Press monitoring
Fighting crimes against biodiversity: How to catch a killer weed
14.2.2012 | Press monitoring
Invasive species which have the potential to destroy biodiversity and influence global change could be tracked and controlled in the same way as wanted criminals, according to new research from Queen Mary, University of London. Geographic profiling (GP) was originally developed as a statistical tool in criminology, where it uses the locations of...
Breastfeeding protects against asthma up to six years of age
13.2.2012 | Press monitoring
Research by the University of Otago in Christchurch and Wellington has shown that breastfeeding of infants has a clear protective effect against children developing asthma or wheezing up to six years of age. There has long been debate over this issue in the scientific literature, but this latest study of 1105 infants in Christchurch and...
People Lie More When Texting
9.2.2012 | Press monitoring
Sending a text message leads people to lie more often than in other forms of communication, according to new research by David Xu, assistant professor in the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University. The authors then analyzed which forms of communication led to more deception. They found that buyers who received information...
Decaffeinated Coffee May Help Improve Memory Function and Reduce Risk of Diabetes
8.2.2012 | Press monitoring
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered that decaffeinated coffee may improve brain energy metabolism associated with type 2 diabetes. This brain dysfunction is a known risk factor for dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease. The research is published online in Nutritional Neuroscience. A...
Skin Cells Turned Into Neural Precusors, Bypassing Stem-Cell Stage
7.2.2012 | Press monitoring
Mouse skin cells can be converted directly into cells that become the three main parts of the nervous system, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding is an extension of a previous study by the same group showing that mouse and human skin cells can be directly converted into functional neurons.. In the...
Exposure to Common Environmental Bacteria May Be Source of Some Allergic Inflammation
3.2.2012 | Press monitoring
New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that certain strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cause white blood cells to produce high levels of histamine, which worsens the severity of inflammation and infection. To make this discovery, scientists studied the effect of two strains of pseudomonas bacteria on isolated mouse...
Single dose of antibiotic leaves mice highly vulnerable to intestinal infection
2.2.2012 | Press monitoring
Yet another study adds to the growing evidence that antibiotics can disrupt the balance of the intestinal flora, with negative effects on health. A team of researchers from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, has shown in mouse models that a single dose of the commonly used antibiotic, clindamycin, wiped out nearly 90...
Sleep problems increase risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity
31.1.2012 | Press monitoring
People who suffer from sleep disturbances are at major risk for obesity, diabetes, and coronary artery disease, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. For the first time in such a large and diverse sample, analyzing the data of over 130,000 people, the new research also indicates that...
Genetically Modified Food Safe, Animal Study Suggests
30.1.2012 | Press monitoring
A three year feeding study has shown no adverse health effects in pigs fed genetically modified (GM) maize. The maize, which is a Bt-maize bred for its insect resistant properties, was sourced from Spain. The research team conducted short-term (31 days), medium-term (110 days) and generational pig feeding studies where the health of piglets of...
A new way to stimulate the immune system and fight infection
27.1.2012 | Press monitoring
A study carried out by Eric Vivier and Sophie Ugolini at the Marseille-Luminy Centre for Immunology has just reveal a gene in mice which, when mutated, can stimulate the immune system to help fight against tumors and viral infections. Whilst this gene was known to activate one of the body's first lines of defense (Natural Killer, or 'NK' cells),...
