FINE Champagne Magazine selects the world's best champagne - a rare winner. FINE Champagne Magazine, the only international publication devoted to champagne and a renowned industry authority, announces its list of the "100 Best Champagnes for 2011". During the year 2010 the magazine's editorial team assessed over 1000 champagnes that are now available on the market. After the semifinal, three-day blind-tasting of the top 200 champagnes, the panel selected 30 champagnes that were blind-tasted again in the finals in Reims, Champagne. In the tasting, the most important ...

Recent scientific studies focus on the importance of exactly what type of mother/child interaction leads to an optimal outcome for the child. Fetus to Fifth Grade provides the most up-to-date scientific research on pregnancy and child care. "What Dr. Spock didn't tell us about childrearing, Dr. Schapira does. From strategies for saving money to how best to help your baby grow intellectually, this frank and enlightening book provides essential information to help parents plan for and raise children," says Walter F. Baile MD, Professor of Behavioral Science and Psychiatry ...

If you are looking to save money by eliminating your monthly cable bill, ARGYLEtv.com should be your next destination. ARGYLEtv.com, a provider of free Internet TV channels from around the world, provides one of the most comprehensive lineups of television channels on the Internet. Although a relatively new startup, to date over 150,000 people have logged on to ARGYLEtv.com to watch TV online. As reported by CNN, "In December [of 2009], more than 178 million Americans watched TV online, streaming 33 billion shows". As more and more people look to save money, thousands ...

Tis the season to be wary. LifeShield Security, a national leader and innovator in wireless home security and monitoring, is encouraging all Americans to be extra cautious during the upcoming holiday months. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, nearly 400,000 burglaries occur in the United States from November through December every year. LifeShield's team of home security specialists have put together their "Top 5 Do-It-Yourself Tips" on how anyone can help make their home more secure. LifeShield's "Top 5 Do-It-Yourself Tips" for increased home security: 1. ...

SINGAPORE – Researchers at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore have uncovered a novel feedback mechanism that controls the delicate balance of brain stem cells. Zif, a newly discovered protein, controls whether brain stem cells renew themselves as stem cells or differentiate into a dedicated type of neuron (nerve cell). In preclinical studies, the researchers showed that Zif is important for inhibiting overgrowth of neural stem cells in fruit flies (genus Drosophila) by ensuring that a proliferation factor (known as aPKC) maintains appropriate levels in ...

The handwriting problems that affect children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are likely to continue into their teenage years, according to a study from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Md. The research is published in the November 16, 2010 issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. In 2009, Kennedy Krieger researchers conducted the first study to examine handwriting quality in children with ASD, finding that motor skills (e.g., timed movements) predicted handwriting deficits. This latest study revealed that, like children ...

Cambridge, MA, November 15, 2010 - Epizyme, Inc., a company leading the discovery and development of first-in-class, targeted cancer therapeutics against epigenetic targets, today announced the publication of breakthrough new research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA). The discovery, centered on the epigenetic enzyme EZH2, illuminates a clear path for the translation of basic science into targeted therapies for the safe and effective treatment of specific forms of human lymphomas. EZH2 is a histone methyltransferase (HMT), a class of enzymes ...

To mark The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, which takes place on Sunday November 21st, PLoS Medicine publishes two research articles on Road Traffic Crashes. The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims takes place on the third Sunday of November every year as the appropriate acknowledgment of victims of road traffic crashes and their families. It was started by RoadPeace in 1993 and was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005. Prescribed medicines are responsible for over 3% of road traffic crashes in France In France, ...

Disruptive behaviour disorders in male teenagers, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder are associated with about a one-third increase in the risk of being seriously injured in a road traffic crash – either as driver or pedestrian. This increase is similar to the increased relative risk found for patients treated for epilepsy. These are the findings of a study by Donald Redelmeier and colleagues from the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, and published in this week's PLoS Medicine. Male teenagers are ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A sophisticated new examination of teeth from 11 Neanderthal and early human fossils shows that modern humans are slower than our ancestors to reach full maturity. The finding suggests that our characteristically slow development and long childhood are recent and unique to our own species, and may have given early humans an evolutionary advantage over Neanderthals. The research, led by scientists at Harvard University, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (MPI-EVA), and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), is detailed in ...

Specific, relatively uncommon variations at a region of human chromosome 8 have recently been linked to fat (lipid) levels in the blood that decrease an individual's risk of atherosclerosis (a disease of the major arterial blood vessels that is a main cause of heart attack and stroke). The only currently described gene in this region of chromosome 8 is TRIB1, but it has not been previously linked in any way to regulation of lipid levels. Now, a team of researchers, led by Jan Breslow, at The Rockefeller University, New York, and Daniel Rader, at the University of Pennsylvania ...

EDITOR'S PICK: At-TRIB(1)-uting a gene a new function in the liver Specific, relatively uncommon variations at a region of human chromosome 8 have recently been linked to fat (lipid) levels in the blood that decrease an individual's risk of atherosclerosis (a disease of the major arterial blood vessels that is a main cause of heart attack and stroke). The only currently described gene in this region of chromosome 8 is TRIB1, but it has not been previously linked in any way to regulation of lipid levels. Now, a team of researchers, led by Jan Breslow, at The Rockefeller ...

The active involvement of health professionals in hygiene, sanitation, and water supply is absolutely crucial to accelerating and consolidating global health progress, says a new series of papers in PLoS Medicine by a leading group of public health academics and water advocates. Professor Sandy Cairncross from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and colleagues show how water and sanitation issues are woefully neglected across the world and suggest that action could prevent more than 2 million children dying each year. The authors say that in 2010, ...

While automated external defibrillators improve survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, an analysis of data indicates their use for cardiac arrest in a hospital does not result in an improved rate of survival, according to a study in the November 17 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because it will be presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting. Use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has been proposed as a strategy to reduce times to defibrillation and improve survival from cardiac arrests that occur in the hospital ...

Multiple testing with the cardiac diagnostic imaging technique of myocardial perfusion imaging is common, and in many patients is associated with a high cumulative estimated radiation dose, according to a study in the November 17 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because it is being presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting. Use of medical imaging has grown rapidly in recent years, but along with the potential benefits has come an increase in the amount of ionizing radiation associated with many such tests and the accompanying ...

Certain measures of the blood biomarker cardiac troponin T (cTnT), a cardiac-specific protein, using a highly sensitive test, are associated with the development of heart failure or cardiovascular death in older adults, according to a study that will appear in the December 8 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because it will be presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting. "Older adults comprise the majority of new-onset heart failure (HF) diagnoses, but traditional risk-factor prediction models have limited accuracy in this population ...

Surgical items, such as sponges and small instruments, left in the bodies of children who undergo surgery are quite uncommon and rarely fatal but decidedly dangerous and expensive mistakes, according to a Johns Hopkins Children's Center study to be published in the November issue of JAMA-Archives of Surgery. Such errors added eight days, on average, to a young patient's hospital stay and nearly $36,000 in extra hospital charges, both stemming from complications and the need for follow-up surgery to retrieve the forgotten objects. Analyzing more than 1.9 million records ...

Although some data have suggested that omega-3 fatty acid supplements, such as from fish oil, may improve treatment of atrial fibrillation, a randomized trial with more than 600 patients finds that treatment with high-dose prescription omega-3 did not reduce the recurrence of atrial fibrillation over six months, according to a study that will appear in the December 1 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because it will be presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting. "Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a highly prevalent disease that is responsible ...

SALT LAKE CITY – Herbal and dietary supplements are popular. People claim they make their joints feel better, their bones stronger, and their hearts healthier. But a recent study by researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City shows that many of these people may not realize their favorite supplement, mixed with prescription medications, may be putting their lives in danger, especially if they are taking warfarin – a blood-thinning medication commonly prescribed to patients living with atrial fibrillation to lower their risk of stroke. Researchers ...

HOUSTON -- (Nov.15, 2010) – In 2009, a Collins County, Texas, jury sentenced Philippe Padieu to 45 years in prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon – having sex with a series of women and not telling them he had HIV. An important part of the evidence that identified him as the source of the women's infection came from experts at Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) and The University of Texas at Austin (www.utexas.edu/). In a report that goes online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (www.pnas.org), Dr. Michael Metzker (http://www.bcm.edu/genetics/?pmid=10947), ...

STANFORD, Calif. — A preservative-free alternative to standard nasal sprays — which routinely use preservatives that can cause unwanted side effects, such as allergies or damage to the mucosal lining of the nose — was found to be both safe and well-tolerated, in a short-term study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The alternative acidified solution also maintained sterility in the applicator bottle without the use of the chemical preservatives, according to the study, which will be published Nov. 15 in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. "There ...

CHICAGO – Few children leave surgery with a foreign body left inside them, but such events appear most likely to occur during gynecologic operations, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. This surgical error was associated with longer hospital stays and increased costs, but not with an increased risk of death. The Institute of Medicine identified medical errors as a significant contributor to costs, illness and death in a report issued in 1999, according to background information in the article. In response, ...

The amount of intra-abdominal fat appears to be associated with the risk of complications following major liver surgery, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, appearing overweight or having a high body mass index (BMI) were not associated with increased post-surgical risks. About 65 percent of the U.S. population is currently overweight, with half of those qualifying as obese, according to background information in the article. The increased incidence of obesity "requires surgeons to examine more ...

A small study of Japanese surgeons suggests that duration of surgery and the amount of blood loss are associated with increased stress scores, and that night duty is associated with reduced stress arousal scores, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the March print issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Young physicians are decreasingly likely to choose surgery as a specialty, according to background information in the article. About 80 percent fewer chose the profession in 2000 compared with the 1980s. "One of ...

A study involving 30 patients suggests that robotic-assisted surgery involving complex pancreatic procedures can be performed safely in a high-volume facility, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the March print issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Complex pancreatic surgery "remains the final frontier" for use of minimally invasive procedures, the authors write as background information in the article. These operations present two technical challenges: controlling bleeding from major blood vessels and reconstructing ...