Believers in Brazil can choose from a wide variety of religions. The main reason for this rich selection lies in the country’s colonial history and its current socio-economic development. This is the key message of a project recently concluded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF in order to analyze why Brazil of all countries experiences such a big run on faith.

Millions of Europeans were under the spell of the elections for the new Pope, but the truth is that religions are losing

Results of a genetic linkage analysis of PRKCB1 with autism published

Scientists working at IntegraGen SA, the personalized medicines company, have shown that variations in the gene for protein kinase C beta 1 (PRKCB1), a protein with an important role in brain function, are strongly associated with autism. This exciting finding suggests some answers to a number of previous, but unexplained, observations about autism and provides the potential for a mechanistic explanation for som

Almadraba is a fishing art whereby a labyrinth of nets intercept the migratory movements of the large tuna, when they cross the Gibraltar Straits. This study, undertaken by AZTI-Tecnalia, involved analysing the chain of marketing of the tuna fish, from the catch in the almadrabas to its freezing – the aim being to design a monitoring system adapted to this mode of fishing -, to its handling and processing and to the first stages of marketing the product. The end target is the design of an identifyi

Patient reminders can help physicians improve immunization rates for their practice, according to a new review of studies.
All six of the reminder and recall systems tested — including post cards, letters and phone calls — resulted in better immunization coverage, the review finds. The boost in immunization rates held true for both adults and children — and across an array of clinical settings. The review, which encompasses 43 patient-reminder studies, found immunization increases

Cigarette smoking continues to be the principal cause of premature death in the nation and a major cause of medical expenditures and lost productivity. Of the 46.5 million adults in the United States who smoke, about 70% will see a primary care provider at least once a year. The United States Public Health Service (USPHS), in an effort to reduce cigarette smoking, recommends a 5-step process that includes: (1) Asking every patient about tobacco use, (2) Advising all smokers to quit, (3) Assessin

New Saint Louis University research suggests simple solutions

One in three nursing home residents who have Alzheimer’s disease are not getting their vision corrected so they can see clearly, according to new Saint Louis University research in the July issue of the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.
“Many nursing home residents are losing out on stimulation. They may not be able to see the television, read books or interact appropriately,” said James

When faced with a challenging situation, a bicultural person may decide how to respond based on the cultural mindset that is active at the time, researchers have concluded.

College students in Hong Kong, for example, who were prompted ahead of time with icons of Chinese culture were more likely to cooperate with friends than were students who had been cued with American cultural icons, according to Ying-yi Hong of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Hong and

Some of us can hold our tongues better than others but even the best of us will blurt out the truth when we’re tired, stressed or distracted, according to a new research report.

“The dinner party guest who puts his foot in his mouth could lack a crucial mental ability that stops the rest of us from blurting out our true feelings,” according to a report in the July issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the American Psychological Society.

But while most peopl

Lives and money could be saved if co-pays for ACE inhibitors were eliminated

Nothing in life is free, the old saying goes. But maybe some things should be, according to a new University of Michigan Health System study. Specifically, researchers find, a group of medicines called ACE inhibitors should be available at no cost to the 8 million Americans over age 65 who have diabetes. These drugs are so beneficial for these patients that even giving them away ultimately would save

The tongue’s ability to differentiate between sweet and bitter tastes may reside in the same taste bud cells, a new study reports.

The study explains the discovery of a chemical messenger called neuropeptide Y (NPY) in taste bud cells. Though researchers have long known that NPY is active in the brain and gut, this is the first study to show that it is also active in taste bud cells.

That finding gives scientists a deeper understanding of how the human brain may distinguis

New study shows that a prescription of antibiotics taken within the previous two months doubles the chances of patients carrying antibiotic resistant bacteria.

A new study has shown that a prescription of antibiotics taken within the previous two months doubles the chances of patients carrying antibiotic resistant bacteria. The same effect was not seen in patients who had had antibiotics prescribed within the previous 12 months.

While information from large data sets sug

Mainstream financial service providers should help their rejected borrowers improve credit ratings and avoid sinking deeper into debt, by collaborating with high-interest lenders, many of which they own, argues a new report sponsored by the ESRC.

Better liaison and advice might prevent shocking cases such as that of the Meadows family of Southport, who hit the headlines last October after a loan of £5,750 shot up to a staggering debt of £380,000, says a study at Keele University l

Since September 2000, when the UN-initiated Millennium Declaration was signed, States have to work towards reducing poverty and encouraging world economic growth in the coming decades (1). In discussions embarked on to respond to these objectives, the questions of population and urban growth take a predominant place. Urbanization, which is a key indicator of current globalization in the world, serves increasingly to predict other trends studied at global scale, like poverty, energy consumption,

SMOKERS who give up are much less likely to lose their teeth prematurely than those who don’t kick the habit, pioneering research has shown.

Dental researchers at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, observed a group of cigarette smokers with chronic gum disease over one year and found some symptoms were more likely to improve in the people who quit during the study period.

Chronic gum disease, which is characterised by inflamed gums that increasingly recede from t

The European Commission released the following Press Release on 15/07/05.

“COST (European Co-operation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) is a suitable mechanism for contributing to the Lisbon and Barcelona goals, due to its role in assisting the co-ordination of national research” an expert panel has told the Commission. The experts found that its structure and operating procedures are designed to be simple and responsive, making it particularly appropriate for in

A ground-breaking comparative genomics study appears online today in the journal Genome Research. Led by Adam Siepel, graduate student in Dr. David Haussler’s laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the study describes the most comprehensive comparison of conserved DNA sequences in the genomes of vertebrates, insects, worms, and yeast to date.

One of their major findings was that as organism complexity increases, so too does the proportion of conserved bases