GamerBeef: Science News

A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that objectively measured heavy snoring is an independent risk factor for early carotid atherosclerosis, which may progress to be associated with stroke.

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Noninvasively measuring liver stiffness with transient elastography accurately diagnoses patients with late-stage liver disease, reports a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

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A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep is the first to objectively determine the prevalence of periodic limb movements during sleep in a population-based sample, finding a lower prevalence of PLMS in African-Americans and a higher rate of insomnia complaints in people with PLMS.

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A new assessment more than doubles previous estimates of the amount of carbon stored in permafrost, and indicates that carbon dioxide emissions from microbial decomposition of organic carbon in thawing permafrost could amount to roughly half those resulting from global land-use change during this century.

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A neuroimaging study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep is the first to find that cognitive processes related to verbal fluency are compromised in people with insomnia despite the absence of a behavioral deficit. These specific brain function alterations can be reversed, however, through non-pharmacological treatment with sleep therapy.

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The press release lists research articles that will be published in the September 2008 issue of BioScience and provides a brief description of each one.

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A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that the subjective interpretation of temperature change is decreased in older adults, particularly those who suffer from insomnia.

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Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered the earliest form of humanblood stem cells and deciphered the mechanism by which these embryonicstem cells replicate and grow. They also found a surprising biologicalmarker that pinpoints these stem cells, which serve as the progenitorsfor red blood cells and lymphocytes.

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The widely-held perception that the influenza vaccination reduces overall mortality risk in the elderly does not withstand careful scrutiny, according to researchers in Alberta. The vaccine does confer protection against specific strains of influenza, but its overall benefit appears to have been exaggerated by a number of observational studies that found a very large reduction in all-cause mortality among elderly patients who had been vaccinated.

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Children who are physically or sexually abused are more than twice as likely to have asthma as their peers, according to a recent study of urban children in Puerto Rico. In fact, physical and sexual abuse was second only to maternal asthma in all the risk factors tested, including paternal asthma and indicators of socioeconomic status.

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The response to insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) in breast cancer cells predicts an aggressive tumor that is less likely to respond to treatment, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The finding gives impetus to the movement to tailor cancer treatments to attributes of the various tumors.

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To be prepared for future developments in quantum metrology PTB has set up a new molecular beam epitaxy system optimized for the fabrication of highest purity semiconductor structures. Already the first structures have shown ex-treme high electron mobility with a value five times better compared to the ones from the conventional epitaxy system. With this, PTB extends its leading position in electrical quantum metrology with semiconductor structures.

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Researchers at the Wistar Institute have deciphered the structure of the active region of telomerase, an enzyme that plays a major role in the development of nearly all human cancers. The landmark achievement opens the door to the creation of new, broadly effective cancer drugs, as well as anti-aging therapies. The study will be published online in Nature on Aug. 31.

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The highlights of the recently published ECNP consensus statement on bipolar depression were presented by the renowned British researcher Guy M. Goodwin, Oxford. The apparent differences between unipolar and bipolar depression arise in diagnosis and epidemiology, bipolar depression in children as well as adults, the use of rating scales, and finally treatment studies to optimize pharmacotherapy and clinical outcome.

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New research led by University of Leicester into why men are more prone to heart disease.

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Researchers have discovered two new genes that increase the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease in childhood. Continuing discovery of genes that interact with each other and with environmental influences in this complex disease helps build the foundation for personalized IBD treatments tailored to a patient’s genetic profile.

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Using a novel technique, medical and engineering researchers at Stanford University have discovered a vulnerable step in the virus’ reproduction process that in lab testing could be effectively targeted with an obsolete antihistamine.

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If the lessons being learned by scientists about the demise of the last great North American ice sheet are correct, estimates of global sea level rise from a melting Greenland ice sheet may be seriously underestimated. Writing this week (Aug. 31) in the journal Nature Geoscience, a team of researchers led by University of Wisconsin-Madison geologist Anders Carlson reports that sea level rise from greenhouse-induced warming of the Greenland ice sheet could be double or triple current estimates over the next century.

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An international study led by Canadian researchers has found that telmisartan, a medication used to lower blood pressure, reduced the outcome of cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke in people who are unable to tolerate a widely available and effective standard treatment. Dr. Salim Yusuf and Dr. Koon Teo, professors in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University and clinicians at Hamilton Health Sciences, led the study.

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At the 21st Congress of the ECNP 2008 in Barcelona, Professor Fuchs from the Clinical Neurobiology Laboratory, German Primate Center in Goettingen, presented the latest findings on how brain cells can be adversely affected by stress and depression. He explained how the adult brain is generating new cells and which impact these findings will have on the development of novel antidepressant drugs.

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Many nursing mothers who have been hospitalized for breast abscesses are afflicted with the “superbug” methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, but according to new research by UT Southwestern Medical Center physicians, conservative treatment can deal with the problem.

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Researchers have yet to reach a consensus on how much and how quickly melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet will contribute to sea level rise. To shed light on this question, scientists at the University of Wisconsin and Columbia University’s Center for Climate Systems Research analyzed the disappearance of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, the last ice sheet to melt completely in the Northern Hemisphere and the closest example of what can be expected to happen to the Greenland Ice Sheet in the next century.

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Body weight and fertility have long known to be related to each other — women who are too thin, for example, can have trouble becoming pregnant. Now, a master switch has been found in the brain of mice that controls both, and researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies say it may work the same way in humans.

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Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute today announced a new approach to treating endometrial cancer patients that not only stops the growth of tumors, but kills the cancer cells.In a potentially major breakthrough, TGen scientists and collaborators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discovered that introducing a particular inhibitor drug can turn “off” receptors responsible for the growth of tumors in a significant number of patients with endometrial cancer.

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A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that daytime sleeping during a rehabilitation stay predicts less functional recovery for older adults, with effects lasting as long as three months.

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In May 2006, an agreement was reached by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the American Beverage Association on voluntary sales restrictions on “competitive foods” such as soft drinks at schools. However, researchers at Pardee Rand Graduate School say limiting the availability of soft drinks at school may not be enough to affect overall consumption among elementary school children.

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Premature infants whose mothers smoked during pregnancy may be at even higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome than preemies whose mothers did not smoke, according to new research out of the University of Calgary. In the first-ever experimental study to compare the breathing reflexes of preemies of smokers versus non-smokers, researchers found that babies whose mothers had smoked showed a number of signs of impaired respiratory function.

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The age-old advice to routinely clean out earwax is discouraged under the first published guidelines from health care professionals about removing wax from the ear.

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There is a strong link between obesity and asthma and as the prevalence of both conditions has been increasing steadily, epidemiologists have speculated that there is an underlying condition that connects the two. But one long-suspected link, the systemic inflammation associated with obesity, has been ruled out by a recent New Zealand study that found no evidence of its involvement.

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An attempt to re-energize mathematics teaching in Europe is being made in a new project examining a range of factors thought to influence achievement. Mathematics teaching is as vital as ever both in support of key fields such as life sciences, alternative energy development or information technology, and also through its unique ability to develop widely applicable problem solving skills. It should be highly relevant not just for the elite few but for all people in education.

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Women with depression may be much more likely than men to get relief from a commonly used, inexpensive antidepressant drug, a new national study finds. But many members of both sexes may find that it helps ease their depression symptoms. The persistence of a gender difference in response to the drug — even after the researchers accounted for many complicating factors — suggests that there’s a real biological difference in the way the medication affects women.

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A tiny wasp that lays its eggs under the skin of unwitting caterpillars belongs to one of the most diverse groups of insects on Earth. Now researchers report that its diversity is even higher than previously thought (This report includes an audio slide show).

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A nine-year study in sheep has added to the evidence that vCJD can be transmitted through blood transfusion in humans. The findings underline the importance of precautions against vCJD transmission, such as the Government decision in 2004 to ban blood donations from anyone who had received a blood transfusion since 1980.

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Demand for corn — the world’s number one feed grain and a staple food for many — is outstripping supply, resulting in large price increases that are forecast to continue over the next several years. If corn’s intolerance of low temperatures could be overcome, then the length of the growing season, and yield, could be increased at present sites of cultivation and its range extended into colder regions.

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Patients are not the only ones at risk during cardiac procedures. Doctors performing heart surgery also face health risks, namely to their eyes.The IAEA is helping to raise awareness of threats, through training in radiation protection related to medical uses of X-ray imaging systems.

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A new study by University of Pennsylvania sociology professor Jason Schnittker shows that, while more Americans believe that mental illness has genetic causes, the nation is no more tolerant of the mentally ill than it was 10 years ago.

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“An investigation into the effects of gum chewing on mood and cortisol levels during psychological stress,” to be presented at the 2008 10th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine, found chewing gum helped relieve anxiety, improve alertness and reduce stress among individuals in a laboratory setting.

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Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have developed a simple process for mass producing molecular tubes of identical — and precisely programmable — circumferences. The technological feat may allow the use of the molecular tubes in a number of nanotechnology applications.

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At the 21st Congress of the ECNP 2008 in Barcelona, professor Erkki Isometsä, a renowned expert in psychiatric suicide research, presented the state of evidence concerning the relation of antidepressants and suicidal behavior and critically commented on the current discussion with regard to the role of antidepressive treatment in real-life clinical practice.

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Results of a 10-year study published in the August 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that magnesium sulfate administered to women delivering before 32 weeks of gestation reduced the risk of cerebral palsy by 50 percent. The Beneficial Effects of Antenatal Magnesium Sulfate trial was conducted in 18 centers in the US, including Northwestern Memorial, and is the first prenatal intervention ever found to reduce the instance of cerebral palsy related to premature birth.

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A research group from Uppsala University shows for the first time that a special type of “instructor” molecule is needed for blood vessel cells to organize in tubes and not in layers. to accomplish this. This might be an important step towards using stem cells to build new organs.

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A Johns Hopkins research team reports it may have an explanation for at least some of the higher organ rejection rates seen among black — as compared to white — kidney transplant recipients.

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Engineers at Georgia Tech have used skin cells to create artificial bones that mimic the ability of natural bone to blend into other tissues such as tendons or ligaments. The artificial bones provide for better integration with the body and handle weight more successfully.

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HIV-infected patients have a higher prevalence of fractures than non HIV-infected patients, across both genders and critical fracture sites according to a new study accepted for publication in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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Researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center recently participated in a pilot study with the Montreal Neurological Institute that suggests a certain type of MRI scanning can detect when a patient is failing brain tumor treatment before symptoms appear. The results of the study pave the way for a proactive treatment approach.

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The risk of heart attack patients having repeat attacks after they are discharged from hospital is being underestimated, research has shown. An international study, led by the University of Edinburgh, raises concerns that some patients may not be receiving the optimum medical treatment and follow-up care because doctors are misjudging the risk of a further heart attack.

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Researchers at UC Davis have come up with a control system that allows a robot to pick up on cues that the leader is about to turn, predict where it is going and follow it.

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A solution to the world’s worst case of ongoing mass poisoning, linked to rising cancer rates in Southern Asia, has been developed by researchers from Queen’s University Belfast.

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A simple memory trick has helped show UC Davis researchers how an area of the brain called the perirhinal cortex can contribute to forming memories.

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People who walk on a treadmill even years after stroke damage can significantly improve their health and mobility, changes that reflect actual “rewiring” of their brains, according to research spearheaded at Johns Hopkins.

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