Ascribe Higher Education News Service articles from December 2006

Ascribe Higher Education News Service archives from December 2006

University of Virginia Health System Reports Significant Survival Advantage for Elderly Lung Transplant Patients.
December 1, 2006... Byline: University of Virginia Health System CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- Who is too old to receive a lung transplant? "There is no clear answer at this time. Nor was there a clear answer when the guidelines for...

New Clues to How Sex Evolves.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- Sex is a boon to evolution; it allows genetic material from parents to recombine, giving rise to a unique new genome. But how did sex itself...

City Kids With Asthma Lose Out on Preventive Treatment.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new study by specialists at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and elsewhere suggests that only one in five inner-city children with chronic asthma gets...

Peering Into the Shadow World of RNA: Crosstalk Between Different Forms of Non-Coding RNA May Control the Genome.
December 4, 2006... Byline: The Wistar Institute PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- The popular view is that DNA and genes control everything of importance in biology. The genome rules all of life, it is thought. Increasingly, however, scientists...

University of Virginia Study of Cities' Revival From 2000 to 2005; Incomes of Whites in Cities Pass Suburbs.
December 4, 2006... Byline: University of Virginia CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- Cities are making a comeback. According to a new study that reviewed data from 40 U.S. cities, per capita income of non-Hispanic whites was substantially...

In 2008, NASA to Determine if Dark Matter is Cold and Passive or Hot, Active and Ultraviolet as Predicted by Jerome Drexler.
December 5, 2006... Byline: The Drexler Foundation LOS ALTOS HILLS, Calif., Dec. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- On Oct. 31, 2006, NASA announced that it has decided to upgrade the Hubble telescope in the spring of 2008. The new Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) will...

Blacks Less Likely to Recognize Overweight and Obesity, Study Shows; Researchers Say Failure to Recognize Excess Body Weight Poses Significant Health Concerns.
December 5, 2006... Byline: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute BOSTON, Dec. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- Overweight black Americans are two to three times more likely than heavy white Americans to say they are of average weight - even after being diagnosed as overweight...

University of Florida Study: Outlook for Florida Real Estate Market Not Entirely Negative.
December 5, 2006... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- While the outlook for sales of homes and condos in Florida is bleak, the real estate prognosis for business properties is much better as it rides on a...

Research Suggests New Treatment Approaches for Glaucoma; Experiments Show How Increased Pressure in Eye Leads to Blindness.
December 5, 2006... Byline: Children's Hospital Boston BOSTON, Dec. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- New research from Children's Hospital Boston and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) may help explain how glaucoma causes blindness, revealing the chain of...

Low Self-Esteem? Avoid Crime Novels With Surprise Endings.
December 6, 2006... Byline: Ohio State University COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- Not everyone enjoys a murder mystery with a surprise ending, new research suggests. People who have lower levels of self-esteem prefer crime and detective...

Penn Researchers Discover Initial Steps in Development of Taste; Wnt Protein Required for Taste Buds and Wiring of Taste Signals to Brain.
December 6, 2006... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- Of the five senses, taste is one of the least understood, but now researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have come one...

Global Warming Is Reducing Ocean Life, Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, Say Scientists.
December 6, 2006... Byline: University of California, Santa Barbara SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Dec. 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- Alarming new satellite data show that the warming of the world's oceans is reducing ocean life while contributing to increased global...

Sea Urchin Genome Surprisingly Similar to Man and May Hold Key to Cures.
December 7, 2006... Byline: University of Central Florida ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- Sea urchins are small and spiny, they have no eyes and they eat kelp and algae. Still, the sea creature's genome is remarkably similar to humans' and may...

Natural Protein Stops Deadly Human Brain Cancer in Mice; Treatment Targets Stem-Cell-Like Clusters That Develop Into Cancer.
December 7, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions [ BALTIMORE, Dec. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists from Johns Hopkins and from the University of Milan have effectively proven that they can inhibit lethal human brain cancers in mice using...

New Online Search Tool Helps Scientists Explore Genes in Medical Literature.
December 7, 2006... Byline: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center NEW YORK, Dec. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- Computational biology researchers today announced a new Internet tool for the exploration of the scientific literature in medicine and biology. The freely...

Friendship Clinic: University of Virginia Psychologist Helps ADHD Children Make Friends.
December 7, 2006... Byline: University of Virginia CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- Many children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder suffer through a range of problems, from poor grades to poor relations with parents and teachers....

Williams College Project to Evaluate Economic, Social Impact of Museums Around the U.S.
December 7, 2006... Byline: Williams College WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Dec. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- Economics professor Stephen Sheppard and the Williams College Center for Creative Community Development (C3D) have been awarded a grant of $334,384. The grant,...

University of Maryland-Led Team Discovers Gene Mutation for Milk Tolerance in Some Africans; Evidence of How Genes, Culture Co-Evolve.
December 10, 2006... Byline: University of Maryland, College Park COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- A discovery by an international team led by University of Maryland researcher Sarah Tishkoff identifies, for the first time, genetic mutations in...

Preventing Graft-vs.-Host Disease After Bone Marrow Transplant -- Without Toxicity: Trial Will Test a Natural Antibiotic Depleted by Pre-Transplant Chemotherapy.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Children's Hospital Boston BOSTON, Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Unless the donor is an identical twin, patients undergoing bone-marrow transplant (also known as hematopoietic stem cell transplant, or HSCT) must first receive...

Balance Training Better Than Tai Chi at Improving Mobility Among Older Adults; Both Programs Have Been Proven to Reduce Falls, But New Study from University of Michigan and Veterans Affairs Shows More Improvement From Balance Program With Balance, Stepping, Mobility.
December 11, 2006... Byline: University of Michigan Health System ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Physicians and physical therapists in recent years have explored whether tai chi, balance programs and fitness routines can help decrease the...

Regulating the Nuclear Architecture of the Cell.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- An organelle called the nucleolus resides deep within the cell nucleus and performs one of the cell's most critical functions: it manufactures...

Mileage From Megawatts: Study Finds Enough Electric Capacity to 'Fill Up' Plug-In Vehicles Across Much of the Nation.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory RICHLAND, Wash., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- If all the cars and light trucks in the nation switched from oil to electrons, idle capacity in the existing electric power system could generate...

Climate Change Affecting Earth's Outermost Atmosphere.
December 11, 2006... Byline: National Center for Atmospheric Research BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels will produce a 3 percent reduction in the density of Earth's outermost atmosphere by...

Research Shows Asian Americans Less Likely to Seek Social Support.
December 11, 2006... Byline: University of California, Santa Barbara SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Individuals facing challenges in their lives often seek comfort and support from family members and close friends. Research conducted by...

Glaciers Adding More to Global Sea Rise Than Ice Sheets, Says University of Colorado at Boulder Study.
December 11, 2006... Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Despite growing public alarm over the shrinking Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, it is small glaciers and ice caps that have been contributing the most...

Squid-Inspired Design by University of Colorado at Boulder Innovators Could Mean Better Handling of Unmanned Vehicles.
December 11, 2006... Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Inspired by the sleek and efficient propulsion of squid, jellyfish and other cephalopods, a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher has designed a...

New University of Maryland Technologies Could Move Video Surveillance to New Level; Automated System Identifies Suspicious Behaviors, Specific Suspects Through Surveillance Cameras.
December 11, 2006... Byline: University of Maryland, College Park COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Surveillance cameras are sprouting up in more and more places, forming an ever more powerful tool for solving crimes after they happen. But what...

Using Enormous Computer Simulations, Astronomers Describe Predicted Present-Day Distribution of Elusive First Stars.
December 11, 2006... Byline: University of California, Santa Barbara SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- With the help of enormous computer simulations, astronomers have now shown that the first generation of stars - which have never been...

for Crickets, Parasitic Flies Can Stop the Music.
December 13, 2006... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 13 (AScribe Newswire) -- Love hurts -- really bad, for some unlucky crickets, anyway. Male crickets draw not only females with their songs but also parasitic flies. The uninvited...

Male Circumcision Reduces HIV Risk; Study Stopped Early.
December 13, 2006... Byline: University of Illinois at Chicago CHICAGO, Dec. 13 (AScribe Newswire) -- A University of Illinois at Chicago study has been stopped early due to preliminary results indicating that medical circumcision of men reduces their risk of...

Russian Capabilities Benefit the Hydrogen Economy; Collaboration Under Nonproliferation Program Provides Improved Hydrogen Gas Sensors.
December 13, 2006... Byline: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory RICHLAND, Wash., Dec. 13 (AScribe Newswire) -- The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has brokered a cooperative partnership between a U.S. firm, a Russian Institute...

Researchers Create Genetically-Matched Embryonic Stem Cells for Transplantation; Customized Cells Efficiently Produced From Eggs Alone.
December 14, 2006... Byline: Children's Hospital Boston BOSTON, Dec. 14 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report a new and efficient strategy, using eggs alone, for creating mouse embryonic stem cells that can be transplanted...

Stanford Business School Research Examines Clues to Solving Global Poverty: Politics, Economics - and Genetics?
December 14, 2006... Byline: Stanford Graduate School of Business STANFORD, Calif., Dec. 14 (AScribe Newswire) -- In a world besieged by international terrorism, global poverty, and environmental degradation, scholars are recognizing that the only way to...

San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Columbus, Ohio, Are Tops in Cultural Vitality Rankings.
December 15, 2006... Byline: The Urban Institute WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- A first-of-its-kind comprehensive statistical portrait of cultural vitality -- ranging from community festivals to financial contributions -- finds metropolitan areas on...

Clumping Protein Linked to Return of Ovarian Cancer.
December 15, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Md., Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that women treated for ovarian cancer are at increased risk of a rapid and potentially fatal recurrence if...

Drug Treatment Slows Macular Vision Loss In Diabetics.
December 15, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Md., Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- A drug commonly used to slow the loss of central vision has shown promise in stemming a common precursor of blindness in diabetics, which involves the...

Pension Funds Becoming More Strategic but Need Improvement on Governance, Says Rotman ICPM Study.
December 15, 2006... Byline: Rotman School of Management TORONTO, Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- The management of pension funds is becoming more strategic says a new study of pension plan governance published recently by the Rotman International Centre for...

Effective HIV Control May Depend on Viral Protein Targeted by Immune Cells; Specific Protein Targeted May Be More Important Than Breadth of CD8 Response.
December 17, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts General Hospital BOSTON, Dec. 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- An effective response of the immune system's 'killer' T cells against infection with HIV may depend on exactly which viral protein is targeted, according to an...

The Rockefeller Foundation to Extend InnoCentive's Online, Global Scientific Platform for Technology Solutions to Global Development Problems.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Rockefeller Foundation NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- The Rockefeller Foundation and InnoCentive today announced that the Foundation will create a non-profit area on InnoCentive's global scientific network,...

Professors to Develop Hand-Held Pathogen Testing Device.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Michigan State University EAST LANSING, Mich., Dec. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- Testing for deadly food, air and water pathogens may get a lot easier and cheaper thanks to the work of a Michigan State University researcher and his...

NASA Telescope Picks Up Glow of Universe's First Objects.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- New observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope strongly suggest that infrared light detected in a prior study originated from clumps of the very first...

University of Virginia Researcher Finds High-Quality Marriages Help to Calm Nerves.
December 18, 2006... Byline: University of Virginia CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- A University of Virginia neuroscientist has found that women under stress who hold their husbands' hands show signs of immediate relief, which can clearly...

Johns Hopkins University Nursing News and Research Briefs, December 2006.
December 18, 2006... Byline: School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University BALTIMORE, Dec. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- Following are news and research briefs from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. - - - - High Risk Patients Use Both Conventional...

How Much Does Worker Pay Affect Performance? New Study Finds That Lower Than Expected Pay For Police Officers Results In Performance Decline.
December 19, 2006... Byline: Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley Berkeley, Calif., Dec. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- In a study examining the relationship between pay raises, expectations, and performance, University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of...

First Comprehensive Genetic Analysis of Invasive Marine Animal and Its Parasites Sheds Light on Spread of Disease.
December 19, 2006... Byline: University of California, Santa Barbara SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Dec. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- A paper that authors are calling a "home run" study on the spread of disease is published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the...

Kidney Stones Occurring More Often in Children; Diet, Proper Hydration Keys to Prevention, Children's Center Doctors Say.
December 19, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- Kidney stones in children - considered all but a medical aberration until recently - are now becoming a fairly common condition. It's a growing and...

'Shapely' Germs Shape Up the Immune System: Only the Right 'Fit' Triggers an Anti-Infection Response.
December 19, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- Like shoppers in search of the perfect pair of jeans, the body's special immune system cells apparently have assistants that help them rapidly "try on"...

Kellogg-Funded Study Gauges Impact of Nonprofit Technology Capacity-Building Within Communities of Color; Nonprofit Demographics, Rather Than Cultural Relevance, Affect Use of TechSoup Resources.
December 19, 2006... Byline: CompuMentor SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- Are efforts to boost access to technology among nonprofits serving communities of color hampered by cultural bias? A comprehensive study just concluded by TechSoup...

Snake-Like Robot, Steady-Hand System Could Assist Surgeons; Johns Hopkins Researchers Seek to Equip Operating Room of the Future.
December 20, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins University BALTIMORE, Dec. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- Drawing on advances in robotics and computer technology, Johns Hopkins University researchers are designing new high-tech medical tools to equip the operating room of...

How Blood Flow Dictates Gene Expression Implications for Treating Atherosclerosis.
December 20, 2006... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have pinpointed a key regulatory protein that translates blood flow into gene...

Male Contraception: University of Virginia Discovery Stirring Interest Among Basic Scientists and Drug Developers.
December 20, 2006... Byline: University of Virginia Health System CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- In a study recently published online by Developmental Biology, members of Dr. John Herr's laboratory at the University of Virginia Health...

Scientists Develop Method to Find Genetic Basis for Plant Variation.
December 21, 2006... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new research approach that allowed scientists to rapidly identify the gene responsible for high sodium levels in certain naturally occurring plant populations...

To Catch an Intermediate: Berkeley Scientists Find New Way to Trap and Hold Intermediate Compounds in Water.
December 21, 2006... Byline: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new technique for capturing the short-lived but critical "intermediate" compounds that help carry chemical reactions which take place in aqueous...

Squirrels Winning at Outwitting Trees' Survival Strategy.
December 21, 2006... Byline: Michigan State University EAST LANSING, Mich., Dec. 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- If you look at evolutionary biology as a big game of "Survivor," it's squirrels: one, spruce trees: zero. In the Dec. 22 edition of Science, Andrew...

Mechanism of Black Cohosh Versus Hot Flashes Revealed.
December 21, 2006... Byline: University of Illinois at Chicago CHICAGO, Dec. 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- The natural herb black cohosh is commonly used by women to treat menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its action...

Protection Against Cancer May Begin During Pregnancy, Nursing.
December 21, 2006... Byline: Oregon State University CORVALLIS, Ore., Dec. 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- There may be another reason for pregnant and nursing women to eat a nutritious diet that includes generous amounts of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and...

Study Links Western U.S. Wildfires to Atlantic Ocean Surface Temperatures.
December 26, 2006... Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 26 (AScribe Newswire) -- Western U.S. wildfires are likely to increase in the coming decades, according to a new tree-ring study led by the University of Comahue in Argentina and...

Dark Matter Emits Gamma Rays, X-Rays, EUV Ultraviolet Rays, Says Astro-Cosmology Author Jerome Drexler.
December 26, 2006... Byline: The Drexler Foundation LOS ALTOS HILLS, Calif., Dec. 26 (AScribe Newswire) -- Earlier this month, Physical Review Letters published a scientific paper titled "H.E.S.S. observations of the Galactic Center region and their possible...

Safer ICU'S: Cheap, Simple, 'Low-Tech' Steps Work.
December 27, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- Hospitals will quickly slash the rate of common, costly and potentially lethal catheter-related bloodstream infections in their intensive care units (ICUs)...

Technique Quickly Identifies Bacteria for Food Safety, Health Care, Homeland Security.
December 28, 2006... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at Purdue University have used a new technique to rapidly detect and precisely identify bacteria, including dangerous E. coli, without time-consuming...

For Kids With High Blood Pressure, Surgery Can Help When Medicines Fail, U-M Study Shows; Rare But Potentially Fatal Condition Called Pediatric Renovascular Hypertension Can Be Cured or Eased by Surgery to Re-Route Blood Vessels Near the Kidneys.
December 28, 2006... Byline: University of Michigan Health System ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- High blood pressure may seem like something that only adults get, after years of smoking, overeating and little exercise. But children can develop...

NASA Mars Team Teaches Old Rovers New Tricks to Kick Off Year Four.
December 29, 2006... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 29 (AScribe Newswire) -- NASA's twin Mars rovers, nearing the third anniversary of their landings, are getting smarter as they get older. The unexpected longevity of Spirit and...