Monday, December 24, 2007

Research News: Happy Holidays

Research behind the News will be on vacation the week between Christmas and New Years. We will return posting the latest news stories and research the week of January 2, 2008. We wish all our readers a safe and joyous holiday.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Research News: Insurance key to cancer longevity

The News:
Insurance key to cancer longevity
The uninsured are nearly twice as likely to die within five years, a study finds. Health care obstacles are "condemning thousands," an expert says.
By Mike Stobbe The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 12/19/2007 11:38:45 PM MST
ATLANTA — Uninsured cancer patients are nearly twice as likely to die within five years as those with private coverage, according to the first national study of its kind and one that sheds light on troubling health care obstacles. ATLANTA — Uninsured cancer patients are nearly twice as likely to die within five years as those with private coverage, according to the first national study of its kind and one that sheds light on troubling health care obstacles.

The Research:
Read an editorial about this story in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Research News: Life in orphanage stunts IQ

The News:
Life in orphanage stunts IQ
By Benedict CareyThe New York Times
Article Last Updated: 12/21/2007 01:06:03 AM MST
Psychologists have long believed that growing up in an institution like an orphanage stunts children's mental development but have never had direct evidence to back it up. Now they do, from an extraordinary years-long experiment in Romania that compared the effects of foster care with those of institutional child-rearing.

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Research News: "Generation Next" in the Slow Lane to Adulthood

The News:
"Generation Next" in the Slow Lane to Adulthood
NPR's Morning Edition
December 20, 2007 · Recent studies find interesting differences among today's young people compared with those of decades past. There's even a new term for the generation age 18 to 25: Generation Next; and a new label for this period of development: "emerging adulthood."

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in American Psychologist.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Research News: Where there’s smoke, there’s research

The News:
Where there’s smoke, there’s research.
Sacramento State News 12/17/07
Craig Gallet’s scrutiny of anti-smoking laws isn’t a personal quest. He is interested in the factors that affect demand for consumer products. “I found that a lot of literature showed how smoking bans affected the sales of cigarettes, but no link was ever made between smoking bans and their affect on alcohol demand.” In particular, Gallet was curious about the impact on beer, wine and liquor sales in bars and restaurants once smoking was banned in public areas.

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in The Social Science Journal.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Research news: Hydrogen Fuel-cell Membrane Structure Conundrum Solved

The News:
Hydrogen Fuel-cell Membrane Structure Conundrum Solved
ScienceDaily (Dec. 16, 2007) — Fuel-cell cars are reaching commercial viability in today’s increasingly eco-conscious society, but despite their promise, even scientists have struggled to explain just how the fuel-cell’s central component – the proton exchange membrane – really works.

However, a team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has offered a new model that provides the best explanation to date for the membrane’s structure and how it functions. And armed with that information, scientists should be able to build similar fuel-cell membrane materials that are less expensive or have different properties, such as higher operating temperatures.
A fuel cell works by pumping hydrogen gas through the proton exchange membrane. In the process, the hydrogen gives up electrons in the form of electricity, then combines with oxygen gas to form water as the by-product. It can also work in reverse – when current is applied, water is split into its component gases, hydrogen and oxygen.
The model proposed by Ames Laboratory scientists Klaus Schmidt-Rohr and Qiang Chen, and detailed in the December issue of the journal Nature Materials, looked specifically at Nafion®, a widely used perfluorinated polymer film that stands out for its high selective permeability to water and protons. Schmidt-Rohr, who is also a professor of chemistry at Iowa State University, suggests that Nafion® has a closely packed network of nanoscale cylindrical water channels running in parallel through the material.

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Nature Materials.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Research news: Predicting the future of reefs in peril

The News:
Predicting the Future of Reefs in Peril
Audio for this story will be available at approx. 6:00 p.m. ET
Talk of the Nation, December 14, 2007 · The world's coral reefs are in great danger, threatened by climate change and rising carbon dioxide levels. Increased CO2 could greatly shift the chemistry of ocean waters, threatening the existence of most coral species.
In an article published in the journal Science, researchers provide three different scenarios for the fate of reef-building corals worldwide as they face higher concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science.
Reefs in trouble:
Spawning for a Better Life
Moonlight Sonata on the Reef
Whiter Shades of Pale
Life on the Mean Reefs

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Research news: Chronic Knee Pain: Is Surgery The Only Solution?

The News:
Chronic Knee Pain: Is Surgery The Only Solution?
ScienceDaily (Dec. 13, 2007) — The results of a study published in the online open access journal, BMC Medicine indicate that sufferers of chronic patellofemoral syndrome (PFPS), a chronic pain in the front part of the knee, gain no extra benefit from surgery. Furthermore, the authors suggest that giving these patients a therapeutic exercise regime rather than putting them through surgery could save money.
Patellofemoral pain syndrome is often treated with arthroscopic surgery, in which equipment inserted through small incisions in the knee is used to both diagnose the cause of the problem and attempt to fix it.
Jyrki Kettunen of The ORTON Research Institute, in Helsinki, Finland, and colleagues point out that whilst chronic knee pain is a common complaint, there is a lack of evidence that arthroscopic surgery has a better outcome than other forms of treatment including therapeutic exercise.
The team conducted a randomized controlled trial to study the efficacy of arthroscopy compared with exercise in 56 patients with chronic PFPS. More.....

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal BMC Medicine.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Research news: Eating a Lot of Meats Linked to Number of Cancers

The News:
Eating a Lot of Meats Linked to Number of Cancers
by Patricia Neighmond
Morning Edition, December 11, 2007 · A new medical study links high consumption of red and processed meats to an increased risk of different forms of cancer. Health experts already knew red meat increased the risk of colon cancer. Now researchers have found an increased risk for a number of other cancers, as well.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute wanted to know which cancers other than colon cancer might be more common among big red meat eaters. To find out, they analyzed questionnaires from over a half-million men and women over the age of 50.
In questionnaires, people answered questions about their lifestyle, including what kind of meat they ate, and how often.

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal PLoS Medicine.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Research news: Most Ancient Case Of Tuberculosis Found In 500,000-year-old Human; Points To Modern Health Issues

The News:
Most Ancient Case Of Tuberculosis Found In 500,000-year-old Human; Points To Modern Health Issues
ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2007) — Although most scientists believe tuberculosis emerged only several thousand years ago, new research from The University of Texas at Austin reveals the most ancient evidence of the disease has been found in a 500,000-year-old human fossil from Turkey.

The discovery of the new specimen of the human species, Homo erectus, suggests support for the theory that dark-skinned people who migrate northward from low, tropical latitudes produce less vitamin D, which can adversely affect the immune system as well as the skeleton.
Prior to this discovery in western Turkey, which helps scientists fill a temporal and geographical gap in human evolution, the oldest evidence of tuberculosis in humans was found in mummies from Egypt and Peru that date to several thousand years ago.
Paleontologists spent decades prospecting in Turkey for remains of Homo erectus, widely believed to be the first human species to migrate out of Africa. After moving north, the species had to adapt to increasingly seasonal climates

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Research news: Even Minimal Fitness Can Stave Off Death

The News:
Even Minimal Fitness Can Stave Off Death
by Allison Aubrey
All Things Considered, December 4, 2007 · If you favor the spectator's seat over the playing field, take note: Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds even a minimal level of fitness cuts the risk of premature death.
Treadmill and Wii Video Games
Esther McGuire, 84, a resident of Riderwood, a senior living community in Silver Spring, Md., says she's not surprised to hear that exercise and longevity are linked.
As she swings her arm and bends her knees in a game of bowling on the Nintendo Wii, she lets out a whoop in anticipation of a strike.
"It feels good," says McGuire, who's now helping organize Wii tournaments. "It keeps us moving instead of watching television."
McGuire also works out three times a week at the gym, so experts say she's almost certain to escape being categorized as one of the least fit in her age group.
"It's only really the least fit 20 percent of an age group that seem to have much higher mortality rates," says researcher Glenn Gaesser of the University of Virginia.

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Research news: Autism study lends credence to 'fever effect'

The News:
Autism Study Lends Credence to 'Fever Effect'
Morning Edition, December 6, 2007 · For the first three years of his life, Rene Craft's son, Jackson, communicated primarily through screaming tantrums. He never spoke. He didn't point to things. He didn't make eye contact. He had the classic signs of severe autism.
Then a couple of years ago, Jackson got sick. His mother, Rene Craft, says he was running a high fever.
"He was lying in our bed, and he was recovering," Craft says. "And he said out of the blue, 'I like the sheets, Daddy. They're really comfortable.' And then later that day he looked out the window and he said, 'Oh, it's raining, and squirrels eat nuts."

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Pediatrics.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Research news: Climate change puts future of plants, critters in hot seat

The News:
Climate change puts future of plants, critters in hot seat
Temperatures are rising too quickly for some to adapt, and extinctions are likely, experts say.
By Michael Casey The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 12/06/2007 01:05:34 AM MST
BALI, Indonesia — More than 3,000 flying foxes dropped dead, falling from trees in Australia. Giant squid migrated north to commercial fishing grounds off California, gobbling anchovy and hake. Butterflies have gone extinct in the Alps.
While humans debate at U.N. climate change talks in Bali, global warming is already wreaking havoc with nature. Most plants and animals are affected, and the change is occurring too quickly for them to evolve.
"A hell of a lot of species are in big trouble," said Stephen E. Williams, the director of the Centre for Tropical Biodiversity & Climate Change at James Cook University in Australia.
"I don't think there is any doubt we will see a lot of (extinctions)," he said. "But even before a species goes extinct, there are a lot of impacts. Most of the species here in the wet tropics would be reduced to 15 percent of their current habitat."

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Research news: Antibiotics discouraged for many sinus infections

The News:
Antibiotics discouraged for many sinus infections
By Jia-Rui Chong Los Angeles Times
Article Last Updated: 12/05/2007 02:00:30 AM MST
The widespread use of standard antibiotics to treat sinus infections does not help cure patients and may harm them by increasing their resistance to the drugs, according to a new study published today.
The researchers found that the percentage of patients who got well in 10 days was about the same whether they took an antibiotic or a placebo. The study focused on cases likely caused by bacteria.
"With a little bit of patience, the body will usually heal itself," said Dr. Ian Williamson, a family medicine researcher at the University of Southampton in England and lead author of the paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The results showed that patients should be more willing to forgo antibiotics, but they should still check with their doctors when a cold worsens into a sinus infection, he said.

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Research news: Global Warming Likely To Increase Stormy Weather, Especially In Certain US locations

The News:
Global Warming Likely To Increase Stormy Weather, Especially In Certain US locations
ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2007) — Researchers who study severe weather and climate change joined forces to study the effects of global warming on the number of severe storms in the future and discovered a dramatic increase in potential storm conditions for some parts of the United States.
The Purdue University-led team used climate models to examine future weather conditions favorable to formation of severe thunderstorms - those that produce flooding, damaging winds, hail and sometimes spawn tornadoes.
"It seems that areas in the U.S. prone to severe thunderstorms now will likely have more of them in the future," said Robert Trapp, the Purdue associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences who led the research team. "We can't predict individual storms, but we can project the number of days with conditions conducive to storm formation."
The study found that by the end of this century the number of days that favor severe storms could more than double in locations such as Atlanta and New York. The study also found that the increase in storm conditions occurs during the typical storm seasons for these locations and not during dry seasons when such storms could be beneficial

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Research news: a spoonful of honey can remedy kid's cough

The News:
A spoonful of honey can remedy kids' coughs
By The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 12/04/2007 01:44:56 AM MST
CHICAGO — A teaspoon of honey before bed seems to calm children's coughs and help them sleep better, according to a new study that relied on parents' reports. The folk remedy did better than cough medicine or no treatment in a three-way comparison. Honey may work by coating and soothing an irritated throat, the study authors said.
"Many families are going to relate to these findings and say that grandma was right," said lead author Dr. Ian Paul of Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine.
The research appears in December's Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Federal health advisers recently warned that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines shouldn't be used in children younger than 6.

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.