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Research reveals why some smokers become addicted with their first cigarette
New research from The University of Western Ontario reveals how the brain processes the 'rewarding' and addictive properties of nicotine, providing a better understanding of why some people seemingly become hooked with their first smoke.


'Cosmic ghost' discovered by volunteer astronomer
When Yale astrophysicist Kevin Schawinski and his colleagues at Oxford University enlisted public support in cataloguing galaxies, they never envisioned the strange object Hanny van Arkel found in archived images of the night sky.




Duck-billed dinosaurs outgrew predators to survive
With long limbs and a soft body, the duck-billed hadrosaur had few defenses against predators such as tyrannosaurs. But new research on the bones of this plant-eating dinosaur suggests that it had at least one advantage: It grew to adulthood much faster than its predators, giving it superiority in size.


Exercise Pill is No Replacement for Exercise
Recently, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, a research organization focused on biology and its relation to health, published a study in the journal Cell on the results of a substance that increased exercise endurance without daily exertion when tested in mice.


VCU Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine Researchers Publish Findings of a New Chemoprevention Gene Therapy That Kills Pancreatic Cancer Cells
Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine have published findings that implicate a new chemoprevention gene therapy (CGT) for preventing and treating pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal and treatment-resistant forms of cancer.


Adults who eat eggs for breakfast lose 65 percent more weight
A study published online today in the International Journal of Obesity shows that eating two eggs for breakfast, as part of a reduced-calorie diet, helps overweight adults lose more weight and feel more energetic than those who eat a bagel breakfast of equal calories.


Metabolic insight to illuminate causes of iron imbalance
New insight into key players in iron metabolism has yielded a novel tool for distinguishing among root causes of iron overload or deficiency in humans, the researchers report in the August issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press. While the body needs iron to produce hemoglobin, a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen, too much iron can build up and eventually damage organs.


Arctic Map plots new 'gold rush'
Researchers at Durham University have drawn up the first ever 'Arctic Map' to show the disputed territories that states might lay claim to in the future.


Sesame seed extract and konjac gum may help ward off Salmonella and E. coli
A new study in SCI's Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows that konjac gum and sesame seed extract may offer protection against different strains of E. coli and Salmonella bacteria.


UCSB researchers make milestone discovery in quantum mechanics
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have recently reached what they are calling a milestone in experimental quantum mechanics.


Antarctic Fossils Paint a Picture of a Much Warmer Continent
National Science Foundation-funded scientists working in an ice-free region of Antarctica have discovered the last traces of tundra--in the form of fossilized plants and insects--on the interior of the southernmost continent before temperatures began a relentless drop millions of years ago.


Whom do we fear or trust?
A pair of Princeton psychology researchers has developed a computer program that allows scientists to analyze better than ever before what it is about certain human faces that makes them look either trustworthy or fearsome.


Black girls who use marijuana engage in riskier sex, have higher STD rate
Black girls who use marijuana are more likely to engage in risky sexual acts and contract a sexually transmitted disease, a new study finds.


Perceived discrimination affects screening rates
Minority men and women who perceived discrimination from their health care providers were less likely to be screened for colorectal or breast cancer, according to a report in the August issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.


Bacterial Persistence in Streams
A research team from the University of Tennessee (UT) has completed a study on an East Tennessee river to determine the connection between watershed hydrology and fecal bacteria statistical time series analysis.


Entomologists play matchmakers for cerambycid beetles
Cerambycid beetles, also known as long-horned beetles, can cause severe damage to standing trees, logs and lumber. How then might they be promptly detected and their numbers swiftly controlled?


NASA data show some African drought linked to warmer Indian Ocean
A new study, co-funded by NASA, has identified a link between a warming Indian Ocean and less rainfall in eastern and southern Africa. Computer models and observations show a decline in rainfall, with implications for the region's food security.


Scientists identify possible cause of endometriosis
Endometriosis is a condition whereby patches of the inner lining of the womb appear in parts of the body other than the womb cavity. It can cause severe pain and affects approximately 15% of women of reproductive age. Endometriosis is also associated with infertility, with 50% of infertile women affected by the condition.


Wildlife Conservation Society discovers 'Planet of the Apes'
The world's population of critically endangered western lowland gorillas received a huge boost today when the Wildlife Conservation Society released a census showing massive numbers of these secretive great apes alive and well in the Republic of Congo.


Vine invasion? UWM ecologist looks at coexistence of trees and lianas
Among the hundreds of species of woody vines that University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee ecologist Stefan Schnitzer has encountered in the tropical forests of Panama, the largest has a stalk nearly 20 inches in circumference.


Key site in iron metabolism aids in diagnosing anemia of chronic disease
University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have developed a new tool that facilitates diagnosis of anemia related to chronic illness, as well as diseases of iron overload. The results of a study detailing the new tool are published in the August 2008 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press.


Medicinal marijuana effective for neuropathic pain in HIV
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the impact of smoked medical cannabis, or marijuana, on the neuropathic pain associated with HIV, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine found that reported pain relief was greater with cannabis than with a placebo.


Context and personality key in understanding responses to emotional facial expressions
It is well appreciated that facial expressions play a major role in non-verbal social communication among humans and other primates, because faces provide rapid access to information about the identity as well as the internal states and intentions of others.


Post-partum suicide attempt risks studied
Although maternal suicide after giving birth is a relatively rare occurrence, suicide attempts often have long-lasting effects on the family and the infant. In a study published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers compared two populations of mothers and found that a history of psychiatric disorders or substance abuse was a strong predictor of post-partum suicide attempts.


Students with food allergies often not prepared
College students with food allergies aren't avoiding the foods they know they shouldn't eat. Students of all ages are not treated with potentially life-saving epinephrine as often as they should be. And instructors, roommates and friends often are not aware of what to do if a food-allergic student has a reaction.


Remedial Instruction Rewires Dyslexic Brains, Provides Lasting Results, Carnegie Mellon Study Shows
A new Carnegie Mellon University brain imaging study of dyslexic students and other poor readers shows that the brain can permanently rewire itself and overcome reading deficits, if students are given 100 hours of intensive remedial instruction.


Ben-Gurion University of the Negev initiates project to eliminate intestinal worms in Ethiopia
A professor at The Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) is beginning an intensive program in Ethiopia this August to eradicate intestinal worms which affect as much as 50 percent of the population in Africa.


The drivers of tropical deforestation are changing, say scientists
A shift from poverty-driven to industry-driven deforestation threatens the world's tropical forests but offers new opportunities for conservation, according to an article coauthored by William Laurance of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.


Targeted drug therapy found effective in patients with common form of immune-mediated kidney disease
The drug rituximab causes considerable kidney injury healing in patients with membranous nephropathy, a common form of kidney disease, according to a study appearing in the November 2008 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The results suggest that this condition, previously destined to progress to kidney failure in 30-40 percent of cases, can actually be healed in some patients.


Alcohol consumption declining, according to results of new study
Overall alcohol use-particularly consumption of beer-is declining in the US, according to a new study published in the August 2008 issue of The American Journal of Medicine.


Foreign threats to US raise tolerance for diversity, study finds
Foreign threats to the United States can encourage tolerance for diversity domestically and a corresponding intolerance for diversity internationally, according to a study by University of British Columbia (UBC) and Stanford University researchers published this week in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.


Novel method to create personalized immunotherapy treatments
Argos Therapeutics and Université de Montréal today announced the presentation of new information on Argos'process for developing dendritic cell-based immunotherapies for HIV.


U of M study shows why treatment isn't effective for HIV
University of Minnesota researchers have answered a key question as to why antiretroviral therapy isn't effective in restoring immunity in HIV-infected patients.


When neurons fire up: Study sheds light on rhythms of the brain
In our brains, groups of neurons fire up simultaneously for just milliseconds at a time, in random rhythms, similar to twinkling lightning bugs in our backyards. New research from neuroscientists at Indiana University and the University of Montreal provides a model -- a rhyme and reason -- for this random synchronization.


Back to the Future: Psychologists examine children's mental time traveling abilities
Planning and anticipating occur so frequently in our everyday lives that it is hard to imagine a time when we didn't have this capability. But just as many other capacities develop, so does this mental time traveling ability. Researchers have recently explored how children comprehend the future and ways that this understanding can be affected by, for example, their current physiological state.


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