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The UK's ISIS Second Target Station Project moved a major step closer to completion today when the first neutrons were created in the ISIS Second Target Station. After five years of planning and construction, the first neutrons were detected by the Inter instrument at 1308 BST. ISIS, the world-renowned neutron facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, is operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

New York, August 4, 2008 – Maternal death rates have remained constant in the United States for many decades. Are there any improvements in health care that could reduce these rates further? In a study published in the July 2008 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers examined all maternal deaths in nearly 1.5 million birth records from the last 6 years to look for possible keys to saving more mothers.

An independent link between sleep apnea and mortality has been discovered by a group of Australian researchers, suggesting the prevention and treatment of this condition should be a higher priority for government bodies working to improve community health.

The study conducted by the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney found moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was associated with 33% mortality over 14 years compared to 7.7% mortality in people with no sleep apnea.

BOSTON — Women diagnosed with breast cancer shoulder the emotional burden of disclosing their diagnosis to loved ones, managing the feelings of others at precisely the time when they need support themselves, according to research to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

Most of the world's plant species rely on animals to transfer their pollen to other plants. The undisputed queen of these animal pollinators is the bee, made up of about 30,000 species worldwide, whose daily flights aid in the reproduction of more than half of the world's flowering plants. In recent years, however, an unprecedented and unexplained decline in bee populations across the U.S. and Europe has placed the health of ecosystems and the sustainability of crops in peril.

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - If it's at the Olympic Games or at the neighborhood pool, diving is one of the fastest growing sports in this country*. Every day millions of people do it* and every four years during the Olympics, billions of people watch it. So it might surprise you that researchers are just now delving into the dangers of diving boards.

A new study from researchers at the American Cancer Society finds many cancer patients use complementary and alternative methods, most often prayer, relaxation, supplements, meditation, and massage. Meanwhile, the use of other methods, such as biofeedback, homeopathy, and acupressure, are relatively uncommon. The study, appearing in the American Cancer Society peer review journal CANCER, also finds women, younger survivors, whites, individuals with higher income, and those with more education were more likely to use complementary methods (CM).

Positive findings of a safety study involving children and a highly touted botanical extract (COLD-fX) show promise for its future development for kids as a Canadian cold and flu remedy. The results appear in the August, 2008 issue of Pediatrics – the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

WASHINGTON — Inspired by the use of microarray chips that look for gene combinations, psychologists are using "pattern array" software to spot movements in rats that might help them predict diseases such as Lou Gehrig's syndrome.

A report in the August issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, published by the American Psychological Association, describes how this novel use of data mining may enable investigators to test therapies to delay or even prevent disease, starting with hereditary forms.

Low-dose growth hormone treatment reduced abdominal fat deposits and improved blood pressure and triglyceride levels in a group of patients with HIV lipodystrophy, a condition involving the redistribution of fat and other metabolic changes in patients receiving combination drug therapy for HIV infection. However, growth hormone treatment appeared to increase blood glucose levels, particularly in those already exhibiting glucose intolerance. The study from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) appears in the Aug..

Patients receiving rifampicin-based anti-tuberculosis therapy are more likely to experience virological failure when starting nevirapine-based antiretroviral therapy, an HIV treatment that is widely used in developing countries because of lower cost, than when starting efavirenz-based antiretroviral therapy, according to a study in the August 6 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

Andrew Boulle, M.B.Ch.B., M.Sc., of the University of Cape Town, South Africa, presented the findings of the study at a JAMA media briefing on HIV/AIDS.

An evaluation of recent data has led to an update in the guidelines and recommendations for antiretroviral treatment of adult human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, according to an article in the August 6 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

Scott M. Hammer, M.D., of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, and the International AIDS Society–USA Panel, presented the recommendations of the panel at a JAMA media briefing on HIV/AIDS.

For human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with treatment-related abdominal obesity and growth hormone deficiency, receiving low-dose growth hormone resulted in improvement in fat and blood pressure measurements but worsened glucose levels, according to a study in the August 6 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

Steven Grinspoon, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, presented the findings of the study at a JAMA media briefing on HIV/AIDS.

The world's smallest species of snake, with adults averaging just under four inches in length, has been identified on the Caribbean island of Barbados. The species -- which is as thin as a spaghetti noodle and small enough to rest comfortably on a U.S. quarter --was discovered by Blair Hedges, an evolutionary biologist at Penn State. Hedges and his colleagues also are the discoverers of the world's smallest frog and lizard species, which too were found on Caribbean islands. The most recent discovery will be published on 4 August 2008 in the journal Zootaxa.

BOSTON — Americans are likely to be exposed to unacceptable side effects of FDA-approved drugs such as Vioxx in the future because of fatal flaws in the way new drugs are tested and marketed, according to research to be presented today at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).