The press release
archive.

Environment9 Feb 2011

Paper archives reveal pollution's history

Some of the history preserved in old tomes and newspapers may be hiding in between the lines of print. A Weizmann Institute scientist has found that the paper in such collections contains a record of atmospheric conditions at the time the trees that went into making it were growing. By analyzing the carbon isotopes in bits of paper clipped from old magazines, Prof. Dan Yakir of the Environmental Sciences and Energy Research Department in the Faculty of Chemistry has traced the rising effects of atmospheric pollution from burning fossil fuel going back to beginnings of the ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

Major step taken toward an open and shared digital brain atlasing framework

Modern brain research generates immense quantities of data across different levels of detail, from gene activity to large-scale structure, using a wide array of methods. Each method has its own type of data and is stored in different databases. Integrating findings across levels of detail and from different databases, for example to find a link between gene expression and disease, is therefore challenging and time consuming. In addition, combining data from multiple types of brain studies provides a basis for new insights and is crucial for the progress of neuroscience ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

Study suggests why HIV-uninfected babies of mothers with HIV might be more prone to infections

Babies whose mothers have HIV, but who are not HIV-infected themselves, are born with lower levels of specific proteins in their blood called antibodies, which fight infection, compared with babies not exposed to HIV, a new study has found. The finding, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, might explain in part why uninfected babies born to women with HIV have a higher risk of illness and death early in life. Major programmes using antiretroviral drugs have successfully reduced the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV from 20-30 per ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

Huge decline in HIV rates in Zimbabwe driven by fear of infection, says study

The big drop in the numbers of people infected with HIV in Zimbabwe is because of mass social change, driven by fear of infection, according to an international study reported today in the journal PLoS Medicine. The scientists unravelling the reasons behind this unexpected downturn now reveal what they hope are the most important lessons in the fight against the disease for the rest of Africa. Zimbabwe's epidemic was one of the biggest in the world until the number of people infected with HIV in Zimbabwe almost halved, from 29% to 16%, between 1997 and 2007. Remarkably, ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

Malnutrition: A skeleton in the health care closet

Many elderly Australians are either admitted to hospital suffering malnutrition, or become malnourished while in hospital, which increases hospital length of stay and health care costs. In her lead article in the Dietitians Association of Australia's journal, Nutrition & Dietetics, Dr Karen Charlton said malnutrition often goes undiagnosed and untreated as it is not considered a clinical priority in hospitals and aged care settings. Australian research has revealed more than one in three hospitals patients are malnourished and the rates can be as high as 70 per cent ...

Read the release

Science9 Feb 2011

When worms stick together and swim on thin water, what happens and why does it matter?

Nematodes, microscopic worms, are making engineers look twice at their ability to exhibit the "Cheerios effect" when they move in a collective motion. These parasites will actually stick together like Cheerios swimming in milk in a cereal bowl after a chance encounter "due to capillary force." This observation has made Virginia Tech engineers speculate about the possible impacts on the study of biolocomotion. Their work appears in the journal, Soft Matter, a publication of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the week of Feb. 7. Soft Matter is the premier journal in the ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

In February journal, UC and industry researchers predict future of electronic devices

VIDEO: University of Cincinnati researcher Jason Heikenfeld is part of an internationally prestigious team that specializes in research and development of e-devices. Based on his work, he provides a top ten... Click here for more information. The just-released February issue of the Journal of the Society for Information Display contains the first-ever critical review of current and future prospects for electronic paper functions – in other words reviewing and critiquing ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

New data obtained on liposomes employed in drug encapsulation and gene therapies

This release is available in Spanish. University of Granada scientists and the Spanish Higher Institute for Scientific Research (CSIC) have made significant progress in understanding lipid membranes, which are extensively employed in the development of cosmetic and drug products, and which have potential application in the field of nanotechnology. Phospholipid vesicles (liposomes) are colloidal systems that arise considerable interest from the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industry, since they are biocompatible in protein, nucleic acid, drug, etc encapsulation. ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

Lower mental health co-pays do not help seniors seek care

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Despite the intent of recent mental health "parity" legislation, including the Affordable Care Act, even steep reductions in co-pays for outpatient mental health care will not motivate more seniors in managed care plans to seek that care, according to a new study by Brown University researchers. Parity measures, included in laws passed in 2008 and 2010, end an insurance industry practice of charging higher co-pays for mental health care than for other care. While the laws will allow many seniors who undergo treatment to save money, ...

Read the release

Science9 Feb 2011

The great tonsil dilemma

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Without fanfare, hundreds of thousands of children surrender their tonsils to a surgeon's scalpel each year, usually to alleviate recurring infections and obstructive sleep problems. Most of the time, the snipped tonsils are sent to a pathologist, who looks for evidence of more serious medical problems, like unsuspected cancer. But this common practice may not be cost-effective because those additional examinations rarely lead to the discovery of hidden disease, a new University of Michigan Heath System analysis shows. The approximately $35 million ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

CeBIT 2011: Electronic fitness trainer

This release is available in German. Eating a healthier diet, getting more exercise and doing more sports – lots of people recommit themselves to these goals over and over. But one's baser instincts are often stronger and invincible. On the couch in the evening, you take stock of the day only to admit that you have failed to rally once again. And yet, physical fitness is now considered a remedy for many illnesses. Particularly for older people, daily exercise is important – not only during rehabilitation following major surgery but also for one's general sense of physical ...

Read the release

Science9 Feb 2011

The success of male bustards is measured by their 'beards'

Up until now it was unknown whether males of the great bustard (Otis tarda), an emblematic bird in Spain and endangered at a global level, transmit information on their weight, size, and age through their plumage. For the first time a study shows that the 'beards' and the design of the neck are "reliable" indicators of the weight and age of their bearers, and are used to both avoid fights with competitors and to attract females. "The heaviest males (best physical condition) make it known to other males through the length and number of 'beards', and thereby avoid bloody ...

Read the release

Technology9 Feb 2011

Fingerprint makes chips counterfeit-proof

This release is available in German. Product piracy long ago ceased to be limited exclusively to the consumer goods sector. Industry, too, is increasingly having to combat this problem. Cheap fakes cost business dear: The German mechanical and plant engineering sector alone lost 6.4 billion euros of revenue in 2010, according to a survey by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). Sales losses aside, low-quality counterfeits can also damage a company's brand image. Worse, they can even put people's lives at risk if they are used in areas where safety is paramount, ...

Read the release

Earth Science9 Feb 2011

The most genes in an animal? Tiny crustacean holds the record

Scientists have discovered that the animal with the most genes--about 31,000--is the near-microscopic freshwater crustacean Daphnia pulex, or water flea. By comparison, humans have about 23,000 genes. Daphnia is the first crustacean to have its genome sequenced. The water flea's genome is described in a Science paper published this week by members of the Daphnia Genomics Consortium, an international network of scientists led by the Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics (CGB) at Indiana University (IU) Bloomington and the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute. "Daphnia's ...

Read the release

Environment9 Feb 2011

Wolverines threatened by climate change, earlier springs

The aggressive wolverine may not be powerful enough to survive climate change in the contiguous United States, new research concludes. Wolverine habitat in the northwestern United States is likely to warm dramatically if society continues to emit large amounts of greenhouse gases, according to new computer model simulations carried out at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. "The researchers have combined regional-scale climate projections with knowledge of a single species and its unique habitat to examine its vulnerability to a changing ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

Experimental approach may improve healing of diabetic wounds and bed sores

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Loyola University Health System researchers are reporting on a promising new approach to treating diabetic wounds, bed sores, chronic ulcers and other slow-to-heal wounds. It may be possible to speed healing by suppressing certain immune system cells, researchers wrote in the February, 2011, issue of the journal Expert Review of Dermatology. The cells are called neutrophils and natural killer T (NKT) cells. These white blood cells act to kill bacteria and other germs that can infect wounds. NKT cells also recruit other white blood cells to the site ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

Elder law expert: Health care reform act a mixed bag for seniors

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Although the effects of the controversial health care reform act will be somewhat muted for many older Americans, it will inevitably have enough of an impact that seniors will discover that there is plenty to like and dislike about the law, a University of Illinois expert on elder law cautions in published research. Law professor Richard L. Kaplan says the virtues of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 are a "mixed bag," and how it will affect any one person depends on that person's specific situation. "You have to expect some negative ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

Lack of sleep found to be a new risk factor for colon cancer

An inadequate amount of sleep has been associated with higher risks of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and death. Now colon cancer can be added to the list. In a ground-breaking new study published in the Feb. 15, 2011 issue of the journal Cancer, researchers from University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, found that individuals who averaged less than six hours of sleep at night had an almost 50 percent increase in the risk of colorectal adenomas compared with individuals sleeping at least seven hours per night. ...

Read the release

Social Science9 Feb 2011

Income inequalities are increasing the occurence of depression during financial crisis

Due to the recent economic crisis, an increase of health inequalities between socio-economic groups has been noticed in both developed and developing countries. The World Health Organization, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme have all reported these inequalities and emphasized its importance and made this issue a priority. There is evidence that such inequalities not only affect general health, but have a particular impact on mental health. A new study, published in World Psychiatry, the official journal of the World Psychiatric Association ...

Read the release

Social Science9 Feb 2011

Language may play important role in learning the meanings of numbers

New research conducted with deaf people in Nicaragua shows that language may play an important role in learning the meanings of numbers. Field studies by University of Chicago psychologist Susan Goldin-Meadow and a team of researchers found deaf people in Nicaragua, who had not learned formal sign language, do not have a complete understanding of numbers greater than three. Researchers surmised the lack of large number comprehension was because the deaf Nicaraguans were not being taught numbers or number words. Instead they learned to communicate using self-developed ...

Read the release

Energy9 Feb 2011

Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory February 2011

HYDROPOWER -- Fishy behavior . . . Proposals to install hydrokinetic turbines – like underwater windmills – in rivers across the U.S. are prompting questions about the environmental impacts of this new hydropower energy source. In response, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are investigating how electromagnetic fields generated by the turbines could affect the behavior of freshwater fauna such as snails, clams, minnows and sturgeon. "We know that certain marine organisms like sharks are sensitive to electromagnetic fields, but almost nothing is known about ...

Read the release

Earth Science9 Feb 2011

March 2011 Geology highlights

Boulder, CO, USA - Highlights of articles set for the March issue of GEOLOGY (posted online on 3-4 February 2011) are provided below. Topics include marine ferromanganese crusts as potential mineral resources; CO2 emissions from volcanic lakes; deformation of the seemingly dormant Damavand volcano, northern Iran; a finding that relic chitin-protein complex plays critical role in the preservation of organic arthropod fossils; description and mapping of the 19 March 2008 Halema'uma'u crater eruption on Kilauea; and a study of the Cilaos deep-sea fan beneath La Reunion Island ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

Quality varies in social networking websites for diabetics

Boston, Mass. – Nearly one-half of U.S. adults who use the Internet participate in social networks. While these increasingly include health-focused networks, not much is known about their quality and safety. In one of the first formal studies of social networking websites targeting patients, researchers in the Children's Hospital Boston Informatics Program performed an in-depth evaluation of ten diabetes websites. Their audit found large variations in quality and safety across sites, with room for improvement across the board. As reported online January 24 in the Journal ...

Read the release

Medicine9 Feb 2011

Dutasteride not a cost-effective way to prevent prostate cancer in some men

DALLAS – Feb. 8, 2011 – The popular drug dutasteride may not be a cost-effective way to prevent prostate cancer in men who are at elevated risk of developing the disease, according to findings by a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher. In a study available in the January issue of Cancer Prevention Research, investigators found that the medication, at an annual cost of $1,400, is impractical when compared to the marginal impact on survival and quality of life in at-risk groups. The drug is indicated for the treatment of enlarged prostates but also is widely prescribed ...

Read the release

Earth Science9 Feb 2011

MU researcher says the next large central US earthquake may not be in New Madrid

COLUMBIA, Mo. – This December marks the bicentennial of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12, which are the biggest earthquakes known to have occurred in the central U.S. Now, based on the earthquake record in China, a University of Missouri researcher says that mid-continent earthquakes tend to move among fault systems, so the next big earthquake in the central U.S. may actually occur someplace else other than along the New Madrid faults. Mian Liu, professor of geological sciences in the College of Arts and Science at MU, examined records from China, where earthquakes ...

Read the release