High levels of "good" (high density lipoprotein) HDL cholesterol seem to cut the risk of bowel cancer, suggests research published online in Gut. The association is independent of other potentially cancer-inducing markers of inflammation in the blood. The researchers base their findings on participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. This is tracking the long term impact of diet on the development of cancer in more than half a million people in 10 European countries, including the UK. Some 1,200 people who developed ...

Traditional Chinese acupuncture curbs the severity of hot flushes and other menopausal symptoms, suggests a small study published today in Acupuncture in Medicine. The effects did not seem to be related to changes in levels of the hormones responsible for sparking the menopause and its associated symptoms, the study shows. The authors base their findings on 53 middle aged women, all of whom were classified as being postmenopausal - they had spontaneously stopped having periods for a year. Their somatic (hot flushes) urogenital (vaginal dryness and urinary tract infection) ...

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), both in Heidelberg, Germany, have developed a new method that uncovers the combined effects of genes. Published online today in Nature Methods, it helps understand how different genes can amplify, cancel out or mask each others' effects, and enables scientists to suggest genes that interfere with each other in much the same manner that facebook suggests friends. To understand the connections between genetic make-up and traits like disease susceptibility, scientists ...

This release is available in German. "Children may be a long-term investment in happiness," says MPIDR demographer Mikko Myrskylä. Together with Rachel Margolis from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA, he published the new study in the latest issue of the journal "Population and Development Review". It shows a global trend: while for parents under 30 the level of happiness decreases with the first and each additional child, mothers and fathers aged 30 to 39 feel as happy as childless peers until they have four children or more. From age 40 onwards parents ...

A tropical frog – the only one of its kind in the world – is providing conservationists with exclusive insights into the genetic make-up of its closest endangered relatives. University of Manchester scientists have allowed two critically endangered species of Central American Leaf frogs to interbreed, producing the unique frog – a hybrid of the two species. DNA tests using a harmless mouth swab showed that the two parent frogs were actually very closely related despite being different species. The findings are important because DNA tests on frogs of the same species ...

Scientists on the Norwich Research Park have sequenced the genome of a novel strain of Clostridium botulinum, one of the most dangerous pathogens known to man. The strain produces an unusual botulinum neurotoxin, known as type A5 neurotoxin, which was isolated by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), following a case of wound botulism. Professor Mike Peck and his research group at the Institute of Food Research (IFR) study Clostridium botulinum. Their expertise is crucial for preventing food poisoning outbreaks in the UK and internationally and to understanding the threat ...

Improved environmental conditions have enabled the otter (Lutra lutra) to spread in Andalusia over the past 20 years. However, the recovery of populations of this mammal has been "relatively" slow, and in some areas the impact of human activities still prevents the species from gaining a foothold. "The high level of 'humanisation' of the landscape still acts as a strong impediment to the expansion of the otter, to such an extent that it is preventing the species from fully recovering its original distribution area", Miguel Clavero, lead author of the study and a researcher ...

TORONTO, ON., March 7, 2011—Screening every woman who comes to a health care centre does increase the number who acknowledge they have been abused by their partners, a new study confirms. The study, led by Patricia O'Campo, director of the Centre for Inner City Research at St. Michael's Hospital, represents a major reversal of thinking about the value of universal screening programs for domestic abuse or intimate partner violence. Until now, the research and health care policy communities felt there was insufficient evidence to support such programs. O'Campo reviewed ...

New research from North Carolina State University shows how attempts to define the South by Republicans and Democrats may have set the stage for President Obama's victories in Southern states – and shaped the way Americans view themselves. "Every presidential election is a chance to discuss what it means to be American," says Dr. Christina Moss, teaching assistant professor of communication at NC State and author of a paper on the research. "The South garnered a great deal of attention in the 2004 election season, and the narratives from that election may provide clues ...

New York / Heidelberg, 7 March 2011 A new study published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering shows that a MEMS thermal sensor deployed by an angiogram catheter can detect the earliest stages of atherosclerosis. The MEMS thermal sensor used convective heat transfer to detect pre-atherosclerotic regions of arteries that otherwise showed no clinical signs of atherosclerosis. Although diet and lifestyle changes can often reverse atherosclerosis in its earliest stages, no real-time means of detecting pre-atherosclerotic regions exists. The MEMS sensor method has the ...

The main aim of this study, carried out in collaboration with the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) and Stanford University (both in the US) is to characterize some aspects of gastropod (snails and slugs) locomotion to basically respond to one question: To what extent do they depend on the physical properties of their mucus to propel themselves forward? This question is fundamental when applying the studied mechanism to the construction of biomimetic robots. "The aim is for the robot to be able to propel itself in any fluid mucus without having to carry its ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Experiments by Brown University psychologists have produced positive evidence that people often think about positive evidence the wrong way — if it is weak. Defying logic, people given weak evidence can regard predictions supported by that evidence as less likely than if they aren't given the evidence at all. The finding, described in a paper published in advance online in the journal Cognition, has serious implications for professional persuaders such as marketers and can help explain public perceptions of policy and the rhetoric ...

Fumaric acid salts have been in use against severe psoriasis for a long time. About ten years ago, researchers in Bochum speculated that they may also have a favourable effect on Multiple Sclerosis (MS) as a result of their TH2 polarizing mechanisms. In parallel to phase III studies, research is actively searching for the precise effective mechanisms. This has now been achieved by a neuroimmunological group at Bochum: fumaric acid salts detoxify radicals released during the inflammation process. In this way, they protect nerve and glial cells. Neurologists at the Ruhr ...

When people communicate, the way they move has as much to do with what they're saying as the words that come out of their mouths. But what about when robots communicate with people? How can robots use non-verbal communication to interact more naturally with humans? Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found that when robots move in a more human-like fashion, with one movement leading into the next, that people can not only better recognize what the robot is doing, but they can also better mimic it themselves. The research is being presented today at the Human-Robot ...

WASHINGTON – Exposure via the media to activities such as street racing, binge drinking and unprotected sex is linked to risk-taking behaviors and attitudes, according to a new analysis of more than 25 years of research. The connection between risk taking and risk-glorifying media – such as video games, movies, advertising, television and music – was found across differing research methods, media formats and various forms of risky behaviors, according to an article published online in Psychological Bulletin, a journal of the American Psychological Association. The effects ...

KINGSTON, R.I. – March 7, 2011 – For those of us living the frenetic modern lifestyle, sitting in one place for a long period might seem like a vacation. But for those who are retired, it can lead to health complications. Patricia Burbank, professor of nursing at the University of Rhode Island, realized that there is a need to get older adults moving. The actual idea was inspired by Burbank's own aunt, a 97-year-old woman living on her own. "She loves hearing from her family and personal messages really resonate with her. How much better would it be to develop a ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – America's 75 million aging adults soon will face decisions about where and how to live as they age. Current options for long-term care, including nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, are costly and require seniors to move from place to place. University of Missouri researchers have found that a new strategy for long-term care called Aging in Place is less expensive and provides better health outcomes. Adults want to remain healthy and independent during their senior years, but traditional long-term care often diminishes seniors' independence ...

MANHASSET, NY --Having a child is a life event that is equal parts magic and fear. Will the baby be healthy? Will labor and delivery pose challenges? Are there ways to reduce the risk for adverse events? Hospital obstetrical units face these questions round-the-clock. To increase the chances of a safe labor and delivery, and make way for a memorable birthing experience, the North Shore-LIJ Health System has launched a new prenatal quality initiative, led by Adiel Fleischer, MD, of obstetrics and gynecology at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish (LIJ) ...

A summary paper on the effects of alcohol consumption on biologic mechanisms associated with coronary heart disease provides an excellent review of a large number of intervention studies in humans. Appropriate analyses were done and the results are presented in a very clear fashion, although there was little discussion of the separate, independent effects of alcohol and polyphenols on risk factors. The trials the authors reviewed have demonstrated that the moderate intake of alcoholic beverages leads to increases in HDL-cholesterol (good cholesterol), apolipoprotein ...

3202 German individuals (75+) attending general practitioners , who were free of dementia were studied at baseline, were followed up 1.5 years and 3 years later by means of structured clinical interviews including detailed assessment of current alcohol consumption and DSM-IV dementia diagnoses. Associations between alcohol consumption (in grams of ethanol), type of alcohol (wine, beer, mixed alcohol beverages) and incident dementia were examined using Cox proportional hazard models, controlling for several confounders. There was good ascertainment of the development of ...

PHILADELPHIA – It has been thought that the quality of the physician-patient relationship is integral to positive outcomes but until now, data to confirm such beliefs has been hard to find. Through a landmark study, a research team from Jefferson Medical College (JMC) of Thomas Jefferson University has been able to quantify a relationship between physicians' empathy and their patients' positive clinical outcomes, suggesting that a physician's empathy is an important factor associated with clinical competence. The study is available in the March 2011 issue of Academic ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In a new study published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, University at Buffalo researcher Michael A. Stefanone, PhD, and colleagues found that females who base their self worth on their appearance tend to share more photos online and maintain larger networks on online social networking sites. He says the results suggest that females identify more strongly with their image and appearance, and use Facebook as a platform to compete for attention. Stefanone describes the study results in a video interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1GQHoLyS5Q&feature=relmfu. ...

A study published in the March 2011 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine shows that Massachusetts' new court-ordered mental health screening and intervention program led to more children being identified as behaviorally and emotionally at risk. The program is called the Children's Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI). The study, led by researchers from MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC), looked at Medicaid well-child visits that included behavioral screens from 2008-2009. They found that, under the new mandate, the number of screens completed in the state ...

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., March 7, 2011 – In the quest for inexpensive biofuels, cellulose proved no match for a bioprocessing strategy and genetically engineered microbe developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center. Using consolidated bioprocessing, a team led by James Liao of the University of California at Los Angeles for the first time produced isobutanol directly from cellulose. The team's work, published online in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, represents across-the-board savings in processing costs and time, plus isobutanol is ...

An international team of researchers including professor Emmett Duffy of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science has published a comprehensive new analysis showing that loss of plant biodiversity disrupts the fundamental services that ecosystems provide to humanity. Plant communities—threatened by development, invasive species, climate change, and other factors—provide humans with food, help purify water supplies, generate oxygen, and supply raw materials for building, clothing, paper, and other products. The 9-member research team, led by professor Brad Cardinale ...