Culture | Page 1716 | Science Codex

Bee vampire picks the right host to suck

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- New insights into the reproductive secrets of one of the world's tiniest and most destructive parasites - the Varroa mite - has scientists edging closer to regulating them.

"If you know your enemies better, you can come up with new ways of controlling them," said Michigan State University entomologist Zachary Huang, whose research explores the fertility of the notorious mite, a pest that is devastating honeybee populations worldwide. The mite sucks the blood of honeybees and transmits deadly viruses.

Asking patients where they want to die when admitted to hospice linked to fewer hospitalizations

Patients who were asked where they wanted to die upon entering hospice had lower rates of hospitalization at the end of life, as did those in hospices that monitored symptoms more frequently, according to a new study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published online today in the July issue of the journal Medical Care, the study also determined that for-profit hospices have persistently high rates of hospitalization regardless of preferred practice implementation.

In-hospital mobility program proves successful for patients' posthospital function

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Decreased mobility during hospitalization for older adults is associated with increased risk of death, nursing home admission and functional decline. University of Alabama at Birmingham investigators found that patients who participated in a mobility program were less likely to experience a decline in mobility when compared to the usual care provided during hospilization.

Restaurant improbable: Costs, productivity may prompt restaurant reinvention

As unpalatable as the thought may be to some, tight profit margins and increasing labor costs may force restaurant owners and food service professionals to reinvent their business models, according to a team of researchers.

Face of the future

New York, NY--June 15, 2016--A new technique developed by Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, the Mikati Foundation Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia Engineering and professor of medical sciences (in Medicine) at Columbia University, repairs large bone defects in the head and face by using lab-grown living bone, tailored to the patient and the defect being treated. This is the first time researchers have grown living bone that precisely replicates the original anatomical structure, using autologous stem cells derived from a small sample of the recipient's fat.

Study offers explanation for why women leave engineering

Women who go to college intending to become engineers stay in the profession less often than men. Why is this? While multiple reasons have been offered in the past, a new study co-authored by an MIT sociologist develops a novel explanation: The negative group dynamics women tend to experience during team-based work projects makes the profession less appealing.

New 3-D printed polymer can convert methane to methanol

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have combined biology and 3-D printing to create the first reactor that can continuously produce methanol from methane at room temperature and pressure.

The team removed enzymes from methanotrophs, bacteria that eat methane, and mixed them with polymers that they printed or molded into innovative reactors.

The research, which could lead to more efficient conversion of methane to energy production, appears in the June 15 edition of Nature Communications.

New Health Union survey reveals importance of online health communities

Philadelphia, June 15, 2016 -- A new survey from Health Union of more than 2,200 people with chronic health conditions and their caregivers illustrates how patients use online health information to better understand their health condition, learn about symptoms and treatment, and share experiences with other patients living with the same health condition. The findings are summarized in a recently published white paper, entitled "Social Media for Health: What Patients Really Want."

Laws limiting alcohol sales may have measurable public health effects

It is the largest study to focus on the relation between alcohol use and cardiovascular disease, and shows that laws restricting alcohol sales may have measurable public health effects that may be both beneficial and harmful.

The authors say the "results have health implications relevant to people with and at risk for various types of cardiovascular disease."

Alcohol is one of the most widely consumed drugs, and heart disease is the most common cause of death worldwide.

PLOS Medicine Policy Forum: Direct-to-consumer marketing to people with hemophilia

WASHINGTON -- The manner in which pharmaceutical companies market their products to people who have hemophilia appears unprecedented and direct-to-consumer marketing should be examined by regulators, say researchers who reviewed documents, including consumer-oriented materials, produced by the makers of hemophilia treatment products.

Research reveals pain and pleasure of sad music

Researchers at Durham University, UK and the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, said their findings could have implications for how music therapy and rehabilitation could help people's moods.

The musicologists looked at the emotional experiences associated with sad music of 2,436 people across three large-scale surveys in the UK and Finland.

They identified the reasons for listening to sad music, and emotions involved in memorable experiences related to listening to sad music.

Young African-American adults are less susceptible to delirium in ICU than Caucasians

INDIANAPOLIS -- The first study to evaluate the relationship between race and intensive care unit delirium has found that African-American ICU patients age 18 to 50 are less susceptible to delirium than similarly aged Caucasians or than either African-American or Caucasian ICU patients age 50 or older.

Low-tech system overcomes barriers preventing doctor-patient chat about drinking habits

Primary care doctors are reluctant to talk to patients about their drinking habits, for fear of being perceived as judgmental. But a simple, intervention that encourages discussion could resolve this issue, according to a recent study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Novel portable diagnostic tool pairs optical and gamma imaging

San Diego, Calif. - Bigger isn't always better, especially when it comes to a new and surprisingly portable molecular imaging system that combines optical imaging at the surface level and scintigraphy, which captures the physiological function of what lies beneath, announced developers at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI).

Improving data sharing on a European level recently published by Dove Medical Press

ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research has published the original research "Scaling up health knowledge at European level requires sharing integrated data: an approach for collection of database specification".