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CHICAGO—November 16, 2009—Although global private equity markets have fallen on hard times, reports of their imminent demise are greatly exaggerated. So says Steve Kaplan, a widely recognized authority on entrepreneurial finance and corporate governance and top-rated business school professor at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Results of a Mayo Clinic study show the incidence of stroke or mini-stroke related to a coronary angioplasty (http://www.mayoclinic.org/heart-catheterization/types.html) remained steady over a 15-year period. Researchers say this is good news because physicians now are performing the artery-opening procedure on older patients who are sicker and need more complicated treatment.

Researchers from the universities of Bristol and St. Andrews in the UK have found that the color of a person's skin affects how healthy and therefore attractive they appear, and have found that diet may be crucial to achieving the most desirable complexion. The work will be published in the December issue of Springer's International Journal of Primatology.

The electrical measurements on the electrocardiogram can often mislead physicians in diagnosing the heart condition left ventricular hypertrophy, causing other screening tests to be ordered before a definitive conclusion can be made, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

The study of 500 patients found a false positive reading between 77 and 82 percent in patients screened by electrocardiogram, and a false negative reading between 6 percent to 7 percentin the same patient population.

Viruses are microscopically sized parasites. They plant their genes in the cells of their victim in order to 'reprogram' them. The infected cells then no longer produce what they need to live, making lots of new viruses instead.

Pooling results from 21 studies, involving 622,381 men and women, researchers at Johns Hopkins have affirmed that migraine headaches are associated with more than twofold higher chances of the most common kind of stroke: those occurring when blood supply to the brain is suddenly cut off by the buildup of plaque or a blood clot.

An international study of more than 17,000 people with schizophrenia has found striking similarities in symptoms, medication, employment and sexual problems, despite the fact that it covered a diverse range of patients and healthcare systems in 37 different countries.

Infectious organisms that become resistant to antibiotics are a serious threat to human society. They are also a natural part of evolution. In a new project, researchers at the University of Gothenburg are attempting to find substances that can slow the pace of evolution, in order to ensure that the drugs of today remain effective into the future.

Cancer researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have gained new insights into how cells react to DNA damage. Dr. Michael Stilmann, Dr. Michael Hinz and Professor Claus Scheidereit have shown that the protein PARP-1, which detects DNA damage within seconds, activates the transcription factor NF-kappaB, a well-known regulator of gene expression. NF-kappaB triggers a survival program, which blocks programmed cell death. The activation of NF-kappaB is thought to be one of the potential causes for tumor cell resistance to chemo and radiation therapy.

The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), the release of sexually sterile male insects to wipe out a pest population, is one suggested solution to the problem of malaria in Africa. A new supplement, published in BioMed Central's open access Malaria Journal, reviews the history of the technique, and features details about aspects of its application in the elimination of malaria.

Infants born with a severely underdeveloped heart are more likely to survive to their first birthday when treated with a new shunt procedure — yet it may not be the safest surgery long term, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009.

Heart experts at Johns Hopkins are calling premature the early halt of a study by researchers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center on the benefits of combining extended-release niacin, a B vitamin, with cholesterol-lowering statin medications to prevent blood vessel narrowing. Cardiovascular atherosclerosis, as it is also known, is believed responsible for one in three deaths in the United States each year.

Scientists have developed a simple, cheap, accurate test to find undetected landmines.

Students from the University of Edinburgh have created a custom-made bacteria that glows green when it comes into contact with chemicals leaked by buried explosives.

The bacteria can be mixed into a colourless solution that, when sprayed on to the ground, forms green patches to indicate the presence of landmines.

The first ever large-scale, longitudinal study of ketamine users has been published online today in the journal Addiction. With Ketamine (K, Special K) use increasing faster than any other drug in the UK (British Crime Survey, 2008) this research showing the consequences of repeated ketamine use provides valuable information for users and addiction professionals alike.

MURRAY, UT – While mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well – and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease.