Culture

Identifying the causes of heat stress in cattle and finding ways to manage it are the goals of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and cooperators who are helping producers deal with this significant production problem.

Heat stress can have serious consequences. While some cattle exhibit little or no response to it, others may experience diminished appetite and feed intake, reduced growth rate, compromised disease resistance and, in extreme cases, death.

By enhancing the activity of immune cells that protect against runaway inflammation, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center may have found a novel therapy for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. In a new study published in the March 25, 2010 online edition of Science, the researchers reveal how treating these immune cells with an investigational drug wards off inflammation by holding a particular enzyme at bay.

A recent study found that sirolimus-based immunosuppression following liver transplantation in patients with non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) significantly increases survival rates for this patient population. Results of this study appear in the April issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Even during tough economic times, a school district's decision to cut support services aimed at helping Hispanic students and their families navigate through the public school system will prove to be a shortsighted one, especially given long-term demographic trends and the need for a highly educated workforce, says a University of Illinois expert in social services for vulnerable populations.

It has been a common opinion that inflammation in adipose tissue may cause insulin resistance, and thereby type 2 diabetes. However, recent research from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, question the theory that inflammation in the body fat is only pernicious. Instead the findings suggest that a certain form of body fat inflammation is necessary for fat cell turnover in the lean, healthy state.

The final experiment by the team was to test the MetAP inhibitors on TB bacteria in culture to see if it had any effect on bacteria growth.

"Judging from potency, a MetAP inhibibitor alone probably won't wipe out TB," Liu says. "TB is so hard to treat that the standard therapy involves a cocktail of multiple drugs; no single compound is powerful enough. Our hope is that someday an inhibitor of MetAP will become a new component to enhance the existing therapy."

This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

BOSTON – The Internet has had a profound effect on clinical practice by providing both physicians and patients with a wealth of information. But with those rewards come risks of incorrect or poorly interpreted information that require that a doctor "never be optional."

SAN FRANCISCO, March 24, 2010 — Scientists are reporting progress toward a test that could revolutionize the diagnosis of glaucoma — the second leading cause of vision loss and blindness worldwide — by detecting the disease years earlier than usually happens at present. They reported the findings here today at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

(Garrison, NY) Many egg donation agencies and private couples routinely exceed compensation recommendation limits for potential donors, a new study finds.

From a sample of over 300 college newspapers, findings revealed that almost one-quarter of advertisements offered payment in excess of $10,000, a violation of guidelines issued by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).

DURHAM, N.C. – People in developed nations are living in good health as much as a decade longer than their parents did, not because aging has been slowed or reversed, but because they are staying healthy to a more advanced age.

Waltham, MA—March 24, 2010—On Tuesday, President Obama signed into law U.S. health care reform legislation, leaving many Americans wondering how it will affect them, their families, and businesses.

IQALUIT, MARCH 2010 -- Warmer, wetter weather in the Canadian Arctic could create problems for nesting seabirds, say a team of Canadian scientists who, between them, have spent over 7,000 days observing birds in the North.

Arctic birds are uniquely adapted to survive in the cold, dry summers that mark the high Arctic. However, warmer temperatures are bringing more storm events, including incidents of heavy fog, rain, freezing rain, wet snow and stronger winds.

Finding it hard to get over a failed love interest? Just can't get details of a bad financial move out of your head?

This month's edition of the periodical Journal of Cleaner Production, a leading international journal on industrial and technological innovation, publishes the results of a coordinated study organized by Giorgos Kallis, Francois Schneider and Joan Martinez-Alier from the ICTA at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). The publication, which involves 15 analytical and empirical articles from distinguished economists, social scientists and environmental scientists, reflects on the idea of "sustainable degrowth", i.e.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – More than one-third of adults ages 65 and older fall each year in the U.S., and, according to the Centers for Disease Control, 40 percent of all seniors admitted to the hospital are there due to injuries from falls. However, a new study has found that falls are not just a problem for older adults. Researchers have found that people in their 20s and 30s have significant issues affecting their balance, indicating an increased risk for falling.