Body

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Older adults who survive severe sepsis are at higher risk for long-term cognitive impairment and physical limitations than those hospitalized for other reasons, according to researchers from the University of Michigan Health System.

An analysis of data from previously published studies indicates that use of the antiplatelet drug clopidogrel for patients who have common genetic variants of a certain gene and are undergoing a procedure such as coronary stent placement have an associated increased risk for major adverse cardiovascular events, particularly development of blood clots in stents, according to a study in the October 27 issue of JAMA.

Scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are helping ensure that the smoked salmon that's always a hit at festive gatherings also is always safe to eat, including among their achievements the development of a first-of-its-kind mathematical model that food processors and others can use to select the optimal combination of temperature and concentrations of salt and smoke compounds to reduce or eliminate microbial contamination of the product.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – In a short, violent battle that could have happened somewhere this afternoon, the lizard made a fast lunge at the dragonfly, bit its head off and turned to run away. Lunch was served.

But the battle didn't happen today, it happened about 100 million years ago, probably with dinosaurs strolling nearby. And the lizard didn't get away, it was trapped in the same oozing, sticky tree sap that also entombed the now-headless dragonfly for perpetuity.

CHAPEL HILL – The method used to assess infertility in at-home tests might not be the best for identifying which women will have trouble getting pregnant, according to new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

The study found that the cutoffs used by such infertility tests, which measure levels of a molecule called follicle stimulating hormone or FSH, label many women as infertile who actually go on to have children naturally.

Most babies are delivered head-first, but in about 4% of all deliveries babies are "born breech" ― with their buttocks or feet first. Doctors usually exercise caution and use caesarean sections (C-sections) as the delivery method of choice for such births, believing it safer for the baby. After a large-scale international study in 2000, C-sections became the near-universal choice for such births.

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Children's Hospital have taken a big step toward understanding what causes one of the most serious liver diseases in infants.

The disease is called biliary atresia, It blocks the bile ducts in young infants, through which bile, crucial for digestion, flows to the small intestine. The disease is rare – it strikes in about one in 10,000 births. But it's life-threatening.

"It is fatal if not treated quickly," says Cara Mack, MD, who led the CU research.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — With big storms ripping across the Midwest, Bob Drost is hoping people are paying attention to the severe weather and tornado warnings.

Unfortunately, Drost, a doctoral student at Michigan State University, knows that many times those warnings are ignored, according to his research. "Only 63 percent understood that a warning is the most urgent National Weather Service statement during severe weather," he said.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research links three molecules to a critical tumor suppressor gene that is often turned off in multiple myeloma, a presently incurable cancer of the blood.

The findings might offer a new strategy for treating this disease and other blood cancers, according to researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) who led the study.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (27 October, 2010)—As agricultural leaders across the globe look for ways to increase investments in agriculture to boost world food production, experts in African livestock farming are meeting in Addis Ababa this week to deliberate on ways to get commercialized farm production, access to markets, innovations, gender issues and pro-poor policies right for Africa's millions of small-scale livestock farmers and herders.

When prenatal diagnosis detects the severe heart defect hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) in a fetus, a comprehensive prenatal evaluation is important to provide parents an accurate prognosis. In HLHS, one of the heart's pumping chambers is severely underdeveloped. However, say researchers, in two-thirds of cases, reconstructive surgery affords the infant an excellent chance of early survival.

Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that a certain class of RNA (known as long non-protein-coding RNA [lncRNA]) are involved in the host response to viral infection. These findings, published today in the online journal mBio®, could greatly change the way scientists look at the body's response to viral infection.

Scientists have been working on organic solar cells for about a decade. Their manufacture is environmentally friendly and they can be applied to all kinds of materials, such as plastic film, for instance. The trouble is, they only yield a fifth of the electrical energy that silicon solar cells do, with most of the electrical current trickling away into the material instead.

Research proves 'gender-bending' chemicals affect reproduction

New research has provided the first evidence that 'gender bending' chemicals which find their way from human products into rivers and oceans can have a significant impact on the ability of fish to breed in UK Rivers.