Brain

Philadelphia, PA, July 17, 2008 – Psychiatry has begun the laborious effort of preparing the DSM-V, the new iteration of its diagnostic manual. In so doing, it once again wrestles with the task set by Carl Linnaeus, to "cleave nature at its joints." However, these "joints," the boundaries between psychiatric disorders, such as that between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are far from clear. Prior versions of DSM followed the path outlined by Emil Kraeplin in separating these disorders into distinct categories.

CHAPEL HILL – Some parents of children with autism evaluate facial expressions differently than the rest of us – and in a way that is strikingly similar to autistic patients themselves, according to new research by psychiatrist Dr. Joe Piven of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and neuroscientist Ralph Adolphs, Ph.D., of the California Institute of Technology.

The traditional view of a teacher scribbling on a chalkboard while talking at students has changed in recent years, not only with the advent of net-connected classroom displays and other gadgets but in the sense that educational institutions across the globe are now finding alternative ways to deliver their curriculum, with one of the biggest growth areas being online courses.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Hand-held electronic devices called clickers are helping college students learn physics, according to a series of research studies.

Ohio State University students who used the devices to answer multiple-choice questions during physics lectures earned final examination scores that were around 10 percent higher – the equivalent of a full-letter grade -- than students who didn't.

Many heavy meat eaters believe they eat a lot of meat because of the taste. But according to groundbreaking new research in the Journal of Consumer Research, the reason that a beef burger tastes better than a veggie burger to some people has more to do with values than actual taste.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have identified the protein responsible for transporting nutrients to the eye that are believed to protect against the development of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss in elderly Americans.

The research sought to illuminate the process by which compounds called lutein and zeaxanthin move from the bloodstream to the eye. Various studies have suggested that high concentrations of these two dietary compounds in particular, known as xanthophylls, have properties that can prevent macular degeneration.

Des Moines, Iowa – July 17, 2008 – A group of orangutans who appeared in Hollywood films, television commercials and magazine advertisements is being relocated to Great Ape Trust of Iowa – a significant move that begins to close the curtain in the United States on the decades-long use of orangutans in the entertainment industry. Great Ape Trust, a scientific research facility in Des Moines, Iowa dedicated to the study of primate intelligence and behavior, will triple its orangutan population from three to nine.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- What is there to see inside a magnet that's smaller than the head of a pin?

Quite a lot, say physicists who've invented a new kind of MRI technique to do just that.

The technique may eventually enable the development of extremely small computers, and even give doctors a new tool for studying the plaques in blood vessels that play a role in diseases such as heart disease.

In a recent issue of Physical Review Letters, the scientists report the first-ever magnetic resonance image of the inside of an extremely tiny magnet.

In the clinical phase I trial AFF001,AFFiRiS GmbH has now recruited the 24 Alzheimer patients planned for thistrial. The trial aims to investigate the tolerability and safety of aninnovative Alzheimer's vaccine (AFFITOPE AD01). In the trial, all patientshave now been vaccinated at least once and have so far tolerated the vaccineextremely well. The treatment provides for four vaccinations administered atmonthly intervals and is due to be fully completed by this October. Thevaccine's tolerability can then be conclusively evaluated.

The key to good health is to be physically active. The key to being active is… to be born that way?

The well-documented importance of exercise in maintaining fitness has created the idea that individuals can manage their health by increasing their activity. But what if the inclination to engage in physical activity is itself significantly affected by factors that are predetermined? Two new studies suggest that the inclination to exercise may be strongly affected by genetics.

This press release is available in German.

In two complementary studies, Weizmann Institute scientists have developed a new method for reconstructing a cell's 'family tree,' and have applied this technique to trace the history of the development of cancer.

The quest to understand a cell's path of descent, called a cell lineage tree, is shared by many branches of biology and medicine as gleaning such knowledge is key to answering many fundamental questions, such as whether neurons in our brain can regenerate, or whether new eggs are created in adult females.

Philadelphia, PA, July 16, 2008 – Anxiety is a normal human response to stress, but in some, it can develop into a disabling disorder of excessive and irrational fears, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, or posttraumatic stress disorder. Effective treatments are available and can involve either behavioral therapy or medications. Although "it makes intuitive sense that combining these two treatments would result in even better results," David Tolin, Ph.D.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Every year, more than 115 million patients enter emergency rooms at hospitals around the nation. And more than three-quarters of them leave with an impression of what happened – or what should happen next – that doesn't match what their emergency care team would want.

hominin fossils are the most important materials to explore human origins and evolution. Since most hominin fossils are incomplete, or filled with a heavy calcified matrix, it is difficult or often impossible to reconstruct the endocast in a real fossil without destroying it. Accordingly, traditional methods limited the study of human brain evolution. CT can explore fossils in a noninvasive way by transforming a real fossil into a virtual object, and make it possible for paleoanthropologists to extend the study of fossil specimens from the exterior to the interior.