Integration with a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) improves radiologists' use of clinical decision support tools, according to a study in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org).
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DARIEN, Ill. – A study in the July 1 issue of the journal SLEEP shows that sleep extension is beneficial to athletic performance, reaction time, vigor, fatigue and mood in collegiate basketball players. The study is the first to document sleep extension and the athletic performance of actively competing athletes.
A new study shows that differences in the vulnerability of animals to a virus are crucial to understanding patterns of infection, and that variation in susceptibility to two marginally different viruses increases the number of infections when the two virus variants are present in the same animal. This study, by researchers from the Netherlands and Spain, will be published on June 30th in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology.
Pheromone preference, and the initiation of a complex programmed sexual behavior, is determined by the specificity of a single sex pheromone receptor protein expressed in a population of olfactory receptor neurons in the silkmoth (Bombyx mori). The study, which will be published on June 30th in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, provides the first direct proof of the long-held belief that the control of sexual behavior in male moths originates in the chemical specificity of the pheromone receptor proteins expressed in pheromone receptor neurons.
Researchers have developed a new strategy to improve the outcome of genome-wide association (GWA) studies.
GWA studies involve rapidly scanning markers across the genomes of many people. By doing this, scientists can look for the association between certain genetic markers or variants within the population, and a particular trait, including disease. However, the challenge is to take these initial association signals and identify the functional DNA changes and their molecular consequences. This is an important step in translating these findings into clinical benefits.
LA JOLLA, CA— Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found clues to the functioning of an important damage response protein in cells. The protein, p53, can cause cells to stop dividing or even to commit suicide when they show signs of DNA damage, and it is responsible for much of the tissue destruction that follows exposure to ionizing radiation or DNA-damaging drugs such as the ones commonly used for cancer therapy.
WHAT: A trio of large-scale genome-wide association studies, or GWAS, have identified more than 15 gene variants responsible for the diversity of white blood cell counts among whites, African-Americans, and Japanese. Supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, each study examined the genomes of tens of thousands of people. Combined, the studies offer the first comprehensive analysis into why some people, and some populations, have more or fewer white blood cells than others.
All three articles will be published online June 30 in PLoS Genetics.
LOS ANGELES – June 30, 2011 – A study by a global consortium of physician-scientists has identified a genetic variation that may predispose people to double the risk of having a sudden cardiac arrest, a disorder that gives little warning and is fatal in about 95 percent of cases. Although previous, smaller studies have identified some genes with a potential association with sudden cardiac arrest, this is the first study large enough to enable scientists to apply results to the general population. Findings are published today by the Public Library of Science (PloS Genetics).
ANN ARBOR, Mich.---In type 2 diabetes, a protein called amylin forms dense clumps that shut down insulin-producing cells, wreaking havoc on the control of blood sugar. But zinc has a knack for preventing amylin from misbehaving.
Recent research at the University of Michigan offers new details about how zinc performs this "security guard" function. The findings appear in the July 8 issue of the Journal of Molecular Biology.
MADISON, WI, JUNE 30, 2011 -- Agroforestry, the deliberate placement of trees into crop and livestock operations, can help capture substantial amounts of carbon on agricultural lands while providing production and conservation benefits. However, we currently lack tools for accurately estimating current and projected carbon values in these systems.
Older breast cancer patients with certain other health problems have higher mortality rates than patients without these problems according to a study published online June 30 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The other health problems, or 'comorbidities', include heart attack and other heart-related problems, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and others.
MADISON, WI, JUNE 30, 2011 -- Mentoring is a recognized tool in career development and advancement. It brings a personal element to what might otherwise be a confusing process. Mentors can provide insight into the unwritten rules and culture of the professional workplace. With the click of a mouse, a student can have access to an ementor, a career professional who can expand the student's career horizon and help navigate their collegiate experience.
(Boston) – A recent study completed by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) demonstrates that BMC conducts a high rate of thyroid function testing in pregnant women. The retrospective study, which is currently published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, showed that if BMC had not done routine thyroid testing on pregnant women, approximately 80 percent of cases of mild hypothyroidism (a condition whereby the thyroid does not produce enough thyroid hormone) would not have been detected.
Publishing their findings in Science, the researchers have been able to show a remarkable relationship between copper and pigment within exceptionally preserved feathers and other soft tissues.
Results include important species such as the oldest beaked bird yet found, the 120 million year old Confuciusornis sanctus, and also the 110 million year old Gansus yumenensis, which looks similar to the modern Grebe and represents the oldest example of modern birds.
Working at SLAC's Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, the researchers examined two fossilized birds. Confuciusornis sanctus, which lived 120 million years ago, was one of many evolutionary links between dinosaurs and birds, sporting the first known bird-like beak. Gansus yumenensis, considered the oldest modern bird, lived more than 100 million years ago and looked a bit like a modern grebe.