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Regular, moderate exercise may reduce risk of stroke for men

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Men who regularly take part in moderate-to-heavy intensity exercise such as jogging, tennis or swimming may be less likely to have a stroke than people who get no exercise or only light exercise, such as walking, golfing, or bowling, according to a study published in the November 24, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

However, exercise did not have a protective effect against stroke for women. Women who took part in moderate-to-heavy intensity exercise did not have a reduced risk of stroke.

News brief: Arsenic biomethylation required for oxidative DNA damage

Biomethylation of arsenic compounds appears to cause oxidative DNA damage and to increase their carcinogenicity, according to a new study published online November 23 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Although biomethylation was once believed to detoxify inorganic arsenic, it is now thought to enhance its toxicity and potentially its carcinogenicity.

Psychotropic medications associated with risk of falls in older adults

Older adults who take several types of psychotropic medications—such as antidepressants or sedatives—appear more likely to experience falls, according to an analysis of previous studies reported in the November 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Adverse heart effects of rofecoxib may have been identified years earlier

Clinical trial data indicated an association between the anti-inflammatory medication rofecoxib and cardiovascular risk as early as December 2000, before the product was taken off the market in September 2004, according to a report in the November 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Sedatives, mood-altering drugs related to falls among elderly: UBC study

Falls among elderly people are significantly associated with several classes of drugs, including sedatives often prescribed as sleep aids and medications used to treat mood disorders, according to a study led by a University of British Columbia expert in pharmaceutical outcomes research.

Scientists watch as peptides control crystal growth with 'switches, throttles and brakes'

LIVERMORE, Calif. - By producing some of the highest resolution images of peptides attaching to mineral surfaces, scientists have a deeper understanding how biomolecules manipulate the growth crystals. This research may lead to a new treatment for kidney stones using biomolecules.

The research, which appears in the Nov. 23 online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, explores how peptides interact with mineral surfaces by accelerating, switching and inhibiting their growth.

Supervolcano eruption -- in Sumatra -- deforested India 73,000 years ago

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new study provides "incontrovertible evidence" that the volcanic super-eruption of Toba on the island of Sumatra about 73,000 years ago deforested much of central India, some 3,000 miles from the epicenter, researchers report.

The volcano ejected an estimated 800 cubic kilometers of ash into the atmosphere, leaving a crater (now the world's largest volcanic lake) that is 100 kilometers long and 35 kilometers wide. Ash from the event has been found in India, the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea.

Multiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."

Computational microscope peers into the working ribosome

"It is like a cloud that gives you the volume within which you find 90 percent of all the electrons of the system," he said. The clouds capture the ribosome in action, but require computing to reveal chemical detail.

Achieving asthma control in preschoolers

Asthma is the commonest chronic disease in children and a major reason for admissions to hospital, yet inadequate asthma control is present in 26% to 45% of children, states a review http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj071638.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca.

Switchgrass produces biomass efficiently

MADISON, WI, November 16, 2009 -- A USDOE and USDA study concluded that 50 million U.S. acres of cropland, idle cropland, and cropland pasture could be converted from current uses to the production of perennial grasses, such as switchgrass, from which biomass could be harvested for use as a biofuel feedstock. Economically viable production of a perennial grass monoculture from which substantial quantities of biomass are removed annually is expected to require nitrogen fertilizer.

Umbilical cord blood stem cells may treat lung and heart disorders

Tampa, Fla. (Nov. 23, 2009) – Two separate studies published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (18:8), - now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct - have shown that transplanted human-derived umbilical cord blood (UCB) stem cells transplanted in an animal model had positive therapeutic effects on specific lung and heart disorders the animal models.

Burnout and mental distress strongly related to errors by US surgeons

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Major medical errors self-reported by American surgeons are strongly related to both burnout and depression. Those findings appear today in the online edition of Annals of Surgery. The Mayo Clinic-led study included collaborators from Johns Hopkins and the American College of Surgeons.

Rescuing male turkey chicks

A novel approach to classify the gender of six-week-old turkey poults could save millions of male chicks from being killed shortly after birth, according to Dr. Gerald Steiner from the Dresden University of Technology in Germany and his team. Their use of infrared spectroscopy to determine the gender of young birds shows that it is a fast and accurate method with the potential to be used by the breeding industry to identify and select female eggs for breeding. The pilot study¹ has just been published online in Springer's journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.

Diabetics show alarming increase in morbid obesity

MAYWOOD, Il. -- A Loyola University Health System study has found that one out of five Type 2 diabetics is morbidly obese -- approximately 100 pounds or more overweight.

Researchers reported that 62.4 percent of U.S. adults with Type 2 diabetes are obese, and 20.7 percent are morbidly obese. Among African American adults with Type 2 diabetes, 1 in 3 is morbidly obese.