Culture | Science Codex

Using electronic postcards to notify partners about sexually transmitted diseases

In the United States there are 19 million new sexually transmitted disease (STD) cases diagnosed each year, including 900,000 reported cases of chlamydia, 330,000 reported cases of gonorrhea, and 55,400 estimated new HIV infections per year.

Notifying sexual partners of their potential exposure to an STD has been a mainstay of disease prevention and control since the 1930s. Recent evidence-based reviews concluded that partner notification is effective for identifying those at risk for STDs and HIV infection.

Running on rocket fuel

In the world of "cut and thrust," humans try to bank money to obtain financial security, and often form cooperatives to reduce risks and increase gains.

Asbestos mortality: A Canadian export

Canada continues to export asbestos to developing countries, despite limiting its use in Canada, write Dr. Amir Attaran, David Boyd and Dr. Matthew Stanbrook http://www.cmaj.ca/press/pg871.pdf on behalf of the CMAJ editorial team. Canada is in fact opposed to placing chrysotile, the main asbestos fibre used today, under the Rotterdam Convention's notification and consent process, despite chrysotile being deemed a human carcinogen.

Can exercise prevent a severe stroke?

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A new study shows that people who are physically active before suffering a stroke may have less severe problems as a result and recover better compared to those who did not exercise before having a stroke. The research is published in the October 21, 2008, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

'Western' diet increases heart attack risk globally

The typical Western diet — fried foods, salty snacks and meat — accounts for about 30 percent of heart attack risk across the world, according to a study of dietary patterns in 52 countries reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers identified three dietary patterns in the world:

What do Obama and Snapple have in common?

What do presidential candidate Barack Obama and Snapple Iced Tea have in common? Patricia Turner, professor of African American and African studies at the University of California, Davis, will answer that question in a presentation at the American Folklore Society in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday, Oct. 23.

Study: Immigrants close earning gap more slowly than previously thought

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Immigrants whittle into a broad earnings gap with American-born workers only about half as fast as long-accepted estimates suggest, according to new research by a University of Illinois economist.

Darren Lubotsky says immigrants' typically low starting wages grow just 10 to 15 percent faster than native-born workers over their first 20 years in the U.S., well short of the 26 percent catch-up rate in widely used, census-based projections.

Crossing 'a bridge to nowhere'

Despite thousands of years of research, astronomers know next to nothing about how the universe is structured. One strong and accepted theory is that large galaxies are clustered together on structures similar to giant soap bubbles, with tinier galaxies sprinkled on the surface of this "soapy" layer.

Pesticide concentrations decreasing

MADISON, WI, OCTOBER 20, 2008 -- The widespread use of pesticides across the United States has been in practice for decades, with little knowledge of the long-term effects on the nation's groundwater.

The results of a new study show that samples taken from over 300 wells across the US have not retained a high concentration of pesticide contamination. The news is a result of a decadal long study to assess the extent of the impact of contaminants on the nation's water supply.

New study finds first inhabitants of Caribbean brought drug heirlooms with them

A new study led by North Carolina State University's Dr. Scott Fitzpatrick is the first to show physical evidence that the people who colonized the Caribbean from South America brought with them heirloom drug paraphernalia that had been passed down from generation to generation as the colonists traveled through the islands.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus reveals its access code

Fritz et al. have identified an amino acid switch that flaviviruses flip to gain access to cells.

Flaviviruses such as tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), yellow fever, and dengue are dangerous human pathogens. These membrane-encircled viruses enter cells by being gobbled up into endosomes and fusing their membrane with that of the endosome.

'A dinosaur dance floor'

SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah geologists identified an amazing concentration of dinosaur footprints that they call "a dinosaur dance floor," located in a wilderness on the Arizona-Utah border where there was a sandy desert oasis 190 million years ago.

The three-quarter-acre site – which includes rare dinosaur tail-drag marks – provides more evidence there were wet intervals during the Early Jurassic Period, when the U.S. Southwest was covered with a field of sand dunes larger than the Sahara Desert.

Where Hispanics live in the US may change over time

A study of residential patterns in America suggests that White and Black Hispanics born in the U.S. are more likely to share neighborhoods with native non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans, compared to foreign-born Hispanics -- a pattern consistent with immigrant assimilation. Hispanics from Mexico in particular integrate consistently with all ethnic groups over generations.

Real pilots and 'virtual flyers' go head-to-head

Stunt pilots have raced against computer-generated opponents for the first time — in a contest that combines the real and the 'virtual' at 250 miles per hour.

Using technology developed, in part, by a University of Nottingham spin-out company, an air-race in the skies above Spain saw two stunt pilots battle it out with a 'virtual' plane which they watched on screens in their cockpits.

Unnecessary regulation harming clinical research, say experts

Increasing bureaucracy is the biggest single threat to clinical research in the UK and urgent action needs to be taken, argue experts on bmj.com today.

European legislation introduced in 2001 was intended to simplify and harmonise the regulation of trials across the European Union. But it has led to long delays in approval, is "poorly coordinated, lacks inconsistency at all levels, and at times is completely illogical", write Professors Morris Brown and Paul Stewart.