Culture

Potential harvest of most fish stocks largely unrelated to abundance

Fisheries managers should sharpen their ability to spot environmental conditions that hamper or help fish stocks, rather than assuming that having a certain abundance of fish assures how much can be sustainably harvested.

Gene flow from India to Australia about 4,000 years ago

Australia is thought to have remained largely isolated between its initial colonization around 40,000 years ago and the arrival of Europeans in the late 1800s. A study led by researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, now finds evidence of substantial gene flow between Indian populations and Australia about 4,000 years ago. In addition, the researchers found a common origin for Australian, New Guinean and the Philippine Mamanwa populations.

If we go over the fiscal cliff, will people spend or save? Childhood environments may hold the key

In the face of hard times, which strategy gives us the best shot at survival: saving for the future or spending resources on immediate gains? The answer may depend on the economic conditions we faced in childhood, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Tissue engineers report knee cartilage repair success with new biomaterial

In a small study, researchers reported increased healthy tissue growth after surgical repair of damaged cartilage if they put a "hydrogel" scaffolding into the wound to support and nourish the healing process. The squishy hydrogel material was implanted in 15 patients during standard microfracture surgery, in which tiny holes are punched in a bone near the injured cartilage. The holes stimulate patients' own specialized stem cells to emerge from bone marrow and grow new cartilage atop the bone.

Social networks inflate self-esteem, reduce self-control - surveys

Want to get a bunch of attention on social media? Be a female and post a picture of yourself. But users of Facebook and other social networks should beware of allowing their self-esteem—boosted by "likes" or positive comments from close friends—to influence their behavior: It could reduce their self-control, even in the real world, according to a paper by academics at the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia Business School published online in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Are some patients too heavy for a new kidney?

ST. LOUIS – In a research review article published in the American Journal of Nephrology, Saint Louis University investigators examined data from multiple studies to better understand how obesity, an epidemic in the U.S., impacts kidney transplant patients.

ASH international clinical collaboration replicates high cure rate of APL in developing countries

(WASHINGTON) – Data published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) describe the work of an ASH international clinical network collaborative focused on modernizing treat

Better care from doctors who are culturally aware

HIV patients from ethnic minorities receive better quality of care from doctors and other primary healthcare professionals who are the most competent at caring for patients from diverse backgrounds – those who are "culturally competent." These patients also tend to manage both their treatment and condition better, according to a new study¹ by Somnath Saha from Portland VA Medical Center, and the Oregon Health & Science University in the US, and colleagues. Their findings appear in the Journal of General Internal Medicine², published by Springer.

Depression after heart attack: Threat perception has to be addressed

"Survivors of heart attacks are three times more likely to develop depression during the first six months after their heart attack, than people with no heart disease. If left untreated this contributes to a worse prognosis, for instance further cardiac events and possibly death. The causes for this high prevalence of depression after heart attacks are still unclear," said Prof. Claus Vögele, Professor of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Luxembourg and lead author of the publication entitled "Cardiac Threat Appraisal and Depression after First Myocardial Infarction".

Credit card debt: Younger people borrow more heavily and repay more slowly

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Younger Americans not only take on relatively more credit card debt than their elders, but they are also paying it off at a slower rate, according to a first-of-its-kind study.

The findings suggest that younger generations may continue to add credit card debt into their 70s, and die still owing money on their cards.

"If what we found continues to hold true, we may have more elderly people with substantial financial problems in the future," said Lucia Dunn, co-author of the study and professor of economics at Ohio State University.

Federal Safe Routes to School program reduces child injuries by more than 40 percent in New York City

The national Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program was funded by Congress in 2005 in an effort to create safe environments for American children to walk or bike to school. Has the program been effective? In New York City, most definitely, according to a new study conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health that evaluated the program here. Researchers found that the annual rate of injury to school-age pedestrians ages 5-19 fell 44% during the peak times for walking to school, in neighborhoods where the program was implemented.

Pill-sized device provides rapid, detailed imaging of esophageal lining

Physicians may soon have a new way to screen patients for Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition usually caused by chronic exposure to stomach acid. Researchers at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have developed an imaging system enclosed in a capsule about the size of a multivitamin pill that creates detailed, microscopic images of the esophageal wall. The system has several advantages over traditional endoscopy.

California environmental graduate students don't learn computation, metadata skills

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have found that many skills and practices that could help scientists make use of technological and computational opportunities are only marginally being taught in California's formal graduate programs in the environmental sciences.

Depressed stroke survivors may face triple the risk of death

SAN DIEGO – People who are depressed after a stroke may have a tripled risk of dying early and four times the risk of death from stroke than people who have not experienced a stroke or depression, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013.

Physical therapy in the intensive care unit benefits hospital's bottom line

In a study evaluating the financial impact of providing early physical therapy for intensive care patients, researchers at Johns Hopkins found that the up-front costs are outweighed by the financial savings generated by earlier discharges from the intensive care unit and shorter hospital stays overall. An article describing the findings, "ICU Early Physical Rehabilitation Programs: Financial Modeling of Cost Savings," is published online today ahead of print in the March issue of Critical Care Medicine.