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 Back to Eurekalert Medical and Health News Archives
Eurekalert Medical and Health News: 11-13-2004
Health educators and dietitians ought to be more precise the next time they advise Americans that "vegetables and fruit are good for you," according to a study by a nutritional expert at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. That's because a person who likes vegetables tends to have different food tastes and social habits from a person who prefers fruits.
Researchers working with Florida red tide discovered two new compounds that may treat mucus build-up associated with cystic fibrosis and similar lung diseases. Preliminary studies show these compounds improve the flow of mucus through the respiratory tract, allowing airways to clear more quickly and efficiently.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is undertaking a $3 million, three-year effort to see how specific genes might contribute to environmentally-related disease. NIEHS will develop a new RNAi library to help fight disease through its National Center for Toxicogenomics. RNAi, or RNA interference, is a new technology which silences specific genes.
A new approach to outwit resistance to antibiotics has been discovered by a team of researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. By inserting a naturally occurring molecule into an antibiotic-resistant bacterium, the team was able to gradually destroy the machinery responsible for the resistance.
Driving with one hand on the wheel and another on a cell phone has led to legal restrictions and proposals to require drivers to use hands-free phones. Whether or not the latter approach actually promotes safety was put to the test in a virtual reality suite at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and drivers -- young and old -- struggled to see dangerous scenarios appearing in front of them.
Scientists say that low carbohydrate diets, like the Atkins and South Beach Diets, may actually be the best option for men who want to slim. New research, published this week in the Open Access journal, Nutrition & Metabolism, shows that over 70% of men lost more weight and fat on a low carbohydrate diet, despite eating more calories.
Denmark has made a nationwide commitment to Open Access for the biomedical research it funds. All universities, hospitals and other research institutes in Denmark became BioMed Central members in October. The membership agreement covers the cost of publication, in BioMed Central's 120 Open Access journals, for all publicly funded researchers and teachers in Denmark.
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have identified a Lyme disease receptor called TROSPA that is used by disease agents to invade ticks.Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne disease in the United States, is caused by spirochete bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, which also cause arthritis in humans. The purpose of the study, published November 12 in the journal Cell, was to identify how Lyme disease pathogens survive inside ticks.
Since July 2003, the Academy's eBriefings at www.nyas.org have been a vital source for thousands of people around the world eager to find out the latest research on topics such as diabetes, AIDS, cholesterol and obesity, vitamin E and aging, and other cutting-edge science and social issues. Sponsored by the Academy, one of the U.S.'s most respected scientific institutions, eBriefings offer a compendium of what today's researchers in the U.S. and abroad are most concerned about.
Seasonal changes in northern birds' song control systems have been demonstrated, but what about tropical birds, where day-length changes are minimal? Researchers report in the Journal of Neuroscience that tropical birds are extremely sensitive to diverse environmental cues, such as rainfall, temperature, or food availability, as cues to seasonal reproductive physiology and behavior.
Recently, the European Union Research Organisation's Heads of Research Councils signed an agreement allowing researchers within the European Research Area to preserve existing research opportunities, and to bridge the period until an application for funds in the new country has been successful.
A new study finds that only 36% of cancer patients ages 65 and older participate in clinical trials, despite making up 60% of the U.S. cancer population. The study will be published November 15 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). A separate article in the same issue of the JCO summarizes an innovative approach to increasing clinical trial participation among Native Americans in South Dakota.
A new tool based on satellite data shows trends in the way Europeans use our landscape. Seen from the ground these changes appear gradual, but viewed from above they are often dramatic.
Mayo Clinic gynecologists have discovered that hysteroscopic sterilization, a new method of plugging the fallopian tubes to prevent conception, will save patients money compared to laparoscopic tubal ligation, the most commonly used method of sterilization for women.
A team led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine has developed vaccines that vastly reduce or eliminate dogs' allergic reactions to three major food allergens: peanuts, milk and wheat. The vaccines' benefits lasted at least three months.
Vision researchers at the University of Utah's John A. Moran Eye Center have discovered a gene mutation responsible for causing a rare disease in four generations of a single Utah family. The discovery is reported in a recent issue of The American Journal of Ophthalmology (November 2004).
People in search of pain relief who take the generic anti-inflammatory etodolac suffer 60 percent fewer gastrointestinal complications than those who take similar drugs, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Use of the drug etodolac instead of drugs like Celebrex or Bextra could save the Veterans health-care system alone about $40 million annually.
The Gerontological Society of America will host its 2004 Annual Scientific Meeting in Washington, DC from November 19-23 at the Marriott Wardman Park and Omni Shoreham Hotels. Members of the press may register on-site in the Taft room of the Marriott.
An international clinical trial directed by Dr. Diane Harper of Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) and Dartmouth Medical School has shown extremely promising results for a vaccine against the most common causes of cervical cancer.
The 2.4 million Americans who have panic disorders not only smoke at a disproportionately high rate--about 40 percent vs. 24 percent of the general population--they also have a harder time quitting and relapse more often. Another 5 percent of American smokers may develop panic-related symptoms or even panic disorder when they try to quit. New treatments at the University of Vermont offer hope.
In a Perspective article in the Nov. 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Fabio Cominelli, chief of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Virginia Health System reports that a dysregulated response by the innate immune system- the body's initial, non-specific response to infection- may have more to do with the development of Crohn's than acquired immunity, currently thought by many to be the most likely suspect.
A vaccine that could reduce cervical cancer rates by 75 percent is safe and 95 percent effective, according to a study of 1,113 women in North America and Brazil.
As the scientific community is seeking alternatives to antibiotic treatment, periodontal researchers found that photodynamic therapy (PDT) is advantageous for suppressing anaerobic bacteria that lead to periodontal diseases according to a recent study in the Journal of Periodontology.
Scientists at Stanford University and Joslin Diabetes Center are providing new insights into how muscle cells regenerate -- leading to powerful tools to help scientists better understand diseases such as muscular dystrophy.
Researchers measured actual infarct size after a simulated heart attack to test in vivo cardioprotection from acetaminophen. Acetaminophen reduced infarct size by 60% or more compared with a control group, according to a Rutgers team. Infarct size as a percentage of the whole myocardium was 62.5% smaller in acetaminophen-treated hearts. Although arrhythmia wasn't monitored rigorously, during both ischemia and reperfusion acetaminophen-treated hearts appeared much more stable electrically than untreated control hearts.
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