Ascribe Higher Education News Service articles from September 2008

Ascribe Higher Education News Service archives from September 2008

Most Vaccine-Allergic Children Can Still Be Safely Vaccinated, Hopkins Experts Say; Team Offers Step-by-Step Tool for Safe Immunization.
September 1, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- With close monitoring and a few standard precautions, nearly all children with known or suspected vaccine allergies can be safely immunized, according to a...

Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, PATH Announce New Partnership to Produce Rotavirus Vaccine Candidate for Clinical Trials; Collaboration Will Support Development of RV3 Vaccine Candidate Against Leading Cause of Severe Diarrheal Disease in Children.
September 2, 2008... Byline: PATH SEATTLE, Sept. 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI) and PATH have announced a new partnership to support the further development of the MCRI rotavirus vaccine candidate, RV3. PATH will provide up...

Hopkins Researchers Piece Together Gene 'Network' Linked to Schizophrenia; Patients Confirmed to Carry Mutations.
September 2, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- Reporting this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have uncovered for the first time...

National Pride Turning Developing Country Firms Into a Seller's Dream, Suggests New Study From University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.
September 3, 2008... Byline: Rotman School of Management TORONTO, Sept. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- Firms in developing countries are not only spending more to buy companies in the developed world, they've got patriotic motivations for paying premium prices, says...

Bad Sign for Global Warming: Thawing Permafrost Holds Vast Carbon Pool.
September 3, 2008... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Sept. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- Permafrost blanketing the northern hemisphere contains more than twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, making it a potentially mammoth contributor to...

Web-Based Tool Streamlines Approval and Reduces Excessive Use of Antibiotics in Hospitalized Patients.
September 3, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- Doctors who use a novel Web-based tool to prescribe special categories of antibiotics to their hospitalized patients are getting the job done faster and...

New Research Challenges Long-Held Assumptions of Flightless Bird Evolution.
September 3, 2008... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Sept. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- Large flightless birds of the southern continents - African ostriches, Australian emus and cassowaries, South American rheas and the New Zealand kiwi - do not...

New Nano Device Detects Immune System Cell Signaling.
September 3, 2008... Byline: Vanderbilt University NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists have detected previously unnoticed chemical signals that individual cells in the immune system use to communicate with each other over short...

University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center Receives Prestigious National Cancer Institute Designation; Center Joins Elite Group of Cancer Research and Treatment Facilities in U.S.
September 3, 2008... Byline: University of Maryland Medical System BALTIMORE, Sept. 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center has been selected as a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center,...

Comprehensive Genetic Blueprints Revealed for Lethal Pancreatic, Brain Cancers.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- The complete genetic blueprint for lethal pancreatic cancer and brain cancer was deciphered by a team at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. The...

Global Sea-Rise Levels by 2100 May Be Lower Than Some Predict, Says New University of Colorado Study.
September 4, 2008... Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- Despite projections by some scientists of global seas rising by 20 feet or more by the end of this century as a result of warming, a new University of...

Study: Delaying Evolution of Drug Resistance in Malaria Parasite Possible.
September 4, 2008... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Sept. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- There's no magic bullet for wiping out malaria, but a new study offers strong support for a method that effectively delays the evolution of drug resistance in...

Tracking Down the Menace in Mexico City Smog.
September 5, 2008... Byline: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory BERKELEY, Calif., Sept. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new report by scientists who are part of the international MILAGRO Campaign indicates that some of the most harmful air pollution in Mexico City...

Improving Arts Education Is Key to Stemming Audience Decline, RAND Study Finds.
September 8, 2008... Byline: The Wallace Foundation NEW YORK, Sept. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- Policymakers have underestimated the critical role of arts learning in supporting a vibrant nonprofit cultural sector, according to a RAND Corporation study issued...

The Cancer Genome Atlas Reports First Results, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center Collaborates.(Financial report)
September 8, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) has reported results from its first comprehensive study which focused on the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma. The findings...

CACM Reports: Making Sense of Data From Diverse Sources; September Issue Also Examines Ways to Improve World's Education Standard.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Association for Computing Machinery NEW YORK, Sept. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- The September issue of Communications of the ACM (CACM; http://mags.acm.org/communications/200808/) continues its recently expanded editorial scope with...

Fuel Emissions From Marine Vessels Remain a Global Concern; Study Examines Tradeoff Among Fuel Switching and Emission Control Policies.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Rochester Institute of Technology ROCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- Marine vessels are no longer resting in a safe harbor. The forecast for clear skies and smooth sailing for oceanic vessels has been impeded by...

As Andean Glacier Retreats, Tiny Life Forms Swiftly Move in, University of Colorado Study Shows.
September 8, 2008... Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- A University of Colorado at Boulder team working at 16,400 feet in the Peruvian Andes has discovered how barren soils uncovered by retreating glacier ice...

University of Florida Physicists to Take Part in World's Most Ambitious Science Experiment.
September 8, 2008... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Sept. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- When the world's largest particle accelerator goes live later this week, University of Florida physicists will join thousands of scientists working to crack the...

High Levels of Physical Activity Can Blunt Effect of Gene Linked to Obesity, University of Maryland Study Suggests; Researchers Examined Genes, Lifestyle of Old Order Amish in Lancaster County, Pa.
September 8, 2008... Byline: University of Maryland Medical System BALTIMORE, Sept. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- High levels of physical activity can help to counteract a gene that normally causes people to gain weight, according to a new study by researchers at the...

Enzyme Detectives Uncover New Reactions, Products; Implications for Engineering Biofuels, Plant-Derived Replacements for Petro-Chemicals.
September 8, 2008... Byline: Brookhaven National Laboratory UPTON, N.Y., Sept. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- If your experiment doesn't go the way you expect, take a closer look -- something even more interesting may have happened. That strategy has led scientists at...

Penn Researchers Identify Natural Tumor Suppressor; Better Understanding of Early-Stage Cancer Crucial to Finding New Therapies.(Disease/Disorder overview)
September 9, 2008... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 9 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a key step in the formation - and suppression - of esophageal...

Fuel-Saving Designs Improve Efficiency of Hydraulic Systems.
September 9, 2008... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Sept. 9 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at Purdue University have shown how to reduce fuel consumption and dramatically improve the efficiency of hydraulic pumps and motors in heavy...

First Beam for Large Hadron Collider.
September 10, 2008... Byline: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- An international collaboration of scientists today sent the first beam of protons zooming at nearly the speed of light around the world's most powerful...

Remote Technology Sees Through Ice, Snow and Hot Air to Monitor Power Plants; Rochester Institute of Technology Scientist Carl Salvaggio Conducts Research for the U.S. Department of Energy.
September 10, 2008... Byline: Rochester Institute of Technology ROCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- On Aug. 14, 2003, the power grid failure that left the northeastern United States in darkness surprised a country unaccustomed to interrupted...

The Viability of Hydrogen Transportation Markets: Chicken or Egg? Study in Technovation Evaluates Development of Vehicle-Infrastructure System.
September 10, 2008... Byline: Rochester Institute of Technology ROCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- Hydrogen may well be the new gasoline. But where's the nearest "gas" station where you can pull up and refuel your energy-efficient vehicle? ...

Idaho National Laboratory Nuclear Materials Detection Technology Wins National Security Award.
September 11, 2008... Byline: Idaho National Laboratory WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- New technology under development at Idaho National Laboratory has been proven to safely detect hidden nuclear materials smuggled into ports and across borders....

Johns Hopkins Neuroscientists Discover Critical Early Step of Memory Formation; Paradoxical Mechanism: Turn It Off in Order to Turn It On.
September 12, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 12 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine report in the July issue of Neuron how nerve cells in the brain ensure that Arc, a protein...

Hopkins Children's Study: Parents of Dying Newborns Need Clearer Explanation of Options; Misunderstanding Is Rife.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Parent-doctor discussions about whether to maintain or withdraw life support from terminally ill or severely premature newborns are so plagued by...

Wistar Researchers Invigorate 'Exhausted' Immune Cells; Findings Support New Therapies for HIV, Hepatitis, Cancer.
September 15, 2008... Byline: The Wistar Institute PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- In battles against chronic infections, the body's key immune cells often become exhausted and ineffective. Researchers at The Wistar Institute have found a way to...

Therapeutic Massage Tops Touch in Relieving Cancer Pain.
September 15, 2008... Byline: University of Colorado Denver AURORA, Colo., Sept. 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- The stroking, squeezing, kneading and finger-probing pressure of professional masseurs brought greater relief to pain-wracked terminal cancer patients than...

Hopkins Researchers Suppress 'Hunger Hormone'; New Minimally Invasive Method Tested in Pigs Yields Result as Good as Bariatric Surgery.
September 15, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins scientists report success in significantly suppressing levels of the "hunger hormone" ghrelin in pigs using a minimally invasive means of...

Prostate Cancer Genes Behave Like Those in Embryo; Testosterone Activates Similar Genes in Prostate Development and Prostate Cancer.
September 16, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- Gene activity in prostate cancer is reminiscent of that in the developing fetal prostate, providing further evidence that all cancers are not equal, Johns...

Viral 'Magic Bullet' Targets Cancer Cells With Help of New Compound; Canadian Researchers Discover Way to Make Cancer Vulnerable to 'Good' Viruses.
September 16, 2008... Byline: McGill University MONTREAL, Sept. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at McGill University and the affiliated Lady Davis Research Institute of the Jewish General Hospital - along with colleagues at the University of Ottawa and the...

From Xbox to T-Cells: Michigan Tech Researchers Borrow Video Game Technology to Model Human Biology.
September 16, 2008... Byline: Michigan Technological University HOUGHTON, Mich., Sept. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- A team of researchers at Michigan Technological University is harnessing the computing muscle behind the leading video games to understand the most...

Nationwide Study Grades and Ranks Campaign Disclosure in the 50 States; 40 States Pass, 10 Fail, 26 Earn Higher Grades.
September 17, 2008... Byline: California Voter Foundation SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- Access to state-level campaign finance information has improved dramatically since 2003 due to the increase in electronic filing of campaign disclosure...

California Voters Volatile, Discontent, Divided.
September 17, 2008... Byline: Public Policy Institute of California SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- California voters are distrustful of government, divided by partisanship, and poised to express their frustration at the ballot box, according to a...

Penn Researchers Use Honeybee Venom Toxin to Develop New Tool for Studying Hypertension.
September 17, 2008... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have modified a honeybee venom toxin so that it can be used as a tool to study...

Expanding Cell Girth Indicates Seriousness of Breast Cancer.
September 18, 2008... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Sept. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- How fat cells become after being exposed to a specialized electrical field is helping researchers determine whether cells are normal, cancerous or a stage of...

New Study by UC Santa Barbara, Hawaii Scientists Offers Solution to Global Fisheries Collapse.
September 18, 2008... Byline: University of California, Santa Barbara SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Sept. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- A study published in the September 19 issue of Science shows that an innovative yet contentious fisheries management strategy called...

'Buckyballs' Have High Potential to Accumulate in Living Tissue.
September 18, 2008... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Sept. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- Research at Purdue University suggests synthetic carbon molecules called fullerenes, or buckyballs, have a high potential of being accumulated in animal tissue,...

Idaho National Laboratory Researchers Meet Major Hydrogen Milestone.
September 18, 2008... Byline: Idaho National Laboratory IDAHO FALLS, Idaho, Sept. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory earlier this month reached a major milestone with the successful...

People With Type 2 Diabetes Can Put Fatty Livers on a Diet With Moderate Exercise.
September 19, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- Weekly bouts of moderate aerobic exercise on a bike or treadmill, or a brisk walk, combined with some weightlifting, may cut down levels of fat in the...

Genetic Fishing Expedition Yields Surprising Catch Important to Mammals.
September 19, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins investigators report the discovery of master controllers of a gene critical to human and all mammalian development by trawling, implausibly...

University of Virginia Lab Micro-Sizes Genetics Testing.
September 19, 2008... Byline: University of Virginia CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- Using new "lab on a chip" technology, James Landers hopes to create a hand-held device that may eventually allow physicians, crime scene investigators,...

Healthy Blood Vessels May Prevent Fat Growth.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Indiana University School of Medicine INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- The cells lining blood vessels are known to be important for maintaining health, but researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine believe...

Hibernation Studies, Tiny Medical Tools Lead to Major Grants; NIH Gives $1.5 Million New Innovator Awards to Two Johns Hopkins Researchers.
September 22, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins University BALTIMORE, Sept. 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- Two Johns Hopkins researchers - a physician whose squirrel hibernation studies may lead to new treatments for muscle-wasting diseases, and an engineer who is...

Penn Researchers Show That Inhibiting Cholesterol-Associated Protein Reduces High-Risk Blockages in Arteries; Studies in Animal Model Point Way Toward New Class of Heart-Disease Medication.
September 22, 2008... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- Using the drug darapladib, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues have inhibited a cholesterol-and immune...

Breakthrough Could Help Heal Spinal Cord Injuries Without Pain.
September 22, 2008... Byline: University of Colorado Denver AURORA, Colo., Sept. 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine say manipulating embryo-derived stem cell precursors prior to transplanting them holds...

In Women, Oversize Waistlines Are a Potent Risk Factor for Heart Disease; Annual Screenings Encouraged to Assess Real Risk of Heart Trouble.
September 23, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 23 (AScribe Newswire) -- A heart expert at Johns Hopkins is calling for all women with a waistline measuring more than 35 inches to get an annual check-up and detailed risk...

Wolves Show Scientists Are Barking Up the Wrong Tree.
September 23, 2008... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Sept. 23 (AScribe Newswire) -- The common notion is that dogs evolved a special sensitivity to their human masters during domestication. But new research, reported this week in a paper...

Caffeine Experts at Johns Hopkins Call for Warning Labels for Energy Drinks; Caffeinated Energy Drinks May Present Health Risks.
September 23, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins scientists who have spent decades researching the effects of caffeine report that a slew of caffeinated energy drinks now on the market...

Severe Climate Change Costs Forecast for Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, North Dakota.
September 24, 2008... Byline: University of Maryland, College Park COLLEGE PARK, Md., Sept. 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- The economic impact of climate change will cost a number of U.S. states billions of dollars, and delaying action will raise the price tag,...

Legislators' Nod to Citizen Initiatives May Be Tied to Re-Election Hopes.
September 24, 2008... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Sept. 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- Citizen-initiated measures, such as gay rights and physician-assisted suicide, are not a uniquely Western U.S. phenomenon as traditionally thought, but have...

Scientists Identify Novel Inhibitor of Human microRNA; Discovery Points to New Avenue for Cancer Treatment.
September 25, 2008... Byline: The Wistar Institute PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists at The Wistar Institute and their colleagues have identified, for the first time, a molecule that can regulate microRNAs - short strands of RNA that play...

New Nanoscale Process Created by UC Santa Barbara Scientists Will Help Computers Run Faster and More Efficiently.
September 25, 2008... Byline: University of California, Santa Barbara SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Sept. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- Smaller. Faster. More efficient. These are the qualities that drive science and industry to create new nanoscale structures that will help...

Advance Offers Revolution in Food Safety Testing.
September 25, 2008... Byline: Oregon State University CORVALLIS, Ore., Sept. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- Microbiologists at Oregon State University have developed a new technology to detect illness-causing bacteria - an advance that could revolutionize the food...

Ivey Professor Launches New Model for Valuing Employee Stock Options; Award-Winning Model Better Reflects Decisions of Employees.
September 29, 2008... Byline: Richard Ivey School of Business LONDON, Ontario, Sept. 29 (AScribe Newswire) -- Believing current models for valuing employee stock options don't accurately reflect the way employees make decisions, a finance professor at the...

100 Years of Ammonia Synthesis: How a Single Patent Changed the World; Now It Is Time to Invent Sustainable Solutions to Avoid the Side Effects.
September 29, 2008... Byline: University of Virginia CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 29 (AScribe Newswire) -- As a result of the Haber-Bosch process for synthesizing ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen, billions of people have been fed, millions have died in armed...

Penn Study Shows Immune System Can Hurt as Well as Help Fight Cancer; Discovery Could Lead to New Cancer Treatments With Fewer Side Effects.
September 29, 2008... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 29 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that some proteins of the immune system can promote tumor growth....

Groundbreaking Findings on Autism to Be Presented at Carnegie Mellon International Symposium.
September 29, 2008... Byline: Carnegie Mellon University PITTSBURGH, Sept. 29 (AScribe Newswire) -- Today's autism research draws on a variety of scientific disciplines, from genetics to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to neural development. At the...

Study Reveals an Oily Diet for Subsurface Life.(Report)
September 30, 2008... Byline: University of California, Santa Barbara SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Sept. 30 (AScribe Newswire) -- Thousands of feet below the bottom of the sea, off the shores of Santa Barbara, single-celled organisms are busy feasting on oil. ...

Most Adults Under 50 Unlikely Need Colorectal Screening; New Study Shows They Have Few Pre-Cancerous Polyps.(Report)
September 30, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Sept. 30 (AScribe Newswire) -- Young adults without a family history of bowel disease are unlikely to develop adenomas, the colorectal polyps most likely to lead to cancer, according to...

Will Patients Stick to Physical Therapy? Questionnaire Can Help Doctors Predict.(Clinical report)
September 30, 2008... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Oct. 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- Patients' responses to a simple questionnaire can reliably predict whether they will adhere to physical therapy after spine surgery, Johns Hopkins...