MRI Scans Reveal Brain Changes in People at Genetic Risk for Alzheimer's

ScienceDaily for December 30, 2010 reported on brain-changes that indicate a susceptibility to
Alzheimer's and Dementia.

"We looked at a group of structures in the brain that make up what's called the default mode network," says lead author Yvette I. Sheline, MD. "In particular, we are interested in a part of the brain called the precuneus, which may be important in Alzheimer's disease and in pre-Alzheimer's because it is one of the first regions to develop amyloid deposits. Another factor is that when you look at all of the structural and functional connections in the brain, the most connected structure is the precuneus. It links many other key brain structures together."

Gene Protects Against Dementia in High-Risk Individuals, Study Finds

ScienceDaily for December 30, 2010 reported on causes and prevention of Dementia.

Neuroscientists had assumed that a mutation in the progranulin gene, which makes
the progranulin protein and supports brain neurons, was sufficient to produce a kind of dementia known as frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). But now an international team of scientists led by researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida have found another genetic factor they say appears to protect against the disorder in progranulin mutation carriers.

Food in Early Life Affects Fertility, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily for December 29, 2010 reported on fertility of men and women.

The research, which was published online December 17, 2010 in the journal Ecology, is the first study of its kind to show that early life food can have a serious influence on the life-long fertility of individuals.

Bonding With Newborn Baby: Once Upon a Time in the Intensive Care Unit ...

ScienceDaily for December 28, 2010 reported on bonding of newborns and their parents.

The first few days after birth is an important time when babies learn to recognize the sound of their parents' voice and the parents in turn bond with their children. However, the separation between parents and newborns admitted to the intensive care unit can be very difficult and can disrupt the early development of this relationship.

Newborns With Low Vitamin D Levels at Increased Risk for Respiratory Infections

ScienceDaily for December 28, 2010 reported on vitamin D levels in newborns.

The vitamin D levels of newborn babies appear to predict their risk of respiratory infections during infancy and the occurrence of wheezing during early childhood, but not the risk of developing asthma. Results of a study in the January 2011 issue of Pediatrics support the theory that widespread vitamin D deficiency contributes to risk of infections.

Into Africa? Fossils Suggest Earliest Anthropoids Colonized Africa

ScienceDaily for October 28, 2010 reported on fossil evidence for anthropoids colonizing Africa.

A new discovery described by a team of international scientists, including Carnegie Museum of Natural History paleontologist Christopher Beard, suggests that anthropoids -- the primate group that includes humans, apes, and monkeys -- "colonized" Africa, rather than originally evolving in Africa as has been widely accepted. According to the paper published in the journal Nature, what is exceptional about these new fossils -- discovered at the Dur At-Talah escarpment in central Libya -- is the diversity of species present: the site includes three distinct families of anthropoid primates that lived in North Africa at approximately the same time.

You Are What Your Father Ate, Too: Paternal Diet Affects Lipid Metabolizing Genes in Offspring, Research Suggests

ScienceDaily for December 24, 2010 reported on how the diet of fathers affects the offspring.

We aren't just what we eat; we are what our parents ate too. That's an emerging idea that is bolstered by a new study showing that mice sired by fathers fed on a low-protein diet show distinct and reproducible changes in the activity of key metabolic genes in their livers. Those changes occurred despite the fact that the fathers never saw their offspring and spent minimal time with their mothers, the researchers say, suggesting that the nutritional information is passed on to the next generation via the sperm not through some sort of social influence.

A LiveScience article is here.

Placebos Work -- Even Without Deception

ScienceDaily for December 23, 2010 reported on placebos.

Placebos -- or dummy pills -- are typically used in clinical trials as controls for potential new medications. Even though they contain no active ingredients, patients often respond to them. In fact, data on placebos is so compelling that many American physicians (one study estimates 50 percent) secretly give placebos to unsuspecting patients.

Component in Common Dairy Foods May Cut Diabetes Risk, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily for December 23, 2010 reported on dairy foods and diabetes.

Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and collaborators from other institutions have identified a natural substance in dairy fat that may substantially reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. The compound, trans-palmitoleic acid, is a fatty acid found in milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter. It is not produced by the body and so only comes from the diet.

Eating Less Healthy Fish May Contribute to America's Stroke Belt

ScienceDaily for December 23, 2010 reported on fish and strokes.

Studies have shown that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish, especially fatty fish, may reduce the risk of stroke. Research has shown that frying fish leads to the loss of the natural fatty acids.

'Un-Growth Hormone' Increases Longevity, Researchers Find

ScienceDaily for December 23, 2010 reported on hormones and aging.

A compound which acts in the opposite way as growth hormone can reverse some of the signs of aging, a research team that includes a Saint Louis University physician has shown. The finding may be counter-intuitive to some older adults who take growth hormone, thinking it will help revitalize them.

Obesity Increases Risk of Death in Severe Vehicle Crashes, Study Shows

ScienceDaily for December 22, 2010 reported on obesity and injuries from vehicle crashes.

In a severe motor vehicle crash, a moderately obese driver faces a 21 percent increased risk of death, while the morbidly obese face a 56 percent increased risk of not surviving, according to a study posted online ahead of print in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.

Smoking May Worsen Pain for Cancer Patients

ScienceDaily for December 22, 2010 reported on smoking and cancer.

The relationship between smoking and cancer is well established. In a study published in the January 2011 issue of Pain, researchers report evidence to suggest that cancer patients who continue to smoke despite their diagnosis experience greater pain than nonsmokers. They found that for a wide range of cancer types and for cancers in stages I to IV, smoking was associated with increased pain severity and the extent to which pain interfered with a patient's daily routine.

Sex Reversal Gene: Male Mice Can Be Created Without Y Chromosome Via Ancient Brain Gene

ScienceDaily for December 22, 2010 reported on male mice created with two X-chromosomes.

However, Adelaide researchers have discovered a way of creating a male mouse without a Y chromosome by activating a single gene, called SOX3, in the developing fetus. SOX3 is known to be important for brain development but has not previously been shown to be capable of triggering the male pathway.

Trace Amounts of Water Created Oceans on Earth and Other Terrestrial Planets, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily for December 20, 2010 reported on a theory of how oceans came into being on the earth.

But a recent study by an MIT planetary scientist suggests that the planetesimals themselves provided the water that created oceans. As Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the Mitsui Career Development Assistant Professor of Geology in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, reports in a recent paper in Astrophysics and Space Science, these planetesimals contained trace amounts of water -- at least .01 to .001 percent of their total mass (scientists don't know the precise size of planetesimals, but they estimate that those that created Earth were between hundreds and thousands of kilometers in diameter). In the paper, Elkins-Tanton says it is likely that even tiny amounts of water in the planetesimals could create steam atmospheres that later cooled and condensed into liquid oceans on terrestrial planets.

High Activity Staves Off Pounds, Especially for Women

ScienceDaily for December 20, 2010 reported on activity and weight-loss.

Women particularly benefitted from high activity over 20 years, gaining an average of 13 pounds less than those with low activity; while men with high activity gained about 6 pounds less than their low-activity peers. High activity included recreational exercise such as basketball, running, brisk walking or an exercise class or daily activities such as housework or construction work.

Drinking Alcohol During a Rich Meal Slows Down Digestion, but Doesn't Increase Indigestion, Study Finds

ScienceDaily for December 18, 2010 reported on alcohol and digestion.

People can be reassured that while alcohol may slow down digestion after a rich calorific meal, enjoyed by many during the Christmas season, it will not cause indigestion symptoms such as heartburn, belching and bloating, finds research in the Christmas issue published in the British Medical Journal.

Beetroot Juice Could Help People Live More Active Lives

ScienceDaily for December 17, 2010 reported on beet juice.

Beetroot juice has been one of the biggest stories in sports science over the past year after researchers at the University of Exeter found it enables people to exercise for up to 16% longer. The startling results have led to a host of athletes -- from Premiership footballers to professional cyclists -- looking into its potential uses.

E-Cigs Less Dangerous Than Traditional Cigarettes, Researcher Claims

ScienceDaily for December 16, 2010 reported on eCigarettes.

The review, which will be published online ahead of print this month in the Journal of Public Health Policy, is the first to comprehensively examine scientific evidence about the safety and effectiveness of electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, said Michael Siegel, professor of community health sciences at BUSPH. The battery-powered devices provide tobacco-less doses of nicotine in a vaporized solution.

Garlic Could Protect Against Hip Osteoarthritis

ScienceDaily for December 16, 2010 reported on garlic and hip osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis in adults, affecting around 8 million people in the UK, and women are more likely to develop it than men. It causes pain and disability by affecting the hip, knees and spine in the middle-aged and elderly population. Currently there is no effective treatment other than pain relief and, ultimately, joint replacement.