Body

Leesburg, VA, June 18, 2014—Researchers in Saudi Arabia have identified key defining characteristics of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in CT imaging of patients confirmed as having the disease.

The study found that the most common CT finding in hospitalized patients with MERS infection is suggestive of an organizing pneumonia pattern.

OTTAWA, June 18, 2014 – In a recent study published in Tobacco Control, researchers at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute have demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation (OMSC), an intervention that includes in-hospital counseling, pharmacotherapy and post-hospital follow-up, compared to usual care among smokers hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The review's sole author, Dr. Patricia Lopes from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich, says that animals from a number of different species will eat and drink less, reduce their activity and sleep more when they are sick in order to conserve energy for their recovery. However, this can all change depending on the social situation.

Trap-jaw ant species are active hunters with venomous stings and jaws powerful enough to fling themselves through the air. According to new research, they are also spreading into new territory in the southeastern United States. The research was done by scientists at North Carolina State University, the Mississippi Entomological Museum, the University of California, Davis and Archbold Biological Station.

Dublin, June 18th 2014 – Light-fingered chimpanzees are changing the way subsistence farmers make a living in Africa by causing them to grow different crops and spend more time guarding their goods. This is according to work performed by researchers from Trinity College Dublin's School of Geography, who say that communities near the edge of tropical forests are experiencing a lack of 'dietary diversity' and an increased exposure to disease-carrying insects as a result.

An accompanying editorial says this study largely confirms what is already known - that the benefits of breast screening "are modest at best" – and calls for women to be given balanced information including the screening harms of overdiagnosis, psychological stress, and high healthcare costs.

The main source of vitamin D is its production in skin thanks to the sun. Women are more prone to low vitamin D than men - and due to differing weather conditions, concentrations vary in populations across the world.

Vitamin D deficiency is especially common among the elderly who often have less sun exposure, but it is unclear what effect the production of vitamin D has on death.

Researchers have identified the first genetic variations linked to race that begin to explain a higher risk of death among some African American and Caucasian patients taking the anti-clotting drug clopidogrel (Plavix) after a heart attack.

These variants increased patients' risk of dying in the year following a first heart attack, but they appeared to do so for different reasons depending on race, according to a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

In new research published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Northeastern University professor Randall Hughes and her team at the Marine Science Center in Nahant, Mass. are the first to show that sound plays at least as much of a role in mud crabs' reaction to fish behavior as other widely studied cues—and possibly more.

Crucially, the discovery, published today in the journal Nature Communications, shows that women who are overweight have a faulty switch. The finding may explain why overweight women have a higher likelihood of irregular contractions and are more likely to require a caesarean section than other women.

It's well known that strong rhythmic contractions of the uterus are needed to allow the baby's head to dilate the cervix. However little was known about what controls these contractions until now.

With visitor numbers surging, Antarctica's ice-free land needs better protection from human activities, leading environmental scientists say.

The new study, published today in the journal PLoS Biology, found that all 55 areas designated for protection lie close to sites of human activity. Seven are at high risk for biological invasions, and five of the distinct ice-free eco regions have no protected areas.

Researchers have found no evidence of a protective association between soy food and endometrial cancer risk, says a new study published (18 June) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Soy foods are an almost exclusive dietary source of isoflavones, a plant-derived estrogen. Some studies have highlighted their potential cancer protective properties, however, research looking at the link to endometrial cancer has been inconsistent.

The nationwide shortage of cybersecurity professionals – particularly for positions within the federal government – creates risks for national and homeland security, according to a new study from the RAND Corporation.

Demand for trained cybersecurity professionals who work to protect organizations from cybercrime is high nationwide, but the shortage is particularly severe in the federal government, which does not offer salaries as high as the private sector.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed and tested a vaccine that triggered the growth of immune cell nodules within pancreatic tumors, essentially reprogramming these intractable cancers and potentially making them vulnerable to immune-based therapies.

Sweaty hands can reduce the effectiveness of bacteria-fighting brass objects in hospitals and schools after just an hour of coming into contact with them, according to scientists at the University of Leicester.