ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Thursday, October 30, 2008
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Hurdles For Muscular Dystrophy Therapy Cleared (October 30, 2008) -- Boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy will usually lose the ability to walk by their teens and typically die before the age of 30. For years, scientists have studied the use of gene therapy as a possible way to correct the muscle deterioration, but hurdles such as the need to treat all muscles in the body, including both skeletal muscle and heart muscle, have challenged researchers looking for an effective therapy until now. New studies demonstrate an effective way to deliver gene therapy and scientist show that therapy can be beneficial for the heart. ... > full story
HIV-infected Patients Should Start HAART Sooner, Study Suggests (October 30, 2008) -- Under current treatment guidelines, highly active antiretroviral therapy should be considered for HIV-infected patients when their CD4+ T-cell counts fall below 350 cells per cubic millimeter (mm3). However, new epidemiological research suggests that patients with HIV may have less risk of dying if they begin HAART sooner. ... > full story
New Supercomputer Can Do 50 Trillion Operations Per Second (October 30, 2008) -- In less time than the blink of an eye, the Translational Genomics Research Institute's new supercomputer at Arizona State University can do operations equal to every dollar in the recent Wall Street bailout. That would be 700 billion computations in less than 1/60th of a second. ... > full story
Strengthen Restrictions On Off-label Promotion By Pharmaceutical Companies, Researchers Urge (October 30, 2008) -- Researchers are asking for tougher penalties and fines for pharmaceutical companies that market drugs for "off label" promotion, according to a new study. Researchers describe ways that the pharmaceutical industry uses marketing to encourage "the unmonitored, potentially dangerous use of drugs by patients for whom risks and benefits are unknown." ... > full story
New Hormone Data Can Predict Menopause Within A Year (October 30, 2008) -- For many women, including the growing number who choose later-in-life pregnancy, predicting their biological clock's relation to the timing of their menopause and infertility is critically important. ... > full story
MRSA Screening Downplayed As Effective Infection Control Intervention (October 30, 2008) -- Epidemiologists are downplaying the value of mandatory universal nasal screening of patients for MRSA, arguing that proven, hospital-wide infection control practices can prevent more of the potentially fatal infections. ... > full story
Computer Scientists Seek New Framework For Computation (October 30, 2008) -- There have been several revolutions during the 60 year history of electronic computation, such as high level programming languages and client/server separation, but one key challenge has yet to be fully resolved. This is to break down large complex processes into small more manageable components that can then be reused in different applications. ... > full story
Racial And Ethnic Disparities Detected In Patient Experiences (October 30, 2008) -- A study surveying patients in more than 1,500 physician practices has found racial and ethnic disparities in patient experiences, with minority patients having worse experiences than white patients. The findings suggest that while all doctors should be attentive to differences in patient experiences, Hispanic, Native American, and black patients are often visiting physician practices that are less patient-centered. ... > full story
Statins Associated With Lower Risk Of Death From Pneumonia (October 29, 2008) -- Individuals who take cholesterol-lowering statins before being hospitalized with pneumonia appear less likely to die within 90 days afterward, according to a new report. ... > full story
Exercise-induced Fatigue In Muscular Dystrophies Explained (October 29, 2008) -- A new study suggests that the prolonged fatigue after mild exercise that occurs in people with many forms of muscular dystrophy is distinct from the inherent muscle weakness caused by the disease. The research identifies a faulty signaling pathway that appears to cause exercise-induced fatigue in mouse models of muscular dystrophy and shows that Viagra can overcome the signaling defect and relieve the fatigue. ... > full story
Reduce Computer Power Usage? Silicon Optical Fiber Made Practical (October 29, 2008) -- Scientists have, for the firsts time, been able to make a practical optical fiber with a silicon core. ... > full story
New Understanding Of How We Remember Traumatic Events (October 29, 2008) -- Neuroscientists have discovered a new way to explain how emotional events can sometimes lead to disturbing long term memories. ... > full story
In Mice, Anxiety Is Linked To Immune System (October 29, 2008) -- Scientists reveal that immune cells in the brain influence how mice respond to stressful situations. ... > full story
Glutamate: Too Much Of A Good Thing In Schizophrenia? (October 29, 2008) -- Is schizophrenia a disorder of glutamate hyperactivity or hypoactivity? While the predominant hypothesis for many years was that schizophrenia was a glutamate deficit disorder, there is growing evidence of glutamate hyperactivity as well. ... > full story
Virtual Screening Leads To Real Progress In Drug Design (October 29, 2008) -- Around 150 thousand people per year get the parasitic disease African sleeping sickness, but the only medicines to treat it are either difficult to administer, expensive, or toxic. Now a team of scientists has put computers to work to find a solution. ... > full story
A Face By Any Other Name: Seeing Racial Bias (October 29, 2008) -- If Barack Obama had taken his mother's surname and kept his childhood nickname, American voters might literally see "Barry Dunham" as a quite different presidential candidate, a new study suggests. A name significantly changes our perception of someone's face and race, according to research in the journal Perception. ... > full story
Women's Voices Become More High-pitched During Ovulation (October 29, 2008) -- A new study adds to mounting evidence that human ovulation -- a state once thought to be undetectable without medical equipment -- actually prompts a range of subtle but observable behaviors aimed at attracting the best possible mate. ... > full story
Vaccinating Family Members Offers Important Flu Protection To Newborns (October 29, 2008) -- Vaccinating new mothers and other family members against influenza before their newborns leave the hospital creates a "cocooning effect" that may shelter unprotected children from the flu, a virus that can be life-threatening to infants, according to researchers at Duke Children's Hospital. ... > full story
How Toxic Environmental Chemical DBT Affects The Immune System (October 29, 2008) -- Scientists have issued a report on the mechanism of toxicity of a chemical compound called Dibutyltin (DBT). DBT is part of a class of high toxic and widely distributed chemical compounds called organotins, DBT is most commonly used as an anti-fouling agent in paint, for example in the fishing and shipbuilding industries. It is also used in the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic tubes and bottles. ... > full story
Methamphetamine Abuse Linked To Underage Sex, Smoking And Drinking (October 29, 2008) -- Children and adolescents who abuse alcohol or are sexually active are more likely to take methamphetamines, also known as 'meth' or 'speed.' New research reveals the risk factors associated with MA use, in both low-risk children (those who don't take drugs) and high-risk children (those who have taken other drugs or who have ever attended juvenile detention centers). ... > full story
Pregnant Women Consuming Flaxseed Oil Have High Risk Of Premature Birth (October 29, 2008) -- The risks of a premature birth quadruple if flaxseed oil is consumed in the last two trimesters of pregnancy, according to a new study. ... > full story
Scientists Identify Single MicroRNA That Controls How Heart Chambers Form (October 29, 2008) -- The discovery of the role of a microRNA called miR-138, could offer strategies for the treatment of congenital heart defects. ... > full story
The Great Cosmic Challenge (October 29, 2008) -- Today cosmologists are challenging the world to solve a compelling statistical problem, to bring us closer to understanding the nature of dark matter and energy which makes up 95 per cent of the ‘missing’ universe. ... > full story
Undecided Voters May Already Have Decided, Study Suggests (October 29, 2008) -- Do "undecided" voters actually make their choices before they realize? That is a question one psychology professor is trying to answer. "Many people, especially early in the political process, declare themselves as undecided," he said. "But while they have consciously said that they are undecided, they unconsciously may have already made a choice." ... > full story
New Brain Link As Cause Of Schizophrenia (October 29, 2008) -- A lack of specific brain receptors has been linked with schizophrenia in new research. ... > full story
Statins Show Promise For Blood Clot Prevention (October 29, 2008) -- New research suggests that the use of statins may be associated with a significant reduction in the occurrence of venous thromboembolism, a condition that includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, in patients with solid organ tumors, including breast, lung and colon cancers. ... > full story
Role Of Soil Microbes In Global Warming Clarified (October 29, 2008) -- Current models of global climate change predict warmer temperatures will increase the rate that bacteria and other microbes decompose soil organic matter, a scenario that pumps even more heat-trapping carbon into the atmosphere. But a new study shows that while the rate of decomposition increases for a brief period in response to warmer temperatures, elevated levels of decomposition don't persist. ... > full story
Pain Automatically Activates Facial Muscle Groups (October 29, 2008) -- All individuals have a nonverbal mode of communication influenced by culture, education, age, sex. A new study has found that people who facially express pain in a more intense way are not exaggerating if their perception of a painful stimulation is controlled. ... > full story
MicroRNAs Make For Safer Cancer Treatments (October 29, 2008) -- Viruses -- long regarded solely as disease agents -- now are being used in therapies for cancer. Concerns over the safety of these so-called oncolytic viruses stem from their potential to damage healthy tissues. Now researchers have discovered a way of controlling the viruses behind potential cancer therapeutics. ... > full story
Osteoporosis Drugs Increase Risk For Heart Problems, Study Shows (October 29, 2008) -- New research shows that people taking alendronate or zoledronic acid, two common medications to prevent or slow the occurrence of osteoporosis, were significantly more likely to experience serious atrial fibrillation, including hospitalization or death, compared with placebo. ... > full story
New 3-D Image Systems To Provide Reliable Face Biometrics (October 29, 2008) -- A novel 3-D face imaging system which will capture detailed images of people's faces as they pass through high security zones. ... > full story
Consumers And Plastic Surgeons Say Economy Is Cutting Into Cosmetic Procedures (October 29, 2008) -- While history has taught us that looks matter for everyone from presidential candidates to the person next door, the economic crisis is forcing many consumers to re-evaluate their cosmetic surgery plans. It is very clear the economy is affecting the demand for surgical cosmetic procedures, according to the researchers. ... > full story
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