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Science News for January 15, 2013


Study documents that some children lose autism diagnosis

A NIH-funded study confirmed that some children who were accurately diagnosed with autism in early childhood can lose the symptoms and diagnosis as they grow older. The research team documented a small group of school-age children and young adults who no longer exhibit signs of the disorder, now comparable to their mainstream peers.

SourceNIH/National Institute of Mental Health·JournalJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry·DateJan 15, 2013

Studies provide new insights into brain-behavior relationships

Researchers investigate patterns of dysgraphia in participants with primary progressive aphasia, comparing them to those with stroke-related dysgraphia. They also explore nonverbal semantic processing in individuals with semantic aphasia and dementia, shedding light on brain-behavior relationships.

SourceIOS Press·JournalBehavioural Neurology·DateJan 15, 2013

Comparable patterns of failure between SBRT, lobectomy or pneumonectomy for stage I NSCLC

Researchers compared the patterns of failure between stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), lobectomy, and pneumonectomy for patients with stage I non-small-cell lung cancer. The results show comparable patterns of failure, but highlight the challenges in making such comparisons due to differences in patient and tumor-related factors.

SourceInternational Association for the Study of Lung Cancer·JournalJournal of Thoracic Oncology·DateJan 15, 2013

Neon lights up exploding stars

Researchers from the University of York and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya have made significant discoveries about novae, explosive events driven by nuclear processes. The study's findings improve our understanding of key nuclear reactions and the final abundance of radioactive isotopes involved in these explosions.

SourceUniversity of York·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateJan 15, 2013

How does family life influence consumer response to television advertising?

A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research finds that creative and skilled viewers can overturn and personalize commercial advertising meanings for family benefit. Researchers placed cameras in suburban homes to study viewer behavior during TV ad breaks, revealing the impact of family interaction on advertising response.

SourceUniversity of Chicago Press Journals·JournalJournal of Consumer Research·DateJan 15, 2013

For sports fans, the story -- not the victor -- makes the difference in enjoyment

A new study published in the Journal of Media Psychology found that sports fans enjoy watching athletic events with high drama and suspense, regardless of the outcome. The researchers discovered that viewers root for heroic athletes and against unfavorable ones, yet report enjoying the game despite the winner.

SourceOregon State University·JournalJournal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications·DateJan 15, 2013

Major step toward an Alzheimer's vaccine

Researchers at Université Laval have identified a molecule that stimulates the activity of the brain's immune cells, which could lead to a treatment and vaccine for Alzheimer's disease. Weekly injections of MPL eliminated up to 80% of senile plaques in mice with Alzheimer's symptoms, improving cognitive function.

SourceUniversité Laval·JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences·DateJan 15, 2013

Virtual heart sheds new light on heart defect

Researchers developed a virtual heart model to investigate atrial fibrillation, revealing electrical heterogeneity and fibre structure as key factors in the condition's initiation. The study provides new insights into the complex mechanisms underlying AF, paving the way for potential treatments.

SourceUniversity of Manchester·JournalInterface Focus·DateJan 15, 2013

Exon skipping to restore gene expression is promising therapeutic strategy for muscular dystrophy

Researchers developed a new gene therapy approach called exon skipping, which bypasses disease-causing mutations in genes to restore normal expression and protein production. This strategy has shown promising results in treating muscular dystrophy, with improved muscle force and increased body weight and muscle mass.

Facebook posts not easily forgotten

A new study found that Facebook posts are remarkably memorable, outperforming both human faces and sentences from books in terms of retention. The researchers suggest that this is due to the casual, gossipy language used in microblogs, which taps into people's basic language capacities.

SourceSpringer·JournalMemory & Cognition·DateJan 15, 2013