BOSTON – Placebos are "dummy pills" often used in research trials to test new drug therapies and the "placebo effect" is the benefit patients receive from a treatment that has no active ingredients. Many claim that the placebo effect is a critical component of clinical practice. But whether or not placebos can actually influence objective measures of disease has been unclear. Now a study of asthma patients examining the impact of two different placebo treatments versus standard medical treatment with an albuterol bronchodilator has reached two important conclusions: while ...

A study examining the brain of a person with object agnosia, a defect in the inability to recognize objects, is providing a unique window into the sophisticated brain mechanisms critical for object recognition. The research, published by Cell Press in the July 14 issue of the journal Neuron, describes the functional neuroanatomy of object agnosia and suggests that damage to the part of the brain critical for object recognition can have a widespread impact on remote parts of the cortex. Object agnosia is caused by an injury to the brain that does not include damage to ...

Scientists have known for some time that the hormone leptin acts in the brain to prevent obesity, but the specific underlying neurocircuitry has remained a mystery. Now, new research published by Cell Press in the July 14 issue of the journal Neuron reveals neurobiological mechanisms that may underlie the antiobesity effects of leptin. "Leptin is a hormone that is secreted by fat cells and acts at its receptor in the brain to decrease food intake and promote energy expenditure," explains senior study author Dr. Bradford B. Lowell from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center ...

DURHAM, NC -- Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that a "fountain of youth" that sustains the production of new neurons in the brains of rodents is also believed to be present in the human brain. The existence of a vital support system of cells around stem cells in the brain explains why stem cells by themselves can't generate neurons in a lab dish, a major roadblock in using these stem cells for injury repair. "We believe these findings will have important implications for human therapy," said Chay Kuo, M.D., Ph.D., George Brumley Jr. assistant professor ...

Until recently, migration patterns, such as those adopted by birds all across the Amazonian rainforest, have not been thought to play an important role in the spreading of beneficial genes through a population. Researchers have now, for the first time, been able to predict the chance of a gene spreading when given any migration pattern, potentially providing an insight into the migration patterns of animals throughout history. Even more impressively, the concepts from these predictions can be applied to tracking the route of cancer through the body, and viruses or ...

At the heart of most, if not all, large galaxies lurks a supermassive black hole with a mass millions, or sometimes billions, times greater than that of the Sun. In many galaxies, including our own Milky Way, the central black hole is quiet. But in some galaxies, particularly early on in the history of the Universe [1], the central monster feasts on material that gives off intense radiation as it falls into the black hole. One unsolved mystery is where the material comes from to activate a sleeping black hole and trigger violent outbursts at a galaxy's centre, so that ...

Researchers have probed deeper into human evolution by developing an elegant new technique to analyse whole genomes from different populations. One key finding from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute's study is that African and non-African populations continued to exchange genetic material well after migration out-of-Africa 60,000 years ago. This shows that interbreeding between these groups continued long after the original exodus. For the first time genomic archaeologists are able to infer population size and history using single genomes, a technique that makes fewer ...

A cancer cell may seem out of control, growing wildly and breaking all the rules of orderly cell life and death. But amid the seeming chaos there is a balance between a cancer cell's revved-up metabolism and skyrocketing levels of cellular stress. Just as a cancer cell depends on a hyperactive metabolism to fuel its rapid growth, it also depends on anti-oxidative enzymes to quench potentially toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by such high metabolic demand. Scientists at the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have discovered a novel compound ...

Contact: Christina DeAngelis christina.deangelis@case.edu 216-368-3635 Kevin Mayhood kevin.mayhood@case.edu 216-368-5004 Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve restores breathing after spinal cord injury in rodent model Study published in the online issue of Nature on July 14 CLEVELAND – July 13, 2011 –Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine bridged a spinal cord injury and biologically regenerated lost nerve connections to the diaphragm, restoring breathing in an adult rodent model of spinal cord injury. The work, which ...

STANFORD, Calif. — The addition of two particular gene snippets to a skin cell's usual genetic material is enough to turn that cell into a fully functional neuron, report researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding, to be published online July 13 in Nature, is one of just a few recent reports of ways to create human neurons in a lab dish. The new capability to essentially grow neurons from scratch is a big step for neuroscience research, which has been stymied by the lack of human neurons for study. Unlike skin cells or blood cells, neurons ...

PHILADELPHIA - Targeted therapies that are designed to suppress the formation of new blood vessels in tumors, such as Avastin (bevacizumab), have slowed cancer growth in some patients. However, they have not produced the dramatic responses researchers initially thought they might. Now, research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania might help to explain the modest responses. The discovery, published in the July 14 issue of Nature, suggests novel treatment combinations that could boost the power of therapies based on slowing blood vessel ...

A new study by investigators from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has confirmed the existence of a "trial effect" in clinical trials for treatment of HIV. Trial effect is an umbrella term for the benefit experienced by study participants simply by virtue of their participating in the trial. It includes the benefit of newer and more effective treatments, the way those treatments are delivered, increased care and follow-up, and the patient's own behavior change as a result of being under observation. "Trial effect is notoriously difficult ...

Changing from running payroll by hand to computerized payroll can be quick and painless. Small business-focused payroll software developer Halfpricesoft.com announced the launch of new improved ezPaycheck payroll software and small business owners can get a free, 30-day trial by downloading ezPaycheck software from http://www.halfpricesoft.com/payroll_software_download.asp. This trial version contains all of the features and functions of the full version, except tax form printing, allowing customers to thoroughly test drive the product. Once customers are satisfied that ...

Tiny chemical particles emitted by diesel exhaust fumes could raise the risk of heart attacks, research has shown. Scientists have found that ultrafine particles produced when diesel burns are harmful to blood vessels and can increase the chances of blood clots forming in arteries, leading to a heart attack or stroke. The research by the University of Edinburgh measured the impact of diesel exhaust fumes on healthy volunteers at levels that would be found in heavily polluted cities. Scientists compared how people reacted to the gases found in diesel fumes – such as ...

(Chicago, July 13, 2011)– How influential are mass media portrayals of chimpanzees in television, movies, advertisements and greeting cards on public perceptions of this endangered species? That is what researchers based at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo sought to uncover in a new nationwide study published today in in PLoS One, the open-access journal of the Public Library of Sciences. Their findings reveal the significant role that media plays in creating widespread misunderstandings about the conservation status and nature of this great ape. A majority of study respondents ...

PITTSBURGH—Certain brain injuries can cause people to lose the ability to visually recognize objects — for example, confusing a harmonica for a cash register. Neuroscientists from Carnegie Mellon University and Princeton University examined the brain of a person with object agnosia, a deficit in the ability to recognize objects that does not include damage to the eyes or a general loss in intelligence, and have uncovered the neural mechanisms of object recognition. The results, published by Cell Press in the July 15th issue of the journal Neuron, describe the functional ...

More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes soil to release the potent greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide, new research published in this week's edition of Nature reveals. "This feedback to our changing atmosphere means that nature is not as efficient in slowing global warming as we previously thought," said Dr Kees Jan van Groenigen, Research Fellow at the Botany department at the School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, and lead author of the study. Van Groenigen, along with colleagues from Northern Arizona University and the University of Florida, ...

A tiny plant called Arabidopsis thaliana just helped scientists unearth new clues about the daily cycles of many organisms, including humans. This is the latest in a long line of research, much of it supported by the National Institutes of Health, that uses plants to solve puzzles in human health. While other model organisms may seem to have more in common with us, greens like Arabidopsis provide an important view into genetics, cell division and especially light sensing, which drives 24-hour behavioral cycles called circadian rhythms. Some human cells, including ...

Roger Anderson, President of X9 Gold Development, Inc., announced today that multiple tests conducted over the past 18 months have demonstrated that carbon in precious metal ores can be converted to natural gas (methane) during fine milling utilizing X9 Gold's Bubble Mill Technology. "Over 250 milling processes on a variety of ores have yielded the production of natural gas (methane) as a by-product of the milling process. The amount of natural gas generated seems to be in direct proportion to the carbon content of the ore. " Mr. Anderson also explained that, "The ...

PITTSBURGH, July 13, 2011 – Today, researchers from two major HIV prevention trials announced favorable results of an approach called oral pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. One of these trials, the Partners PrEP Study, has provided the strongest evidence yet of PrEP's effectiveness. Information from both studies will need to be fully evaluated before it can be determined what impact they will have on another major trial that is ongoing. Investigators for VOICE – Vaginal and Oral Interventions to Control the Epidemic, and the study's sponsor, the National Institute ...

In a result that will fundamentally change approaches to HIV prevention in Africa, an international study has demonstrated that individuals at high risk for HIV infection who took a daily tablet containing an HIV medication – either the antiretroviral medication tenofovir or tenofovir in combination with emtricitabine – experienced significantly fewer HIV infections than those who received a placebo pill. These findings are clear evidence that this new HIV prevention strategy, called pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP), substantially reduces HIV infection risk. The study ...

PASADENA, Calif.—The power output of wind farms can be increased by an order of magnitude—at least tenfold—simply by optimizing the placement of turbines on a given plot of land, say researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) who have been conducting a unique field study at an experimental two-acre wind farm in northern Los Angeles County. A paper describing the findings—the results of field tests conducted by John Dabiri, Caltech professor of aeronautics and bioengineering, and colleagues during the summer of 2010—appears in the July issue of the ...

One of the smallest ever cave-dwelling ground beetles (Carabidae), has recently been discovered in two caves in the Rhodopi Mountains, Bulgaria, and described under the name Paralovricia beroni. The beetle is completely blind and is only 1.8-2.2 mm long. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys. "When we saw this beetle for first time, it became immediately clear that it belongs to a genus and species unknown to science. Moreover, its systematic position within the family of Carabidae remained unclear for several years. After a careful study of its closest ...

Over 4,000 international adoptions take place in Spain every year. Although the process of adaptation of these children is very similar to that of those living with their biological parents, some studies show that they are more prone to being hyperactive, to having behavioural problems, a low self-esteem and doing poorly in school. A group of researchers at UAB carried out a psychological study aimed at examining adaptation among adopted children with a sample of 52 children from different countries aged 6 to 11, and a control group of 44 non adapted children. Countries ...

Localised badger culling in response to bovine tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks increases the risk of infection in nearby herds, according to a new analysis. The study, by researchers at the Medical Research Council Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling at Imperial College London, is published today in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. The findings come as the Government prepares to decide whether to license farmers to organise the widespread culling of badgers over areas of 150 square kilometres or more in western England. Bovine TB is a major animal health ...