The premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. http://www.eurekalert.org en-us Copyright 2009 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:00:01 EST EurekAlert! http://www.eurekalert.org/images/logo.gif http://www.eurekalert.org The premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 20 webmaster@eurekalert.org Experts estimate that 20 percent of women experience excessive or prolonged menstrual bleeding at some time during their lives, particularly as they approach menopause. A new, less invasive procedure called global endometrial ablation preserves the uterus, while decreasing menstrual bleeding and shortening patients' recovery time. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/mc-mro010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/mc-mro010509.php Climate researchers have shown that big volcanic eruptions over the past 450 years have temporarily cooled weather in the tropics but suggest that such effects may have been masked in the 20th century by rising global temperatures. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/teia-vct010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/teia-vct010509.php The study of ancient microbes may not seem consequential, but such pioneering research at the University of Oklahoma has implications for the state of modern human health. Cecil Lewis, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, says results of this research raise questions about the microbes living on and within people. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoo-uem010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoo-uem010509.php Whether it's appropriate to treat chest pain with medical therapy alone or prescribe medical therapy and also perform revascularization -- that is, by restoring good blood flow to the heart muscle with a balloon-tipped catheter or bypass surgery -- depends on several factors that vary from patient to patient. In some cases the decision is obvious; in others, it's more nuanced. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/acoc-nau010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/acoc-nau010509.php In a six-month comparison of low-carb diets, one that encourages eating carbohydrates with the lowest-possible rating on the glycemic index leads to greater improvement in blood sugar control, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/dumc-ldp010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/dumc-ldp010509.php Just seeing someone smoke can trigger smokers to abandon their nascent efforts to kick the habit, according to new research conducted at Duke University Medical Center. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/dumc-nfs010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/dumc-nfs010509.php This month's issue of "Cold Spring Harbor Protocols" features two articles detailing experimental methods for the analysis of molecular processes involved in DNA repair and post-translational modification of proteins. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cshl-mfs010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cshl-mfs010509.php Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research have determined the structure of the interactions between proteins that form the heart of the death inducing signaling complex, which is responsible for triggering apoptosis, or programmed cell death. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/bi-brd010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/bi-brd010509.php Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research have demonstrated important new roles for the protein kinase complex Cdc7/Dbf4 or Cdc7/Drf1 in monitoring damage control during DNA replication and reinitiating replication following DNA repair. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/bi-bri010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/bi-bri010509.php Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and at UC-San Francisco have succeeded in isolating stem cells from human testes. The cells bear a striking resemblance to embryonic stem cells -- they can differentiate into each of the three main types of tissues of the body -- but the researchers caution against viewing them as one and the same. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/sumc-tsc010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/sumc-tsc010509.php Physicists at Indiana University have developed a promising new way to identify a possible abnormality in a fundamental building block of Einstein's theory of relativity known as "Lorentz invariance." If confirmed, the abnormality would disprove the basic tenet that the laws of physics remain the same for any two objects traveling at a constant speed or rotated relative to one another. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/iu-ipo010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/iu-ipo010509.php Cancer and cell biology experts at the University of Cincinnati have identified a new tumor suppressor that may help scientists develop more targeted drug therapies to combat lung cancer. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoc-cbi010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoc-cbi010509.php Government insurance programs that safeguard bank deposits should be reformed to ease taxpayers' undue stake in propping up the nation's banking system, according to research by a University of Illinois finance professor. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoia-fdi010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoia-fdi010509.php Babies born to HIV-positive mothers and given the antiretroviral drug nevirapine through the first six weeks of life to prevent infection via breast-feeding are at high risk for developing drug-resistant HIV if they get infected anyway, a team of researchers report. But the investigators highlight the proven superiority of the six-week regimen in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in breast-fed infants. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jhmi-pni010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jhmi-pni010509.php Digitalis-based drugs like digoxin have been used for centuries to treat patients with irregular heart rhythms and heart failure and are still in use today. In the Dec. 16 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine now report that this same class of drugs may hold new promise as a treatment for cancer. This finding emerged through a search for existing drugs that might slow or stop cancer progression. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jhmi-nhf010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jhmi-nhf010509.php Most consumers crave a clear understanding of brand images, making them more receptive to new marketing messages if anything clouds their vision of companies or products, according to a new study by a University of Illinois marketing expert. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoia-dmc010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoia-dmc010509.php Recovery coaches can significantly reduce the number of substance-exposed births as well as help reunite substance-involved families, saving state child-welfare systems millions of dollars in foster-care and other placement costs. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoia-ce010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoia-ce010509.php Gladstone scientists have discovered a new type of collagen that may protect neurons against the toxic effects of amyloid beta. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/gi-cvm010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/gi-cvm010509.php A recent study shows that shade trees on the west and south sides of a house in California can reduce a homeowner's summertime electric bill by about $25.00 a year. The study, conducted last year on 460 single-family homes in Sacramento, is the first large-scale study to use utility billing data to show that trees can reduce energy consumption. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/ufsp-css010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/ufsp-css010509.php In a pair of related studies released by Seattle Children's Research Institute and published in the January, 2009, issue of Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, researchers found that 54 percent of adolescents frequently discuss high-risk activities including sexual behavior, substance abuse or violence using MySpace, the popular social networking Web site. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/char-mot010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/char-mot010509.php A team of researchers at Princeton University and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey has identified a long-sought gene that is fatefully switched on in 30 to 40 percent of all breast cancer patients, spreading the disease, resisting traditional chemotherapies and eventually leading to death. In doing so, the scientists may have answered one of the biggest mysteries in cancer research. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/pu-tfb010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/pu-tfb010509.php Economists use leading indicators -- the drivers of economic performance -- to take the temperature of the economy and predict the future. Now, in a new study, scientists take a page from the social science handbook and use leading indicators of the environment to presage the potential collapse of ecosystems. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uow-scn010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uow-scn010509.php A new study by McMaster University researchers has provided insight into how scientists might develop therapies and drugs that more carefully target cancer, while sparing normal healthy cells. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/mu-scn010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/mu-scn010509.php A new report from the National Research Council, "Beyond Fortress America: Strengthening National Security and Economic Prosperity through Global Engagement," examines national security controls that oversee scientific and technological research. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/naos-naa010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/naos-naa010509.php Life on a planet ruled by two suns might be a little complicated. Two sunrises, two sunsets. Twice the radiation field. Joel Kastner and his team suggest that planets may easily form around certain types of twin star systems. A disk of molecules discovered orbiting a pair of twin young suns in the constellation Sagittarius strongly suggests that many such binary systems also host planets. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/riot-jpc010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/riot-jpc010509.php Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery...In Brief is distributed monthly and designed to keep you updated on the most current scientific news from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/asop-pr010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/asop-pr010509.php Tel Aviv University finds that exertion at work and play can trigger deadly asthma attacks. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/afot-be010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/afot-be010509.php People with substance abuse disorders cost Medicaid hundreds of millions of dollars annually in medical care, suggesting that early interventions for substance abuse could not only improve outcomes but also save substantial amounts of money, according to a comprehensive study that examined records of nearly 150,000 people in six states. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/bc-saa010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/bc-saa010509.php Apologizing for medical errors is both ethically and professionally responsible and also crucial for improving patient safety and quality of care, write Dr. Noni MacDonald and Dr. Amir Attaran and the CMAJ editorial team. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cmaj-mea010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cmaj-mea010509.php Universal, affordable access to early childhood programs is essential to help young children develop their potential. Equally important are measurement systems to help determine what supports are needed for children. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cmaj-tio010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cmaj-tio010509.php A new tool has been developed that will help measure the rupture resistance of soils by calibrating the correct amount of pressure between a thumb and forefinger of students and soil scientists when studying soils in the field. The measurement is important for accurately assessing the quality and makeup of soils. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/ssso-dsc010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/ssso-dsc010509.php Commonly used pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines do not appear to be effective for preventing pneumonia, found a study by a team of researchers from Switzerland and the United Kingdom. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cmaj-pvd010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cmaj-pvd010509.php Men with type 2 diabetes and men with previous heart attack or stroke had a 3 to 4 fold risk of cardiovascular death compared to men without either disease in the years following the first acute event, according to a study in CMAJ. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cmaj-slm010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cmaj-slm010509.php The study provides the first evidence for a transgenerational effect on immune response based on environmental cues -- with maternal perception of disease risk in the immediate environment potentially determining offspring disease resistance and social dominance. The results are published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uon-mpo010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uon-mpo010509.php A recent study using specimens from Chicago's Field Museum establishes that Nazca trophy heads came from people who lived in the same place and were part of the same culture as those who collected them. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/fm-fmd010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/fm-fmd010509.php A new study details the first European application of two models that simulate the daily flow and dynamics of nitrogen in a watershed, which will help researchers prevent the over-enrichment of fresh, transitional, and marine waters with nitrogen, as well as understand the impacts of environmental change. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/asoa-msn010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/asoa-msn010509.php Researchers from Case Western Reserve University and Yale University have made a significant advancement in understanding the cause behind why some pregnant women suffer from inflammations in the inner womb without any signs of an infection.Using gene-cloning techniques, researchers discovered that approximately 60 percent of the bacteria present in women with intra-amniotic inflammations were missed by traditional culture testing -- considered the gold standard for finding bacterial infections. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cwru-ubf010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cwru-ubf010509.php Johns Hopkins and other researchers report what is believed to be the first direct evidence in lab animals that the erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil amplifies the effects of a heart-protective protein. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jhmi-vot010409.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jhmi-vot010409.php With cold and flu season in full swing, the fact that viruses and bacteria rapidly evolve is apparent with every sneeze, sniffle and cough. A new report in the January 2009 issue of the FASEB Journal, explains for the first time how humans keep up with microbes by rearranging the genes that make antibodies to foreign invaders. This research fills a significant gap in the understanding of how the immune system helps us survive. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/foas-eia010509.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/foas-eia010509.php Two new studies led by UC Berkeley researchers find that women who start their leave in the last month of pregnancy are less likely to have cesarean deliveries, and that new mothers are more likely to establish breastfeeding the longer they delay their return to work. The studies take a rare look into whether taking maternity leave can affect health outcomes in the United States. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoc--slm122308.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoc--slm122308.php The planet Jupiter gained weight in a hurry during its infancy. It had to, since the material from which it formed probably disappeared in just a few million years, according to a new study of planet formation around young stars. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/hcfa-bjm010209.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/hcfa-bjm010209.php The center of the Milky Way presents astronomers with a paradox: It holds young stars, but no one is sure how those stars got there. The galactic center is wracked with powerful gravitational tides stirred by a 4 million solar-mass black hole. Those tides should rip apart molecular clouds that act as stellar nurseries, preventing stars from forming in place. Yet the alternative -- stars falling inward after forming elsewhere -- should be a rare occurrence. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/hcfa-sfj010209.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/hcfa-sfj010209.php Few things are as tiresome as house hunting and moving. Unfortunately, metastatic cancer cells have the relocation process down pat. Tripping nimbly from one abode to another, these migrating cancer cells often prove far more deadly than the original tumor. Although little has been known about how these rogue cells choose where to put down roots, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have now learned just how nefarious they are. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/sumc-po010209.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/sumc-po010209.php Our home galaxy is rotating about 100,000 miles per hour faster than previously thought, meaning its mass is 50 percent greater. This makes it even with the Andromeda Galaxy, and no longer the "little sister" in our local group of galaxies. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/nrao-mwa123108.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/nrao-mwa123108.php Martin Pohl, an Iowa State University associate professor of physics and astronomy, is part of a research team that developed the first complete map of the Milky Way galaxy's spiral arms. The map shows two prominent, symmetric spiral arms in the inner part of the galaxy. The arms extend into the outer galaxy where they branch into four spiral arms. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/isu-isa123108.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/isu-isa123108.php A new epidemiological study has found that among women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy, obese women are at an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer compared with women of normal weight. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/acs-slo123108.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/acs-slo123108.php Childhood trauma is a potent risk factor for development of chronic fatigue syndrome, according to a study by researchers at Emory University School of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study is published in the Jan. 5, 2009 Archives of General Psychiatry. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/eu-blc123008.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/eu-blc123008.php Women with bulimia nervosa appear to respond more impulsively during psychological testing than those without eating disorders, and brain scans show differences in areas responsible for regulating behavior, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jaaj-bca123008.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jaaj-bca123008.php Individuals who experience trauma during childhood appear more likely to develop chronic fatigue syndrome as adults, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, neuroendocrine dysfunction -- or abnormalities in the interaction between the nervous system and endocrine system -- appears to be associated with childhood trauma in those with chronic fatigue syndrome, suggesting a biological pathway by which early experiences influence adult vulnerability to illness. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jaaj-cta123008.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jaaj-cta123008.php About half of teens reference sex, substance use or other risky behaviors on their publicly available online profiles, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, a second article reports that a brief e-mail from a physician shows promise in reducing mentions of sex on social networking Web sites. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jaaj-tfm123008.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/jaaj-tfm123008.php Mutations in the nuclear intermediate filament lamin A/C gene are associated with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, but cause the disease by unknown mechanisms. Mejat et al. show that one mechanism involves the disruption of neuromuscular junctions. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/rup-lad123008.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/rup-lad123008.php Adults with diabetes experience a slowdown in several types of mental processing, which appears early in the disease and persists into old age, according to new research. Given the sharp rise in new cases of diabetes, this finding means that more adults may soon be living with mild but lasting deficits in their thought processes. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/apa-ads123008.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/apa-ads123008.php Below is information about three studies being published in the Jan. 6 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The information is not intended to substitute for articles as sources of information. Information in press materials is copyrighted. Annals of Internal Medicine attribution is required for all coverage. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/acop-enf122908.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/acop-enf122908.php This release contains summaries, links to PDFs and contact information for the following newsworthy papers to be published online, Jan. 5, 2009, in the JCI: "Nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord sense pain caused by physical insult"; and "Molecular insight into how a heart failure drug in clinical trials works." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/joci-joe122908.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/joci-joe122908.php One of the factors that contributes to heart failure is thickening of the muscle wall of the heart (hypertrophy) -- a compensatory response of the heart to high blood pressure. A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, has provided new insight into both the signaling mechanisms by which high blood pressure leads to compensatory hypertrophy of the mouse heart and the molecular mechanisms by which a heart failure drug in clinical trials works. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/joci-mii122908.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/joci-mii122908.php Researchers have shown that the protein COX2 in mouse nerve cells in the central nervous system (CNS) is crucial for hypersensitivity to pain caused by the physical insult associated with inflammation, but not pain caused by the heat associated with inflammation. As pain caused by physical insult is a major symptom of postoperative and arthritic inflammation, it seems that COX2 in nerve cells in the CNS is central to the pain that accompanies these conditions. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/joci-nci122908.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/joci-nci122908.php A new study reveals that the metadherin gene (MTDH) plays a role in both cancer metastasis and resistance to chemotherapy. The research, published by Cell Press in the Jan. 6 issue of the journal Cancer Cell, identifies MTDH as a promising therapeutic target for high risk breast cancers. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cp-gpd122308.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cp-gpd122308.php A new study reveals critical molecular mechanisms associated with the development and progression of human neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in young children. The research, published by Cell Press in the Jan. 6 issue of the journal Cancer Cell, may lead to development of future strategies for treatment of this aggressive and unpredictable cancer. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cp-nii122308.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/cp-nii122308.php Hideharu Funatsu, M.D., and colleagues at the Tokyo Women's Medical University, Japan, focused on diabetic macular edema, a serious complication of retinopathy. Their findings on inflammatory factors associated with diabetic macular edema are presented in this month's Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that diabetic retinopathy will triple from 5.5 million in 2005 to 16 million in 2050. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aaoo-ohj121908.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aaoo-ohj121908.php An international team of researchers has identified genetic markers associated with risk for ulcerative colitis. The findings, which appear today as an advance online publication of the journal Nature Genetics, bring researchers closer to understanding the biological pathways involved in the disease and may lead to the development of new treatments that specifically target them. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uops-ngm010209.php Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uops-ngm010209.php MIT engineers have developed a new, highly efficient way to pair up cells so they can be fused together into a hybrid cell. The new technique should make it much easier for scientists to study what happens when two cells are combined. For example, fusing an adult cell and an embryonic stem cell allows researchers to study the genetic reprogramming that occurs in such hybrids. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/miot-mdn123008.php Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/miot-mdn123008.php Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed a versatile mouse model of glioblastoma -- the most common and deadly brain cancer in humans -- that closely resembles the development and progression of human brain tumors that arise naturally. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/si-srd123008.php Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/si-srd123008.php A tumor-suppressing gene is a key to understanding, and perhaps killing, dormant ovarian cancer cells that persist after initial treatment only to reawaken later, researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the December Journal of Clinical Investigation. They found that expression of ARHI turns on autophagy, or self-eating, in ovarian cancer cells, which promotes their survival in a dormant state. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uotm-dcc010209.php Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uotm-dcc010209.php An international team of scientists has discovered a new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia, a rare disorder in which children lack sufficient infection-fighting white cells, and identified the genetic cause of the syndrome. The findings are published in the Jan. 1, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/nlom-sin010209.php Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/nlom-sin010209.php Across the University of Colorado at Boulder campus students are sharing answers, checking their responses to questions against those of their neighbors and making adjustments to those answers in hopes of earning a better grade. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoca-pdi123108.php Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoca-pdi123108.php This release spotlights research papers on these topics: Surprise drop in carbon dioxide absorbed by East/Japan Sea; Big raindrops favor tornado formation; Sand dunes clocked from space; Odd-looking Martian craters indicate hidden ice; Explaining scope of Earth's tropical air flows; Cause of glacial earthquakes in Greenland clarified; Sea rise on continental shelves affected global carbon cycle; Martian avalanches analyzed; Influence in West Africa: biomass burning and mineral dust; and Dust's conflicting roles in West African rainfall. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/agu-ajh123108.php Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/agu-ajh123108.php A network of emotion-regulating brain regions implicated in the pathological worry that can grip patients with anxiety disorders may also be useful for predicting the benefits of treatment. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uow-ebh123008.php Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uow-ebh123008.php In a first of its kind study, a first-degree family history of prostate cancer has no impact on the treatment outcomes of prostate cancer patients treated with brachytherapy, also called seed implants, and patients with this type of family history have clinical and pathologic characteristics similar to men with no family history at all, according to a Jan. 1 study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/asft-fho122908.php Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/asft-fho122908.php Researchers from Duke University Medical Center have identified a variation in a particular gene that increases susceptibility to early coronary artery disease. For years, scientists have known that the devastating, early onset form of the disease was inherited, but they knew little about the gene(s) responsible until now. The results are published Jan. 2 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/plos-gvm122908.php Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/plos-gvm122908.php In a study to determine the diagnostic value of molecular imaging in nodal staging of patients with thyroid cancer, researchers were able for the first time to accurately distinguish between cancerous cells in regional lymph nodes and normal residual thyroid tissue directly after surgery. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/sonm-mie122608.php Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/sonm-mie122608.php The press release list the titles and provides brief descriptions of the peer-reviewed articles in the January 2009 issue of BioScience. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aiob-bts122308.php Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aiob-bts122308.php An assessment concludes that despite well-publicized concerns about some harmful effects of aquaculture, the technique may, when practiced well, be no more harmful to biodiversity than other food production systems. Aquaculture production of aquatic animals now accounts for about a third of the total supply and will probably remain the most rapidly increasing food production system worldwide through 2025, according to the author. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aiob-ags122308.php Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aiob-ags122308.php In the Jan. 2, 2009, issue of Science, Hao Yan and Yan Liu, researchers at ASU's Biodesign Institute and faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, reveal for the first time the 3-D character of DNA nanotubules, rings and spirals, each a few hundred thousandths the diameter of a human hair. These DNA nanotubes and other synthetic nanostructures may soon find their way into a new generation of ultra-tiny electronic and biomedical innovations. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/asu-tgs123108.php Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/asu-tgs123108.php Antioxidant supplementation was found to be effective in relieving pain and reducing levels of oxidative stress in patients with chronic pancreatitis. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aga-aop122908.php Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aga-aop122908.php Alpha-synuclein is the main component of Lewy bodies, the clumps of aggregated proteins that form in the brains of Parkinson's disease patients. The alpha-synuclein gene is mutated or triplicated in some cases of inherited Parkinson's. A process called chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) plays an important role in recycling of specific proteins in brain cells. Alpha-synuclein disrupts a key survival circuit in brain cells by interfering with CMA and the recycling of the protein MEF2D. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/eu-tmi122908.php Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/eu-tmi122908.php Pre-operative screening of patients for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus may be an effective way to reduce infection rates following otolaryngic surgeries, according to new research published in the January 2009 issue of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aaoo-mpe122908.php Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aaoo-mpe122908.php Abundant tiny particles of diamond dust exist in sediments dating to 12,900 years ago at six North American sites, adding strong evidence for Earth's impact with a rare swarm of carbon-and-water-rich comets or carbonaceous chondrites, reports a nine-member scientific team. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoo-sna122708.php Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uoo-sna122708.php Researchers at the University Of Southern California, School Of Dentistry, release results of clinical data that links oral bisphosphonates to increased jaw necrosis. The study is among the first to acknowledge that even short-term use of common oral osteoporosis drugs may leave the jaw vulnerable to devastating necrosis, according to the report appearing in the Jan. 1 Journal of the American Dental Association. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uosc-udl121908.php Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/uosc-udl121908.php A study in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep demonstrates that the frequent arousals from sleep that occur in heart failure patients with central sleep apnea (CSA) may reflect the presence of another underlying arousal disorder rather than being a defensive mechanism to terminate apneas. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aaos-afi121908.php Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aaos-afi121908.php A study in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep indicates that the indirect costs of untreated insomnia are significantly greater than the direct costs associated with its treatment. The study estimates that the total annual cost of insomnia in the province of Quebec is 6.5 billion Canadian dollars, representing about one percent of the province's $228.5 billion in gross domestic product for 2002. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aaos-sst121908.php Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/aaos-sst121908.php In a finding that could significantly influence the way type 1 diabetes is treated, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a technique for transplanting insulin-producing pancreatic cells that causes only a minimal immune response in recipients. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/aeco-rep123108.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/aeco-rep123108.php Tel Aviv University researchers find epileptics in stressful jobs can handle the pressure. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/afot-std123108.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/afot-std123108.php New computer visualization technology developed by the Harvard Initiative in Innovative Computing has helped astrophysicists understand that gravity plays a larger role than previously thought in deep space's vast, star-forming molecular clouds. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/hcfa-nvt123108.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/hcfa-nvt123108.php A research group in China investigated the growth inhibitory and apoptoticeffects of Scutellaria barbata D.Don (S. barbata) and determined the underlying mechanism of its anti-tumor activity in mouse liver cancer cell line H22. They found that extracts from S. barbata can effectively inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis of H22 cells involving loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, release of cytochrome C, and activation of caspase-3. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/wjog-anl123008.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/wjog-anl123008.php A research group from Italy describes a rigorous method based on the fundamentals of measurement theory, which metrically defines the changes of magnitude of liver tissue prime basic structural elements occurring during the course of B and C chronic hepatitis. The method can be considered the first step toward quantification and automation of other liver tissue structures metrical description. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/wjog-arm123008.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/wjog-arm123008.php A research group from United Kingdom investigated the mechanisms by which Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni ) causes inflammation and diarrhea. They found that C. jejuni causes two distinct patterns of disease comprising watery diarrhea (especially in children) and a condition that is normally self limiting but mimics ulcerative colitis. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/wjog-wit123008.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/wjog-wit123008.php Researchers in Canada and Germany performed a systematic review and meta-analysis examining adverse events arising from the use of bismuth compounds in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication therapy. They concluded that Bismuth is a safe and well-tolerated to treat of H. pylori. The only adverse event occurring more commonly was dark stools. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/wjog-iba123008.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/wjog-iba123008.php A research group from Iran investigated the prevalence of gluten-sensitive enteropathy (GSE) in a large group of patients with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) of obscure origin. They found that there is a high prevalence of GSE in patients with IDA of obscure origin. Gluten-free diet can improve anemia in GSE patients who have mild duodenal lesions without villous atrophy. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/wjog-tpo123008.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/wjog-tpo123008.php A new study shows that people who are smokers and have a family history of brain aneurysm appear to be significantly more likely to suffer a stroke from a brain aneurysm themselves. The research is published in the Dec. 31, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, and will appear in the Jan. 6, 2009, print issue of Neurology. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/aaon-sws123008.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/aaon-sws123008.php The hormone deprivation therapy that prostate cancer patients often take gives them only a temporary fix, with tumors usually regaining their hold within a couple of years. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered critical differences in the hormone receptors on prostate cancer cells in patients who no longer respond to this therapy. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/jhmi-wpc122908.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/jhmi-wpc122908.php A team of Johns Hopkins neuroscientists has worked out how some newly discovered light sensors in the eye detect light and communicate with the brain. The report appears online this week in Nature. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/jhmi-bln122908.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/jhmi-bln122908.php University of British Columbia researchers are offering the first compelling evidence to explain regular tremors under Vancouver Island. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/uobc-twc122908.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/uobc-twc122908.php A research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has identified a protein produced by cancerous lung epithelial cells that enhances metastasis by stimulating the activity of inflammatory cells. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/uoc--lcc122608.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/uoc--lcc122608.php Scientists have new information about the complex genetic signature associated with Alzheimer's disease, the leading cause of cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly. The research, published by Cell Press in the January issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, uses a powerful, high-resolution analysis to look for genes associated with this devastating neurodegenerative disorder. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/cp-sms122408.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/cp-sms122408.php While examining patterns of DNA modification in lung cancer, a team of international researchers has discovered what they say is a surprising new mechanism. They say that "silencing" of a single gene in lung cancer led to a general impairment in genome-wide changes in cells, contributing to cancer development and progression. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/aafc-ilc122308.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/aafc-ilc122308.php Administering antibiotics as a preventive measure to patients in intensive care units increases their chances of survival. This has emerged from a study involving nearly 6,000 Dutch patients in 13 hospitals. Researchers at University Medical Center Utrecht have published their findings in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/umcu-fdw122208.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/umcu-fdw122208.php An extract from grape seeds forces laboratory leukemia cells to commit cell suicide, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky. They found that within 24 hours, 76 percent of leukemia cells had died after being exposed to the extract. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/aafc-gse122208.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/aafc-gse122208.php Everybody is familiar with the stereotypes of medical education from the student perspective: grueling hours, little recognition and even less glory. Now a novel Brandeis study published in Academic Medicine this month pulls back the curtain on the dominant environment of academic medicine from the perspective of faculty, the providers of medical education in medical schools. The study raises questions about how the prevailing culture of academic medicine shapes the delivery of health care. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/bu-tco121808.php Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/bu-tco121808.php When researchers look inside human cancer cells for the whereabouts of an important tumor-suppressor, they often catch the protein playing hooky, lolling around in cellular broth instead of muscling its way out to the cells' membranes and foiling cancer growth. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/jhmi-jhs123008.php Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/jhmi-jhs123008.php Automakers who favor the flexibility and price savings of outsourcing production must weigh carefully the product life cycle implications of sacrificing in-house manufacturing, according to the Management Insights feature in the current issue of Management Science, the flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/ifor-ncf123008.php Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/ifor-ncf123008.php