Culture

KINGSTON, R.I. – October 27, 2009 – A nutrition professor at the University of Rhode Island studying the effects of chewing sugar-free gum on weight management has found that it can help to reduce calorie intake and increase energy expenditure.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – An experimental drug cocktail that includes three prescriptions now widely available offers the best hope in developing a single agent to treat drug-resistant H1N1 swine flu, says a virology researcher in the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

A great deal of science learning takes place outside of classrooms -- in museums, after-school programs, through TV programs, books, and online activities. Surrounded By Science: Learning Science In Informal Environments, new from the National Research Council, recommends ways museum professionals, media specialists, and educators can create experiences that foster science learning for people of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures.

New evidence is emerging for how important it is for pregnant women to eat good, nutritious food. Expecting mothers who eat vegetables every day seem to have children who are less likely to develop type 1 diabetes, is revealed in a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

The study was performed in collaboration with Linköping University, which is conducting a population study called ABIS (All Babies in Southeast Sweden). The results have been published in the journal Pediatric Diabetes.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study by Oregon State University researchers shows that those in poverty in rural Oregon often know what kinds of foods they should be eating, but face tough choices between eating well and spending less money for meals.

Evanston, IL—October 27, 2009—Many people perceive gambling to be a harmless recreational activity. However, it is estimated that six to eight million people in the United States personally suffer from a gambling related problem. This problem seems to grow tentacles, extending out to wreak havoc and can profoundly impact the physical, emotional, and financial health of the family (spouses, children, extended).

Having children improves married peoples' life satisfaction and the more they have, the happier they are. For unmarried individuals, raising children has little or no positive effect on their happiness. These findings (1) by Dr. Luis Angeles from the University of Glasgow in the UK have just been published online in Springer's Journal of Happiness Studies.

When Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species 150 years ago, he deliberately avoided the subject of the origin of life. This, coupled with the mention of the 'Creator' in the last paragraph of the book, led us to believe he was not willing to commit on the matter. An international team, led by Juli Peretó of the Cavanilles Institute in Valencia, now refutes that idea and shows that the British naturalist did explain in other documents how our first ancestors could have come into being.

Edmonton − More than half of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) don't get any counselling on their ability to drive after angioplasty – and this could be putting lives in danger, Dr. Ravi Bajaj told the 2009 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

Edmonton – A move from a traditional diet to the sodium-laden Western diet is fuelling a spike in the blood pressure of the Inuit in Canada's North, Dr. Marie-Ludivine Chateau-Degat told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

Edmonton – A seven-year ongoing study examining over 20,000 Canadian grade 9 students shows most already have at least one major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, Dr. Brian McCrindle told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society."This study is further evidence of an accelerating decline in the heart health of Canada's teens," says Dr. McCrindle, a cardiologist at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. "Children shouldn't have these profiles."

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 27, 2009 – Contrary to what you might believe, living near a variety of restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets and even fast food outlets actually lowers your risk for obesity, according to a new study from the University of Utah.

Surprisingly, people who live more than a half mile away from any food outlets are the ones who tend to be fatter.

In a clinical trial investigating mother-to-child HIV transmission in South Africa published this week in PLoS Medicine, Neil Martinson (of the Perinatal HIV Research Unit, Soweto, South Africa) and colleagues find that adding two other antiretroviral drugs to single dose nevirapine – an antiretroviral drug given to women and newborn children during labor and delivery to prevent transmission – is effective in reducing the drug resistance that nevirapine causes when used by itself.

In a study published this week in PLoS Medicine, Elena Losina (of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston) and colleagues predict that strategies to reduce dropout rates from HIV treatment programs in resource-poor settings would substantially improve patients' chances of survival and would be cost-effective.

Alcohol consumption has long been linked to cancer and its spread, but the underlying mechanism has never been clear.

Now, researchers at Rush University Medical Center have identified a cellular pathway that may explain the link.

In a study published in the current issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the researchers found that alcohol stimulates what is called the epithelial–to–mesenchymal transition, in which run-of-the-mill cancer cells morph into a more aggressive form and begin to spread throughout the body.