The News:
Hormone therapy skews breast cancer diagnosis
By Andrew Stern MSNBC
updated 3:37 p.m. MT, Mon., Feb. 25, 2008
CHICAGO - Women on hormone replacement therapy have only a slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer, but there are much greater chances they will experience the worry of abnormal mammograms or may undergo an avoidable breast biopsy, researchers said on Monday. Mammograms and biopsy exams were also found to be less reliable at detecting breast cancer among women taking hormones, which counteract symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness.
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Research News: A biofuels boondoggle
The News:
A biofuels boondoggle
Perspective Section of The Denver Post
By Diane Carman
Article Last Updated: 02/22/2008 10:40:40 AM MST
With our polar ice caps shrinking, our coral reefs dying and our ecological clocks ticking, Earthlings are losing patience with the shameless gas-guzzling status quo in the United States. Even the barons of the old energy industries have abandoned their speaking points that denied climate change, and have begun demanding government action... But what can we do to reduce carbon-based emissions? More specifically, what can our government — and those who wish to take over the White House — do? It's hardly news that corn ethanol is a boondoggle. Research by Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen has found that it produces 50 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline when you calculate the nitrous oxide emitted from the artificial fertilizer poured on the fields to grow the stuff. Still, federal and state subsidies for the industry exceeded $5 billion — or about $1 a gallon — in 2006, greenhouse gas emissions and all.
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science.
A biofuels boondoggle
Perspective Section of The Denver Post
By Diane Carman
Article Last Updated: 02/22/2008 10:40:40 AM MST
With our polar ice caps shrinking, our coral reefs dying and our ecological clocks ticking, Earthlings are losing patience with the shameless gas-guzzling status quo in the United States. Even the barons of the old energy industries have abandoned their speaking points that denied climate change, and have begun demanding government action... But what can we do to reduce carbon-based emissions? More specifically, what can our government — and those who wish to take over the White House — do? It's hardly news that corn ethanol is a boondoggle. Research by Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen has found that it produces 50 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline when you calculate the nitrous oxide emitted from the artificial fertilizer poured on the fields to grow the stuff. Still, federal and state subsidies for the industry exceeded $5 billion — or about $1 a gallon — in 2006, greenhouse gas emissions and all.
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Research News: Human diversity is in the details - of genes
The News:
Human diversity is in the details - of genes
By David Brown
The Washington Post
Article Last Updated: 02/22/2008 01:45:52 AM MST
WASHINGTON — We're all pretty much the same — except, of course, for the little things that make us different. Those are the conclusions of three studies published this week that looked at human diversity through the keyhole of the genetic mutations we all carry. The findings — the latest dividend from the world's investment in the Human Genome Project in the 1990s — confirms a broad narrative of human history known from previous biological, archaeological and linguistic studies. But the new research adds an astonishing level of detail and a few new insights that were not previously available.
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science.
Human diversity is in the details - of genes
By David Brown
The Washington Post
Article Last Updated: 02/22/2008 01:45:52 AM MST
WASHINGTON — We're all pretty much the same — except, of course, for the little things that make us different. Those are the conclusions of three studies published this week that looked at human diversity through the keyhole of the genetic mutations we all carry. The findings — the latest dividend from the world's investment in the Human Genome Project in the 1990s — confirms a broad narrative of human history known from previous biological, archaeological and linguistic studies. But the new research adds an astonishing level of detail and a few new insights that were not previously available.
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Research news: Solar system similar to ours
The News:
Solar system similar to ours
It has gas-giant planets somewhat like Jupiter and Saturn and may lead to the discovery of "other Earths."
By Marc Kaufman The Washington Post
Article Last Updated: 02/15/2008 12:47:01 AM MST
Researchers have found two planets in a solar system 5,000 light-years away that appears to be structured in some important ways like our own.
The planets are gas giants similar to but smaller than Jupiter and Saturn, and their relative sizes are also similar. In addition, they circle their star at a distance proportional to the distances of Jupiter and Saturn from the sun.
"This is the first time we've found a Jupiter-like planet in the same system as a Saturn planet," said Scott Gaudi of Ohio State University, lead investigator on the project. "There's reason now to believe there are probably many more solar systems like it."
The discovery, published today in the online edition of the journal Science, lends support to the long-held belief of many astronomers that there are many planets orbiting their stars in ways similar to our solar system. Most of the more than 260 planets discovered so far have orbited their suns far more closely than theorized, and the planets have been larger than expected. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science.
Solar system similar to ours
It has gas-giant planets somewhat like Jupiter and Saturn and may lead to the discovery of "other Earths."
By Marc Kaufman The Washington Post
Article Last Updated: 02/15/2008 12:47:01 AM MST
Researchers have found two planets in a solar system 5,000 light-years away that appears to be structured in some important ways like our own.
The planets are gas giants similar to but smaller than Jupiter and Saturn, and their relative sizes are also similar. In addition, they circle their star at a distance proportional to the distances of Jupiter and Saturn from the sun.
"This is the first time we've found a Jupiter-like planet in the same system as a Saturn planet," said Scott Gaudi of Ohio State University, lead investigator on the project. "There's reason now to believe there are probably many more solar systems like it."
The discovery, published today in the online edition of the journal Science, lends support to the long-held belief of many astronomers that there are many planets orbiting their stars in ways similar to our solar system. Most of the more than 260 planets discovered so far have orbited their suns far more closely than theorized, and the planets have been larger than expected. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Research news: Bats took wing before landing radarlike sense
The News:
Bats took wing before landing radarlike sense
The discovery of a fossil in Wyoming seemingly resolves the question about when the creatures acquired their knack for nabbing insects at night.
By Malcolm Ritter The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 02/13/2008 10:47:20 PM MST
NEW YORK — A fossil found in Wyoming apparently has resolved a long-standing question about when bats gained their radarlike ability to navigate and locate airborne insects at night. The answer: after they started flying.
The discovery revealed the most primitive bat known, from a previously unrecognized species that lived about 52 million years ago.
Its skeleton shows it could fly, but that it lacked a series of bony features associated with echolocation, the ability to emit high-pitched sounds and then hear them bounce back from objects and prey, researchers said.
Until now, all the early known fossil bats showed evidence of both flying and echolocating, so they couldn't reveal which ability came first, said researcher Nancy Simmons.
Her team's research appears in today's issue of the journal Nature. Simmons chairs the vertebrate zoology division at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Nature.
Bats took wing before landing radarlike sense
The discovery of a fossil in Wyoming seemingly resolves the question about when the creatures acquired their knack for nabbing insects at night.
By Malcolm Ritter The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 02/13/2008 10:47:20 PM MST
NEW YORK — A fossil found in Wyoming apparently has resolved a long-standing question about when bats gained their radarlike ability to navigate and locate airborne insects at night. The answer: after they started flying.
The discovery revealed the most primitive bat known, from a previously unrecognized species that lived about 52 million years ago.
Its skeleton shows it could fly, but that it lacked a series of bony features associated with echolocation, the ability to emit high-pitched sounds and then hear them bounce back from objects and prey, researchers said.
Until now, all the early known fossil bats showed evidence of both flying and echolocating, so they couldn't reveal which ability came first, said researcher Nancy Simmons.
Her team's research appears in today's issue of the journal Nature. Simmons chairs the vertebrate zoology division at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Nature.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Research news: Dramatic Declines In Wild Salmon Populations Linked To Exposure To Farmed Salmon
The News:
Dramatic Declines In Wild Salmon Populations Linked To Exposure To Farmed Salmon
ScienceDaily (Feb. 13, 2008) — Comparing the survival of wild salmonid populations in areas near salmon farms with unexposed populations reveals a large reduction in survival in the populations reared near salmon farms. Since the late 1970s, salmon aquaculture has grown into a global industry, producing over 1 million tons of salmon per year. However, this solution to globally declining fish stocks has come under increasing fire. In a new study Jennifer Ford and Ransom Myers provide the first evidence on a global scale illustrating systematic declines in wild salmon populations that come into contact with farmed salmon. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal PLoS Biology.
Dramatic Declines In Wild Salmon Populations Linked To Exposure To Farmed Salmon
ScienceDaily (Feb. 13, 2008) — Comparing the survival of wild salmonid populations in areas near salmon farms with unexposed populations reveals a large reduction in survival in the populations reared near salmon farms. Since the late 1970s, salmon aquaculture has grown into a global industry, producing over 1 million tons of salmon per year. However, this solution to globally declining fish stocks has come under increasing fire. In a new study Jennifer Ford and Ransom Myers provide the first evidence on a global scale illustrating systematic declines in wild salmon populations that come into contact with farmed salmon. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal PLoS Biology.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Research news: Even those with chronic ailments have shot at long life
The News:
Even those with chronic ailments have shot at long life
A study of those who reached age 100 finds longevity isn't limited to illness-free elders.
By Lindsey Tanner The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 02/12/2008 03:04:27 AM MST
CHICAGO — Living to 100 is easier than you might think. Surprising new research suggests that even people who develop heart disease or diabetes late in life have a decent shot at reaching the century mark.
"It has been generally assumed that living to 100 years of age was limited to those who had not developed chronic illness," said Dr. William Hall of the University of Rochester.
Hall has a theory for how these people could live to that age. In an editorial in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine, where the study was published, he writes that it might be thanks to doctors who aggressively treat health problems of the elderly rather than taking an "ageist" approach that assumes they won't benefit.
For the study, Boston University researchers did phone interviews and health assessments of more than 500 women and 200 men who had reached 100. They found that roughly two-thirds of them had avoided significant age-related ailments.
But the rest, dubbed "survivors," had developed an age-related disease before reaching 85, including high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes. Yet many functioned remarkably well — nearly as well as their disease-free peers. more...
The Research:
Read the research articles behind this story in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
Centenarians: Metaphor Becomes Reality
Disentangling the Roles of Disability and Morbidity in Survival to Exceptional Old Age
Exceptional Longevity in Men: Modifiable Factors Associated With Survival and Function to Age 90 Years
Even those with chronic ailments have shot at long life
A study of those who reached age 100 finds longevity isn't limited to illness-free elders.
By Lindsey Tanner The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 02/12/2008 03:04:27 AM MST
CHICAGO — Living to 100 is easier than you might think. Surprising new research suggests that even people who develop heart disease or diabetes late in life have a decent shot at reaching the century mark.
"It has been generally assumed that living to 100 years of age was limited to those who had not developed chronic illness," said Dr. William Hall of the University of Rochester.
Hall has a theory for how these people could live to that age. In an editorial in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine, where the study was published, he writes that it might be thanks to doctors who aggressively treat health problems of the elderly rather than taking an "ageist" approach that assumes they won't benefit.
For the study, Boston University researchers did phone interviews and health assessments of more than 500 women and 200 men who had reached 100. They found that roughly two-thirds of them had avoided significant age-related ailments.
But the rest, dubbed "survivors," had developed an age-related disease before reaching 85, including high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes. Yet many functioned remarkably well — nearly as well as their disease-free peers. more...
The Research:
Read the research articles behind this story in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
Centenarians: Metaphor Becomes Reality
Disentangling the Roles of Disability and Morbidity in Survival to Exceptional Old Age
Exceptional Longevity in Men: Modifiable Factors Associated With Survival and Function to Age 90 Years
Monday, February 11, 2008
Research news: Sex, Drugs And Alcohol
The News:
Sex, Drugs And Alcohol: Parents Still Influence College Kids' Risky Behavior, Study Shows
ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2008) — New research shows that parents influence their child’s likelihood of involvement with drugs, alcohol and risky sexual activity even after their child leaves for college.
In an upcoming issue of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Brigham Young University family scientist Laura Walker’s study found that parents’ knowledge or awareness of what’s going on in their child’s life at college is associated with fewer risky behaviors.
Specifically, students who said their fathers were in the loop had a lower likelihood of doing drugs or engaging in risky sexual behaviors. When mothers were in the know, students were less likely to drink alcohol.
The protective effect of mothers’ awareness was more pronounced when the students also felt close to their mom. Under those circumstances, the researchers found that students were less likely to be involved in any of the three risk behavior categories studied: drugs, alcohol and risky sexual activity. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in The Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
Sex, Drugs And Alcohol: Parents Still Influence College Kids' Risky Behavior, Study Shows
ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2008) — New research shows that parents influence their child’s likelihood of involvement with drugs, alcohol and risky sexual activity even after their child leaves for college.
In an upcoming issue of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Brigham Young University family scientist Laura Walker’s study found that parents’ knowledge or awareness of what’s going on in their child’s life at college is associated with fewer risky behaviors.
Specifically, students who said their fathers were in the loop had a lower likelihood of doing drugs or engaging in risky sexual behaviors. When mothers were in the know, students were less likely to drink alcohol.
The protective effect of mothers’ awareness was more pronounced when the students also felt close to their mom. Under those circumstances, the researchers found that students were less likely to be involved in any of the three risk behavior categories studied: drugs, alcohol and risky sexual activity. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in The Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Research news: Big drivers often face obstacles to buckling up
The News:
Big drivers often face obstacles to buckling up
By Kristin M. HallThe Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 02/10/2008 01:23:12 AM MST
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Like a lot of consumers, Paul McAleer focused on comfort when he recently went car shopping. Adjustable seats, a tilt steering wheel and extra height were all important.
Because he's a self-described "fat guy," the website designer also has to check whether he can fit in the seat belt.
While McAleer buckles up when he drives, a new study found that seat-belt use declines as body size increases. But even large drivers who want to use a seat belt may be thwarted because not all carmakers offer bigger belts or extenders.
"It would be in their best interest to make seat belts longer in the first place," said McAleer, who lives in Chicago.
Federal standards that specify the length of auto seat belts date back four decades and only require that seat belts accommodate a 215-pound man. Some manufacturers offer bigger belts or extenders anyway, but other auto companies have concerns about effectiveness and liability. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Obesity.
Big drivers often face obstacles to buckling up
By Kristin M. HallThe Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 02/10/2008 01:23:12 AM MST
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Like a lot of consumers, Paul McAleer focused on comfort when he recently went car shopping. Adjustable seats, a tilt steering wheel and extra height were all important.
Because he's a self-described "fat guy," the website designer also has to check whether he can fit in the seat belt.
While McAleer buckles up when he drives, a new study found that seat-belt use declines as body size increases. But even large drivers who want to use a seat belt may be thwarted because not all carmakers offer bigger belts or extenders.
"It would be in their best interest to make seat belts longer in the first place," said McAleer, who lives in Chicago.
Federal standards that specify the length of auto seat belts date back four decades and only require that seat belts accommodate a 215-pound man. Some manufacturers offer bigger belts or extenders anyway, but other auto companies have concerns about effectiveness and liability. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Obesity.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Research news: Scientists One Step Closer to Holographic Movies
The News:
Scientists One Step Closer to Holographic Movies
by Nell Greenfieldboyce
Morning Edition, February 8, 2008 · Scientists say they've taken a small step toward being able to make 3-D holographic movies.
That kind of technology might look familiar to fans of the movie Star Wars, which features R2-D2 beaming out a fuzzy, special-effects "hologram" of Princess Leia pleading, "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."
"This is our dream, to be able to make something like that," says Nasser Peyghambarian of the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Holograms are nothing new — you might have one on your credit card. But, Peyghambarian says, unlike the holographic Princess Leia, real-life holograms aren't dynamic. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Nature.
Scientists One Step Closer to Holographic Movies
by Nell Greenfieldboyce
Morning Edition, February 8, 2008 · Scientists say they've taken a small step toward being able to make 3-D holographic movies.
That kind of technology might look familiar to fans of the movie Star Wars, which features R2-D2 beaming out a fuzzy, special-effects "hologram" of Princess Leia pleading, "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."
"This is our dream, to be able to make something like that," says Nasser Peyghambarian of the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Holograms are nothing new — you might have one on your credit card. But, Peyghambarian says, unlike the holographic Princess Leia, real-life holograms aren't dynamic. more...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Nature.
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