Eureka! Science News - Popular science news

Will earlier springs throw nature out of step?

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:29:06 -0500

The recent trend towards earlier UK springs and summers has been accelerating, according to a study published today (9 February 2010) in the scientific journal Global Change Biology.

Patients 'unafraid' to gamble highlight role of amygdala in decision-making

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:08:18 -0500

Two patients with rare lesions to the brain have provided direct of evidence of how we make decisions – and what makes us dislike the thought of losing money.

Study reveals new details on the dangers of third-hand smoke

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:36:27 -0500

Nicotine in third-hand smoke, the residue from tobacco smoke that clings to virtually all surfaces long after a cigarette has been extinguished, reacts with the common indoor air pollutant nitrous acid to produce dangerous carcinogens. This new potential health hazard was revealed in a multi-institutional study led by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

Research identifies gene with likely role in premenstrual disorder

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:31:59 -0500

Scientists have identified a gene they say is a strong candidate for involvement in premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and other maladies associated with the natural flux in hormones during the menstrual cycle. In a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Rockefeller University researchers detail experiments in mice showing that a common human variant of the gene increases anxiety, dampens curiosity and tweaks the effects of estrogen on the brain, impairing memory. If applied in the clinic, the work could help diagnose and treat cognitive and mood disorders related to the menstrual cycle and inform treatments during menopause, such as hormone replacement therapy, researchers say.

Medication appears well-tolerated, beneficial in Huntington's disease patients

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:24:27 -0500

A medication previously studied in patients with Alzheimer's disease (latrepirdine) appears well tolerated and may improve thinking, learning and memory skills among individuals with Huntington's disease, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Study examines course and treatment of unexplained chest pain

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:57:55 -0500

Fewer than half of individuals who have "non-specific" chest pain (not explained by a well-known condition) experience relief from symptoms following standard medical care, according to a report in the February 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, one-tenth of those with persistent chest pain undergo potentially unnecessary diagnostic testing.

Low forms of cyclin E reduce breast cancer drug's effectiveness

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:58:50 -0500

E) forms of the protein cyclin E renders the aromatase inhibitor letrozole ineffective among women with estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers, researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in Clinical Cancer Research.

UB geographers help map devastation in Haiti

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:36:22 -0500

In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, University at Buffalo geography students are participating in a global effort to enhance the international response and recovery effort by helping to assess damage, using images hosted by Google Earth and the Virtual Disaster Viewer, which shares imagery of disasters from various sources.

High-altitude climbs may cause corneal swelling, but do not appear to affect vision

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:57:50 -0500

Swelling commonly occurs in the corneas of mountain climbers, but does not appear to affect vision at altitudes of up to 6,300 meters (about 20,670 feet), according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

UC Davis study confirms link between advanced maternal age and autism

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:57:13 -0500

Advanced maternal age is linked to a significantly elevated risk of having a child with autism, regardless of the father's age, according to an exhaustive study of all births in California during the 1990s by UC Davis Health System researchers. Advanced paternal age is associated with elevated autism risk only when the father is older and the mother is under 30, the study found.

Researchers reveal 3-D structure of bullet-shaped virus with potential to fight cancer, HIV

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:29:27 -0500

Vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV, has long been a model system for studying and understanding the life cycle of negative-strand RNA viruses, which include viruses that cause influenza, measles and rabies.

Using nitroglycerin to treat prostate cancer shows potential to halt disease, Queen's research

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:25:43 -0500

Treatment of prostate cancer using a very low dose of nitroglycerin may slow and even halt the progression of the disease without the severe side effects of current treatments, Queen's University researchers have discovered

Gadgets not related to teenagers' brain pain

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:21:56 -0500

Use of most electronic media is not associated with headaches, at least not in adolescents. A study of 1025 13-17 year olds, published in the open access journal BMC Neurology, found no association between the use of computer games, mobile phones or television and the occurrence of headaches or migraines. However, listening to one or two hours of music every day was associated with a pounding head.

Morality research sheds light on the origins of religion

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:36:49 -0500

The details surrounding the emergence and evolution of religion have not been clearly established and remain a source of much debate among scholars. Now, an article published by Cell Press in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences on February 8 brings a new understanding to this long-standing discussion by exploring the fascinating link between morality and religion.

Nicotine replacement therapy is over-promoted since most ex-smokers quit unassisted

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:25:27 -0500

Health authorities should emphasize the positive message that the most successful method used by most ex-smokers is unassisted cessation, despite the promotion of cessation drugs by pharmaceutical companies and many tobacco control advocates.The dominant messages about smoking cessation contained in most tobacco control campaigns, which emphasize that serious attempts at quitting smoking must be pharmacologically or professionally mediated, are critiqued in an essay in this week's PLoS Medicine by Simon Chapman and Ross MacKenzie from the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, Australia. This overemphasis on quit methods like nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) has led to the "medicalisation of smoking cessation," despite good evidence that the most successful method used by most ex-smokers is quitting "cold turkey" or reducing-then-quitting. Reviewing 511 studies published in 2007 and 2 008 the authors report that studies repeatedly show that two-thirds to three-quarters of ex-smokers stop unaided and most ex-smokers report that cessation was less difficult than expected.