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Muslim consumers: How do global brands become 'infidels'?

Among Islamists, certain global brands can be considered threats to Muslim identity, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

"'Infidel! Infidel!' cries the six-year-old boy upon hearing his mother mention Nestlé during our interview," writes author Elif Izberk-Bilgin (University of Michigan-Dearborn). "Why would a six-year-old call Nestlé infidel? How do global brands like Coca-Cola and Disney get tangled in a complex web of sociopolitical dynamics and become targets of religiously charged consumer activism?"

Trashing old, unused medications best for reducing environmental impact

A new study suggests that dumping old or unneeded medications in the trash can may be the best way to reduce the environmental impact of the 200 million pounds of pharmaceuticals that go unused in the U.S. each year. The report, which weighs the emissions from flushing, incinerating or trashing drugs, appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Similar outcomes of surgical vs. nonsurgical treatment for cervical spine fracture

Philadelphia, Pa. (May 16, 2012) – For older adults with "C2" fractures of the upper (cervical) spine, surgery and nonsurgical treatment provide similar short- and long-term outcomes, reports a study in the May issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

Freshwater crayfish found to have substance covering teeth astonishingly similar to human enamel

BEER-SHEVA, Israel, May 16, 2012 – A team of Israeli and German scientists from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces have found an enamel-like layer in the mandibles of freshwater crayfish, according to an article in Nature Communications titled "Enamel-like Apatite Crown Covering Amorphous Mineral in a Crayfish Mandible."

University of Miami study shows delays in siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders

CORAL GABLES, FL (May 14, 2012) -- A new University of Miami (UM) study shows that one in three children who have an older sibling with an Autism Related Disorder (ASD) fall into a group characterized by higher levels of autism-related behaviors or lower levels of developmental progress. The study will be presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) in May, 2012. ASDs are developmental conditions characterized by problems with social interaction and communication.

At outset of careers, medical students already concerned about workloads, U-M study shows

Medical students around the country are graduating this month, and preparing for the milestone that culminates four years of hard training – their first job as a doctor.

But as students enter the workforce, many have negative views of their future day-to-day work lives as physicians, shown by a multi-school study led by the University of Michigan Health System. Students had an especially grim view of entering primary care – an area facing a looming shortage of doctors as millions of people are newly insured under federal health care laws .

Researchers make promising discovery in pursuit of effective lymphoma treatments

NEW YORK, May 16, 2012 – Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have identified a target for slowing the progression of multiple myeloma by using currently available drugs.

Published recently in Nature Cell Biology, the study reveals a pathway that, if deactivated, may help slow the development of the disease.

University studies and career expectations of medical students

In this "themed" issue, Deutsches Ärzteblatt International is focusing on medical students. Bernd Gibis, of the German National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, and his coauthors investigate the question how medical students envisage their future professional lives as doctors (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2012; 109(18): 327-332).

Ancient tree-ring records from Southwest US suggest today's megafires are truly unusual

Study combines fire-scar records and tree-ring data of U.S. southwest

This new study is based on a first-of-its-kind analysis that combined fire-scar records and tree-ring data for Ponderosa Pine forests in the southwest United States.

Protective molecule, ACE2, also proving its worth in diabetic patients

ACE2, a molecule that has been shown to prevent damage in the heart, is now proving to be protective of the major organs that are often damaged in diabetic patients.

Gavin Oudit, a researcher with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, and his colleagues at the University of Florida, found that lab models that lacked ACE2 had worse cardiovascular complications related to diabetes.

Humanist funerals

Funeral directors need to be aware of the needs of non-religious people. A unique investigation into the subject funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) provides a snapshot of a defining aspect of life - or indeed death.

"The issue of death is one of the most important incidents that all societies deal with," says Dr Matthew Engelke, at the London School of Economics. "I wanted to look at how, in contemporary society, people who do not believe in an afterlife are commemorated at a funeral."

UW plant breeders develop an even heart-healthier oat

MADISON – University of Wisconsin-Madison plant breeders have developed a new oat variety that's significantly higher in the compound that makes this grain so cardio-friendly.

"The biggest thing that stands out about this new variety, BetaGene, is that it's both a high yielding variety and high in beta glucan. Beta glucan is a heart-healthy chemical that is exclusive to oats," says John Mochon, program manager of the Small Grains Breeding Program in the UW-Madison agronomy department.

Nature: Microscope looks into cells of living fish

Cyber partners help you go the distance

A new study, testing the benefits of a virtual exercise partner, shows that the presence of a moderately more capable cycling partner boosts motivation to stick to an exercise program. The work by Brandon Irwin and colleagues, from Michigan State University in the US, is published online in Springer's journal, Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

The millennium-old olive trees of the Iberian Peninsula are younger than expected

Due to the large size of the olive trees in the Mediterranean region, many experts have claimed that they are millennia old but "there had never been a scientific study to verify this," as explained to SINC by the ecologist Bernat Claramunt from the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF).