The News:
Aiming truth at yule myths
Poisonous poinsettias and a high rate of suicide are disputed by researchers.
By Thomas H. Maugh IILos Angeles Times
Posted: 12/21/2008 12:30:00 AM MST
Updated: 12/21/2008 01:21:53 AM MST
Contrary to popular belief, poinsettias are not toxic to people or animals, suicides do not increase over the Christmas holidays and sugar does not make children hyperactive. Also, Wales winning the rugby grand slam does not influence the death of popes.
Those are some of the conclusions of reports in the British Medical Journal's annual Christmas issue, a compilation of the weird and lighthearted papers that its editors accumulate over the year.
The supposed toxicity of poinsettias has been a subject of warnings as long as the red-and-white flowers have been associated with the Christmas holiday, but reports from poison control centers do not support the warnings, said Drs. Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll of the Indiana University School of Medicine.
They reviewed nearly 900 calls to such centers reporting poinsettia consumption and found that none of the incidents resulted in serious illness. Moreover, feeding experiments in animals show no effects even at very high consumption, they found. Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the British Medical Journal (BMJ)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Research News: Dinosaur dads cared for young, researchers say
The News:
Dinosaur Dads Cared For Young, Researchers Say
by Christopher Joyce
Morning Edition, December 19, 2008 · It could very well be that some of the fiercest, meat-eating dinosaurs were also attentive, caring dads.
That's the conclusion from scientists who have been studying dinosaur eggs and the bones of dinosaurs found next to, or in some cases on top of, dinosaur egg clutches.
Paleontologist David Varricchio of Montana State University says he thinks many of those nest-sitters were males. His evidence is based partly on what scientists know about modern birds, the descendents of dinosaurs.
Varricchio measured the mass of egg material in dinosaur clutches and compared it to the mass of the dinosaurs that were found with the eggs. It showed that among some species of dinosaurs — Oviraptor, Troodon and Citipati — the mass of the clutches was very big compared to the size of the parent.
Varricchio then looked for other egg-laying animals where egg mass is high compared to parent body size — and came up with ostriches, emus, kiwis and several other kinds of birds. And among all of these modern birds, the male is the primary caretaker; he broods the eggs and cares for the young.
This may be rather indirect evidence. But writing in this week's issue of the journal Science, Varricchio also notes that the dinosaur bones found at these egg sites lacked something called "medullary bone." Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science. Also, read this commentary in Science "Who's your Daddy? "
Dinosaur Dads Cared For Young, Researchers Say
by Christopher Joyce
Morning Edition, December 19, 2008 · It could very well be that some of the fiercest, meat-eating dinosaurs were also attentive, caring dads.
That's the conclusion from scientists who have been studying dinosaur eggs and the bones of dinosaurs found next to, or in some cases on top of, dinosaur egg clutches.
Paleontologist David Varricchio of Montana State University says he thinks many of those nest-sitters were males. His evidence is based partly on what scientists know about modern birds, the descendents of dinosaurs.
Varricchio measured the mass of egg material in dinosaur clutches and compared it to the mass of the dinosaurs that were found with the eggs. It showed that among some species of dinosaurs — Oviraptor, Troodon and Citipati — the mass of the clutches was very big compared to the size of the parent.
Varricchio then looked for other egg-laying animals where egg mass is high compared to parent body size — and came up with ostriches, emus, kiwis and several other kinds of birds. And among all of these modern birds, the male is the primary caretaker; he broods the eggs and cares for the young.
This may be rather indirect evidence. But writing in this week's issue of the journal Science, Varricchio also notes that the dinosaur bones found at these egg sites lacked something called "medullary bone." Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science. Also, read this commentary in Science "Who's your Daddy? "
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Research News: Study suggests nuttily simple heart helper
The News:
Study suggests nuttily simple heart helper
By Carla K. Johnson, The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Here's a health tip in a nutshell: Eating a handful of nuts a day for a year — along with a Mediterranean diet rich in fruit, vegetables and fish — may help undo a collection of risk factors for heart disease. Spanish researchers found that adding nuts worked better than boosting the olive oil in a typical Mediterranean diet. Both regimens cut the heart risks known as metabolic syndrome in more people than a low-fat diet did.
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Study suggests nuttily simple heart helper
By Carla K. Johnson, The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Here's a health tip in a nutshell: Eating a handful of nuts a day for a year — along with a Mediterranean diet rich in fruit, vegetables and fish — may help undo a collection of risk factors for heart disease. Spanish researchers found that adding nuts worked better than boosting the olive oil in a typical Mediterranean diet. Both regimens cut the heart risks known as metabolic syndrome in more people than a low-fat diet did.
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Research News: Flu On Campus: Avoiding Misery For $20
The News:
Flu On Campus: Avoiding Misery For $20
Richard Knox, NPR's Morning Edition
Every year, about 1 in 4 college students gets the flu — and one health expert says many arrive on campus not realizing how bad a bout of flu can be. Dr. Peter Doyle, director of Northeastern University's health services in Boston, says "true flu," as distinguished from an ordinary cold, can be two weeks of "aching joints, aching muscles, high fever, pounding headache, inability to get out of bed, shaking chills — a completely disruptive illness." Even worse, some students each year end up with dangerous cases of bacterial pneumonia that can follow on the heels of the flu. Occasionally, a previously healthy young adult dies. But Doyle says these health risks don't motivate students enough to get a flu shot. So he makes a more economic argument.
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Flu On Campus: Avoiding Misery For $20
Richard Knox, NPR's Morning Edition
Every year, about 1 in 4 college students gets the flu — and one health expert says many arrive on campus not realizing how bad a bout of flu can be. Dr. Peter Doyle, director of Northeastern University's health services in Boston, says "true flu," as distinguished from an ordinary cold, can be two weeks of "aching joints, aching muscles, high fever, pounding headache, inability to get out of bed, shaking chills — a completely disruptive illness." Even worse, some students each year end up with dangerous cases of bacterial pneumonia that can follow on the heels of the flu. Occasionally, a previously healthy young adult dies. But Doyle says these health risks don't motivate students enough to get a flu shot. So he makes a more economic argument.
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Research news: 1 in 5 young adults disturbed
The News:
1 in 5 young adults disturbed
A psychiatric study also found that fewer than a fourth of college-age Americans get help.
By Lindsey Tanner, The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind. The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment.
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in Archives of General Psychiatry.
1 in 5 young adults disturbed
A psychiatric study also found that fewer than a fourth of college-age Americans get help.
By Lindsey Tanner, The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind. The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment.
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in Archives of General Psychiatry.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Research news: Discovery may help efforts to build bone
The News:
Discovery may help efforts to build bone
Osteoporosis experts are thrilled to hear serotonin can regulate bone density.
By Gina KolataThe New York Times
Updated: 11/27/2008 11:51:18 PM MST
Bone formation appears to be controlled by serotonin, a chemical previously known mainly for its entirely separate role in the brain, researchers are reporting.
The discovery can have enormous implications, osteoporosis experts say, because there is an urgent need for osteoporosis treatments that actually build bone.
Osteoporosis affects 10 million Americans over age 50. It results in bone loss, and its hallmark is fragile bones. With one exception, current treatments only slow further bone loss rather than increase bone formation. And the exception, parathyroid hormone, given by injection, is recommended only for short-term use and costs about $6,700 a year.
But in a paper published online this week in the journal Cell, a team led by Dr. Gerard Karsenty, chairman of the department of genetics and development at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, reports the discovery of an unexpected system that appears to control bone formation.
At its heart is serotonin made by the gut rather than the brain, whose role outside the brain had been a mystery. Ninety-five percent of the body's serotonin is made by the gut, but gut serotonin cannot enter the brain because it is barred by the so-called blood-brain barrier. Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Cell.
Discovery may help efforts to build bone
Osteoporosis experts are thrilled to hear serotonin can regulate bone density.
By Gina KolataThe New York Times
Updated: 11/27/2008 11:51:18 PM MST
Bone formation appears to be controlled by serotonin, a chemical previously known mainly for its entirely separate role in the brain, researchers are reporting.
The discovery can have enormous implications, osteoporosis experts say, because there is an urgent need for osteoporosis treatments that actually build bone.
Osteoporosis affects 10 million Americans over age 50. It results in bone loss, and its hallmark is fragile bones. With one exception, current treatments only slow further bone loss rather than increase bone formation. And the exception, parathyroid hormone, given by injection, is recommended only for short-term use and costs about $6,700 a year.
But in a paper published online this week in the journal Cell, a team led by Dr. Gerard Karsenty, chairman of the department of genetics and development at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, reports the discovery of an unexpected system that appears to control bone formation.
At its heart is serotonin made by the gut rather than the brain, whose role outside the brain had been a mystery. Ninety-five percent of the body's serotonin is made by the gut, but gut serotonin cannot enter the brain because it is barred by the so-called blood-brain barrier. Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Cell.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Research news: Cancer rate drops for first time
The News:
Cancer rate drops for first time
But it may rise as boomers age
By Thomas H. Maugh IILos Angeles Times
Updated: 11/26/2008 01:23:32 AM MST
For the first time since the U.S. government began compiling data, the rate of cancer has declined, marking a tipping point in the fight against the second-leading cause of death among Americans.
Researchers knew the number of deaths was declining as the result of better treatment, but the drop in cancer cases indicates that major progress is being made in prevention.
"The drop in incidence . . . is something we have been waiting to see for a long time," said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.
But the declines might be temporary, said Dr. Robert Figlin of the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif.
"Baby boomers are reaching the age at which they develop cancer . . . so we should not be surprised if it changes direction again."
Researchers fear economic woes may trigger an rise in incidence as fewer people feel comfortable paying for screenings and as increased stress leads some people to resume smoking. The growing number of unemployed also means fewer people with health insurance.
The report, published online Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, was compiled by the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Cancer rate drops for first time
But it may rise as boomers age
By Thomas H. Maugh IILos Angeles Times
Updated: 11/26/2008 01:23:32 AM MST
For the first time since the U.S. government began compiling data, the rate of cancer has declined, marking a tipping point in the fight against the second-leading cause of death among Americans.
Researchers knew the number of deaths was declining as the result of better treatment, but the drop in cancer cases indicates that major progress is being made in prevention.
"The drop in incidence . . . is something we have been waiting to see for a long time," said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.
But the declines might be temporary, said Dr. Robert Figlin of the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif.
"Baby boomers are reaching the age at which they develop cancer . . . so we should not be surprised if it changes direction again."
Researchers fear economic woes may trigger an rise in incidence as fewer people feel comfortable paying for screenings and as increased stress leads some people to resume smoking. The growing number of unemployed also means fewer people with health insurance.
The report, published online Tuesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, was compiled by the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Research news: Can an ant be employee of the month?
The News:
Can An Ant Be Employee Of The Month?
ScienceDaily (Nov. 25, 2008) — Ants specializing on one job such as snatching food from a picnic are no more efficient than "Jane-of-all-trade" ants, according to new research.
The finding casts doubt on the idea that the world-wide success of ants stems from job specialization within the colony. Ants are found on every continent besides Antarctica.
"The question is, why is job specialization a good thing?" said Anna Dornhaus of The University of Arizona in Tucson. "We thought that the fact that ants have specialists was one of the things that made them so successful and live all over the world in all habitats in great numbers.
"It turns out that the ones that are specialized on a particular job are not particularly good at doing that job." Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in PLoS Biology.
Can An Ant Be Employee Of The Month?
ScienceDaily (Nov. 25, 2008) — Ants specializing on one job such as snatching food from a picnic are no more efficient than "Jane-of-all-trade" ants, according to new research.
The finding casts doubt on the idea that the world-wide success of ants stems from job specialization within the colony. Ants are found on every continent besides Antarctica.
"The question is, why is job specialization a good thing?" said Anna Dornhaus of The University of Arizona in Tucson. "We thought that the fact that ants have specialists was one of the things that made them so successful and live all over the world in all habitats in great numbers.
"It turns out that the ones that are specialized on a particular job are not particularly good at doing that job." Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in PLoS Biology.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Research news: New NC State study shows it pays to shop around online
The News:
New NC State study shows it pays to shop around online
Holiday shopping season has arrived, and tough financial times mean that more people will probably be shopping around for the best price. But a new study co-authored by North Carolina State University's Dr. Jonathan D. Bohlmann shows that shoppers who compare prices at multiple online retailers will not only find the best value, but will also likely contribute to driving down prices for that product at other retailers.
Bohlmann, an associate professor of marketing at NC State, explains that there are basically two types of shoppers: "switchers" and "loyals." Switchers compare prices from multiple online retailers, while loyals are committed to a particular store and don't bother with comparison-shopping. Bohlmann explains that the higher the number of switchers relative to the number of loyals – or the so-called switcher/loyal ratio – the higher the pressure a retailer faces to discount products in order to remain competitive.
However, it's not quite that simple. An online retailer doesn't only look at its own switcher/loyal ratio; it has to consider the ratios of its competitors. Bohlmann explains that a retailer with a high switcher/loyal ratio may keep prices high if its competitors have an even higher ratio. These ratios, and the size of the retailers, are all considerations that are taken into account when stores set their prices. Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the Journal of Marketing.
New NC State study shows it pays to shop around online
Holiday shopping season has arrived, and tough financial times mean that more people will probably be shopping around for the best price. But a new study co-authored by North Carolina State University's Dr. Jonathan D. Bohlmann shows that shoppers who compare prices at multiple online retailers will not only find the best value, but will also likely contribute to driving down prices for that product at other retailers.
Bohlmann, an associate professor of marketing at NC State, explains that there are basically two types of shoppers: "switchers" and "loyals." Switchers compare prices from multiple online retailers, while loyals are committed to a particular store and don't bother with comparison-shopping. Bohlmann explains that the higher the number of switchers relative to the number of loyals – or the so-called switcher/loyal ratio – the higher the pressure a retailer faces to discount products in order to remain competitive.
However, it's not quite that simple. An online retailer doesn't only look at its own switcher/loyal ratio; it has to consider the ratios of its competitors. Bohlmann explains that a retailer with a high switcher/loyal ratio may keep prices high if its competitors have an even higher ratio. These ratios, and the size of the retailers, are all considerations that are taken into account when stores set their prices. Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the Journal of Marketing.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Research news: Study bolsters "broken windows" policing theory
The News:
Study bolsters "broken windows" policing theory
People are found to be more likely to commit small offenses when they see other lawlessness such as graffiti.
By Karen Kaplan Los Angeles Times
Updated: 11/21/2008 12:48:32 AM MST
In a series of real-world experiments, people exposed to graffiti, litter and other cues of lawlessness were more likely to commit small crimes, according to a study published today that bolsters the controversial "broken windows" theory of policing.
The idea is that low-level offenses such as vandalism and panhandling create an environment that breeds bigger crimes. According to the theory, police can help head off serious violence by keeping minor infractions in check.
Dutch researchers tested the psychological underpinnings of the theory and found that signs of social disorder damped people's impulse to act for the good of the community, allowing selfish and greedy instincts to take over. The results appear in the journal Science.
Community policing strategies based on the "broken windows" theory have taken root in cities across the U.S. and around the world since it was proposed in 1982.
Most famously, New York City saw a 50 percent reduction in crime in the 1990s after then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani and then-police chief William Bratton cracked down on squeegee-wielding panhandlers and the like. They credited the "broken windows" approach for their success.
However, an array of social scientists examined the city's crime statistics, and many of them concluded that factors like the booming economy and decline of crack cocaine were actually responsible for the dramatic improvement.
Denver also has experimented with the strategy and claimed success.
Kees Keizer, a graduate student in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, thought psychology and sociology could add to the debate. Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science (click on Full Text under Article views).
Study bolsters "broken windows" policing theory
People are found to be more likely to commit small offenses when they see other lawlessness such as graffiti.
By Karen Kaplan Los Angeles Times
Updated: 11/21/2008 12:48:32 AM MST
In a series of real-world experiments, people exposed to graffiti, litter and other cues of lawlessness were more likely to commit small crimes, according to a study published today that bolsters the controversial "broken windows" theory of policing.
The idea is that low-level offenses such as vandalism and panhandling create an environment that breeds bigger crimes. According to the theory, police can help head off serious violence by keeping minor infractions in check.
Dutch researchers tested the psychological underpinnings of the theory and found that signs of social disorder damped people's impulse to act for the good of the community, allowing selfish and greedy instincts to take over. The results appear in the journal Science.
Community policing strategies based on the "broken windows" theory have taken root in cities across the U.S. and around the world since it was proposed in 1982.
Most famously, New York City saw a 50 percent reduction in crime in the 1990s after then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani and then-police chief William Bratton cracked down on squeegee-wielding panhandlers and the like. They credited the "broken windows" approach for their success.
However, an array of social scientists examined the city's crime statistics, and many of them concluded that factors like the booming economy and decline of crack cocaine were actually responsible for the dramatic improvement.
Denver also has experimented with the strategy and claimed success.
Kees Keizer, a graduate student in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, thought psychology and sociology could add to the debate. Read on...
The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science (click on Full Text under Article views).
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