Culture

There is no strong evidence that the popular smoking cessation drug varenicline increases the risk of self harm or depression compared to other cessation products, according to new research published on bmj.com today.

Varenicline is a recently introduced smoking cessation product of proven effectiveness, but there have been concerns that it may increase the risk of suicidal behaviour and suicide. Despite warnings about the possible increased risks issued by regulatory authorities worldwide, varenicline continues to be used widely.

College students make strategic choices about where to vote, prefer absentee ballots and are especially likely to vote absentee if their homes are in swing states, according to a new Northwestern University study of student absentee voting in the 2008 presidential election.

A 2005-2007 dry spell in the southeastern United States destroyed billions of dollars of crops, drained municipal reservoirs and sparked legal wars among a half-dozen states—but the havoc came not from exceptional dryness but booming population and bad planning, says a new study. Researchers from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory defied conventional wisdom about the drought by showing that it was mild compared to many others, and in fact no worse than one just a decade ago.

Scientists at Rothamsted Research and Warwick University have been awarded £1M by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) in partnership with Syngenta, to research the decline of honeybees.

UK government figures suggest bee numbers have fallen by 10-15% over the last 2 years; the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) quotes a figure nearer 30% for 2008. Since the declines were first reported a number of factors have been suggested. Most scientists now believe that a complex of interacting factors is the most likely cause.

A new study reports that transplanted pigment-containing visual cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) successfully preserved structure and function of the specialized light-sensitive lining of the eye (known as the retina) in an animal model of retinal degeneration. The findings, published by Cell Press in the October 2nd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, represent an exciting step towards the future use of cell replacement therapies to treat devastating degenerative eye diseases that cause millions of people worldwide to lose their sight.

Patients who have their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructed are more likely to have subsequent knee surgery if they are women or are treated by a surgeon who does a low volume of ACL reconstructions, according to a study in the October 2009 TK issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. The study, conducted by investigators at Hospital for Special Surgery, also found that overall, 6.5% of patients undergoing ACL surgery had to undergo another knee operation within one year.

St. Louis, MO, October 1, 2009 – Both household food insecurity (HFInsec) and childhood overweight are significant problems in the United States. Paradoxically, being food-insecure may be an underlying contributor to being overweight. A study of almost 8,500 low-income children ages 1 month to 5 years, published in the October 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, suggests an association between household food insecurity and overweight prevalence in this low-income population.

Westchester, Ill. —A study in the Oct.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that elderly women sleep better than elderly men even though women consistently report that their sleep is shorter and poorer.

(Boston) – Community health centers have become the centerpiece of the nation's efforts to provide access to primary care for all and therefore experience a greater need for primary care providers, who already are in short supply. According to researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) medical education must become a core part of the community health center mission to address this need. This call to action appears as a commentary in the October 2009 issue of Association of American Medical Colleges.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Government subsidies persuade some people to change habits, but social shame works even better, suggests a recent study of efforts to reduce elevated childhood death and disease rates blamed on the microbial pathogens that cause diarrhea in rural India.

"All this started with public health workers there just beating their heads against the reality of how sticky human behavior is and how hard it is to change it," said Subhrendu Pattanayak, an associate professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy and Nicholas School of the Environment.

NEW YORK (Sept. 30, 2009) -- New research by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers looks at the specific ways parents and peers influence teenagers to smoke, drink and use marijuana in combination. Among their findings: attitudes toward smoking influenced teenagers' use of multiple drugs (smoking, drinking and marijuana), and that this manifested itself differently in boys and girls.

WASHINGTON -- The most effective way to prevent the deliberate misuse of biological select agents and toxins (BSATs) -- agents housed in laboratories across the U.S. considered to potentially pose a threat to human health -- is to instill a culture of trust and responsibility in the laboratory, says a new report from the National Research Council. Focusing on the laboratory environment will be critical for identifying and reducing concerns about facilities or personnel.

Fear of dangerous strangers in inner-city neighbourhoods is keeping kids and teens from using playgrounds and parks to be physically active.

Researchers in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta, led by Nick Holt, looked at perceived opportunities and barriers to physical activity in an inner-city neighbourhood in Edmonton. They interviewed 59 children and youth, eight school staff and 13 youth workers in adult-supervised physical activity programs about their experiences.

PHILADELPHIA – In a first-of its-kind study, epidemiologists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that, on average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. The study estimated that people with a gun were 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not possessing a gun.

The study was released online this month in the American Journal of Public Health, in advance of print publication in November 2009.

Scientists in China have discovered that a natural plant hormone, applied to crops, can help plants eliminate residues of certain pesticides. The study is in the current issue of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.