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Women who go to medical school just for the financial rewards of being a doctor could be making a mistake, according to a study published in the Journal of Human Capital.

The research found that after factoring in the high upfront costs of becoming a doctor, most women primary-care doctors would have made more money over their careers becoming physician assistants instead. For the median man on the other hand, becoming a doctor pays a substantial premium over becoming a PA.

It is not unusual for babies to be born with congenital heart defects. This is because the development of the heart in the embryo is a process which is not only extremely complex, but also error-prone. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now identified a key molecule that plays a central role in regulating the function of stem cells in the heart. As a result, not only could congenital heart defects be avoided in future, but new ways of stimulating the regeneration of damaged hearts in adults may be opened up.

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– UC Santa Barbara scientists trying to control the invasive tamarisk plant have been getting a boost from evolution, in the form of a rapidly evolving beetle that has been changing its life cycle to more efficiently consume the noxious weed. Their findings, in a paper titled "Evolution of critical day length for diapause induction enables range expansion of Diorhabda carinulata, a biological control agent against tamarisk," are published in the journal Evolutionary Applications.

New Rochelle, NY, July 12, 2012 –Although acetazolamide is widely prescribed to prevent and treat acute mountain sickness (AMS), the appropriate dose at which it is effective and safe has not been clearly defined. A comprehensive review and meta-analysis of 24 studies comparing the efficacy and risks associated with increasing doses of acetazolamide is published in High Altitude Medicine & Biology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com).

A new study published in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis found that DMAA, a stimulant often found in many nutritional and sports supplements, does not originate from natural substances and is actually comprised of synthetic compounds.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Animals that choose to eat in the presence of a predator run the risk of being eaten themselves, so they often go into a defensive mode and pay a physical penalty for the lack of nutrients.

But that's not so for the crop pest hornworm caterpillar, a study shows.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Athens, Ga. – Hypertension frequently coexists in patients with diabetes. A new University of Georgia study shows why the co-morbid conditions can result in impaired vision.

Researchers at the IRCM, led by geneticist Dr. Jacques Drouin, recently defined the interaction between two essential proteins that control inflammation. This important breakthrough will be published in tomorrow's print edition of the scientific journal Molecular Cell.

IRCM scientists study glucocorticoids, a class of steroid hormones that suppress the immune system and reduce inflammation. They are used in medicine to treat diseases such as allergies, asthma, and autoimmune diseases.

Transplant recipients who smoke or have smoked increase their risk of viral hepatitis reinfection following liver transplantation according to new research available in the July issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Findings suggest that tobacco in cigarettes may adversely affect immune system response in patients transplanted for viral hepatitis.

Before her death in December 2010, Nieves López Martínez, palaeontologist of the Complutense University of Madrid, was working on the research of dinosaur eggs with a very peculiar characteristic: an ovoid, asymmetrical shape. Together with Enric Vicens, palaeontologist of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the two scientists conducted an exhaustive analysis of their discovery, recently published in the journal Palaeontology.

Negative suggestion can induce symptoms of illness. Nocebo effects are the adverse events that occur during sham treatment and/or as a result of negative expectations. While the positive counterpart—the placebo effect—has been intensively studied in recent years, the scientific literature contains few studies on nocebo phenomena.

Coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Great Barrier Reef, recover faster from major stresses than their Caribbean counterparts, leading marine scientists said today.

Dr George Roff and Professor Peter Mumby from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and The University of Queensland told the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium in Cairns that coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean are naturally tougher than the Caribbean reefs.

Social birds that forgo breeding to help to raise the offspring of other group members are far more likely care for their own close relatives than for more distant kin, a new study has found.

The study, which looked at a highly social species from outback Australia, the chestnut-crowned babbler, also found that these birds work much harder to care for their brothers and sisters than the young of less-related group members.

University of Washington researchers have made a discovery that sheds light on why the human body is unable to adequately fight off HIV infection.

The work, directed by Dr. Michael Gale, Jr., a professor in the Immunology Department, will be featured in the August print issue of the Journal of Virology.

The researchers discovered that the viral protein vpu, which is created by HIV during infection, directly interferes with the immune response protein IRF3 to dampen the ability of the immune system to protect against virus infection.

As thousands of Americans await a life-saving kidney or liver transplant, medical teams are paying close attention to another organ: their hearts.

This month the American Heart Association attempts to bring harmony to the varied cardiac evaluation policies created at U.S. hospitals that assess a patient's overall health before transplant surgery.

Approximately 85,000 people are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant and 16,000 are waiting for a liver. It's not unusual for these transplant candidates to be well over age 50 and at increased risk for heart disease.