Culture

The most widely used methods for calculating species extinction rates are "fundamentally flawed" and overestimate extinction rates by as much as 160 percent, life scientists report May 19 in the journal Nature.

However, while the problem of species extinction caused by habitat loss is not as dire as many conservationists and scientists had believed, the global extinction crisis is real, says Stephen Hubbell, a distinguished professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA and co-author of the Nature paper.

May 18, 2011 (PASADENA, Calif.) – Children who are overweight or obese have a significantly higher prevalence of psoriasis, and teens with psoriasis, regardless of their body weight, have higher cholesterol levels, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the Journal of Pediatrics. The study findings suggest that higher heart disease risk for patients with psoriasis starts in childhood in the form of higher cholesterol levels.

A new survey of hospice care in the United States says that the rapidly growing role of for-profit companies in providing end-of-life care for terminally ill patients raises serious concerns about whose interests are being served under such a commercial arrangement: those of shareholders or those of dying patients and their loved ones.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Despite the fears of some Americans, Arab television networks such as Al Jazeera do not promote anti-American feelings among all their viewers, according to a new study.

Research based on surveys of nearly 20,000 residents of six Arab countries suggests that while watching networks like Al Jazeera fuels anti-American feelings in some viewers, it actually reduces such sentiment in others.

Can people truly feel the future? Researchers remain skeptical, according to a new study by Jeffrey Rouder and Richard Morey from the University of Missouri in the US, and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, respectively. Their work (1) appears online in the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review (2), published by Springer.

Researchers studying the life threatening infectious disease sepsis have discovered how the infection can lead to a fatal inflammatory response through blood vessel cells. The research, which is published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, focuses on blocking crucial Matrix Metalloprotease enzymes (MMP) which activate the response.

ATS 2011, DENVER – Results from C91 "Late-Breaking Clinical Trials" on Tuesday afternoon, May 17, will bring new light to clinical problems and potential treatments. While five examine possible new therapies for people with asthma (pregnant women), emphysema, lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), TB and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a sixth looks at the safety of physician- vs. nurse-led transport teams for critically ill patients,

Over the last 20 years, the number of hospital emergency departments in nonrural areas in the U.S. has declined by nearly 30 percent, with for-profit ownership, location in a competitive market, low profit margin and safety-net status associated with an increased risk of emergency department closure, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA.

In an evaluation of contemporary antireflux therapies for chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), most patients who received treatment with either the proton pump inhibitor esomeprazole or laparoscopic antireflux surgery achieved and remained in disease remission for 5 years, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA.

Use of newer-generation antiepileptic drugs, which are also prescribed for bipolar mood disorders and migraine headaches, during the first trimester of pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk of major birth defects in the first year of life among infants in Denmark, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA. Older-generation antiepileptic drugs are associated with an increased risk of birth defects.

(Boston) - Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered new details about the underlying mechanisms of skin hardening syndromes. The team connected pharmacological properties of the Novartis Pharma AG drug called balicatib to the skin disorder for the first time after investigating adverse reactions suffered by patients participating in a clinical trial for the treatment of osteoporosis. These findings appear online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

TUCSON, Ariz. – A study conducted at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy found that only 28 percent of pharmacies' clinical decision support software systems – the computer programs that are in place to alert pharmacists to possible medication problems – correctly identified potentially dangerous drug-drug interactions.

OTTAWA, May 17, 2011 - It is important for health care providers to report health issues, such as influenza outbreaks, to public health authorities. But there is evidence of a reluctance to share patient data for public health purposes due to concerns for both patient privacy and provider confidentiality. Dr. Khaled El-Emam and his research team at the CHEO Research Institute have developed a secure protocol and system that would solve this problem.

Since the smoking ban in restaurants, bars and nightclubs, customers are more aware of unpleasant smells, such as body odors and the smell of old beer, that used to be masked by cigarette smoke. Now science is looking at how the introduction of pleasant ambient scents that hide unwanted odors might enhance the nightlife experience.

ATS 2011, DENVER – Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are more likely to increase physical activity on a day-to-day basis when exercises classes are combined with a confidence-building program, according to researchers from Michigan and Illinois. Those improvements, however, are only short-term and patients return to their original levels of activity once the confidence-building program ends, the study found.

The results of the study will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver.