the trees' growth and their ability to pull more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Given that carbon dioxide is the most important climate-change gas, the nitrogen in rocks could significantly affect how rapidly the earth will warm in the future, the researchers say. They report their findings in the Sept. 1 issue of the scientific journal Nature. If trees can access more nitrogen than previously ...

VIDEO: This three-dimensional reconstruction of part of a human colorectal tumor shows widespread infection with oncolytic vaccinia virus (green). Click here for more information. Researchers from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), the University of Ottawa (uOttawa), Jennerex Inc. and several other institutions today reported promising results of a world-first cancer therapy trial in renowned journal Nature. The trial is the first to show that an intravenously-delivered ...

STANFORD, Calif. — Memo to mature, health-minded vampires: You might want to consider limiting your treats to victims under age 30. In a study to be published Sept. 1 in Nature, Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have found substances in the blood of old mice that makes young brains act older. These substances, whose levels rise with increasing age, appear to inhibit the brain's ability to produce new nerve cells critical to memory and learning. The findings raise the question of whether it might be possible to shield the brain from aging by eliminating ...

(BOSTON) – Judith A. Linden, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and vice chair for education in the department of emergency medicine at Boston Medical Center (BMC), has written an review article on the treatment of adult victims of sexual assault in an acute care setting that will run in the Sept. 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The article, which utilizes a clinical vignette to illustrate evaluation and treatment protocols, was written to educate primary care and emergency physicians about the best ...

Just one second, one heartbeat. That's what is needed for a new, noninvasive functional imaging technology to record data for locating the source in the heart of a dangerous cardiac arrhythmia called ventricular tachycardia (VT). VT is an abnormal, fast beating of the heart, which, if ignored, can lead to ventricular fibrillation, which causes some 400,000 cases of sudden death yearly in the United States alone. The technique, developed by a Washington University in St. Louis scientist, is called Electrocardiographic Imaging (ECGI). It combines computerized tomography ...

The green anole lizard is an agile and active creature, and so are elements of its genome. This genomic agility and other new clues have emerged from the full sequencing of the lizard's genome and may offer insights into how the genomes of humans, mammals, and their reptilian counterparts have evolved since mammals and reptiles parted ways 320 million years ago. The researchers who completed this sequencing project reported their findings August 31 online in the journal Nature. The green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis) – a native of the Southeastern United States – ...

A specific genetic alteration has been discovered as a defining feature of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), a rare but devastating vascular cancer. These findings have also been used to develop a new diagnostic test for this blood vessel disease. An international research effort led by Brian Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., of Cleveland Clinic's Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute and Lerner Research Institute, devised an innovative approach to reveal the genetic alteration thought to cause EHE, which is considered uncommon: it comprises less than one percent of all ...

Breast cancer patients over the age of 60 with early-stage, hormone-responsive small tumors who forego adjuvant endocrine, also called hormonal therapy, are not at an increased risk of mortality compared to women of the same age without breast cancer, according to a study published Aug. 31 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The use of hormonal therapy has increased in breast cancer patients overall, and the 2009 St. Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference recommended hormonal therapy for almost all patients with hormone-responsive disease. But previous ...

University of British Columbia scientists may have uncovered a new explanation for how Alzheimer's disease destroys the brain – a profusion of blood vessels. While the death of cells, whether they are in the walls of blood vessels or in brain tissue, has been a major focus of Alzheimer's disease research, a team led by Wilfred Jefferies, a professor in UBC's Michael Smith Laboratories, has shown that the neurodegenerative disease might in fact be caused by the propagation of cells in blood vessel walls. Examining brain tissue from mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, ...

Golden Riviera Online Casino recently announced that they will be hosting a Guaranteed EUR10,000 Slots Tournament on the superb Video Slot, Hitman. Golden Rivera was the first in the industry to host a Slots Tournament of this kind and magnitude and to say that the previous EUR10K tourneys were an astounding success with its patrons would be an understatement. Casino Manager, Emily Alessi, released this statement to the press: "The time has come again for our famous EUR10,000 Guaranteed FreeRoll Slots Tourney. Every one of our previous EUR10K tourneys has had such ...

A new hi-tech £1million-plus non-invasive disease detection facility, developed by the University of Leicester, has been unveiled today (Sept 1st 2011) for use in Leicester Royal Infirmary's A&E department. It is designed to detect the "sight, smell and feel" of disease without the use of invasive probes, blood tests, or other time-consuming and uncomfortable procedures. Scientists use three different types of cutting-edge technology in combination under a range of situations. All the methods are non-invasive, and could speed up diagnosis. Scientists have surrounded ...

Robert Lauri reveals a new window of his musical creativity by now offering listeners some previously unreleased timeless melodies... all of them simply stunning. The artist introduces us to some of the songs performed in English by Lorraine S'. All of his melodies and arrangements offer an opportunity for today's artists and performers. For example, Robert Lauri first introduces us to the selections My Friend, Promised Land and Sunset. Wix widgets will be shared on Robert Lauri's social networking sites as well as on his music sites. During his long musical ...

Australia's iconic thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, was hunted to death in the early Twentieth century for allegedly killing sheep; however, a new study published in the Zoological Society of London's Journal of Zoology has found that the tiger had such weak jaws that its prey was probably no larger than a possum. "Our research has shown that its rather feeble jaw restricted it to catching smaller, more agile prey," said lead author Marie Attard, of the University of New South Wales Computational Biomechanics Research Group. "That's an unusual trait for a large predator ...

Stars aren't shy about sending out birth announcements. They fire off energetic jets of glowing gas travelling at supersonic speeds in opposite directions through space. Although astronomers have looked at still pictures of stellar jets for decades, now they can watch movies, thanks to the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. An international team of scientists led by astronomer Patrick Hartigan of Rice University in Houston, USA, has collected enough high-resolution Hubble images over a 14-year period to stitch together time-lapse movies of young jets ejected from three ...

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that postmenopausal women who smoke have higher androgen and estrogen levels than non-smoking women, with sex hormone levels being highest in heavy smokers. Previous studies have shown that high levels of estrogens and androgens are potential risk factors for breast and endometrial cancer as well as type 2 diabetes. Cigarette smoking is a well established risk factor for chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but ...

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that among women aged 60 and above, heavier women have fewer hot flashes than their leaner counterparts. The inverse association between body size and hot flashes was observed only among the older women. In the last decade, research on perimenopausal women has shown that heavier women tend to have more hot flashes. As a result of this research, clinicians began to observe obesity as a risk factor for hot flashes. However, according to this new ...

Dr. Thomas Neuman, podiatrist in Lancaster and Northridge, has recently launched the practice's social media websites - Facebook and Twitter. These social media channels were set up to maintain a superior level of communication and interaction with patients at any point during the day. Patients can now access more personalized information, as well as learn more about other patients' experiences with Dr. Neuman. "My patients use the Internet more and more these days, including sharing information and interacting with other patients on popular social media websites. ...

Many care homes provide first rate care, despite relentless negative media coverage, argues an expert on bmj.com today. Graham Mulley, Emeritus Professor of Elderly Care at the University of Leeds, calls on the media and high profile individuals to "balance the prevailing nihilism" and celebrate all the excellent work that is taking place in many care homes. His views come after he was asked to be a consultant adviser for an undercover television exposé of nursing homes. Media reporting of care homes is rarely positive, he writes, yet the latest report from the Care ...

New Jersey top dentist, Dr. Ivan Stein of Northfield Dental Group, is treating patients with more precision and efficiency with recent advancements in dental technology. New laser devices enable Dr. Stein to provide the best possible care in his Livingston office. Laser dentistry is a form of dentistry that allows for the treatment of highly specific areas by laser without damaging the surrounding tissues. For years lasers have been used in dentistry to treat a number of dental problems and they continue to improve and grow in popularity. "The use of lasers ...

One of the most efficient means of transporting freight is by ship. However, many of the ships sailing today are powered by ageing diesel motors fitted with neither exhaust cleaning equipment nor or modern control systems. Three years ago the University of Birmingham initiated an ambitious trial, converting an old canal barge to use hydrogen fuel. The old diesel motor, drive system and fuel tank were removed and replaced with a high efficiency electric motor, a battery pack for short-term energy supply and a fuel cell with a hydrogen storage system to charge the batteries. ...

Population movements in the wake of disasters make it difficult to deliver the right amount of humanitarian aid to the right places. During the earthquake and ensuing cholera epidemic in Haiti, researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and Columbia University, USA, developed a new method for solving this problem – they monitored the continual movements of two million anonymous mobile phones and reported directly to the humanitarian relief organisations on the ground. The method, which is now presented in the scientific journal PLoS Medicine, may have a major impact ...