Sedimentary records link Himalayan erosion rates and monsoon intensity through time

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TEMPE, Ariz. – Throughout history, the changing fortunes of human societies in Asia have been linked to variations in the precipitation resulting from seasonal monsoons. A new paper published in the British journal Nature Geoscience suggests that variations in monsoon climate over longer time scales also influenced the evolution of the world's highest mountain chain, the Himalaya.

Yale researchers unravel mystery of brain aneurysms

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Yale researchers have taken the first critical steps in unraveling the mysteries of brain aneurysms, the often fatal rupturing of blood vessels that afflicts 500,000 people worldwide each year and nearly killed Vice President-elect Joseph Biden two decades ago.

Cancer drugs my build and not tear down blood vessels

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Scientists have thought that one way to foil a tumor from generating blood vessels to feed its growth – a process called angiogenesis – was by creating drugs aimed at stopping a key vessel growth-promoting protein. But now the opposite seems to be true.

Simple brain mechanisms explain arbitrary human visual decisions

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St. Louis, Nov. 9, 2007 — Mark Twain, a skeptic of the idea of free will, argues in his essay "What Is Man?" that humans do not command their minds or the opinions they form.

"You did not form that [opinion]," a speaker identified as "old man" says in the essay. "Your [mental] machinery did it for you—automatically and instantly, without reflection or the need of it."

Quintet of proteins forms new, early-warning blood test before heart attack strikes

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(Sunday Morning Program, Presentation #183, Room #283-285, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center)

A team of Johns Hopkins biochemists has identified a mixed bag of five key proteins out of thousands secreted into blood draining from the heart's blood vessels that may together or in certain quantities form the basis of a far more accurate early warning test than currently in use of impending heart attack in people with severely reduced blood flow, or ischemia.

MP3 headphones interfere with implantable defibrillators, pacemakers

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Headphones for MP3 players placed within an inch of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) may interfere with these devices, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

Researchers investigated the effects of MP3 player headphones, most of which contain the magnetic substance neodymium, on the operation of implanted cardiac devices (abstract P662).

Hispanics less likely to have repeat revascularizations 1 year after angioplasty

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Hispanic patients were 57 percent less likely than Caucasian patients to undergo coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) one year after successful angioplasty, a type of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to open blockages in the coronary arteries. Hispanics also had a trend toward lower rates of overall repeat revascularization procedures including stenting and bypass surgery, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

Researchers discover new risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and a way to control it

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Montreal, November 9th 2008 - A team of international researchers – including scientists from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University – have discovered that having high levels of particular protein puts patients at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The results of the study were so conclusive that the clinical trial had to be stopped before its scheduled completion date.

Rural women are at higher risk of blood pressure disorders during pregnancy

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Several factors, such as older age and high weight gain, are known risk factors for pre-eclampsia and other pregnancy-related blood pressure disorders. Now a new report suggests that social factors—including living in a rural county—may also increase the risk of pre-eclampsia and pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 41st Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Low potassium linked to high blood pressure

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As a risk factor for high blood pressure, low levels of potassium in the diet may be as important as high levels of sodium—especially among African Americans, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 41st Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.