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Science News for July 1, 2008


Gender differences and heart disease

Researchers found that women derive less benefit from high-blood-pressure-lowering drugs than men for reducing left-ventricular hypertrophy, a marker for future heart disease. This may explain why women are at greater risk for heart disease later in life despite similar blood pressure reduction.

SourceNewYork-Presbyterian·JournalHYPERTENSION·DateJul 1, 2008

Plants in the fourth dimension

Researchers have identified a novel mechanism in plants that regulates circadian rhythms, which are integral to responses to light, temperature, and other environmental cues. The PRR gene family plays a crucial role in these mechanisms, with its members transcribed and translated at different times of day.

JCI online early table of contents: July 1, 2008

Researchers have discovered two drugs that can improve memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease by inhibiting calpains. Additionally, they found stabilizing molecules for the faulty PAH protein in phenylketonuria (PKU), and identified a genetic marker for predicting prostate cancer spreading.

SourceJCI Journals·JournalJournal of Clinical Investigation·DateJul 1, 2008

Personal information in E-mail marketing can backfire, study indicates

A recent study by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that personalized e-mails can have an unintended boomerang effect on businesses, making customers feel threatened or over-pitched. The study suggests that firms should use personalization to convey value rather than just trying to 'wow' prospective buyers.

Does this make me look fat?

A new study found that teenage girls' peer groups significantly influence their weight control behaviors. Girls who identified with non-conformist peers were more concerned about their weight and appearance, while those who skipped school and got into trouble believed their peers valued thinness and dieting.

SourceSpringer·JournalJournal of Youth and Adolescence·DateJul 1, 2008

Crossed (evolutionary) signals?

Researchers have discovered that choanoflagellates, single-celled organisms, possess similar levels of proteins used for cell communication in more complex organisms like humans. This finding confirms their role as an evolutionary link between single-celled and multi-cellular organisms.

SourceU.S. National Science Foundation·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateJul 1, 2008

Monitoring of biological markers of passive smoking key to establishing level of cancer risk

Research suggests that passive smoking poses a significant risk to lung cancer development, with sidestream smoke potentially more carcinogenic than mainstream smoke. The study proposes using DNA-lesion footprinting and mutagenicity analysis to identify unique biological markers for assessing lung cancer risk in relation to SHS exposure.

SourceThe Lancet_DELETED·JournalThe Lancet Oncology·DateJul 1, 2008

Pesticides persist in ground water

USGS scientists investigated pesticide occurrence in ground water at four US sites. Herbicides triazines and chloroacetanilides were most frequently detected, with degradation products often exceeding parent compounds. Redox conditions, residence times, oxygen levels, and nitrogen gas influenced pesticide concentrations.

SourceAmerican Society of Agronomy·JournalJournal of Environmental Quality·DateJul 1, 2008

Stanford researchers find way to predict IVF success

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a method to predict IVF success with 70 percent accuracy. The new method uses four critical factors, including total number of embryos, eight-cell embryo percentage, and follicle-stimulating hormone level, to determine a woman's chance of becoming pregnant.

SourceStanford Medicine·JournalPLOS ONE·DateJul 1, 2008

Shrinking carbon footprints

A study found that households implementing environmentally sustainable behavior reported a reduction of approximately two tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions per year. Key factors influencing adoption included financial cost, lack of time and knowledge, and lifestyle factors such as household size and vehicle ownership.

SourceInderscience Publishers·JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Technology and Management·DateJul 1, 2008

Designer diet for prostate cancer

A study published in PLOS ONE found that eating broccoli rich in glucosinolates can help men stay healthy and reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. The research, led by Professor Richard Mithen, showed that relatively low amounts of cruciferous vegetables can have large effects on gene expression.

SourcePLOS·JournalPLOS ONE·DateJul 1, 2008

Attitudes toward consumption and conservation of tigers in China

A recent study published in PLOS ONE found that a significant proportion of Chinese consumers admit to purchasing tiger products, despite widespread support for the country's ban on selling these products. The researchers also discovered that 71% of respondents preferred products made from wild tigers over those from farmed tigers.

SourcePLOS·JournalPLOS ONE·DateJul 1, 2008

New discovery a step towards better diabetes treatment

Researchers at Uppsala University develop new image analysis methods to study the release of insulin and cAMP in beta cells. The findings show that ATP causes an increase in cAMP concentration, which varies rhythmically and coincides with variations in calcium signals, resulting in pulsatile insulin secretion.

SourceUppsala University·JournalCell Metabolism·DateJul 1, 2008

Weekends slow weight loss, researchers find

Researchers at WashU Medicine found that study subjects on strict diet and exercise programs tend to lose weight more slowly than expected because they eat more on weekends than during the week. The investigators report their findings in the advance online publication of the journal Obesity.

SourceWashU Medicine·JournalObesity·DateJul 1, 2008

Flaws in the barcoded technology used to reduce medication administration errors identified

Researchers found that barcoded technology is not fool-proof and nurses develop workarounds to compensate for its limitations. The study highlights 31 causes of problems with barcode systems, including unreadable medication-barcodes, malfunctioning scanners, and non-barcoded-medications.

SourceUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Medicine·JournalJournal of the American Medical Informatics Association·DateJul 1, 2008

Minimum drinking age of 21 saves lives

A comprehensive study found that laws limiting underage drinking to 21 have led to an eleven percent drop in alcohol-related traffic fatalities among youth. Tougher sanctions on fake IDs also resulted in a seven percent decrease in fatalities among young drivers.

SourceBurness·JournalAccident Analysis & Prevention·DateJul 1, 2008

Post-exercise caffeine helps muscles refuel

A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that athletes who ingested caffeine with carbohydrate after exhaustive exercise had 66% more glycogen in their muscles four hours later. This suggests that post-exercise caffeine consumption can aid in muscle refueling and potentially enhance athletic performance.

SourceAmerican Physiological Society·JournalJournal of Applied Physiology·DateJul 1, 2008

Once a shy monkey, always a shy monkey?

A new study by the HealthEmotions Research Institute found that anxious brains consistently respond more strongly to stress and show signs of anxiety even in safe situations. Anxious monkeys showed higher brain activity in the amygdala, a part of the brain that regulates emotion, which corresponded to higher levels of stress hormones.

SourcePLOS·JournalPLOS ONE·DateJul 1, 2008