Entertainment
Birth is a time of peril for the human brain, especially in pre-term infants. For vulnerable "preemies," biochemical signs of reduced blood oxygen levels (hypoxia) soon after birth are associated with lower IQs and language skills. In 2001, premature babies were 12 percent of U.S. births - the highest level in 20 years, due in part to more multiple pregnancies, induced labor, and older mothers. The January issue of Neuropsychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA) reports on links among pre-term birth, risk for birth hypoxia and cognitive problems, and reveals how the risk threshold for brain damage in preterm babies could be lower than thought.
Researchers using three dimensional computer modeling and wind tunnels have made the first accurate comparative measurements of muscle power output of birds in-flight to establish that physical structure, body mass, force and flight style all have major effects upon the magnitude and shape of a species' power curve.
Researchers have discovered how to grow a little-understood type of human immune cell. The cells, known as T-regulatory cells type 1 (Tr1), are thought to turn off unnecessary immune reactions and to block the action of immune cells that otherwise would attack the body and cause dangerous inflammation. The findings are reported in the Jan. 23 issue of the journal Nature.
A multi-year physician survey on career fulfillment showed significant variation in satisfaction levels across local health care markets, and it found that nationally, 18 percent of physicians were somewhat or very dissatisfied, according to a study by researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) that appears in the Jan. 22 Journal of the American Medical Association. Overall, the study shows that physician career satisfaction levels were relatively consistent from year to year, and a clear majority of physicians nationally are satisfied with their careers.
In a recent study, giving iron supplements to anemic children when they have a cold or other upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) significantly improved their iron status without increasing stomach upset or other side effects, says a Penn State nutritionist. Dr. Namanjeet Ahluwalia, associate professor of nutrition and principle investigator on the research team, says, "Because of conflicting results from previous studies, physicians preferred to be cautious and generally withhold iron until a child was infection-free ? which could delay the benefits of treatment if a child is iron deficient.
Rapamycin, a drug approved for use in kidney transplant patients to prevent organ rejection, could also benefit patients with lupus and other autoimmune diseases as well as patients with blood cancers, such as acute myeloid leukemia, reports a team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Germany. Their conclusions, outlined in a paper to be published in the journal Blood and currently posted on the journal's Web site (www.bloodjournal.org), were based on two key discoveries about rapamycin's mechanisms.
Children are more likely to suffer unintentional injuries in the 180 days following a sibling's injury, according to a study by researchers at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center published in the January 2003 issue of the Journal of Pediatrics. The researchers tracked 16,335 children below the age of 16 enrolled in Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound between 1995 and 1997. Of this group, 5,851 children sustained 8,973 injuries. Children whose siblings had sustained recent injuries had a 36 percent greater chance of needing medical care for an injury over the next six months.
While it may seem that cell phones, computers and other technology gadgets are Americans' most coveted items, teens and adults agree that the toothbrush is the one invention they cannot live without. The 2003 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, an annual survey of Americans' perceptions about inventing and innovating, found that technologically advanced items significantly lag in importance behind the toothbrush, which was developed in the 15th century.
A team of scientists has shrunk tumors or delayed their growth in animal studies by using radiation to enable a drug to "zero in" and block the tumor blood vessels. The work, reported in the January issue of the journal Cancer Cell, is a model for what might be achieved in patients by using radiation to activate drug targets in tumors. "We can now use combinations of chemotherapy and radiation to improve the anti-cancer effect for many of our patients, but the side effects can be great," said Dr. Dennis Hallahan, chair of Radiation Oncology at Vanderbilt- Ingram. "With this approach, we hope we can ultimately deliver drugs directly and selectively to the tumor alone, and reduce side effects."
In one of Chicago's poorest neighborhoods, a little girl with pigtails and a denim jumper stands in front of a table and fingers the shape of wooden letters as she fits them into a puzzle. In the next room, her mother talks to a parent-resource teacher about taking the GED and how she can help her daughter with homework. According to a new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this type of learning environment does more than strengthen skills - it helps cut the rate at which enrolled children will be abused or neglected by their parents or caregivers. The findings, published in the current issue of the journal Child Development, provide new evidence that preschool programs can impact not just school readiness, but long-term family outcomes.
A Medical College of Georgia pilot study using meditation to help lower blood pressure in teens was so successful that the project has been extended to five high schools and a middle school. Dr. Vernon Barnes, a physiologist at the Georgia Prevention Institute with over 30 years of experience in teaching and applying meditation techniques, conducted the pilot five years ago, teaching meditation to students with high-normal blood pressure at a Richmond County high school. The results, published in a 1999 edition of Psychosomatic Medicine, cited lower blood pressure and other improvements among participants. The success spurred the GPI to expand the project to include 156 high school students and 80 middle school students in Richmond County. The study is funded by the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health.
Treatment with two medications that suppress the immune system, rituximab and cyclophosphamide, appears to have cured one woman of an otherwise untreatable case of the blood disease known as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). The findings support the theory that TTP is an autoimmune disease, and not only provide insight into diagnosis and treatment, but also reveal clues about blood clotting and autoimmune diseases in general.
A project between academia and industry is aiming to spark a world electronics revolution by producing faster, cheaper and more reliable microchips. The University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, has joined forces with Amtel to create 'strained silicon' microchips, which involves adding a material called germanium to the traditional silicon used in semiconductor manufacturing. Atmel, whose silicon chips find applications in such diverse products as smart cards and game consoles like XBOX, is playing host to a team of five Newcastle University researchers led by top microelectronics professor Anthony O'Neill. "With this process we can create strained silicon microchips, which will be much faster or use less battery power than conventional microchips" explained Professor Anthony O'Neill, who leads a team of 5 researchers. The team, hosted by Atmel, aim to produce the world's first strained silicon technology.
The National Institutes of Health is partnering research on new saliva tests offering multiple and rapid analysis of salivary secretions for use at home and in the dentist's office, calling for "more sensitive assays" useful in fighting terrorism or war. Oral fluids recently have shown "great diagnostic potential" in a variety of clinical situations, for detection of HIV and monitoring drug use (see the Spectrum Series report on saliva). But progress on this front hasn't always kept pace with expectations. Now, says the NIH, the technology is ripe and the time at hand for simultaneous multi-analyte detection of markers for disease and exposure to environmental, occupational or abusive substances including agents dispersed by bioterrorists.
Researchers have found evidence supporting a relationship between SIDS and the 5-HTT gene in both African-Americans and Caucasians. They found a significant positive association between SIDS and the L/L genotype, and between SIDS and the 5-HTT L allele, and a negative association between SIDS and the S/S genotype. This information might eventually lead to the identification of infants at risk for SIDS. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) claims the lives of more than 2,500 American infants every year, and African American children are far more likely to fall victim than Caucasians.
