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Water quality improves after lawn fertilizer ban, study shows

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---In an effort to keep lakes and streams clean, municipalities around the country are banning or restricting the use of phosphorus-containing lawn fertilizers, which can kill fish and cause smelly algae blooms and other problems when the phosphorus washes out of the soil and into waterways.

Princeton pair sets world record in packing puzzle

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Finding the best way to pack the greatest quantity of a specifically shaped object into a confined space may sound simple, yet it consistently has led to deep mathematical concepts and practical applications, such as improved computer security codes.

Computer scientists take over electronic voting machine with new programming technique

Computer scientists demonstrated that criminals could hack an electronic voting machine and steal votes using a malicious programming approach that had not been invented when the voting machine was designed.

2 lines account for most human embryonic stem cell research, Stanford scholar finds

STANFORD, Calif. -- For the past eight years, scientists who wanted to use federal funds for research on human embryonic stem cells had to restrict their studies to 21 cell lines approved by the National Institutes of Health. But an analysis by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that only two of those lines have been used routinely.

Methods for gene transfer in stem cells featured in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Wed., Aug. 5, 2009) -- Vectors derived from retroviruses are useful tools for long-term gene transfer because they allow stable integration of transgenes and propagation into daughter cells. Lentiviral vectors are preferred because they can transduce non-proliferating cellular targets. These vectors can be engineered to target specific tissues.

Fat hormone influences baseline dopamine levels and our motivation to eat

As we all know from experience, people eat not only because they are hungry, but also because the food just simply tastes too good to pass up. Now, a new study in the August 6th Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, helps to explain how leptin, a hormone produced by fat tissue, influences that motivation to eat.

Blood transfusion study: Less is more

A new study suggests that blood transfusions for hospitalized cardiac patients should be a last resort because they double the risk of infection and increase by four times the risk of death.

Pain relief only 1 motive for opioid use among high school seniors

Taking opioid drugs without a prescription appears relatively common among high school seniors, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The most common reasons survey respondents gave for taking the medications included relaxation, feeling good or getting high, experimentation and pain relief.

Parents fear errors during children's hospitalization

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Nearly two-thirds of parents reported they felt the need to watch over their child's care to ensure that medical errors are not made during their hospital stay, according to a study led by Beth A. Tarini, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Experimental treatment halts hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in newborns

CINCINNATI -- Inhibiting an enzyme in the brains of newborns suffering from oxygen and blood flow deprivation stops a type of brain damage that is a leading cause of cerebral palsy, mental retardation and death, according to researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Mathematical modeling predicts response to Herceptin

PHILADELPHIA -- Cancer researchers are turning to mathematical models to help answer important clinical questions, and a new paper in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, illustrates how the technique may answer questions about Herceptin resistance.

In the modern post-PSA era, prostate cancer surgery may not be necessary for some patients

Investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), along with collaborating teams at the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Michigan, have completed the first large- scale, multi-institutional study of prostate cancer death after standard treatment to remove the prostate since PSA screening has become widely used as a method to screen for the disease.

Smaller than expected, but severe, dead zone in Gulf of Mexico

NOAA-supported scientists, led by Nancy Rabalais, Ph.D., from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), found the size of this year's Gulf of Mexico dead zone to be smaller than forecasted, measuring 3,000 square miles.

Newly discovered gene fusion may lead to improved prostate cancer diagnosis

Researchers from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have discovered a new gene fusion that is highly expressed in a subset of prostate cancers. The results may lead to more accurate prostate cancer testing and new targets for potential treatments.

Music is the engine of new U-M lab-on-a-chip device

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Music, rather than electromechanical valves, can drive experimental samples through a lab-on-a-chip in a new system developed at the University of Michigan. This development could significantly simplify the process of conducting experiments in microfluidic devices.



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