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Alcohol drinking in the elderly: Risks and benefits

The Royal College of Psychiatrists of London has published a report related primarily to problems of unrecognized alcohol misuse among the elderly. The report provides guidelines for psychiatrists and family physicians on how to find and how to treat elderly people with misuse of alcohol and drugs. Forum members consider it very important to identify abusive drinking among the elderly and this report provides specific and very reasonable recommendations to assist practitioners in both the identification and treatment of such problems.

Disease-resistant oysters call for shift in Bay restoration strategies

Development of disease resistance among Chesapeake Bay oysters calls for a shift in oyster-restoration strategies within the Bay and its tributaries. That's according to a new study by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).

The study, by professors Ryan Carnegie and Eugene Burreson, is the feature article in the most recent issue of Marine Ecology Progress Series. It is based on 50 years of VIMS research into the prevalence of MSX disease among the native eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica.

Soluble fiber strikes a blow to belly fat

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – June 27, 2011-- All fat is not created equal. Unsightly as it is, subcutaneous fat, the fat right under the skin, is not as dangerous to overall health as visceral fat, the fat deep in the belly surrounding vital organs.

According to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the way to zero in and reduce visceral fat is simple: eat more soluble fiber from vegetables, fruit and beans, and engage in moderate activity.

Nanowire-based sensors offer improved detection of volatile organic compounds

A team of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), George Mason University and the University of Maryland has made nano-sized sensors that detect volatile organic compounds—harmful pollutants released from paints, cleaners, pesticides and other products—that offer several advantages over today's commercial gas sensors, including low-power room-temperature operation and the ability to detect one or several compounds over a wide range of concentrations.

Scientists identify a novel mechanism for evolution of highly aggressive cancers

Dr Frank McKeon, Senior Group Leader of the Stem Cell and Developmental Biology at A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), and Principal Investigator Dr Wa Xian at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB), together with their counterparts from the Harvard Medical School, the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and the National University of Singapore, have made the striking finding that Barrett's esophagus[1] work, published online in the journal Cell on 24 June 2011, is essential to developing therapeutics for esophageal cancer., the precursor of the most deadly esophag

Helping preterm babies get the best start

Babies born prematurely could be at greater risk of developing kidney diseases later in life according to a landmark study investigating the impacts of preterm birth on kidney development.

The Monash University study is identifying new strategies for minimising the consequences of being born preterm, which accounts for around eight per cent of births each year in Australia.

Living antibiotic effective against Salmonella

Scientists have tested a predatory bacterium – Bdellovibrio – against Salmonella in the guts of live chickens. They found that it significantly reduced the numbers of Salmonella bacteria and, importantly, showed that Bdellovibrio are safe when ingested.

Botswana population survey shows surprising drop in species numbers

A recently completed aerial survey of northern Botswana by Elephants Without Borders (EWB), through the support of Botswana's Dept. of Wildlife & National Parks, indicates that wildebeest, giraffes, kudu, lechwe, ostriches, roan and tsessebe antelope and warthog species are significantly challenged. Populations of these species appear to have dropped significantly over the past 15 years, specifically in Ngamiland, which encompasses the Okavango delta.

SIV-resistant monkeys close the gates to viral infection

Sooty mangabeys, a type of African monkey, have intrigued scientists for years because they can survive infection by SIV, a relative of HIV, and not succumb to AIDS.

Researchers have identified a way some of sooty mangabeys' immune cells resist infection: they close the gates that SIV and HIV use to get into the cell. The findings may lead to strategies to help HIV-infected individuals cope better with infection.

The results are published online in the journal Nature Medicine.

Engineering blue-hued flowers

ST. AUGUSTINE, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO—Flower color in plants is determined by pigments such as aurones, anthocyanins, and carotenoids. Research has found that the ultimate color displayed is dependent not only on the pigment present, but also on other factors, including cell shape, presence of metal ions, and pH, among others. Information about the role of pH in creating color has allowed plant geneticists to engineer new hues, adding to the beauty and diversity of ornamental plants.

Duke researchers learn how lung fibrosis begins and could be treated

DURHAM, N.C. – An invasive cell that leads to fibrosis of the lungs may be stopped by cutting off its supply of sugar, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which affects about 100,000 people in the U.S. each year and leads to death within three years of diagnosis, has only one therapy in the U. S.: lung transplantation.

How cavity-causing microbes invade heart

Scientists have discovered the tool that bacteria normally found in our mouths use to invade heart tissue, causing a dangerous and sometimes lethal infection of the heart known as endocarditis. The work raises the possibility of creating a screening tool – perhaps a swab of the cheek, or a spit test – to gauge a dental patient's vulnerability to the condition.

Fighting back from extinction, New Zealand right whale is returning home

CORVALLIS, Ore. – After being hunted to local extinction more than a century ago and unable to remember their ancestral calving grounds, the southern right whales of mainland New Zealand are coming home.

A new study published today has shown for the first time that whales from a small surviving population around remote, sub-Antarctic islands have found their way back to the New Zealand mainland.

Team identifies new breast cancer tumor suppressor and how it works

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers have identified a protein long known to regulate gene expression as a potent suppressor of breast cancer growth. Their study, in the journal Oncogene, is the first to demonstrate how this protein, known as Runx3, accomplishes this feat.

Many advanced breast cancer patients do not receive recommended treatment

Radiation after a mastectomy for women with advanced breast cancer saves lives, but almost half of these patients do not receive it. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results indicate that treatments that have proven their life-saving potential in clinical trials may not be available to many patients.