ScienceDaily for July 30, 2010 reported on calcium suppliments and heart attacks in older persons.
They found that calcium supplements were associated with about a 30% increased risk of heart attack and smaller, non-significant, increases in the risk of stroke and mortality.
ScienceDaily for July 28, 2010 reported on alcolol and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
The study which is published online in the journal Rheumatology, looked at 873 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and compared them with 1004 people without RA (the control group). The researchers, led by Gerry Wilson, Professor of Rheumatology at the University of Sheffield (Sheffield, UK), asked the two groups how frequently they had drunk alcohol in the month preceding their inclusion in the study. The study participants completed a detailed questionnaire, had x-rays and blood tests, and an experienced research nurse examined their joints.
ScienceDaily for July 27, 2010 reported on a possible collision of earth and an asteroid.
The potentially hazardous asteroid '(101955) 1999 RQ36' has a one-in-a-thousand chance of impacting the Earth, and more than half of this probability indicates that this could happen in the year 2182, based on a global study in which Spanish researchers have been involved. Knowing this fact may help design in advance mechanisms aimed at deviating the asteroid's path.
ScienceDaily for July 27, 2010 reported on the effect of more light at night and less light in the morning on teenagers.
"Biologically, this increased exposure to early evening light in the spring delays the onset of nocturnal melatonin, a hormone that indicates to the body when it's nighttime," explains Mariana Figueiro, Ph.D., associate professor. "This extended exposure adds to the difficulties teens have falling asleep at a reasonable hour."
ScienceDaily for July 24, 2010 reported on benefits of chokeberry.
Chokeberry bushes have for centuries been residents of eastern deciduous forests where their bright red and dark purple fruits continue to be favorite snacks of local bird species. Native Americans have also traditionally eaten dried chokeberries and prepared teas from parts of the plant, and several domesticated varieties now grace contemporary lawns and gardens from coast to coast. However, the chokeberry (Aronia) is enjoying a new claim-to-fame as a potentially powerful antioxidant, and can now be found for sale in the dietary supplement and "health food" aisles of your local pharmacies and grocery stores.
ScienceDaily for July 23, 2010 reported on the dangers of sitting.
A new study from American Cancer Society researchers finds it's not just how much physical activity you get, but how much time you spend sitting that can affect your risk of death. Researchers say time spent sitting was independently associated with total mortality, regardless of physical activity level. They conclude that public health messages should promote both being physically active
and reducing time spent sitting.
ScienceDaily for July 23, 2010 reported on sensitivity to drinking by others.
Your friend walks into a bar to meet you for happy hour. He sidles up to the bar and orders a drink -- does that make you more likely to get a drink yourself? According to new findings reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, genetics may determine the extent to which you are influenced by social drinking cues -- signals such as advertisements, drinks placed on a bar, and seeing other people around you drinking.
ScienceDaily for July 22, 2010 reported on the importance of summer reading by children.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, faculty members Richard Allington and Anne McGill-Franzen have completed a three-year study showing a significantly higher level of reading achievement in students who received books for summer reading at home. Allington and McGill-Franzen are both professors of education; McGill-Franzen is also director of the Reading Center in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.
ScienceDaily for July 22, 2010 reported on disinfectants added to swimming pools and health problems.
However, Michael Plewa, U of I professor of genetics, said negative outcomes can occur when disinfection byproducts form reactions with organic matter in pool water.
ScienceDaily for July 22, 2010 reported on a gene linked to Alzheimer's Disease.
MIT biologists report that they have discovered the first link between the amyloid plaques that form in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and a gene previously implicated in the aging process, SIRT1.
ScienceDaily for July 22, 2010 reported on research in fresh-water pools considered sacred by Mayan.
Steering clear of crocodiles and navigating around massive submerged trees, a team of divers began mapping some of the 25 freshwater pools of Cara Blanca, Belize, which were important to the ancient Maya. In three weeks this May, the divers found fossilized
animal remains, bits of pottery and -- in the largest pool explored -- an enormous underwater cave.
ScienceDaily for July 22, 2010 reported on new stem cells.
New research, published in the journal Development, by Dr. Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, professor of Pharmacology & Physiology and director of the newly formed GW Institute for Neuroscience, and his colleagues have identified the stem cells that generate three critical classes of nerve cells -- olfactory receptors (ORNs), vomeronasal (VRNs) and gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons -- that are responsible for enabling animals and humans, to eat, interact socially and reproduce.
ScienceDaily for July 22, 2010 reported on smoking and gum disease.
In order to determine the effect of quitting smoking on select oral bacteria researchers launched a long-term study, at the beginning of which, plaque samples were collected from 22 initial smokers. Twelve months following nonsurgical periodontal therapy and counseling samples were again taken from all 22 participants, however, 11 were quitters and 11 still smoked. Results showed decreased levels in various bacterial pathogens as well as an increase in health-associated species in those patients who no longer smoked.
ScienceDaily for July 22, 2010 reported on weight-loss and cancer.
Demian Dressler, DVM, known as the "dog cancer vet" because of his work in the study of canine cancer, recommends severely limiting snack foods for humans and dogs that contain ingredients rich in Omega-6, such as corn oil, vegetable oil and grain-fed red meat. Too much Omega-6 fatty acid can lead to inflammation, which creates an environment conducive to cancer in dogs and people, he said.
ScienceDaily for July 21, 2010 reported on a new way to listen for alien signals.
Their concept of short, targeted blips -- dubbed "Benford beacons" by the science press -- has gotten extensive coverage in such publications as Astronomy Now. Well-known cosmologist Paul Davies, in his 2010 book The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence, supports the theory.
ScienceDaily for July 22, 2010 reported on water in the moon.
To be precise, they didn't find "water" -- the molecule H2O. Rather, they found hydrogen in the form of a hydroxyl anion, OH-, bound in the apatite mineral lattice.
ScienceDaily for July 21, 2010 reported on prenatal alcohol exposure in older women.
The presence and severity of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are influenced by factors beyond alcohol consumption. A new study of one of those factors that may increase the risk of FASD -- maternal age -- has found that the impact of maternal binge drinking during pregnancy on attention was greater among children born to older drinking mothers.
ScienceDaily for July 20, 2010 reported a link between chemicals and ADHD.
A new study led by a team of Boston University School of Public Health researchers suggests a link between polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs), industrial compounds which are widely used in many consumer products, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
ScienceDaily for July 21, 2010 reported on a link between cleaning products and breast cancer.
Julia Brody, from the Silent Spring Institute, USA, worked with a team of researchers to carry out telephone interviews with 787 women diagnosed with breast cancer and 721 comparison women. She said, "Women who reported the highest combined cleaning product use had a doubled risk of breast cancer compared to those with the lowest reported use. Use of air fresheners and products for mold and mildew control were associated with increased risk. To our knowledge, this is the first published report on cleaning product use and risk of breast cancer."
ScienceDaily for July 20, 2010 reported on human attachments to animals as a factor in evolution.
Shipman suggests that the animal connection was prompted by the invention of stone tools 2.6-million years ago. "Having sharp tools transformed wimpy human ancestors into effective predators who left many cut marks on the fossilized bones of their prey," Shipman said. Becoming a predator also put our ancestors into direct competition with other carnivores for carcasses and prey. As Shipman explains, the human ancestors who learned to observe and understand the behavior of potential prey obtained more meat. "Those who also focused on the behavior of potential competitors reaped a double evolutionary advantage for natural selection," she said.
