The premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. http://www.eurekalert.org en-us Copyright 2012 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science Thu, 31 May 2012 07:00:00 EDT EurekAlert! http://www.eurekalert.org/images/logo.gif http://www.eurekalert.org The premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 20 webmaster@eurekalert.org (EurekAlert!) The new 10-20-30 training concept can improve both a person's running performance and health, despite a significant reduction in the total amount of training. This is the conclusion of a study from University of Copenhagen researchers just published in the renowned scientific Journal of Applied of Physiology. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc-nrs053012.php Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc-nrs053012.php As children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis grow into adulthood, disability due to disease may adversely affect their ability to achieve educational success. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/w-jap053012.php Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/w-jap053012.php As children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) grow into adulthood, disability due to disease may adversely affect their ability to achieve educational success. Findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest that functional disability impacts educational attainment, which is key to successful employment in adulthood. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/w-jap052912.php Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/w-jap052912.php Despite increasing numbers of multi-ethnic neighborhoods in the United States, relatively few black or white families are actually moving into these types of communities, according to a new study in the June issue of the American Sociological Review. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/asa-srs052912.php Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/asa-srs052912.php Indiana U. researchers found that the highly active middle-aged study subjects appear to avoid the arterial stiffening that typically comes with aging. "Oddly, women, particularly the inactive women, show the greatest risk for cardiovascular disease as compared with other groups," an Indiana U. researcher wrote of her study at the American College of Sports Medicine meeting. "Thus, conversely, habitually high levels of physical activity may pose a greater benefit for women than for men." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/iu-shl052512.php Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/iu-shl052512.php An Indiana University study that looked at performance differences between male and female childhood athletes found little difference in certain age groups, even though boys and girls rarely compete against each other in the US. "It's the whole perception that girls can't compete fairly with boys," said Indiana University professor Joel Stager of his study being presented at the American College of Sports Medicine meeting on Thursday. "Well, at certain ages, they can." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/iu-wsg052512.php Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/iu-wsg052512.php Genetics can help determine whether a person is likely to quit smoking on his or her own or need medication to improve the chances of success, according to research published in today's American Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers say the study moves health care providers a step closer to one day providing more individualized treatment plans to help patients quit smoking. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/niod-ooq053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/niod-ooq053012.php Mayo Clinic researchers, in collaboration with other research institutions and youth mental health experts, are publishing new guidelines for primary care providers and mental health specialists to manage the common but often complex problem of childhood aggression. The goals include improving diagnosis and care and avoiding inappropriate use of medication. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/mc-mcy053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/mc-mcy053012.php A group of scientists at Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory, led by physicist Jigang Wang, has shown that graphene has two properties that could have applications in high-speed telecommunications devices and laser technology -- population inversion of electrons and broadband optical gain. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/isu-isa053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/isu-isa053012.php Overdiagnosis poses a significant threat to human health by labeling healthy people as sick and wasting resources on unnecessary care, warns Ray Moynihan, Senior Research Fellow at Bond University in Australia, in a feature published on bmj.com today. The feature comes as an international conference Preventing Overdiagnosis is announced for Sept. 10-12, 2013, in the United States, hosted by the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in partnership with the BMJ, the leading consumer organization Consumer Reports and Bond University, Australia. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/dmc-ops053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/dmc-ops053012.php University of Oklahoma scientists and others from more than a dozen countries joined together to sequence the tomato genome and, ultimately, improve the nation's $2 billion tomato crop. The Tomato Genomics Consortium directed the research effort, which was supported in the United States by the National Science Foundation and the USDA's Agriculture Research Services. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoo-osa053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoo-osa053012.php Loss of production may be one concern cotton producers have on the Rolling Plains when considering switching to reduced- or no-tillage systems, said Dr. Paul DeLaune, Texas AgriLife Research environmental soil scientist in Vernon.Not only will cotton growers not lose production with subsurface drip irrigation, their economics will improve, according to DeLaune's latest research article that will appear in the July-August issue of Agronomy Journal. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/taac-rtd053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/taac-rtd053012.php Younger patients with colorectal cancer were more likely to present advanced stage tumors at diagnosis and metastasize much sooner, yet had better than or equal survival to patients 50 and older, according to data being presented at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/tju-ayc053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/tju-ayc053012.php In a new paper, Stanford researchers describe a mathematical model they created that helps predict pragmatic reasoning and may eventually lead to the manufacture of machines that can better understand inference, context and social rules. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/su-nmm053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/su-nmm053012.php Married people may be happier in the long run than those who aren't married, according to new research by Michigan State University scientists. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/msu-mmm053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/msu-mmm053012.php The American Medical Association's Code of Ethics prohibits physicians from prescribing treatments that they consider to be placebos unless the patients know this and agree to take them anyway. But this policy is not clearly the best way to protect or benefit patients, concludes an article in the Hastings Center Report. A commentary by two AMA bioethicists responding to the article also appears in the journal. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/thc-wii053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/thc-wii053012.php If lower-income mothers want kids with healthy diets, it's best to adopt healthy eating habits themselves and encourage their children to eat good foods rather than use force, rewards or punishments, says a Michigan State University study. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/msu-eh-053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/msu-eh-053012.php New research shows some of the steepest mountain slopes in the world got that way because of the interplay between terrain uplift associated with plate tectonics and powerful streams cutting into hillsides, leading to large landslides. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uow-llt053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uow-llt053012.php A botanist brings a species of alfalfa from Siberia, to the United States. His hope? The plant would survive and lead to a new winter-hardy alfalfa. But what also happened during this time in the late 1800's, isn't just a story of legend and lore. The truth of the matter is creating a revival in both interest and conservation of what's now called a crop's "wild relative." But can it happen before it's too late? http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/asoa-tit053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/asoa-tit053012.php A recent report analyzing a range of published studies on the impact of bark beetles on trees in the US and Canada provides a more complete picture of the effect of this destructive insect on wildfires. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ufs--nre053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ufs--nre053012.php The June GSA TODAY science article is now online and open access at http://www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/. In this issue, Gregory Retallack and Joshua Roering of the University of Oregon enter the long-standing debate as to whether rock platforms along coasts and rivers are the product of physical erosion or chemical weathering above the water table. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/gsoa-dwo053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/gsoa-dwo053012.php Despite our inclination to believe equality within a team or group is important, new research suggests that a built-in hierarchy leads to fewer group conflicts and higher productivity. Teams in which everyone has high power are likely to experience elevated levels of conflict, reduced role differentiations, less coordination and integration, and poorer productivity than teams with a broader distribution of power and status. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/afps-wel053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/afps-wel053012.php American parents may want to rethink how much they protect their children from everyday germs. A new Northwestern University study done in lowland Ecuador finds no evidence of chronic low-grade inflammation -- associated with diseases of aging like cardiovascular disease. In contrast, about one-third of adults in the U.S. have chronically elevated C-reactive protein. Acute elevations in CRP are important for protection against infectious disease. When chronically produced, CRP is associated with chronic diseases. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nu-utl053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nu-utl053012.php Researchers in the computer science department at the University of Calgary have developed a new font for numbers that represent their relative value. Unlike the usual numeric typefaces, the amount of ink -- or dark pixels -- used for each digit in FatFonts is proportional to its quantitative value. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc-mop053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc-mop053012.php Without immediate action, a new National Research Council report warns, the academic veterinary community could fail to prepare the next generation of veterinarians for faculty teaching and research positions as well as for jobs in state diagnostic laboratories, federal research and regulatory agencies, and the pharmaceutical and biologics industry. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/naos-cfo053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/naos-cfo053012.php An omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, known as DHA, prevented age-related vision loss in lab tests, demonstrates recently published medical research from the University of Alberta. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoaf-faf052812.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoaf-faf052812.php New research studies indicate that the Santa Cruz region produces large earthquakes more frequently than previously thought. In another paper, seismologists suggest the only known large earthquake on the Seattle Fault may have produced a much larger quake than previously appreciated. Both findings may impact current seismic hazard models. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ssoa-noo053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ssoa-noo053012.php Synthetic platelets have been developed by UC Santa Barbara researchers, in collaboration with researchers at Scripps Research Institute and Sanford-Burnham Institute in La Jolla, Calif. Their findings are published in the journal Advanced Materials in a paper titled "Platelet Mimetic Particles for Targeting Thrombi in Flowing Blood." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc--usb053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc--usb053012.php Female sex offenders receive lighter sentences for the same crimes than males says a study recently published in Feminist Criminology, a SAGE journal and the official journal of the Division on Women and Crime of the American Society of Criminology. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/sp-fso053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/sp-fso053012.php A study led by Manel Esteller, director of the Epigenetics and Cancer Biology Program at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, professor of genetics at the University of Barcelona and ICREA researcher has completed the first epigenome in Europe. The finding is published in the latest issue of the international scientific journal Epigenetics. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ibri-rct053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ibri-rct053012.php Scientists from several European centers, including Modesto Orozco, David Torrents and Xavier Pastor, researchers from the joint program between the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine have joined forces to obtain the sequence of this fruit belonging to the family Solanaceae. The sequence, as well as the results of its analysis, has just been published in the journal Nature. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ifri-tso053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ifri-tso053012.php Children today may be busier than ever, but Case Western Reserve University psychologists have found that their imagination hasn't suffered -- in fact, it appears to have increased. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/cwru-dlp053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/cwru-dlp053012.php Breast cancer researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that two related receptors in a robust signaling pathway must work together as a team to maintain normal activity in mammary stem cells. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uow-bsr053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uow-bsr053012.php A detailed analysis of more than four million absorbent minerals has determined that new materials could help electricity producers slash as much as 30 percent of the "parasitic energy" costs associated with removing carbon dioxide from power plant emissions. The research by scientists at Rice University, the University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Electric Power Research Institute was published online this week in the journal Nature Materials. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ru-nmc053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ru-nmc053012.php Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have developed a novel approach for eradicating drug-resistant bacteria from wounds and skin infections, using light to trigger the controlled release of nitric oxide. The UCSC team developed a photoactive compound that releases nitric oxide when exposed to light, and loaded it into a porous, biocompatible material that could be applied as a sprayable powder. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc--ldo053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc--ldo053012.php Researchers looking into the value of adapted yoga for stroke rehabilitation report that after an eight-week program, study participants demonstrated improved balance and flexibility, a stronger and faster gait, and increased strength and endurance. The findings are discussed on Wednesday at the American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/iu-sio053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/iu-sio053012.php Exercise generally helps the nation's 12 million cancer survivors, but researchers are still working toward being able to prove, with scientific certainty, that prescriptions for daily yoga or 20 minutes of walking will likely extend a patient's survival. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uorm-di053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uorm-di053012.php Researchers have made some fundamental discoveries about how people taste, smell and detect flavor, and why they love some foods much more than others. The findings could lead to the Holy Grail of nutrition -- helping people learn to really like vegetables. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/osu-atp053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/osu-atp053012.php Princeton University researchers have found that herpes and other viruses that attack the nervous system may thrive by disrupting cell function in order to hijack a neuron's internal transportation network and spread to other cells. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/pu-prt053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/pu-prt053012.php Professor Daniel Wreschner of Tel Aviv University is developing new antibodies that bind to and kill off cancer cells exclusively. These antibodies have the potential to be used as a more efficient and effective method of delivering chemotherapy drugs directly to their targets. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/afot-abd053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/afot-abd053012.php A fundamental understanding of the microbial community in the built environment -- including estimates of diversity, function and concentration -- is necessary to accurately assess human exposure and the potential impacts on human health. To address the many challenges associated with characterizing this biosphere, NIST, Yale University and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation held the "Challenges in Microbial Sampling in the Indoor Environment Workshop" on Feb. 14-15, 2011. A new report summarizes the results of that workshop. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nios-rde053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nios-rde053012.php New research by the University of Southampton has examined the role of voluntary organizations in promoting pro-environmental behavior change. It points to evidence of success around small-scale, local initiatives, but questions whether these can be scaled up to reach the wider public. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uos-vgc053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uos-vgc053012.php A new study has identified a life-and-death signaling role for a molecule on the surface of the immune cells involved in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common form of chronic leukemia. The study examines how an experimental drug called SMIP-016 kills CLL cells. The finding could lead to more effective therapy for this incurable cancer, which occurs in more than 16,000 Americans annually. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/osum-ria053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/osum-ria053012.php More atomic hydrogen gas -- the ultimate fuel for stars -- is lurking in today's universe than we thought. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ca-tms053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ca-tms053012.php University of Tennessee forensic anthropologists examined 1,500 skulls dating back to the mid-1800s through the mid-1980s. They noticed US skulls have become larger, taller and narrower as seen from the front and faces have become significantly narrower and higher. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uota-uot053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uota-uot053012.php A new study shows the same gene variations that make it difficult to stop smoking also increase the likelihood that heavy smokers will respond to nicotine-replacement therapy and drugs that thwart cravings. The finding suggests it may one day be possible to predict which patients are most likely to benefit from drug treatments for nicotine addiction. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/wuso-gpi053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/wuso-gpi053012.php Henry Ford Hospital dermatologists say skin transplant surgery is safe and effective for restoring skin pigmentation caused by the skin disease vitiligo.In a first study of its kind in the United States, researchers followed 23 patients for up to six months after surgery and found that the treated area regained on average 43 percent of its natural skin color. In eight patients with localized vitiligo, the treated area regained on average 68 percent of its natural skin color. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/hfhs-sto053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/hfhs-sto053012.php A new study projects that deaths due to fires ignited by cigarettes or other tobacco products will drop 30 percent below the total number of such fatalities in 2003, following nationwide adoption of a fire safety standard based on a test developed by NIST to reduce the risk of igniting upholstered furniture and bedding. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nios-nao053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nios-nao053012.php Women in their 70s who exercise and eat healthy amounts of fruits and vegetables have a longer life expectancy, according to research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/w-eaa053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/w-eaa053012.php NIST has released a new certified reference material to aid in the detection of two explosive compounds that are known to be used by terrorists. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nios-nns053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nios-nns053012.php The discovery by researchers at UCSF may shed light on the mystery of why some people infected with HIV are better able to control the virus, live longer and have fewer associated health problems than others who have been infected as long, they said. It also provides a potential new target for developing therapies or vaccines. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc--uri053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc--uri053012.php People make decisions all the time and previous studies suggest that while we are good at making low-level perceptual choices, we're not so good when it comes decisions that require higher-level analysis. A new study published in Psychological Science provides evidence that people are better at decision-making than previously thought, showing that people are good at balancing the time they spend on various tasks, regardless of whether they are high-level or low-level tasks. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/afps-pkw053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/afps-pkw053012.php A discovery about the make-up of the atmosphere of Mars could help inform future missions searching for life there. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoe-mmm053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoe-mmm053012.php A simple cooler could help patients battle antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/miot-mcp053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/miot-mcp053012.php Inexpensive, portable devices that can rapidly screen cells for leukemia or HIV may soon be possible thanks to a chip that can produce three-dimensional focusing of a stream of cells, according to researchers. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ps-bdf053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ps-bdf053012.php A significant number of adults are at risk of unintentionally overdosing on over-the-counter pain medication, according to a new study in the US by Dr. Michael Wolf, from Northwestern University in Chicago, and his colleagues. Their work, looking at the prevalence and potential misuse of pain medication containing the active ingredient acetaminophen as well as the likelihood of overdosing, appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, published by Springer. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/s-moo053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/s-moo053012.php A Perspective piece published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine outlines a plan for an "ideal" prescription-drug monitoring program that would enable doctors, dentists, pharmacists, researchers and law enforcement officials to access real-time data on patients' prescription drug histories in an effort to address the growing problem of opioid abuse. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uops-dpn053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uops-dpn053012.php Researchers of the UPNA have developed a type of coating for construction materials. It is based on nanoparticles that interact with sunlight and trigger a chemical reaction that eliminates certain air pollutants. It is reckoned that the reduction in atmospheric pollution could be 90 percent of nitrogen oxides, 80 percent of hydrocarbons, and 75 percent of carbon monoxides emitted. These coatings are the final result of the Ecofotomat project. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ef-cwn053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ef-cwn053012.php Researchers at the University of York headed a major international review aimed at enhancing efforts to better understand the impacts of chemicals used in pharmaceuticals or in personal care products, such as cosmetics, soaps, perfumes, deodorants and toothpastes, on the natural environment. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoy-tea053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoy-tea053012.php What can you do if you need single gold atoms for chemical reactions, but instead of staying apart, the atoms keep balling up into nano-clusters? Scientists at the Vienna University of Technology found a way -- creating the finest gold dust in the world, consisting of single atoms. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/vuot-tfg053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/vuot-tfg053012.php New study finds that patients with poor mental health function may experience more communication challenges during physicians visits if accompanied by a loved one. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/jhub-pmh053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/jhub-pmh053012.php The tomato genome sequence -- both the domesticated type and its wild ancestor, Solanum pimpinellifolium -- has been sequenced for the first time by a large international team of scientists, including a researcher from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/thuo-ici053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/thuo-ici053012.php In a fjord in Canada scientists have found a landscape similar to one of Jupiter's icy moons: Europa. It consists of a frozen and sulfurous environment, where sulfur associated with Arctic bacteria offer clues for the upcoming missions in the search for traces of life on Europa. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/f-sf-abh053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/f-sf-abh053012.php Scientists at Neiker-Tecnalia, the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, have evaluated the effect of treatment with antibiotics and vaccination in controlling Q fever in sheep flocks. This disease mainly causes abortions, although it can also lead to premature births, low weight and weakness in newborn lambs. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ef-teo053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ef-teo053012.php Bipolar disorder is a serious and debilitating condition where individuals experience severe swings in mood between mania and depression. The episodes of low or elevated mood can last days or months, and the risk of suicide is high. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/e-kib053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/e-kib053012.php University of Granada researchers have remarked that in many cases immigrant women should receive psychological treatment after giving birth to help them overcome disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, phobic anxiety, depression or psychosis. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uog-iwg053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uog-iwg053012.php The larger the reaction vessel, the quicker products can be made -- or so you might think. Microreactors show just how wrong that assumption is: in fact, they can be used to produce explosive materials -- nitroglycerine, for instance -- around 10 times faster than in conventional vessels, and much more safely as well. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/f-mtp053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/f-mtp053012.php The Tomato Genome Consortium, a group of over 300 scientists from 13 countries, has sequenced the genomes of the domesticated tomato and its wild ancestor, Solanum pimpinellifolium. This achievement is expected to lower costs and speed up efforts to improve the worldwide tomato production, making it better equipped to combat the pests, pathogens, droughts and diseases that now plague growers. The work may also speed up improvements to other crops. The sequences were reported in this week's issue of Nature. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/vfi-aic053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/vfi-aic053012.php Patients who are blind in one side of their visual field benefit from presentation of sounds on the affected side. After passively hearing sounds for an hour, their visual detection of light stimuli in the blind half of their visual field improved significantly. Neural pathways that simultaneously process information from different senses are responsible for this effect. "We have embarked on a whole new therapy approach," says PD Dr. Joerg Lewald from RUB's Cognitive Psychology Unit. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/rb-hts053012.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/rb-hts053012.php Tart cherries may help reduce chronic inflammation, especially for the millions of Americans suffering from debilitating joint pain and arthritis, according to new research from Oregon Health & Science University presented today at the American College of Sports Medicine Conference in San Francisco, Calif. In fact, the researchers suggest tart cherries have the "highest anti-inflammatory content of any food" and can help people with osteoarthritis manage their disease. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/wsw-rst052912.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/wsw-rst052912.php Nearly 40 percent of the small adrenal tumors that cause big problems with high blood pressure share a genetic mutation that causes patients to retain too much sodium, researchers report. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ghsu-cgm052912.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/ghsu-cgm052912.php If you are a white girl, a black girl or a black boy, exposure to today's electronic media in the long run tends to make you feel worse about yourself. If you're a white boy, you'll feel better, according to a new study led by an Indiana University professor. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/iu-sft052412.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/iu-sft052412.php There are significant gaps in the information women receive about their future fertility following cancer diagnosis. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/w-maw052912.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/w-maw052912.php A treatment to reduce the body temperatures of infants who experience oxygen deficiency at birth has benefits into early childhood, according to a follow-up study by a National Institutes of Health research network. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nioc-boh052912.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nioc-boh052912.php Researchers at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University have developed a method for building complex nanostructures out of interlocking DNA "building blocks" that can be programmed to assemble themselves into precisely designed shapes. With further development, the technology could one day enable the creation of new nanoscale devices that deliver drugs directly to disease sites. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/wifb-hwi052912.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/wifb-hwi052912.php Changes to just three genetic letters among billions led to evolution and development of the mammalian motor sensory network, and laid the groundwork for the defining characteristics of the human brain, Yale University researchers report. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/yu-hog052912.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/yu-hog052912.php Scoliosis affects three or four per thousand children and seven out of 10 adults. Although there's controversy about the efficacy of back braces for children this is often considered a problem of compliance. New research published in BioMed Central's open-access journal, Scoliosis, demonstrates that a brace that contains a tiny heat sensor is able to monitor how long it is worn resulting in overall compliance with doctors recommended prescription was over 90 percent. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/bc-ist052912.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/bc-ist052912.php New research released today by the Rights and Resources Initiative shows that hundreds of millions of forest peoples in tropical nations have, in the last 20 years, quietly gained unprecedented legal rights to the land and resources owned under customary law. The research also finds that over one-third of the rules governing land rights in most of the forests of Africa, Asia and Latin America significantly limit a community's ability to exercise those rights. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/bc-nsr052812.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/bc-nsr052812.php Wine investors are warned not to put all their eggs in one French basket in a new report from the University of East Anglia.The fine wine investment market, valued at around US $4 billion a year, is currently dominated by French wines.But research published today in International Review of Financial Analysis shows that diversification -- specifically across Italian, Australian and Portuguese wines -- could prove a shrewd move for investors. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoea-rfu052812.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoea-rfu052812.php Men's offices have significantly more bacteria than women's, and the office bacterial communities of New York and San Francisco are indistinguishable, according to a study published May 30 in the open-access journal PLoS ONE. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/plos-oba052512.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/plos-oba052512.php Individuals on the autism spectrum show deficits in understanding others' mental states, and in turn report decreased belief in God. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/plos-big052512.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/plos-big052512.php People can identify other people's ages based on their body odors, according to a study published May 30 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/plos-tss052512.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/plos-tss052512.php For the first time, the genome of the tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, has been decoded, and it becomes an important step toward improving yield, nutrition, disease resistance, taste and color of the tomato and other crops. The full genome sequence, as well as the sequence of a wild relative, is jointly published in the latest issue of the journal Nature. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/cu-tgb052512.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/cu-tgb052512.php Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified an agent that in lab tests protected the skin and lungs from fibrosis, a process that can ultimately end in organ failure and even death because the damaged tissue becomes scarred and can no longer function properly. The findings were published today in Science Translational Medicine. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uops-pri052512.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uops-pri052512.php Super-eruptions are potentially civilization-ending events and new research suggests that they may have surprisingly short fuses. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/vu-smh052512.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/vu-smh052512.php A retrospective analysis of methotrexate safety data found that injection of this disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug was not superior to oral therapy in long-term treatment of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Findings published in Arthritis Care & Research, a peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Rheumatology, suggest that with similar efficacy and tolerability the more comfortable oral approach may be more suitable to treat pediatric arthritis patients. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/w-iom052512.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/w-iom052512.php New findings from the Monell Center reveal that humans can identify the age of other humans based on differences in body odor. Much of this ability is based on the capacity to identify odors of elderly individuals, and contrary to popular supposition, the so-called "old-person smell" is rated as less intense and less unpleasant than body odors of middle-aged and young individuals. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/mcsc-tss052412.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/mcsc-tss052412.php Cardiovascular researchers at the University of Cincinnati have identified a genetic variant in a cardiac protein that can be linked to heart rhythm dysfunction. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoca-gvi052312.php Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoca-gvi052312.php Every single town in Australia has been rated on its proximity to cardiac care, before and after a heart attack, in a new report published in Circulation and headed by Queensland University of Technology. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/quot-wnt052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/quot-wnt052912.php Humidity emanating from a flower's nectar stores tells moths if the flower is worth a visit, research led by a UA entomologist has discovered. The study sheds light onto a previously unknown mechanism used by pollinating insects to assess nectar rewards in blooming plants. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoa-gnt052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoa-gnt052912.php A new method for rapidly solving the three-dimensional structures of a special group of proteins, known as integral membrane proteins, may speed drug discovery by providing scientists with precise targets for new therapies, according to a paper published May 20 in Nature Methods. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/si-sud052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/si-sud052912.php Reinforcing that the best things in life are free, a new study from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that online freebie-exchange communities such as "Freecycle" and "Couchsurfing" foster greater team spirit among their members than do cash-for-goods websites. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc--fhv052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoc--fhv052912.php The tendency of operational routines to move toward a state of higher "entropy" is an organizational reality, says Gopesh Anand, a professor of business administration. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoia-too052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoia-too052912.php Tropical Storm Beryl formed off the Carolina coast on Friday, May 25 as "System 94L" and later that day became the second tropical storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, before the season even started. Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the US. NASA and NOAA satellites kept track of Beryl, feeding forecasters with valuable data. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nsfc-nsw052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nsfc-nsw052912.php Typhoon Sanvu had a bad weekend. It went from Typhoon status on May 25 to an extra-tropical storm and finally into a remnant low pressure area by May 29, 2012, and the changes were seen by NASA satellites. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nsfc-tsh052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/nsfc-tsh052912.php The smoke rising from a cookstove fills the air with the tantalizing aroma of dinner -- and a cloud of pollutants and particles that threaten both health and the environment. How families in developing countries use their cookstoves has a big effect on emissions from those stoves, and laboratory emission tests don't accurately reflect real-world operations, according to a study by University of Illinois researchers. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoia-sfe052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoia-sfe052912.php Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and Pfizer Inc. have published a new study showing how a new drug called tafamidis (Vyndaqel®) works. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/sri-srh052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/sri-srh052912.php Doctors can now get a peek behind the eardrum to better diagnose and treat chronic ear infections, thanks to a new medical imaging device invented by University of Illinois researchers. The device could usher in a new suite of non-invasive, 3-D diagnostic imaging tools for primary-care physicians. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoia-nth052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uoia-nth052912.php A specific antioxidant supplement may be an effective therapy for some features of autism, according to a pilot trial from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital that involved 31 children with the disorder. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/sumc-asp052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/sumc-asp052912.php A Sandia National Laboratories technology has been used to remove radioactive material from more than 43 million gallons of contaminated wastewater at Japan's damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Sandia researchers had worked around the clock following the March 2011 disaster to show the technology worked in seawater, which was pumped in to cool the plant's towers. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/dnl-slt052912.php Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/dnl-slt052912.php