Body

Children given an oral syrup containing the naturally occurring sweetener xylitol may be less likely to develop decay in their baby teeth, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A family history of depression, anxiety, alcohol dependence or drug dependence is associated with the presence of each condition and also may predict its course and prognosis, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Durham, NC -- Cartoon depictions of the first animals to emerge from the ocean and walk on land often show a simple fish with feet, venturing from water to land. But according to Jennifer Clack, a paleontologist at the University of Cambridge who has studied the fossils of these extinct creatures for more than two decades, the earliest land vertebrates — also known as tetrapods — were more diverse than we could possibly imagine.

Wild sheep on the Scottish island of Hirta have been diminishing in size for over 20 years and now researchers have puzzled out why: it's the heat. Like wool socks run through the dryer, the sheep have shrunk.

More precisely, the average size of Soay sheep on the island has declined about 5 percent in both body weight and stature since researchers began taking measurements of the herd in 1985.

The finding is the exact opposite of how researchers would have expected the sheep to respond to the consistent warming trend that global warming has brought to the island.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Catching adult eagles for research purposes is no easy task, but a Purdue University researcher has found a way around the problem, and, in the process, gathered even more information about the birds without ever laying a hand on one.

"Many birds are small, easy to catch and abundant," said Andrew DeWoody, associate professor of forestry and natural resources. "With eagles, the effort can be 100 to 1,000 times greater than catching chickadees."

Where biology, chemistry and physics intersect, a Kansas State University professor expects to find applications to improve human health.

Robert Szoszkiewicz, an assistant professor of physics at K-State, is continuing research on molecules both singularly and as a group. His study of proteins as a single molecule shows promise to help scientists understand the causes of diseases like some cancers. Meanwhile, his research on bunched molecules could lead to a more efficient way to identify antibodies in blood.

Research, published by Cell Press in the July issue of the journal Cancer Cell, may lead to development of treatment strategies that decrease the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence in the bone and other organs. Scientists have identified key signals that support the long term survival of breast cancer cells after they have spread to the bone marrow.

NEW YORK, JULY 6, 2009 – New research led by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) sheds light on a genetic function that gives breast cancer cells the ability to survive and spread to the bone years after treatment has been administered. The findings support the study of therapies that target this survival capacity and force the death of latent breast cancer cells before they get a chance to metastasize, or spread – a problem that accounts for a majority of breast cancer–related deaths. The research will be published in the July 7 issue of Cancer Cell.

LA JOLLA, CA—A tightly controlled system of checks and balances ensures that a powerful tumor suppressor called p53 keeps a tight lid on unchecked cell growth but doesn't wreak havoc in healthy cells. In their latest study, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies suggest just how finely tuned the system is and how little it takes to tip the balance.

Cancerous tumors sometimes form at the site of chronic wounds or injury, but the reason why is not entirely clear. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have engineered mice with a persistent wound-like skin condition, and the mice are helping them understand the tumor-promoting effects of long-standing wounds and injuries.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Patients with atrial fibrillation, common in those with advanced chronic heart failure, have an increased risk of hospitalization due to heart failure, according to new research from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The findings, published in June in the European Heart Journal, also suggest that atrial fibrillation is not associated with an increased risk of death in heart failure patients, contradicting previous assumptions.

INDIANAPOLIS – Every year as many as seven million adults in the United States experience delirium during hospitalization. In a systematic review of the scientific literature on delirium prevention and treatment, investigators from Indiana University School of Medicine, the Regenstrief Institute and Wishard Health Services found that despite the significant health and financial burdens of delirium for hospitalized adults, no effective way to prevent or treat the condition has been identified.

An assistive technology that enables individuals to maneuver a powered wheelchair or control a mouse cursor using simple tongue movements can be operated by individuals with high-level spinal cord injuries, according to the results of a recently completed clinical trial.

AUGUSTA, Ga. The future of organ transplantation could include microscopic beads that create "designer" immune cells to help patients tolerate their new organ, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

"It's absolutely natural," says Dr. Anatolij Horuzsko, reproductive immunologist at the MCG Center for Molecular Chaperone/Radiobiology and Cancer Virology, who has used the approach successfully in mice with skin grafts.

Birds and primates are some of the few animals whose offspring are raised by both parents. Research led by Dr Freya Harrison and Professor Tamás Székely at the Biodiversity lab at the University of Bath, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Bristol and the University of Debrecen (Hungary), investigated why some parents stick together.

The study, published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, analyzed more than 50 previous studies of birds to understand why and how they share their parental duties.