Findings Could Aid Treatment Planning and Prevention Strategies
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health studying dengue hemorrhagic fever epidemics in Thailand have determined that the disease radiates outward in a traveling wave from Bangkok, the nation’s largest city, to infect every province in the country. According to the researchers’ analysis, the spatial-temporal wave travels at a speed of 148 kilometers per month and takes about eight months to sprea
The reward mechanism involved in addiction appears to regulate lifelong social or pair bonds between monogamous mating animals, according to a Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) study of prairie voles published in the January 19 edition of the Journal of Comparative Neurology. The finding could have implications for understanding the basis of romantic love and disorders of the ability to form social attachments, such as autism and schizophrenia.
In their research, funded by the Natio
Findings suggest that enzyme may be manipulated phamalogically to control brain receptor
The discovery of a molecular “addiction switch” in the mammalian brain has the potential to control the addiction process in drug addicts, say U of T researchers.
A study published Jan. 18 in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience finds that a region of the brain called the VTA contains receptors that, when exposed to a certain enzyme, can control the switch from an addicted to non-a
Study shows that perception is tied to movement
Our fingers run over surfaces; our eyes are in constant motion. This is all a part of “active sensing,” key principles of which have now been uncovered by a Weizmann Institute study.
“We intuitively understand that active sensing should provide the brain with information very different from that which is acquired by mere passive sensing, (e.g. feeling without finger movement),” says Prof. Ehud Ahissar of the Neurobiology Depart
Psychology’s Ron Rensink Discovers Visual Sensing Without Seeing
Most of us have felt it before — that sinking feeling that something is about to happen, that something is not quite right. It’s the stuff of scary movies, X-Files episodes and psychic visits.
But according to a new study by Ron Rensink, an associate professor in both psychology and computer science at UBC, the “sixth sense” is a distinct mode of visual perception and may be something all of us can le
A new study has found that cereal fortified with vitamin E has a very high rate of absorption into the bloodstream, whereas pills taken separately with the same food have inconsistent effects, and taking the supplements alone is largely useless.
The research was just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by scientists from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.
The study points the way to more effective methods of taking this essential vitamin if p
Investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Indiana University School of Medicine and other centers have identified a gene that appears to increase the risk of alcoholism.
The study, published in the January issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, is the first to demonstrate an association between this particular gene and alcohol dependence.
The gene is related to a receptor that allows for the movement of Gamma-amino butyri
A growing number of cancer patients are receiving aggressive treatments when they are near death, according to a study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The findings will be published in the Jan. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
“Our research has shown that the treatment of cancer patients near death is becoming increasingly aggressive and that more patients are being admitted to emergency rooms and to intensive care units during their last few weeks of life,”
Call centres are not the “satanic mills’’ they are often made out to be, although call handlers can suffer depression and low motivation if working conditions are not carefully managed.
These are the findings of a study carried out by Christine Sprigg and Phoebe Smith, with support from Professor Robert Jackson, at the Health and Safety Laboratory in Sheffield. Ms Sprigg, now of the University of Sheffield, presented their research today, Wednesday 7 January 2004, at the British Psychologica
Aircraft could achieve an even higher level of safety if cockpit designers took more of the psychological characteristics of pilots into account, according to researchers.
Although the air accident rate has been constantly decreasing over the last decades, many modern aircraft have computerised controls systems which are so complex that they even over-tax the mental capabilities of fully-trained pilots, say the researchers.
The team, from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and
In a study of adolescents across 15 countries, adolescents in the United States had the highest prevalence of overweight, according to an article in the January issue of The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Overweight and obesity have increased worldwide among children, adolescents and adults, according to the article. The World Health Organization has designated obesity as one of the most important public health threats because of the signific
Results of a new study indicate that people who have recently stopped abusing the powerfully addictive drug methamphetamine may have brain abnormalities similar to those seen in people with mood disorders. The findings suggest practitioners could improve success rates for methamphetamine users receiving addiction treatment by also providing therapy for depression and anxiety in appropriate individuals. The study is published in the January 2004 issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.
Scientists have identified a gene in the cerebral cortex that apparently controls the developmental clock of embryonic nerve cells, a finding that could open another door to tissue replacement therapy in the central nervous system. In a new study, the researchers found that they could rewind the clock in young cortical cells in mice by eliminating a gene called Foxg1. The finding could potentially form the basis of a new method to push progenitor cells in the brain to generate a far wider array of ti
Study in NEJM indicates dietary fatty acids may influence atherosclerosis in a segment of the population genetically at risk
Scientists have found the first strong link in humans between a common gene and risk for the disease that leads to most heart attacks and strokes, according to results of a study by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
People with a variant form of a gene ca
Drug-coated stents are safe and effective at preventing death, heart attack or repeat procedures in “real world” patients who are often sicker or older than those selected for clinical trials, according to a study in today’s rapid issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
The drug-coated stents were more effective than uncoated stents, just as they had been in clinical trials, said lead investigator Patrick W. Serruys, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cardiology at Eras
By the time you reach your 60th birthday, your heart could still be out performing the hearts of inactive 20-year-old whippersnappers, according to a study on cardiac output in healthy men carried out by Paul Chantler and his team from Liverpool John Moores Hospital. Unfortunately, you will have to be prepared to run nearly 30 miles a week for the 20 years preceding the celebration to achieve this.
The study’s findings, to be presented at this year’s Physiological Society conference on Frid
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