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Can researchers study the populations of online video games, like Everquest 2, just as they study traditional communities like Miami, Pittsburgh or Minneapolis? A research study by a University of Minnesota computer scientist and colleagues from across the country shows that online, interactive gaming communities are now so massive that they mirror traditional communities. These findings are creating a new evolution of social science research where researchers are able to study human behavior using the game.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeons will contribute more than 100 presentations on their latest findings for improving orthopedic clinical care and scientific research at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) in Las Vegas, Feb. 25-March 1.

This AAOS event is the largest professional meeting of orthopedic surgeons in the U.S.

As such, it is a major resource for helping physicians and surgeons improve patient mobility and the care of bones, joints and muscles through the sharing of ideas and techniques.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Osteoporosis affects more than 200 million people worldwide and is a serious public health concern, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Resistance training often is recommended to increase and prevent loss of bone mineral density (BMD), although previous studies that examined the effects of resistance training in men produced varied results. Now, in a new study, University of Missouri researchers have found that high-impact activities, such as running, might have a greater positive effect on BMD than resistance training.

Athens, Ga. – A new University of Georgia study suggests that health agencies investigating Salmonella illnesses should consider untreated surface water as a possible source of contamination.

The latest installment of Public Policy & Aging Report (PPAR) examines the wide-ranging tax provisions that affect older taxpayers. These include deductions, exemptions, deferrals, and circuit breakers, most of which benefit older adults. This subject matter has particular relevance as President Barack Obama prepares a plan that may eliminate income tax for persons aged 65 and older who earn less than $50,000.

DALLAS – Feb. 27, 2009 – UT Southwestern Medical Center's primary adult teaching hospital has cut its rate of preterm births by more than half in the past 15 years, even as national rates are rising, researchers have found.

The drop at Parkland Memorial Hospital, from 10.4 percent in 1988 to 4.9 percent in 2006, was associated with a program of strictly coordinated and easy-to-access care – including prenatal care – for the largely minority, indigent population served by the county hospital, the UT Southwestern researchers said.

Scientific knowledge is important in today's knowledge society. Research is the guarantor of the quality of knowledge, though it is often not clear how scientific research guarantees the reliability of knowledge. How different can scientific ideals be, and how alike are they despite everything? In her dissertation, the historian of ideas Rangnar Nilsson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, examines what fits within the frames of the domains of authorised scientific knowledge.

Orlando, Fla., February 27, 2009 — Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Source MDx today announced that Source MDx's whole blood RNA transcript-based Precision Profiles™ diagnostic test predicted survival in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). In a study of 62 CRPC patients, the model separated patients into a high risk group (survival less than 2.2 years) and a low risk group (survival greater than 2.2 years) (log rank p=0.00083).

Austin Smith and his research team at the Centre for Stem Cell Research in Cambridge have just published in the journal Development (http://dev.biologists.org/) a new and safer way of generating pluripotent stem cells – the stem cells that can give rise to every tissue of the body.

[PRESS RELEASE, 27 February 2009] Gene p53 protects against cancer and is usually described as the most important gene in cancer research. However, scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have now shown that a previously unknown gene, Wrap53, controls the activity of p53. As the regulation mechanism is relatively unexplored, the study opens up new routes to solving the mystery of cancer.

The detailed structure of a protective 'jacket' that surrounds cells of the Clostridium difficile superbug, and which helps the dangerous pathogen stick to human host cells and tissues, is revealed in part in the 1 March issue of Molecular Microbiology.

Scientists hope that unravelling the secrets of this protective layer's molecular structure might reveal possible targets for new drugs to treat C. difficile infections.

Mendel solved the logic of inheritance in his monastery garden with no more technology than Darwin had in his garden at Down House. So why couldn't Darwin have done it too? A Journal of Biology article argues that Darwin's background, influences and research focus gave him a viewpoint that prevented him from interpreting the evidence that was all around him, even in his own work.

Darwin's commitment to quantitative variation as the raw material of evolution meant he could not see the logic of inheritance, argues Jonathan Howard of the University of Cologne, Germany.

Adult stem cells and their more committed kin, progenitor cells, are prized by medical researchers for their ability to produce different types of specialized cells. The potential of using these cells to repair or replace damaged tissue holds great promise for cancer therapies and regenerative medicine. However, the question that must first be answered is what determines the ultimate fate of a stem or progenitor cell? A team of researchers led by Berkeley Lab's Mark LaBarge and Mina Bissell appear to be well on the road to finding out.

Measuring a Woman's Measurements