Ascribe Higher Education News Service articles from December 2007

Ascribe Higher Education News Service archives from December 2007

National Poll Shows Voters Rank Crime Even With Health Care and Economy; Findings Indicate Voters Want Elected Officials to Spend More Time Talking About Specific Ways to Prevent Crime.
December 3, 2007... Byline: John Jay College of Criminal Justice NEW YORK, Nov. 30 (AScribe Newswire) -- While crime hasn't been at the forefront of the debate in the presidential campaign, a national survey released today by John Jay College of Criminal...

'Magma P.I.' Unearths Clues to How Crust Was Sculpted; Geologist Bolsters His Theory at Annual Meeting.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins University BALTIMORE, Dec. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- About a decade ago, Johns Hopkins University geologist Bruce Marsh challenged the century-old concept that the Earth's outer layer formed when crystal-free molten...

Novel University of Colorado at Boulder Technology Used to Identify Unexpected Bacteria in Cystic Fibrosis Patients.(Disease/Disorder overview)
December 3, 2007... Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- Molecular technology developed by a University of Colorado at Boulder professor to probe extreme life forms in undersea hydrothermal vents has been used to...

Radiation Flashes May Help Crack Cosmic Mystery.
December 3, 2007... Byline: University of Chicago CHICAGO, Dec. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- Faint, fleeting blue flashes of radiation emitted by particles that travel faster than the speed of light through the atmosphere may help scientists solve one of the oldest...

Restrictions Make Handguns Hard to Get in Some U.S. Cities.
December 3, 2007... Byline: Duke University DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- When police make it a priority to crack down on illegal guns, it reduces the amount of guns available to youths and criminals and makes guns harder to obtain, according to...

Research Forecasts Increased Chances for Stormy Weather.
December 4, 2007... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers who study severe weather and climate change joined forces to study the effects of global warming on the number of severe storms in the future and...

University of California Studies New Christmas Tree Species in California.
December 4, 2007... Byline: University of California Division of Agriculture OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- El Dorado County Christmas tree grower Randy Rapetti believes he may have been the first farmer in California to plant Nordmann fir...

'Epigenetic' Marks Clue to Multiple Functions of Brain.
December 4, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- A team of Johns Hopkins scientists has catalogued chemical tags attached to more than 800 genes from 76 human brain samples and collected the first evidence...

New Vanderbilt Scientific Poll Reveals Intense Bias Against Mormons; Romney Must Demystify His Religion to Gain Support.
December 4, 2007... Byline: Vanderbilt University NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- Bias against Mormons is significantly more intense among the public than bias against either African-Americans or women, according to a new scientific poll by...

Slow Reading in Dyslexia Tied to Disorganized Brain Tracts; Circuitous Connections May Keep Some Patients From Reading Fluently.
December 5, 2007... Byline: Children's Hospital Boston BOSTON, Dec. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- Dyslexia marked by poor reading fluency -- slow and choppy reading -- may be caused by disorganized, meandering tracts of nerve fibers in the brain, according to...

Scripps Research Scientists Find White Blood Cells Deliver Boost to Tumors; Findings Point to Potential New Cancer Targets.
December 5, 2007... Byline: The Scripps Research Institute LA JOLLA, Calif., Dec. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found that a specific type of white blood cell carries with it an unusually potent catalyst of tumor...

University of Colorado at Boulder Supercomputer Simulation of Universe Expected to Help in Search for Missing Matter.
December 6, 2007... Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- Much of the gaseous mass of the universe is bound up in a tangled web of cosmic filaments that stretch for hundreds of millions of light-years, according...

Scripps Research Scientists Discover Chemical Triggers for Aggression in Mice; Work Could Help Unravel General Neurological Basis for Behaviors.
December 6, 2007... Byline: The Scripps Research Institute LA JOLLA, Calif., Dec. 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has discovered specific pheromone compounds responsible for eliciting aggressive behavior in...

Ultrafast Optical Shutter Is Switched Entirely by Laser Light.
December 6, 2007... Byline: Vanderbilt University NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- It's a rare case of all light and no heat: A new study reports that a laser can be used to switch a film of vanadium dioxide back and forth between reflective and...

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Announces Positive Phase II Trial Results for Vigabatrin in Treatment of Cocaine Addiction; Study Demonstrates Statistically Significant Efficacy vs. Placebo; Trial Conducted Under Direction of New York University School of Medicine.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Brookhaven National Laboratory UPTON, N.Y., Dec. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- The following news release on the results of the first double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of an addiction treatment originally developed at the...

Study Offers Insight Into Plant Cell-Wall Construction; Findings Have Implications for Understanding Plant Defenses and for Engineering Biofuels.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Brookhaven National Laboratory UPTON, N.Y., Dec. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- By studying how plants change their production of amino acids in response to a simulated "attack," scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven...

U.S. Assistance for Democracy Building Still Working; Vanderbilt-Pittsburgh Study Controls for 'Iraq Effect'.
December 7, 2007... Byline: Vanderbilt University NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- Devoting American dollars to democracy building in foreign countries continues to bring measurable increases in democratic governance around the globe, according...

Antibacterial Chemical Disrupts Hormone Activities.
December 7, 2007... Byline: University of California, Davis DAVIS, Calif., Dec. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new University of California, Davis study shows that a common antibacterial chemical added to bath soaps can alter hormonal activity in rats and in human...

Silencing Small But Mighty Cancer Inhibitors.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers from Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered another reason why one of the most commonly activated proteins in cancer is...

Living Longer With Obesity Means Heavier Burden for Hospitals.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- Living longer with obesity can lead to both longer hospital stays and more avoidable trips to the hospital, according to two new studies from Purdue University....

Keeping At-Risk Cells From Developing Cancer.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that cancers arising from epigenetic changes - in this case the inappropriate activation of a normally silent...

Patients, Dentists Differ on Smile Ratings, Journal of the American Dental Association Study Finds; Teeth, Eyes Most Attractive Facial Features.
December 10, 2007... Byline: American Dental Association CHICAGO, Dec. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- People rate their smiles higher than dentists do, according to a new study. Teeth and eyes rated as the most important features of an attractive face, the study also...

Mars Rover Investigates Signs of Steamy Martian Past.
December 10, 2007... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers using NASA's twin Mars rovers are sorting out two possible origins for one of Spirit's most important discoveries, while also getting Spirit to a...

RAND Study Provides Framework for Passenger-Rail Systems to Cost-Effectively Protect Riders From Terrorist Attacks.
December 10, 2007... Byline: RAND Corporation SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- A RAND Corporation study issued today gives rail security planners and policymakers a framework to develop cost-effective plans to secure their rail systems from...

Public Willing to Pay More for Rehabilitation of Juvenile Offenders.
December 10, 2007... Byline: DTKindler Communications WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Two new surveys supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation show strong public backing for the rehabilitation of youthful offenders and a greater...

Scientists Develop New Measure of 'Socioclimatic' Risk; New Analysis 'Highly Relevant' for U.N. Bali Negotiations.
December 11, 2007... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- As the United Nations climate negotiations proceed in Bali, Indonesia, researchers have taken a first step toward quantifying the "socioclimatic" exposure of...

Wind Turbines Produce 'Green' Energy - and Airflow Mysteries; Aiming Laser at Model Windmills Shows How Clean Power Source Can Stir Up Atmosphere.
December 11, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins University BALTIMORE, Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Using smoke, laser light, model airplane propellers and a campus wind tunnel, a team led by Johns Hopkins University researchers is trying to solve the airflow...

More 'Functional' DNA in Genome Than Previously Thought.
December 11, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Surrounding the small islands of genes within the human genome is a vast sea of mysterious DNA. While most of this non-coding DNA is junk, some of it is...

Corporate Culture Matters for Firm Policies, Study Finds.(Report)
December 12, 2007... Byline: Ohio State University COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 12 (AScribe Newswire) -- Corporate culture involves more than just dress codes and the atmosphere in the office -- it helps define a company's most important economic decisions, according...

Milk, Egg Allergies Harder to Outgrow, Hopkins Study Shows.(Report)
December 12, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 12 (AScribe Newswire) -- Considered "transitional" a generation ago, milk and egg allergies now appear to be more persistent and harder to outgrow, according to new research from...

Cellular Pump Sabotages Cancer Drug Studies That Use 'Glow Chemical'.
December 14, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 14 (AScribe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins scientists have by chance discovered that a widely used means of illuminating cancer cells could undermine studies of the potential value of...

Experiments Reveal Unexpected Activity of Fuel Cell Catalysts.
December 15, 2007... Byline: Brookhaven National Laboratory UPTON, N.Y, Dec. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have unveiled important details about a class of catalysts that could help...

Pain Treatment in the Field: Good for Soldiers' Comfort and Better for Rebuilding Troop Strength.(Disease/Disorder overview)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- Noncombat-related acute and recurrent chronic pain are the leading causes of soldier attrition in modern war, with the return-to-duty rate as low as 2...

Study Finds Muslim Americans Share Mainstream Views; Muslim Americans Are Affluent, Well-Educated and Engaged in the Political Process.
December 17, 2007... Byline: University of California, Irvine IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- Muslim Americans are highly involved in the political process, relatively affluent and educated, and resemble the average American in terms of party...

Older Antibiotic Gains New Respect as Potent Treatment for Tuberculosis; Rifapentine Already Approved for Use in Humans.
December 17, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- It has no current market, not even a prescription price. Its makers stopped commercial production years ago, because demand was so low. But an antibiotic...

Penn Researchers Discover Link Between Chronic Kidney Disease, Oxygen-Deprived Tissue; Findings Have Implications for New Approaches to Kidney Dialysis.
December 18, 2007... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how low-oxygen conditions can worsen chronic kidney disease (CKD)....

RNA Interference Therapy Heals Growth Deficiency Disorder in a Live Animal.
December 18, 2007... Byline: Vanderbilt University NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- A team of Vanderbilt researchers have demonstrated for the first time that a new type of gene therapy, called RNA interference, can heal a genetic disorder in a...

Obese Patients Wait Longer for Kidney Transplants, Research Suggests; Medicare Payment Plans Are a Factor.
December 19, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Dec. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- New research from Johns Hopkins specialists suggests that obese kidney disease patients face not only the usual long odds of a tissue match and organ...

Elevated Carbon Dioxide Changes Soil Microbe Mix Below Plants.
December 19, 2007... Byline: Brookhaven National Laboratory UPTON, N.Y., Dec. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- A detailed analysis of soil samples taken from a forest ecosystem with artificially elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) reveals distinct...

First Look at an Enzyme Target for Antibacterial and Cancer Drugs.
December 20, 2007... Byline: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- The veil has finally been lifted on an enzyme that is critical to the process of DNA transcription and replication, and is a prime target of...

New Study Backs up Theory: Achieving Goals Takes Accountability, Commitment, Communication.
December 20, 2007... Byline: Dominican University of California SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Dec. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- Dominican University of California psychology professor Dr. Gail Matthews has advice for those with "stop procrastinating" on their list of New...

Scripps Research and St. Jude's Team Finds a Widely Used Anti-Malarial Drug Prevents Cancer Development; Study Offers Proof of Principle for Novel Anti-Tumor Therapy.
December 20, 2007... Byline: The Scripps Research Institute LA JOLLA, Calif., Dec. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital have found that a commonly prescribed anti-malarial drug...

To Curious Aliens, Earth Would Stand Out as Living Planet.
December 20, 2007... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- With powerful instruments scouring the heavens, astronomers have found more than 240 planets in the past two decades, none likely to support Earth-like life. ...

96-Million-Year-Old Fossil Pollen Sheds Light on Early Pollinators.
December 20, 2007... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- The collapse of honeybee colonies across North America is focusing attention on the honeybees' vital role in the survival of agricultural crops, and a new study...

Florida Consumer Confidence Hits Lowest Level in More Than Five Years.
December 21, 2007... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- The housing crisis, a declining stock market and higher gas prices are all to blame for a two-point drop in Florida's consumer confidence to 74, its lowest...

Health Coverage Improves Health and Reduces Major Heart Complications.
December 25, 2007... Byline: Harvard University Medical School BOSTON, Dec. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- As presidential candidates ramp up their primary campaigns, health care reform looms prominently among voters' main concerns. A new study in the December...

Taxol With Avastin Produces Noteworthy Results, Indiana University Breast Cancer Researcher Reports in New England Journal of Medicine.(Financial report)(Clinical report)
December 27, 2007... Byline: Indiana University School of Medicine INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- The positive results of the first nationwide clinical study showing the benefits of an antiangiogenic agent in breast cancer therapy are reported in...

Treating Oft Ignored Non-Cancer Health Issues After Cancer Diagnosis Prolongs Survival.
December 27, 2007... Byline: Indiana University School of Medicine INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- Receiving treatment for non-cancer health issues while being treated by specialists for cancer improves cancer survival rates according to a study...

Penn Researchers Hot on the TRAIL of New Cancer Targets: Cell-Death Receptor Link Between Cancer Susceptibility and Inflammation.
December 27, 2007... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- For over 10 years, Wafik S. El-Deiry, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Genetics, and Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of...

Deep Impact Zooms by Earth on New Year's Eve; Earth Flyby and Moon Pics Mark Start of New Mission.
December 31, 2007... Byline: University of Maryland, College Park COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 31 (AScribe Newswire) -- This New Year's Eve the University of Maryland-led Deep Impact team will again celebrate a holiday in a way that few can match, when their Deep...

'Swish-and-Spit' Test Accurate for Cancer.
December 31, 2007... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Jan. 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- A morning gargle could someday be more than a breath freshener - it could spot head and neck cancer, say scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer...