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 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:21:01 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 (EurekAlert!) It's long been known that consumers choose apples based on fruit color. Apple producers recognize that clear days and cool nights are ideal growing conditions for apples to develop bright red colors. Scientists in Spain examined the effects of covering orchard floors with reflective films on fruit color, fruit quality, and profitability. The research showed that the use of films increased fruit size and color and can result in increased profits for apple growers. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/asfh-rfc110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/asfh-rfc110309.php Common household chemical, also made naturally by living cells, appears to be involved in regulation of circadian rhythms, according to new study in PLoS ONE. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uosc-njb110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uosc-njb110309.php Pecan, the most valuable nut tree native to North America. Effective management of the tree canopy is of vital interest to pecan growers, who commonly use pruning techniques to increase photosynthesis and flowering on trees. Researchers at Texas A&M University have provided baseline information relevant to improving management of the orchard light environment, and can be used by commercial pecan producers for developing new, effective canopy and crop management practices. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/asfh-sos110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/asfh-sos110309.php A painstaking genomic and proteomic analysis has found a new evolutionary mechanism that accounts for some of the biological complexity of human beings. The Rice University scientists who found the mechanism say it helps humans cope with the consequences of inefficient natural selection. It fosters complexity by enabling human proteins to become more specialized over time. The research is available online and slated for December's print edition of Genome Research. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ru-ssl110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ru-ssl110309.php The November issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association features a commentary by James O. Hill, an honorary ADA member, professor of pediatrics and medicine and director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado-Denver. He is also co-founder of America on the Move, a national weight gain prevention initiative that aims to inspire Americans to make small changes in how much they eat and how much they move to prevent weight gain. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ada-aov110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ada-aov110309.php Dr. Michael Birnhack of TAU's Faculty of Law recently completed a comprehensive study that revealed dangerous loopholes in the collection of personal information by Internet sites and club cards. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/afot-pyv110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/afot-pyv110309.php The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on breastfeeding that details health benefits for both infants and mothers, and encourages promotion of breastfeeding whenever possible. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ada-aru110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ada-aru110309.php Myocarditis is an important, and often unrecognized cause of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Several new diagnostic methods, such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are useful for diagnosing myocarditis, according to a study published in the November 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/mc-mcp110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/mc-mcp110309.php The idea by Kansas State University's Wenqiao "Wayne" Yuan and Zhijian "Z.J." Pei is to grow algae in the ocean on very large, supporting platforms. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ksu-kes110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ksu-kes110309.php Clinical researchers at Princess Margaret Hospital have confirmed that patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer ("tonsil cancer") harbour a common type of human papilloma virus (HPV16), but also that such cancers are very sensitive to radiation. For some patients, this may mean successful treatment with radiation alone and avoiding the side effects of chemotherapy. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uhn-pfm110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uhn-pfm110309.php In recognition of American Diabetes Month, the American Academy of Periodontology commends the International Diabetes Foundation on the release of the Guideline on Oral Health for People with Diabetes, and supports its encouragement of continued collaboration and communication between diabetes and oral health-care professionals. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/aaop-ast110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/aaop-ast110309.php Drunken fruit flies have helped researchers from North Carolina State and Boston Universities identify networks of genes -- also present in humans -- that play a key role in alcohol drinking behavior. This discovery in the October 2009 Genetics provides an indication of why some people seem to tolerate alcohol better than others, and points toward a potential target for drugs aimed at preventing or eliminating alcoholism. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/gsoa-dff110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/gsoa-dff110309.php Longer toes and a unique ankle structure provide sprinters with the burst of acceleration that separates them from other runners, according to biomechanists. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ps-ltu110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ps-ltu110309.php The effectiveness of a screening colonoscopy may depend on the time of day it is performed. According to a new UCLA study, early-morning colonoscopies yielded more polyps per patient than later screenings, and fewer polyps were found hour by hour as the day progressed. The findings point to the need for more research in this area to possibly improve outcomes for colonoscopy procedures. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uoc--ccs110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uoc--ccs110309.php Launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard an United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle, Oct. 18, 2009, the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager (SSULI) developed by NRL's Space Science Division and Spacecraft Engineering Department offers a first of its kind technique for remote sensing of the ionosphere and thermosphere from space. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nrl-nsp110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nrl-nsp110309.php A study by researchers from Purdue University and the universities of Colorado and Maryland concluded that greener land cover contributes to cooler temperatures, and almost any other change leads to warmer temperatures. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/pu-sgc110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/pu-sgc110309.php New research finds that a protein called ROCK is over-expressed in metastatic breast cancer and that inhibiting ROCK significantly reduces metastasis to bone. The in vitro and in vivo study suggests that ROCK may be a drug therapy target for breast cancer metastasis. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tuhs-ear110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tuhs-ear110309.php Radiation oncologists at Rush University Medical Center are intent on finding ways to avoid damage to the critically important hippocampus and limbic circuit of the brain when cranial radiation is required to treat existing or potential metastatic cancers. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/rumc-ata110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/rumc-ata110309.php First impressions do matter when it comes to communicating personality through appearance, according to new research by psychologists Laura Naumann of Sonoma State University and Sam Gosling of The University of Texas at Austin. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uota-fic110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uota-fic110309.php Marking a significant bench to bedside research milestone in Singapore, the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, world's first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute, and National University Hospital launched IBN iCare and the NUH Eye Centre @ Biopolis Nov. 3, 2009. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/afst-sia110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/afst-sia110309.php Stereotactic radiosurgery, a radiation therapy procedure pioneered at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) that precisely delivers a large dose of radiation to tumors, effectively controls pain in patients with cancer that has spread to the spine, according to researchers from UPCI. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uops-rtt110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uops-rtt110309.php University of Missouri researchers found that removing all of the trees from a section of the forest had a negative effect on amphibians during their later life cycles, but had some positive effects during amphibians' aquatic larva stages at the beginning of their lives. To lessen the negative effects during the later life stage, Semlitsch recommends partial or selection cuts to forests rather than completely removing trees from an area. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-thi110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-thi110309.php Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have made an important discovery about why potassium builds up to dangerous levels in the bloodstream, a relatively common medical problem that affects about eight percent of hospitalized patients. They have identified a new molecular pathway and a new class of molecules responsible for preventing potassium from being excreted normally through the kidney. Their study was just published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uomm-nco110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uomm-nco110309.php When searching for basketball videos online, a long list of Web sites appears, which may contain a picture or a word describing a basketball. But what if the computer could search inside videos for a basketball? Researchers at the University of Missouri are developing software that would enable computers to search inside videos, detect humans and specific objects, and perform other video analysis tasks. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-rlt110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-rlt110309.php A vast majority of leaders in health care and health policy believe Medicare has been successful in providing access to care and stable coverage to the elderly and disabled individuals; however only a small percentage think the program has realized its potential to achieve other important goals, like using its leverage as the country's largest purchaser of services to control costs and promote a high performance health system. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cf-efb110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cf-efb110309.php Night-shift workers should avoid drinking coffee if they wish to improve their sleep, according to research published in the journal Sleep Medicine. A new study led by Julie Carrier, a Université de Montréal psychology professor and a researcher at the affiliated Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur Sleep Disorders Centre, has found the main byproduct of coffee, caffeine, interferes with sleep and this side-effect worsens as people age. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-jan110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-jan110309.php With flu vaccination season in full swing, researchers caution that use of many common pain killers -- Advil, Tylenol, aspirin -- at the time of injection may blunt the effect of the shot and have a negative effect on the immune system. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uorm-cpr110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uorm-cpr110309.php Large-scale distributions of two important nutrient pools -- dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic phosphorus (DON and DOP) have been systematically mapped for the first time over the Atlantic Ocean in a study led by Dr Sinhue Torres-Valdes of the National Oceanography Center, Southampton. The findings have important implications for understanding nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemical cycles and the biological carbon pump in the Atlantic Ocean. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nocs-mnd110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nocs-mnd110309.php In collaboration with researchers at VIB-UGent and the University of Antwerp, scientists at the BioScience business group of Bayer CropScience AG in Gent have developed a technology that can significantly increase crop yields as well as make them more resistant to unfavorable growing conditions. It is based on selecting plants that make more efficient use of energy. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/vfi-frd110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/vfi-frd110309.php A recent review in Faculty of 1000 Medicine Reports, a publication in which clinicians highlight advances in medical practice, suggests regional pain relief could be used during abdominal surgery. In this review, Michael Schaefer recommends a new approach that can be performed without the need for general anesthetics. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/fo1b-tna110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/fo1b-tna110309.php One in seven people worldwide will suffer from tinnitus (ringing in the ears) at some point. It is the most common injury arising from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and 75 pecent of 18 to 30 year-olds who go to nightclubs and concerts may experience temporary tinnitus. A research review (150 papers over 25 years) suggests that 94 percent of people are told nothing can be done. But help is at hand. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/w-mai110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/w-mai110309.php Two genes, each one of which is known to cause cancer on its own, together can lead to aggressive leukemia. This is the conclusion from new research carried out on gene-modified mice at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The discovery has surprised scientists, and may lead to new treatments. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uog-tgc110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uog-tgc110309.php While more than half the academic life science researchers responding to a 2007 survey indicated having some relationship with industrial entities, the prevalence of such relationships -- particularly direct funding for research studies -- appears to be dropping. Results of the survey also suggest that interest in commercial applications of research appears to be growing, even among investigators without industry funding. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/mgh-iso110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/mgh-iso110309.php Researchers at Iowa State University have found an essential key to possibly cure Parkinson's disease and are looking for others.Anumantha Kanthasamy has been working to understand the complex mechanisms of the disease for more than a decade and thinks he has found hope for the cure. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/isu-irf110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/isu-irf110309.php According to research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, a preschooler's gender determines how he or she is treated and responded to in play and learning activities, and when the children's possibilities become expanded, it is usually a result of the children's and not the teachers' initiative. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uog-pcs110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uog-pcs110309.php By building a tiny microscope small enough to be carried around on a rat's head, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, have found a way to study the complex activity of many brain cells simultaneously while animals are free to move around. With this new technology scientists can actually see how the brain cells operate while the animal is behaving naturally, giving rise to immense new insights into the understanding of perception and attention. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/m-mmi110309.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/m-mmi110309.php A pivotal efficacy trial of RTS,S, the world's most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate, is now underway in seven African countries: Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. The trial, which is expected to involve up to 16,000 children, is on schedule, with more than 5,000 children already enrolled, researchers announced Tuesday at the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Pan-African Malaria Conference. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/bc-wlm110209.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/bc-wlm110209.php Though hot tubs, whirlpools and spas are widely used for relaxation and fun, they can pose serious risk for injury. Over the past two decades, as recreational use of hot tubs has increased, so has the number of injuries. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nch-nns110209.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nch-nns110209.php Men with lower cholesterol are less likely than those with higher levels to develop high-grade prostate cancer -- an aggressive form of the disease with a poorer prognosis, according to results of a Johns Hopkins collaborative study. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/jhmi-lcm110209.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/jhmi-lcm110209.php First responders who were exposed to caustic dust and toxic pollutants following the 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks suffer from asthma at more than twice the rate of the general US population, according to data presented today by Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians, in San Diego. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tmsh-nms110209.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tmsh-nms110209.php The spread of malware, or computer viruses, is a growing problem that can lead to crashed computer systems, stolen personal information, and billions of dollars in lost productivity every year. One of the most insidious types of malware is a "rootkit," which can effectively hide the presence of other spyware or viruses from the user. But now researchers have devised a way to block rootkits and prevent them from taking over your computer systems. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ncsu-hhn110209.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ncsu-hhn110209.php Astronomers have tracked down a gigantic, previously unknown assembly of galaxies located almost seven billion light-years away from us. The discovery, made possible by combining two of the most powerful ground-based telescopes in the world, is the first observation of such a prominent galaxy structure in the distant Universe, providing further insight into the cosmic web and how it formed. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/e-slo110209.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/e-slo110209.php Standard adjuvant treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer patients, following primary surgery for their cancer, is trastuzumab (herceptin) -- typically used in combination with chemotherapy. However, a new study by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center reports that it may be safe to treat these patients with both trastuzumab and adjuvant radiation therapy. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/fccc-sfi110109.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/fccc-sfi110109.php A shorter, five-week course of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer sessions, known as hypofractionation, appears to be just as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning as standard radiation therapy, yet is delivered in two-and-a-half weeks less time, according to interim results of a randomized study presented Nov. 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/asfr-src_1110109.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/asfr-src_1110109.php Hypofractionated radiation treatment, a newer type of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer treatments than conventional radiation therapy, is significantly more effective in stopping cancer from growing in high risk patients, compared to receiving standard radiation treatment, according to a study presented Nov. 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). In addition, findings show there is no increased risk of negative side effects later in patients who undergo hypofractionated radiation. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/asfr-src110109.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/asfr-src110109.php Optic nerve sheath meningiomas are rare tumors that are traditionally treated with surgery, which is typically a blinding procedure. However, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital have found that a specialized type of radiation therapy offers the same local control, with fewer adverse effects on vision. The investigators presented their data at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tju-fsr103009.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tju-fsr103009.php Positron emission tomography imaging of nonsmall cell lung cancer prior to receiving radiation therapy should not be the basis for determining areas that may benefit from higher doses of radiation, according to research presented by investigators at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tju-pib103009.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tju-pib103009.php Responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and tackling so-called neglected tropical diseases are the focus of the November/December 2009 edition of Health Affairs. The articles, by leading global health experts from around the world, show that although these challenges differ dramatically, rising to meet them could save millions of lives. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/bc-gca102909.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/bc-gca102909.php If worms are any indication, all the sugar in your diet could spell much more than obesity and type 2 diabetes. Researchers reporting in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, say it might also be taking years off your life. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cp-ao102809.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cp-ao102809.php Researchers have new evidence to explain how saturated fatty acids, which soar in those who are obese, can lead the immune system to respond in ways that add up to chronic, low-grade inflammation. The new results could lead to treatments designed to curb that inflammatory state, and the insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes that come with it. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cp-hsf102809.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cp-hsf102809.php Responders to the 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks, who were exposed to caustic dust and toxic pollutants following the 9/11 disaster, suffer from asthma at a rate more than twice that of the general US population, according to new research presented at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/acoc-wtc102709.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/acoc-wtc102709.php A new study presented at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians, found that statins have beneficial effects on patients with systolic heart failure, but those with diastolic heart failure experienced the opposite effect, including increased dyspnea, fatigue and decreased exercise tolerance. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/acoc-smw102709.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/acoc-smw102709.php New research presented at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians, shows that patients with atherosclerosis receiving statin therapy had a significantly reduced risk of developing venous thromboembolism -- a collective term for DVT (blood clot) and pulmonary embolism -- than patients not on statin therapy. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/acoc-smp102709.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/acoc-smp102709.php World health experts have documented a wealth of innovative, affordable drugs, vaccines and diagnostic products created in China, India, Brazil and South Africa that are effective against "neglected" diseases of the poor. The McLaughlin Rotman Center for Global Health proposes a new global mechanism to help extend the benefits of such products into distant markets where they are urgently needed. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/pols-two102709.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/pols-two102709.php New research reveals how proteins that are critical for the transparency of the eye lens are properly sorted and localized in membrane bilayers. The study, published by Cell Press in the Nov. 3 issue of Biophysical Journal, analyzes how interactions between lipid and protein molecules can selectively concentrate proteins in certain regions of the cell membrane. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cp-soc102709.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cp-soc102709.php A pair of studies in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention lay to rest the decades-long concern that lower total cholesterol may lead to cancer, and in fact lower cholesterol may reduce the risk of high-grade prostate cancer. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/aafc-cac102709.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/aafc-cac102709.php The vast muddy expanses of the abyssal plains occupy about 60 percent of the Earth's surface and are important in global carbon cycling. Based on long-term studies of two such areas, a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that animal communities on the abyssal seafloor are affected in a variety of ways by climate change. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/mbar-dea110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/mbar-dea110209.php The Environmental Restoration Project at Sandia National Laboratories reports the successful construction of an alternative evapotranspirative cover at the Mixed Waste Landfill in September. The 2.6-acre site is located in Technical Area 3 in the west-central part of Kirtland Air Force Base. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/dnl-sac110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/dnl-sac110209.php Radiation dose delivered to the prostate and nearby organs in every brachytherapy procedure should be carefully analyzed using post-implant CT or MRI and uniformly documented in every patient, according to a new guideline co-authored by Yan Yu, Ph.D., director of Medical Physics in the department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tju-tfd110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tju-tfd110209.php As if there weren't enough reasons to stop smoking, a team of researchers at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre have just found another. A study led by Dr. Christian A Pineau, Co-Director of the Lupus and Vasculitis clinic at the MUHC, has clearly linked skin damage and rashes to smoking in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Rheumatology. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/muhc-swc110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/muhc-swc110209.php Sustaining modest weight loss for 10 years, or taking an anti-diabetic drug over that time, can prevent or lower the incidence of type 2 diabetes in people at high risk for developing the disease, according to the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study, a long-term follow-up to a landmark 2001 diabetes prevention study. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/aeco-lcm110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/aeco-lcm110209.php "Forty-nine percent of all US children will be in a household that uses food stamps at some point during their childhood," says Mark R. Rank, Ph.D., poverty expert at Washington University in St. Louis. "Food stamp use is a clear sign of poverty and food insecurity, two of the most detrimental economic conditions affecting a child's health." Rank's study is published in the current issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/wuis-nho110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/wuis-nho110209.php Learning to talk also changes the way speech sounds are heard, according to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by scientists at Haskins Laboratories, a Yale-affiliated research laboratory. The findings could have a major impact on improving speech disorders. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/yu-rut110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/yu-rut110209.php The American College of Physicians today sent a letter to House leaders voicing the College's support for key policies in the Affordable Health Care for America Act. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/acop-aes110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/acop-aes110209.php Infants born to women who received influenza vaccine during pregnancy were hospitalized at a lower rate than infants born to unvaccinated mothers, according to preliminary results of an ongoing study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine. The team presented the study October 29 at the 47th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in Philadelphia. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/yu-fvg110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/yu-fvg110209.php Adult survivors of childhood cancer are 20 to 25 percent more likely to never marry compared with siblings and the general population, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in a new study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/yu-ccs110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/yu-ccs110209.php Today's Navy scientists are conducting research to insure that sailors and their ships can be protected from the deadly effects of fire. The Navy Technology Center for Safety & Survivability, located at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., carries out research aimed to solve current and future Navy problems regarding combustion, fire extinguishment, fire modeling and scaling, damage control and atmosphere hazards. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nrl-nra110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nrl-nra110209.php Healthy pregnant women mount a robust immune response following just one dose of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, according to initial results from an ongoing clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nioa-irs110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nioa-irs110209.php Researchers at the University of Maryland are using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a model system to unravel what genes and gene pathways are involved in the metabolic changes that lead to insulin resistance and full-blown diabetes in humans. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-usc110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-usc110209.php Over nearly a century, thousands of residents and workers in Libby, Mont., have been exposed to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore, leading to markedly higher rates of lung disease and autoimmune disorders, and causing to Libby in 2002 to be added to the federal Environmental Protection Agency's "National Priorities List." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tmsh-msa110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tmsh-msa110209.php High-throughput genotyping and protein purification methods are featured in the November issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cshl-hgp110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cshl-hgp110209.php Researchers spent two months this summer high in the Peruvian Andes and brought back two cores, the longest ever drilled from ice fields in the tropics. Ohio State glaciologist Lonnie Thompson said that this latest expedition focused on a yet-to-be-named ice field 5,364m above sea level in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/osu-ndi110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/osu-ndi110209.php A study published this week in PNAS provides a comprehensive comparative functional anatomy study in human and monkey brains which reveals highly similar brain networks preserved across evolution. An international collaboration co-led by scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City examined patterns of connectivity to show that the precuneus, long thought to be a single structure, is actually divided into four distinct functional regions. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nlmc-pro110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nlmc-pro110209.php About half of 36 fish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, many of them commercially valuable species, have been shifting northward over the last four decades, with some stocks nearly disappearing from US waters as they move farther offshore, according to a new study by NOAA researchers. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nfnf-naf110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nfnf-naf110209.php Nearby galaxies undergoing a furious pace of star formation also emit lots of gamma rays, say astronomers using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Two so-called "starburst" galaxies, plus a satellite of our own Milky Way galaxy, represent a new category of gamma-ray-emitting objects detected both by Fermi and ground-based observatories. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nsfc-nft110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nsfc-nft110209.php Mirinae caused 12 hours of flooding rains in the Philippines when it crossed the northern Luzon region over the weekend. On Oct. 31 at 5 a.m. Local (Asia/Manila) Time (Oct. 30 at 2100 UTC) Typhoon Mirinae weakened dramatically after it moved inland over central Luzon, the Philippines. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nsfc-mfp110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nsfc-mfp110209.php Most land use changes occurring in the continental US result in raised regional surface temperatures, says a new study by scientists at the University of Maryland, Purdue University and the University of Colorado in Boulder. The study in the Royal Meteorological Society's International Journal of Climatology found that almost any change that makes land cover less "green" contributes to warming. A perhaps less intuitive finding is that conversion of any land to agricultural use results in cooling, even land that was previously forested. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-gic110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-gic110209.php When NASA's Aqua satellite flew over the Philippine Sea during the early morning hours today, Nov. 2, infrared imagery saw another new tropical cyclone coming together. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nsfc-nsc110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/nsfc-nsc110209.php Researchers at Rush University Medical Center and Argonne National Laboratory are collaborating on a study to determine if an imaging technique used by NASA to inspect the space shuttle can be used to predict tissue damage often experienced by breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. The study is examining the utility of three-dimensional thermal tomography in radiation oncology. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/rumc-ast110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/rumc-ast110209.php A new study suggests that the inner sense of our cardiovascular state, our "interoceptive awareness" of the heart pounding, relies on two independent pathways, contrary to what had been asserted by prominent researchers. The University of Iowa study was published online this week in the journal Nature Neuroscience. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uoi-srs110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uoi-srs110209.php Using an unconventional approach that they designed, University of Pittsburgh drug discoverers and their collaborators at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research have identified compounds that hold promise for treating leishmaniasis, a parasitic infection that many consider one of the world's most overlooked diseases. The findings are available online today in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uops-pua110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uops-pua110209.php A drug currently under development by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine may help bone fractures heal more quickly after radiation exposure, according to a study by Pitt researchers. This drug could be beneficial both in patient care situations and for emergency preparedness. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uops-ddm110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uops-ddm110209.php In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled apart, but the claim was controversial.Now, scientists from several countries have confirmed that the volcanic processes at work beneath the Ethiopian rift are nearly identical to those at the bottom of the world's oceans. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uor-adr110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uor-adr110209.php Inhaled nitric oxide, a therapy used in the treatment of premature newborns with respiratory failure that had shown promising results in short-term studies, does not significantly improve long-term outcomes, according to a national study led by critical care researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uops-msl110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uops-msl110209.php An international collaboration that includes scientists from the University of Delaware's Bartol Research Institute in the Department of Physics and Astronomy has discovered very-high-energy gamma rays in the Cigar Galaxy (M82), a bright galaxy filled with exploding stars 12 million light years from Earth. The gamma rays observed by the team are the highest-energy photons ever detected from a galaxy undergoing large amounts of star formation and point to the origins of cosmic rays. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uod-sgs110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uod-sgs110209.php Iowa State University researchers have contributed to the discovery of high-energy gamma rays coming from a galaxy that's quickly creating new stars. The discovery has just been published in the journal Nature. A key to the research is the VERITAS telescope system that Iowa State researchers helped build. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/isu-isr110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/isu-isr110209.php Nearly 100 years ago, scientists detected the first signs of cosmic rays -- subatomic particles that zip through space at nearly the speed of light. The most energetic cosmic rays hit with the punch of a 98-mph fastball, even though they are smaller than an atom. Astronomers questioned what force could accelerate particles to such a speed. New evidence from the VERITAS telescopes shows that cosmic rays likely are powered by exploding stars and stellar "winds." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/hcfa-vt110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/hcfa-vt110209.php Specially developed immune system cells that target the common Epstein-Barr virus can protect immune-suppressed bone marrow transplant recipients against lymph system disease and cancers that arise from the viral infection, said a group of researchers led by those from Baylor College of Medicine, the Methodist Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/bcom-itc103009.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/bcom-itc103009.php A major conclusion of the work is that for some organisms, possibly including humans, continued evolution will not translate into ever-increasing fitness. Moreover, a population may accrue mutations at a constant rate -- a pattern long considered the hallmark of "neutral" or non-Darwinian evolution -- even when the mutations experience Darwinian selection. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uop-tas110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uop-tas110209.php A new study compares neighborhoods' walkability (degree of ease for walking) with local levels of air pollution and finds that some neighborhoods might be good for walking, but have poor air quality. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-rdl110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uom-rdl110209.php More than 25 years after myths about gifted education were first explored, they are all still with us and new ones have been added, according to research published in the current Gifted Child Quarterly, the official journal of National Association for Gifted Children. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/sp-tnm110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/sp-tnm110209.php In all the world, there are about 200 types of zeolite, a compound of silicon, aluminum and oxygen that gives civilization such things as laundry detergent, kitty litter and gasoline. But thanks to computations by Rice University professor Michael Deem and his colleagues, it appears there are -- or could be -- more types of zeolites than once thought. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ru-rul110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ru-rul110209.php Nearly half of American children -- including 90 percent of black children and 90 percent of children who spend their childhoods in single-parent households -- will eat meals paid for by food stamps at some point during childhood, reports a Cornell researcher. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cu-hou110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cu-hou110209.php Rice University scientists today unveiled a method for the industrial-scale manufacturing of pure carbon-nanotube fibers, a breakthrough that could lead to revolutionary advances in materials science, power distribution and nanoelectronics. The method builds upon tried-and-true processes the chemical industry has used for decades to produce polymer fibers. Findings from Rice's methodical, nine-year program are detailed in this week's Nature Nanotechnology. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ru-bii110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ru-bii110209.php Dust samples collected from the stratosphere have yielded an unexpectedly rich trove of relicts from the ancient cosmos, report scientists from the Carnegie Institution. The dust includes presolar grains and material from interstellar molecular clouds. This "ultra-primitive" material likely wafted into the atmosphere after the Earth passed through the trail of an Earth-crossing comet in 2003, giving scientists a rare opportunity to study cometary dust in the laboratory. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ci-pf110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/ci-pf110209.php Researchers at the University of Warwick have identified a particular combination of health problems that can double the risk of heart attack and cause a three-fold increase in the risk of mortality. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uow-rit110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uow-rit110209.php Early stage breast cancer patients with HER2 positive tumors one centimeter or smaller are at significant risk of recurrence of their disease, compared to those with early stage disease who do not express the aggressive protein, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uotm-esh110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uotm-esh110209.php Pateamine A, a natural product first isolated from marine sponges, has attracted considerable attention as a potential anti-cancer agent, and now a new activity has been found for it, which may reveal yet another anti-cancer mechanism. That's the assessment of Daniel Romo, a Texas A&M chemistry professor, and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University who are pioneers in research involving this novel marine natural product. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tau-naf110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/tau-naf110209.php Decreased physical activity may have little to do with the recent spike in obesity rates among US adolescents, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/jhub-dip110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/jhub-dip110209.php A detailed picture of the seeds of structures in the universe has been unveiled by an international team co-led by Sarah Church of KIPAC, jointly located SLAC and Stanford University, and by Walter Gear, of Cardiff University. These measurements put limits on proposed alternatives to the standard model of cosmology and provide further support for the standard cosmological model, confirming that dark matter and dark energy make up 95 percent of everything in existence. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/dnal-hmc110209.php Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/dnal-hmc110209.php