EurekAlert! - Policy and Ethics

Treating safety research like other clinical studies slows progress

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions) Progress in patient safety research could slow to a crawl unless regulators work out a host of ethical issues, Johns Hopkins researchers assert in an upcoming opinion piece.

Euro Science Open Forum 2008 online media registration deadline ends June 30

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(EuroScience Open Forum 2008) Information follows regarding media registration for ESOF 2008 in Barcelona, Spain.

Study: Most female child molesters were victims of sexual abuse

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Georgia) A University of Georgia study that is the first to systematically examine a large sample of female child molesters finds that many of them were themselves victims of sexual abuse as children.The finding, published in the April issue of the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, has the potential to help break the cycle of abuse by improving treatment for offenders and their young victims.

Federal government taps NC State experts to explain nanotech risks

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(North Carolina State University) The arm of the federal government responsible for coordinating nanotechnology research and regulations across the country has called on experts from North Carolina State University to craft a white paper that will lay out how government and industry officials should communicate potential risks associated with nanotechnology to the media and the public. NC State communication expert Dr. David Berube has been negotiating this project for nearly 18 months.

Can feces save the species?

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Conservation International) It's a tough job, but somebody, or at least some dogs, have to do it.In the Cerrado region of Brazil, four dogs trained to detect animal feces by scent are helping researchers monitor rare and threatened wildlife such as jaguar, tapir, giant anteater and maned wolf in and around Emas National Park, a protected area with the largest concentration of threatened species in Brazil.

NOAA reports coastal waters show decline in contaminants

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(NOAA Headquarters) NOAA scientists today released a 20-year study showing that environmental laws enacted in the 1970s are having a positive effect on reducing overall contaminant levels in coastal waters of the US. However, the report points to continuing concerns with elevated levels of metals and organic contaminants found near urban and industrial areas of the coasts.

Binge drinkers have a disconnect between assessing their driving abilities and reality

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research) While many people believe that alcohol-impaired drivers are usually alcoholics, in fact, 80 percent of AI incidents are caused by binge drinkers. A recent study conducted among college students has found that binge drinkers, even when legally intoxicated, nonetheless believe they having adequate driving abilities.

UV lotion lights the way to cleaner facilities

Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(BioMed Central) Hospital cleaners should watch out because the toilet police are patrolling with their new secret weapon: invisible markers

University of Leicester to lead audit of adults with autism

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Leicester) The University of Leicester is leading on a national study to calculate the number of adults with autism, it has been announced today.

ACP says Medicare cuts will hurt physicians in small practices

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(American College of Physicians) Noting that many physicians across the country who lead small practices are at a business breaking point, David M. Dale, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians testified today before the House Small Business Committee. Dr. Dale emphasized that practices are medicine's small businesses, where much of their revenue is tied directly to Medicare's flawed reimbursement rates and formulas.

Skin flaps deliver cancer-fighting therapy, ASPS study reveals

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(American Society of Plastic Surgeons) Using gene therapy, plastic surgeons have delivered cancer fighting proteins through skin flaps placed on cancerous tumors on rats with a 79 percent reduction in tumor volume, according to a study in the May issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

IEEE Homeland Security Conference Business Panel to feature experts on technology commercialization

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(IEEE-USA) The 2008 IEEE International Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security will feature a "Business Panel" on Tuesday, May 13. Local and national experts will discuss the commercialization of homeland security technologies.

National scientific meeting on child mental health at Kentucky

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Kentucky) As the nation observes National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day on Thursday, the University of Kentucky Center for the Study of Violence Against Children will host national experts at the scientific meeting "From Neuroscience to Social Practice: Translational Research on Violence Against Children." The two-day event, being held May 7-8, includes the unveiling of research findings on violence against children that will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Loss and Trauma.

Antidepressants do work in depression while evidence for CBT is poorer say experts

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(SAGE Publications UK) A new revision of clinical guidelines to help doctors manage patients with depression has challenged the rationale behind the UK government's policy of rolling out of cognitive behavioral therapy for milder depression.

Berkeley Lab researchers propose a new breed of supercomputers

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Three researchers from the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have proposed an innovative way to improve global climate change redictions by using a supercomputer with low-power embedded microprocessors, an approach that would overcome limitations posed by today's conventional supercomputers.

Weill Cornell receives funding to study creation of new elder abuse center

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College) Weill Cornell Medical College has been awarded $80,000 to study the creation of a Manhattan Elder Abuse Case Coordination and Review Center, in collaboration with the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale and the New York City Elder Abuse Network.

Expert predicts 'Monsoon Britain'

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Durham University) Prepare for more floods -- in ways we are not used to -- that's the message from experts at Durham University who have studied rainfall and river flow patterns over 250 years. Last summer was the second wettest on record and experts say we must prepare for worse to come.

Screw worm outbreak in Yemen

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(International Atomic Energy Agency) An outbreak of the insidious "screw worm" fly in Yemen, is threatening livelihoods, in a country where rearing livestock is a traditional way of life. In recent weeks, a Ministerial delegation was at the IAEA in Vienna, Austria, to turn to the international community for emergency assistance to fight the deadly pest.

Don't ask, don't tell: Financial disclosure lacking in literature on stents

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Duke University Medical Center) Most published research about coronary stents does not reveal information about authors' financial relationships that might bias their interpretation of scientific data, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

Alcohol-outlet density and violence are clearly linked over time

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research) A new Australian study examines the relationship between alcohol-outlet density and violence over time.All three types of outlets examined -- hotel pubs, bars and packaged-liquor outlets -- had positive relationships with assault rates.Hotel pubs and bars were the biggest drivers of violence in inner-city areas, while packaged-liquor outlets were more important in suburban areas.

A gentle touch for better control, a quantum mechanical con, and milestone PRL papers

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(American Physical Society) Physicists find that a gentle touch can help control particles and other objects better than a heavy hand; quantum mechanics leads to a novel con game.

New disaster preparedness strategy announced

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(American College of Chest Physicians) US and Canadian experts have developed a comprehensive framework to optimize and manage critical care resources during times of pandemic outbreaks or other mass critical care disasters. The new proposal suggests legally protecting clinicians who follow accepted protocols for the allocation of scarce resources when providing care during mass critical care events.

Trouble in paradise: Warming a greater danger to tropical species

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Washington) The Arctic has become a poster child for the negative effects of climate change, but new research from the University of Washington shows that species living in the tropics likely face the greatest peril in a warmer world.

Botulinum toxin effective in many neurological disorders, not headache

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(American Academy of Neurology) New guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology confirm that the drug botulinum toxin is safe and effective for treating cervical dystonia, a condition of involuntary head tilt or neck movement, spasticity and other forms of muscle overactivity that interfere with movement in adults and children with an upper motor neuron syndrome, and excessive sweating of the armpits and hands.

New SCHIP enrollees have unmet health care needs

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Rochester Medical Center) Even with prior private health insurance, patients enrolling in the state children's health insurance program had unmet health care needs. Instituting a waiting period to deter "crowd-out" would further prolong these children's need to address asthma and other chronic health conditions, according to research from the University of Rochester Medical Center. The study will be presented in a presidential plenary session Monday, May 5, at this year's Pediatric Academic Society Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.