The press release
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Environment22 Jun 2012

Focusing on water for Central Everglades essential to reversing whole ecosystem's continuing decline

WASHINGTON — Twelve years into a multibillion-dollar state and federal effort to save the Florida Everglades, little progress has been made in restoring the core of the ecosystem, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council. Expedited restoration projects that improve the quality and amount of water in this area are necessary to reverse ongoing declines. A new federal pilot project offers an innovative approach to this challenge, although additional analysis is needed to maximize restoration benefits within existing legal constraints. ...

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Engineering22 Jun 2012

Lab-engineered kidney project reaches early milestone

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – June 21, 2012 – Regenerative medicine researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have reached an early milestone in a long-term project that aims to build replacement kidneys in the lab to help solve the shortage of donor organs. In proof-of-concept research published online ahead of print in Annals of Surgery, the team successfully used pig kidneys to make "scaffolds" or support structures that could potentially one day be used to build new kidneys for human patients. The idea is to remove all animal cells – leaving only the organ structure ...

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Medicine22 Jun 2012

Mayo Clinic: Common blood pressure drug linked to severe GI problems

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered an association between a commonly prescribed blood pressure drug, Olmesartan, and severe gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and electrolyte abnormalities -- symptoms common among those who have celiac disease. The findings are published online today in the medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. From 2008-11, Mayo Clinic physicians treated 22 patients with symptoms similar to celiac disease, including intestinal inflammation and abnormalities. Patients came from 17 states, ...

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Science22 Jun 2012

Parents – not TV – may determine whether kids are active or couch potatoes

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University have confirmed what we knew all along – children in this country are increasingly sedentary, spending too much time sitting and looking at electronic screens. But it's not necessarily because of the newest gee-whiz gadgets – parents play a major factor in whether young children are on the move. In two studies out online today in a special issue of the journal Early Child Development and Care devoted to "Parental Influences of Childhood Obesity," OSU researchers examined how parenting style – whether a strict but ...

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Medicine22 Jun 2012

Jesse Stoff Applauds Creative Efforts to Raise Awareness and Funds for Prostate Cancer Programs

The Wall Street Journal reports that On The Line has released the nominees for the first Big Daddy Awards. A campaign created to raise awareness about prostate cancer, On The Line has nominated top celebrities across 33 categories. The award show, which airs on the Internet the day after Father's day, is expected to generate a great deal of interest. Dr. Jesse Stoff, who has conducted a large amount of research regarding prostate cancer, applauds the creative efforts of this project. The nominees that have been chosen are all celebrities who represent a variety of categories ...

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Science22 Jun 2012

Happy Owl Studio Tablet Cases Now on Sale in Tablet2Cases.com Online Shop

Tablet2Cases.com, the Internet's definitive resource on tablet cases, today announces the availability of Happy Owl Studio tablet cases into its online shop. Founded in Venice Beach, California, in 2012 - "on the eve of the announcement of Apple's original iPad" - Happy Owl Studio was formed specifically to create and sell products for the tablet. Happy Owl Studio seeks to create cases that combine function and style, with its first cases being the Clutch and Wallet portfolio-style cases. The Happy Owl Studio Clutch iPad 2 / New iPad 3 Women's Portfolio ...

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Environment22 Jun 2012

AGU: Elephant seals help uncover slower-than-expected Antarctic melting

WASHINGTON - Don't let the hobbling, wobbling, and blubber fool you into thinking elephant seals are merely sluggish sun bathers. In fact, scientists are benefiting from these seals' surprisingly lengthy migrations to determine critical information about Antarctic melting and future sea level rise. A team of scientists have drilled holes through an Antarctic ice shelf, the Fimbul Ice Shelf, to gather the first direct measurements regarding melting of the shelf's underside. A group of elephant seals, outfitted with sensors that measure salinity, temperature, ...

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Medicine22 Jun 2012

Study examines use of a natural language processing tool for electronic health records in assessing colonoscopy quality

OAK BROOK, Ill. – JUNE 21, 2012 – A new study shows that natural language processing programs can "read" dictated reports and provide information to allow measurement of colonoscopy quality in an inexpensive, automated and efficient manner. The quality variation observed in the study within a single academic hospital system reinforces the need for routine quality measurement. The study appears in the June issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). Gastroenterology ...

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Medicine22 Jun 2012

Exercise program improved health of lung transplant patients and cut cardiovascular risk

Lung transplant patients who took part in a three-month structured exercise program when they were discharged from hospital improved their health-related quality of life and reduced their risk of cardiovascular problems. Those are the key findings of research published in the American Journal of Transplantation. "People who have received lung transplants often have weak muscles and limited endurance due to their sedentary lifestyle before their transplant and the drugs they need to take after surgery," explains lead author Dr. Daniel Langer, a Belgian expert in respiratory ...

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Medicine22 Jun 2012

Task force recommends new lung cancer screening guidelines

Boston – A lung screening and surveillance task force, established by the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) and led by medical professionals from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), is strongly recommending new guidelines for lung cancer screening. The guidelines were published this week in the online edition of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (JTCVS). Recent research has shown low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) is beneficial in reducing deaths from lung cancer. So the AATS task force recommends an annual lung cancer screening using ...

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Space22 Jun 2012

Northstar Consulting Group Support Wounded Warrior Project

CEO of Northstar Consulting Group, Bart Yates and Corporate Trainer Bettina Tam participated in a Tough Mudder event in Pennsylvania to benefit the Wounded Warriors Project, with other members of the team looking on and offering their support. Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test individuals all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. The Wounded Warrior Project, who's mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors, is a charity strongly supported by Northstar Consulting Group. Their ...

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Science22 Jun 2012

A new model to understand the supertasting phenomenon

Supertasting describes the ability to strongly detect food flavors such as bitter and sweet, and it can affect a person's food preferences. For example, supertasters are often averse to green vegetables because their bitter taste is amplified. Supertasters may also prefer foods lower in sugar and fat. Approximately one out of four people is a supertaster, and a supertaster's avoidance of sweet and fatty foods may have protective cardiovascular effects. Christopher Nosrat and colleagues at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and the Monell Chemical Senses ...

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Medicine22 Jun 2012

Stopping and starting cancer cell cycle weakens and defeats multiple myeloma

NEW YORK (June 21, 2012) — Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have devised an innovative boxer-like strategy, based on the serial use of two anti-cancer drugs, to deliver a one-two punch to first weaken the defenses of multiple myeloma and then deliver the final knock-out punch to win the fight. The study, published online by the journal Blood, is the first to show that precise timing of therapies that target a cancer cell's cycle — the life phases leading to its division and replication — disables key survival genes, resulting in cell death. The drug that delivers ...

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Science22 Jun 2012

Our Nomophobic Youth - Mobiles, the New Drink Driving

Young drivers are heeding the safety messages around speeding and driving under the influence, but are putting other drivers at risk by fiddling with their phones while behind the wheel, according to new research from leading auto insurer AAMI. The 11th AAMI Young Drivers Index revealed that young drivers performed better in almost all of the 'traditional' risky driving behaviour indicators, but they are the most likely to be distracted by their mobile phone, GPS unit, iPod, radio or CD player. AAMI spokesperson, Reuben Aitchison, said that that 'Nomophoboia' - a ...

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Space22 Jun 2012

Extensive water in Mars' interior

Washington, D.C.—Until now, Earth was the only planet known to have vast reservoirs of water in its interior. Scientists analyzed the water content of two Martian meteorites originating from inside the Red Planet. They found that the amount of water in places of the Martian mantle is vastly larger than previous estimates and is similar to that of Earth's. The results not only affect what we know about the geologic history of Mars, but also have implications for how water got to the Martian surface. The data raise the possibility that Mars could have sustained life. The ...

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Space22 Jun 2012

Astronomers with NASA's Kepler Mission find 'puzzling pair of planets'

AMES, Iowa – Two planets with very different densities and compositions are locked in surprisingly close orbits around their host star, according to astronomers working with NASA's Kepler Mission. One planet is a rocky super-Earth about 1.5 times the size of our planet and 4.5 times the mass. The other is a Neptune-like gaseous planet 3.7 times the size of Earth and eight times the mass. The planets approach each other 30 times closer than any pair of planets in our solar system. The discovery of the Kepler-36 planetary system about 1,200 light years from Earth is ...

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Science22 Jun 2012

Unique Online Dating for Spiritual Singles

EsoDates.com is a unique online community that connects people interested in Spirituality. The website might look like a traditional dating service, but it is much more than that. EsoDates is a social network devoted to give a friendly environment for all people around the globe who are interested in sharing ideas on spirituality, mysticism, meditation, astral projection, dreams and religions. People of all faiths join the site to meet new like-minded people and exchange ideas. EsoDates has been created by a group of enthusiasts who share the same mission: connecting ...

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Medicine22 Jun 2012

Cancers with disorganized 'traffic systems' more difficult to treat: U of A research

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta reviewed test results from thousands of patients with various types of cancer and discovered that "disorganized" cancers were more difficult to treat and consistently resulted in lower survival rates. Principal investigator Jack Tuszynski says physicians could use a mathematical equation, or algorithm, to determine how disorganized their patients' cancer is. Once physicians determine that, then they could pinpoint which cancer treatment would be the most effective. Some cancer drugs are effective at treating simple cancers, ...

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Science22 Jun 2012

Researchers advance biometric security

Researchers in the Biometric Technologies Laboratory at the University of Calgary have developed a way for security systems to combine different biometric measurements—such as eye colour, face shape or fingerprints—and create a learning system that simulates the brain in making decisions about information from different sources. Marina Gavrilova, the founding head of the lab—among the first in the research community to introduce and study neural network based models for information fusion—says they have developed a biometric security system that simulates learning patterns ...

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Science22 Jun 2012

Mercury rising: Greater L.A. to heat up an average 4 to 5 degrees by mid-century

A groundbreaking new study led by UCLA climate expert Alex Hall shows that climate change will cause temperatures in the Los Angeles region to rise by an average of 4 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit by the middle of this century, tripling the number of extremely hot days in the downtown area and quadrupling the number in the valleys and at high elevations. Released today, "Mid-Century Warming in the Los Angeles Region" is the first study to provide specific climate-change predictions for the greater Los Angeles area, with unique predictions down to the neighborhood level. The ...

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Medicine22 Jun 2012

Williamsburg Dentist Reaches Out to Patients With Facebook Page and Blog

Dr. Sebastiana Springmann, Williamsburg dentist, is happy to be using her practice's Facebook page and blog to increase her accessibility to her patients and help educate her patients about various dental topics. Along with her staff, the dentist in Williamsburg uses the Facebook page to post updates on her practice and links to blog posts. "I am very excited to be jumping into the world of social media through our Facebook page. It's great to be able to update our patients on everything that is going on at our practice and interact with them through the comments ...

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Science22 Jun 2012

Research suggests new cause to blame for spinal muscular atrophy

CHAPEL HILL, NC – Over 15 years ago, researchers linked a defect in a gene called survival motor neuron -- or SMN -- with the fatal disease spinal muscular atrophy. Because SMN had a role in assembling the intracellular machinery that processes genetic material, it was assumed that faulty processing was to blame. Now, University of North Carolina scientists have discovered that this commonly held assumption is wrong and that a separate role of the SMN gene – still not completely elucidated -- is likely responsible for the disease's manifestations. The research appears ...

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Medicine22 Jun 2012

New York City Podiatrist Recently Treated 40,000th Patient

Dr. Kenneth Meisler, New York City Podiatrist, is pleased to announce that he has helped his 40,000th patient-allowing them to enjoy healthy happy feet. Having now treated over 40,000 patients over the past 25 years, Dr. Meisler continues to provide the same dedication and commitment to keeping patients walking and enjoying their day-to-day lives without pain. "It has always been my goal to provide New York City with outstanding podiatric care. Having treated 40,000 patients, it is my pleasure to continue to provide my patients with the same quality care I have ...

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Science22 Jun 2012

U-M forecasters predict second-smallest Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone'

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—A dry spring in portions of the Midwest is expected to result in the second-smallest Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" on record in 2012, according to a University of Michigan forecast released today. The U-M prediction calls for a 2012 Gulf of Mexico dead zone of about 1,200 square miles, an area the size of Rhode Island. If the forecast is correct, 2012 would replace 2000 (1,696 square miles) as the year with the second-smallest Gulf dead zone. The smallest Gulf oxygen-starved, or hypoxic, zone was recorded in 1988 (15 square miles). "While it's encouraging ...

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Science22 Jun 2012

San Jose Cosmetic Dentist Offers Helpful Dental Tips for Summer Season

Summer time opens up doors so that people become more active while the weather is so warm. To help patients maintain their healthy, sparkling smile this summer, Dr. Wesley Yemoto, San Jose cosmetic dentist, offers helpful dental tips in addition to the availability of educational videos, articles and an informative blog. This summer, Dr. Yemoto, dentist in San Jose, CA, urges his patients to protect their mouths not only when participating in sports and other recreational activities, but while enjoying picnics and other get-togethers. Family parties, weddings, and picnics ...

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