Body

Apartment therapy

Design blogs such as Apartment Therapy or lifestyle brands such as Martha Stewart help consumers exercise taste in their everyday life as they learn how to generate meaning through objects, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Giving to charity

When charity recipients seem to belong to a cohesive group, donors will make stronger judgments about the victims, which leads to greater concern and increased donations if these judgments are positive, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Ownership increases the value of products

The price a consumer will pay for a product is often significantly less than the price they will accept to sell it. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, this occurs because ownership of a product enhances its value by creating an association between the product and consumer identity.

Don't burn out

Consumers enjoy products more in the long run if they don't overuse them when first purchased, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

"Consumers are naturally prone to consume products they enjoy too rapidly for their own good, growing tired of them more quickly than they would if they slowed down," write authors Jeff Galak (Carnegie Mellon University), Justin Kruger (New York University), and George Loewenstein (Carnegie Mellon University).

Long-distance runners

Growing communities can overcome conflict and fragmentation, and increase diversity, without losing their sense of collective belonging, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Targeting confident consumers?

Confident consumers pay more attention to advertisements and product information that focus on high-level features of a product, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Less confident consumers, however, focus on the basics.

R-Ras protein that helps tumor blood vessels mature could help make cancer drugs more effective

Tumors need ablood supply to provide them with nutrients and oxygen. To get that supply, cancer cells stimulate new blood vessel growth — a process called tumor angiogenesis. Many attempts have been made to inhibit this process as a means to choke off tumors. But tumor angiogenesis can be sloppy, resulting in immature and malformed blood vessels.

Can genes be early warning indicators of environmental risks?

Though no systemic studies have been performed, it is generally believed that genes are the most sensitive toxicological endpoints for pollutants, and are thus desirable early warning indicators of environmental risks. A recent study, however, unexpectedly found that the sensitivity of the gene expression effect for cadmium was significantly lower than the individual level chronic toxicity indicators (such as the no observed effect concentration, NOEC). Therefore, the gene expression effect may not be the most sensitive toxicological endpoint. Dr Yan Zhenguang, Prof.

Mechanisms of acquired chemoresistance in ovarian cancer identified

PHILADELPHIA — The presence of multiple ovarian cancer genomes in an individual patient and the absence or downregulation of the gene LRP1B are associated with the development of chemoresistance in women with the high-grade serous cancer subtype of ovarian cancer whose disease recurs after primary treatment. These study results are published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Even minor physical activity may benefit bone health in premenopausal women

Chevy Chase, MD—A study to be published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM) suggests that physical activity for premenopausal women is very effective in reducing sclerostin—a known inhibitor of bone formation. In addition, physical training enhances IGF-1levels, which have a very positive effect on bone formation.

Urology-owned radiation oncology self-referral can increase patients' travel distance for treatment

Men with prostate cancer in Texas may be driving more than three times farther than needed to obtain radiation oncology treatments for their cancer when treated at a urology-owned radiation oncology practice versus other facilities, according to a study to be published online August 15, 2012, and in the September 1, 2012, print issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Pre-test genetic counseling increases cancer knowledge for BRCA patients

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have found that when breast cancer patients are offered pre-test genetic counseling before definitive breast cancer surgery, patients exhibited decreases in distress. Those offered pre-test genetic counseling after surgery improved their informed decision-making. Patients in both groups showed increases in their cancer knowledge with pre-test genetic counseling.

The study, funded by the American Cancer Society, appeared in a recent issue of the Annals of Surgical Oncology.

Flavanols: Cocoa compounds may reduce blood pressure too

Compounds in cocoa may help to reduce blood pressure, according to a new systematic review in The Cochrane Library. The researchers reviewed evidence from short-term trials in which participants were given dark chocolate or cocoa powder daily and found that their blood pressure dropped slightly compared to a control group.

Exercise may improve quality of life during and after cancer

Exercise may improve quality of life for people with cancer, according to Cochrane researchers. In two separate Cochrane systematic reviews, the authors gathered together evidence showing that activities such as walking and cycling can benefit those who are undergoing or have completed treatment for cancer.

Study: one extinction leads to another

When a carnivore becomes extinct, other predatory species could soon follow, according to new research. Scientists have previously put forward this theory, but a University of Exeter team has now carried out the first experiment to prove it.