Hearing Loss and Dementia Linked in Study
Seniors with hearing loss are significantly more likely to develop dementia over time than those who retain their hearing, a study by Johns Hopkins and National Institute on Aging researchers suggests. The findings, the researchers say, could lead to new ways to combat dementia, a condition that affects millions of people worldwide and carries heavy societal burdens. (Embargoed until 14-Feb-2011, 16:00 ET)
Archives of Neurology
—Johns Hopkins Medicine Genetic Evidence That Antioxidants Can Help Treat Cancer
Researchers from Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center have genetic evidence suggesting the antioxidant drugs currently used to treat lung disease, malaria and even the common cold can also help prevent and treat cancers because they fight against mitochondrial oxidative stress—a culprit in driving tumor growth. (Embargoed until 15-Feb-2011, 10:00 ET)
Cancer Biology & Therapy
—Thomas Jefferson University Addiction to Self-Digestion Process Can Aid Cancer Cells in Tumor Growth
A team of investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers University, and Princeton University, have determined that cancer cells are “addicted” to a self-preservation process known as autophagy. They also showed that the inhibition of that process could prove to be a valuable treatment approach for aggressive cancers. (Embargo expired on 10-Feb-2011 at 17:00 ET)
Genes & Development, March 2011
—Cancer Institute of New Jersey Many Stroke Patients Not Getting Therapies to Prevent Blood Clots
Patients with strokes, brain tumors and spinal cord injuries are at high risk for life-threatening blood clots, but many do not receive preventive therapy, Loyola University Health System researchers report.
Continuum, February, 2011
—Loyola University Health System Most Stroke Patients Don't Get Clot-Busting Treatment in Timely Manner
Less than one-third of acute stroke patients treated with the clot-busting drug, called intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), receive it within 60 minutes of their hospital arrival.
Circulation
—University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences Free Web-Based Ordering of Home Test Kits for Sexually Transmitted Infections Proves Popular and Effective with Teens and Young Adults
Infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins say new research clearly shows that screening teens and young adults for sexually transmitted infections may best be achieved by making free, confidential home-kit testing available over the Internet. From a public health standpoint, the project is a clear winner, the experts say.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
—Johns Hopkins Medicine Most Americans Recognize Allergies Are Serious
But Don’t Know Who Should Treat Condition
New survey results show people think allergies are serious, but don't know which medical specialist to turn to.
—American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Evidence Doesn't Support Routine Testing for Abnormal Blood Clotting Genes
Genetic testing for inherited blood-clotting abnormalities is not routinely recommended for patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) of unknown cause, according to a new expert panel statement in a recent issue of Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG).
Genetics in Medicine
—Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Vanderbilt-Pioneered Fetal Surgery Procedure Yields Positive Results in Landmark Trial
Results of a landmark, seven-year National Institutes of Health-funded trial, Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS), demonstrate clear benefit for babies who undergo fetal surgery to treat spina bifida, the most common birth defect in the central nervous system. Media embedded: Image(s)
New England Journal of Medicine
—Vanderbilt University Medical Center Research Implicates Natural Toxin as Triggering Parkinson’s Disease
Saint Louis University investigators build a case linking the chemical DOPAL to Parkinson's disease. Media embedded: Image(s)
PLoS One
—Saint Louis University Medical Center Homogeneous Tuberculosis Treatment Ineffective in Children
The realization of medically treating different children uniquely may start with one of the deadliest diseases in existence: tuberculosis. New findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers indicate that the type of medications and the dosage routinely used to treat children with the disease should be individualized to each young patient in order to be effective.
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, February 2011
—UT Southwestern Medical Center Almost 4 Million Adults Are Treated for Kidney Disease Each Year
Overall, an average of 3.7 million adults in the United States were treated for kidney disease each year between 2003 and 2007.
—Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) How Depression and Burden Affect Caregivers of Those with Sensory Impairment
When a person experiences impairment or declining health, caregiving typically falls to a family member, most often a spouse. This increased burden can cause burnout, stress, and illness in the caregiver. The health care system focuses first on the client and provides little support for the caregiver. Media embedded: Image(s)
Insight: Research and Practice in Visual Impairment and Blindness
—Allen Press Publishing Services Muscle Biofeedback Assessment Employed to Reduce Injury and Improve Worker Productivity
Many jobs that require repetitive movements can cause injury to workers. Analyzing worker technique and muscle activity in relation to the workstation can provide answers to how an injury is incurred and how to prevent it in the future. With the assistance of surface electromyography (SEMG), an ergonomic analysis of worker behavior, posture, and movement can be conducted. The SEMG is a biofeedback instrument to measure muscle tension. The use of SEMG allows muscle function to be assessed in a manner that is objective and reproducible. Media embedded: Image(s)
Biofeedback
—Allen Press Publishing Services Clinical Trial Will Test Whether Surgery Is the Best Option for Type 2 Diabetes, Even for Patients Who Aren't Obese
A new clinical trial at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is among the first to test surgery specifically for Type 2 diabetes. The aim of the study is to understand whether surgery can control diabetes, as well or even better than the best medical treatment available today. This is the first study of its kind open to patients who are overweight or mildly obese.
—NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center The Exercise Files: Gender Differences in Exercise
Obesity levels are at an all-time high among men, women, and children in the United States. The need for good nutrition and regular exercise is paramount for maintaining proper health and for keeping those extra pounds at bay, especially for women.
—Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) AMGA Expresses Difficulties in Claims Adjudication Process to CMS Administrator Berwick
The American Medical Group Association recently expressed to Donald Berwick, M.D., M.P.P., Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the difficulties some AMGA members have had surrounding the claims adjudication process for claims affected by the expiring Medicare “payment patches” in 2010.
—American Medical Group Association (AMGA) Call for Nominations: The Endocrine Society’s Award for Excellence in Science and Medical Journalism
The Endocrine Society is calling for nominations for the fourth annual Award for Excellence in Science and Medical Journalism. The award recognizes outstanding reporting that enhances public understanding of health issues pertaining to the field of endocrinology.
—Endocrine Society High U.S. News Ranking for Northwest Hospital
The Subacute Care Unit at Northwest Hospital in Randallstown, Maryland receives a high ranking of five stars overall on U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 Best Nursing Homes list.
—LifeBridge Health Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and 22 Michigan Trauma Centers Partner with American College of Surgeons to Launch Statewide Trauma Quality Care Initiative
Program is first statewide initiative in the nation to focus on measuring and improving safety and quality of care for trauma patients.
—American College of Surgeons (ACS) Susan Band Horwitz, Ph.D., of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Receives Lifetime Achievement Award in Cancer Research
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the world’s largest organization dedicated to cancer research, has awarded Susan Band Horwitz, Ph.D., the Rose C. Falkenstein Professor of Cancer Research and co-chair of molecular pharmacology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, its Eighth Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research. Media embedded: Image(s)
—Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University Susan Band Horwitz, Ph.D., Receives AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research
Susan Band Horwitz, Ph.D., will receive the Eighth AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research. Horwitz conducted pioneering research by discovering the mechanism of action of the chemotherapeutic drug paclitaxel (Taxol), which prompted the development of this drug as an important therapy for many common solid tumors, including ovarian, breast, and lung carcinomas. Her work has also contributed to the understanding of how microtubules function in normal and malignant cells and why stabilization of microtubules is a promising target for drug discovery. Media embedded: Image(s)
—American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Public Sector Research Responsible for Many New Drug Discoveries, Says AUTM President
AUTM President Ashley Stevens, D. Phil. (Oxon), CLP is the lead author of The Role of Public Sector Research in the Discovery of Drugs and Vaccines, a paper published in the Feb. 10 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
New England Journal of Medicine, 364;6, 2/10/2011
—Association of University Technology Managers UTHealth, Athersys Present Preclinical Data Illustrating Potential Benefits of Stem Cells for Stroke
Research from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and Athersys reveals that a novel stem cell therapy provided multiple benefits when administered in preclinical models of ischemic stroke.
—University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Welders Can Breathe Easier with Chromium-Free Alloy
A new alloy promises to lessen welders’ risk of breathing toxic fumes on the job. The alloy is a welding “consumable” – the material that melts under the welder’s torch to fill the gap between parts that are being joined.
—Ohio State University Lake-Quake Link Sinks for South End of San Andreas Fault
A chronology of 1,000 years of earthquakes at the southern end of the San Andreas Fault nixes the idea that lake changes caused past quakes. However, researchers say, the timeline pulled from sediment confirms that this portion of the fault is long past the expected time for a major temblor. Media embedded: Image(s)
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. 101, No. 1, February 2011
—University of Oregon New Model Reveals Pesticide-free Method to Control Mosquito-borne Disease
Two strategies to control mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, are reducing mosquito population sizes or replacing populations with disease-refractory varieties. Scientists have modeled a genetic system that may be used for both, without the use of pesticides. This research was published in the February 2011 issue of Genetics.
GENETICS, 2011 187: 535-551, February 2011
—Genetics Society of America Restructuring Natural Resource Majors
Finding cause for the steady decline in student interest in natural resource related degree fields was the focus of a Michigan State University study, published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education.
Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education, 2011
—American Society of Agronomy (ASA) Where Did Flowers Come From?
The University at Buffalo is a key partner in a $7.3 million collaboration to explore the origins of all flowers by sequencing the genome of Amborella, a unique species that one researcher has nicknamed the “platypus of flowering plants.”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
—University at Buffalo New Ways to Mine Research May Lead to Scientific Breakthroughs
The Internet has become not only a tool for disseminating knowledge through scientific publications, but it also has the potential to shape scientific research through expanding the field of metaknowledge—the study of knowledge itself.
Science, Feb. 11
—University of Chicago JPEG for the Mind: How the Brain Compresses Visual Information
Scientists take the next step in next step in understanding how the brain compresses huge "files" of visual information down to the essentials.
Media embedded: Image(s)
Current Biology, Feb. 10, 2011
—Johns Hopkins University New Ocean Circulation Model Alters Climate Change Views
New, high-resolution ocean circulation models suggest that massive glacial meltwaters assumed to have flooded the North Atlantic 8,200 years ago, drastically cooling Europe, instead flowed thousands of miles further south. Results dramatically affect our understanding of what causes climate change. Media embedded: Image(s)
Geophysical Research Letters
—University of Massachusetts Amherst Energy Technology, Policy Tools to be Explored at Summer Institute for Top Grad Students
Graduate students pursuing careers in energy, policy, science and environmental matters are being encouraged to submit applications for Technology and Policy Tools for Energy in an Uncertain World, a week-long summer institute at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, Calif. The program will take place Aug. 7–12 and is open to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals.
—Sandia National Laboratories The Make Up of Your Make Up
The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) and the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) hosted the Capitol Hill briefing, The Science of Cosmetics on Wednesday, February 9, with a reception following. Featuring physicians, government representatives, and industry members, the briefing discussed the science of cosmetics and its impact on women’s health.
—Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) Spring Flooding Could Swell North Dakota Lake by 50 Square Miles
Devils Lake in northeastern North Dakota has risen more than 29 feet since 1993, cost more than $1billion, and inundated towns, farms, and homes. Runoff from heavy snow could swell the glacial lake, which covers 252 sq. miles, by more than 50 sq. miles this spring.
—University of North Dakota Sandia Security Experts Help Kazakhstan Safely Transport, Store Soviet-Era Bomb Materials
A Sandia National Laboratories team helped reach a major milestone in the nation’s nuclear nonproliferation efforts by working with the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan to move nuclear materials — enough to build an estimated 775 nuclear weapons — to safety. Media embedded: Image(s)
—Sandia National Laboratories Roses Are Green
A rose is a rose is a rose is ... celery. NC State researchers insert a gene from celery into the rose to help keep it safe from petal blight. The modified roses look and smell like normal roses; now they'll be tested to see if they can better withstand disease. Media embedded: Image(s)
—North Carolina State University Cell Signaling Discovery Nominated as a Breakthrough of the Year in 2010 by Science Signaling
The editors of Science Signaling, a peer-reviewed scientific journal focusing on the process of basic cellular communication and development, have nominated a discovery made at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School as one of the Signaling Breakthroughs of 2010. The discovery identifies a role for the protein kinase complex mTORC2, which works to control production and quality control of newly synthesized proteins to safeguard against abnormal cell growth that can lead to neurodegenerative disorders and cancer.
Science Signaling, Jan. 4, 2011
European Molecular Biology Organization, Dec. 2010
—Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Richard Kron to Head Giant Telescope Advisory Group
The Giant Magellan Telescope board of directors has appointed Richard Kron, Professor in Astronomy & Astrophysics, as chair of the GMT Science Advisory Committee, effective immediately. Media embedded: Image(s)
—University of Chicago Archaeologists Find Hidden African Side to Noted 1780s Md. Building
A famous US Revolution-era building has a hidden African face, University of Maryland archaeologists say. Maryland’s “Orangery” – the only 18th century greenhouse left in North America, and made famous by Frederick Douglass – shows African American slaves played a key technical role there, and left tangible proof of their heritage. Media embedded: Image(s) (Embargoed until 14-Feb-2011, 00:05 ET)
—University of Maryland, College Park Looking at a Tough Hill to Climb? Depends on Your Point of View
People tend to overestimate the steepness of slopes – and psychologists studying the phenomenon have made a discovery that refutes common ideas about how we perceive inclines in general.
Psychological Science, February 2011
—Ohio State University Response to Homegrown Terror Requires Balance Between Security and Liberty
Jens David Ohlin, an expert on domestic terror and assistant professor of Law at Cornell University, comments on First Amendment issues raised by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s assertion that homegrown terror is a rising threat in the U.S.
—Cornell University Left is Mean but Right is Meaner, Says New Study of Political Discourse
In the first published study of its kind, social scientists at Tufts University have found that vitriol is endemic among commentators of all political stripes, but worse on the political right, and is more prevalent than it was even during the turmoil of the war in Viet Nam and the Watergate scandal.
Political Communication, February 2011
—Tufts University What Would Cupid Do? Valentines Day Tips for Couples and Singles
Question and Answer feature with relationship expert. Media embedded: Image(s)
—American Psychological Association (APA) Brand References and Music Videos: A Relationship Based on Trust
In recent years, marketers have begun to integrate product placement into popular TV shows, video games, movies and music. While many of these subtle advertising opportunities are the collaborative work of producers and marketers, it is sometimes the work of the artists themselves.
—Saint Joseph's University Our Struggle to Understand George Washington
Edward G. Lengel, editor-in-chief of the Papers of George Washington at the University of Virginia, is available for commentary about the Father of Our Country, whose 279th birthday will be observed Feb. 22. Lengel is the author of "Inventing George Washington: America's Founder in Myth and Memory," published Jan. 18 by Harper. Media embedded: Video / Image(s)
Expert(s) available
—University of Virginia Cornell University: Egypt and Middle East Experts
In light of Hosni Mubarak’s reported resignation as president of Egypt, the Cornell University Press Office has assembled experts who can discuss issues related to this political change.
Expert(s) available
—Cornell University ARRA Grant to Help Fund Seminary Building Green Roof
The University of Chicago has received a $50,000 grant to help fund a green roof atop the new Chicago Theological Seminary building, now under construction at 1407 E. 60th St.
—University of Chicago Entertainer Bill Cosby, Psychiatrist & Educator Alvin F. Poussaint to Receive Eliot-Pearson Awards for Excellence in Children's Media at Tufts
Legendary entertainer Bill Cosby and renowned psychiatrist, educator and social commentator Alvin F. Poussaint will be honored at Tufts University's fifth Eliot-Pearson Awards for Excellence in Children's Media for their groundbreaking work.
—Tufts University Granola – Not the Cereal – Is Named a Top 20 Green Tech Idea
One year ago, Kirk Cameron decided his company MiserWare would give away its main product -- intelligent energy-saving software for personal computers. Recently, he found out how valuable his software giveaway program was when he learned that Time Magazine had named it a Top 20 Green Tech Idea. Media embedded: Image(s)
—Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) Cornell University Sports Labor Law Expert Available to Discuss Potential NFL Lockout
Cornell ILR School sports labor law expert is available to discuss an NFL lockout with the media.
Expert(s) available
—Cornell University Bing Energy Relocates to Partner with FSU on High-Tech Fuel Cells
Florida Gov. Rick Scott today announced that Bing Energy Inc. (http://bingenergyinc.com/) of Chino, Calif., has selected Tallahassee as the new site of the company’s world headquarters. The company, in collaboration with Professor Jim P. Zheng (http://www.eng.fsu.edu/ece/directory/jim_zheng/) of The Florida State University, is planning to turn revolutionary nanotechnology pioneered at FSU into a better, faster, more economical and commercially viable fuel cell. The move is expected to create at least 244 jobs paying an average wage of $41,655 in Florida. Media embedded: Video / Image(s)
—Florida State University Dean Hildy Teegen Among Authors of AACSB Task Force Report on Challenges of Globalization in Business School Education
A report by the AACSB outlines the impact of globalization and the challenges it poses for business schools. Dr. Hildy Teegen, dean of one of the top business schools in the world for international business, is a member of the AACSB task force and can address what the report will mean for the future of business education.
—University of South Carolina Darden School of Business Names Trip Davis Foundation President and Senior Associate Dean
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business and the Darden School Foundation today announce the appointment of Trip Davis as president of the foundation and senior associate dean for external relations.
—University of Virginia's Darden School of Business |