news 2009

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 23.05
Multiple research teams unable to confirm high-profile Alzheimer’s study
Teams of highly respected Alzheimer's researchers failed to replicate what appeared to be breakthrough results for the treatment of this brain disease when they were published last year in the journal Science .

Medicine/Pharmacology - 23.05
Death rates decline for advanced heart failure patients, but outcomes are still not ideal
UCLA researchers examining outcomes for advanced heart-failure patients over the past two decades have found that, coinciding with the increased availability and use of new therapies, overall mortality has decreased and sudden cardiac death, caused by the rapid onset of severe abnormal heart rhythms, has declined.

Earth Sciences - Life Sciences - 23.05
Small, speedy plant-eater extends knowledge of dinosaur ecosystems
Dinosaurs are often thought of as large, fierce animals, but new research highlights a previously overlooked diversity of small dinosaurs. - In the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology , a team of palaeontologists from the University of Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, Cleveland Museum of Natural History and University of Calgary have described a new dinosaur, the smallest plant-eating dinosaur species known from Canada: Albertadromeus syntarsus.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Chemistry - 22.05
Chemists find new compounds to curb staph infection
In an age when microbial pathogens are growing increasingly resistant to the conventional antibiotics used to tamp down infection, a team of Wisconsin scientists has synthesized a potent new class of compounds capable of curbing the bacteria that cause staph infections.

Business/Economics - 21.05
U-M study challenges notion that umpires call more strikes for pitchers of same race
ANN ARBOR-A University of Michigan study challenges previous research that suggests umpire discrimination exists in Major League Baseball. - The study, a collaboration between researchers at U-M and the universities of Illinois and Florida, looks deeper into the controversial argument over whether MLB umpires discriminate by calling more strikes for pitchers of the same race.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 21.05
Keeping Stem Cells Strong
When infections occur in the body, stem cells in the blood often jump into action by multiplying and differentiating into mature immune cells that can fight off illness. But repeated infections and inflammation can deplete these cell populations, potentially leading to the development of serious blood conditions such as cancer.

Medicine/Pharmacology - 21.05
Evaluating a new way to open clogged arteries
Computational model offers insight into mechanisms of drug-coated balloons. - Over the past few decades, scientists have developed many devices that can reopen clogged arteries, including angioplasty balloons and metallic stents.

Astronomy - 20.05
Media Advisory: Lost in space -- Cancellation of NASA's Kepler mission would hinder exploration of extrasolar planets, Princeton's Bakos says
The potential cancellation of the NASA Kepler satellite mission would mark the end of an unparalleled source of information about planets and planetary systems outside of Earth's solar system, known as exoplanets, according to Princeton University astrophysicist Gáspár Bakos , who studies exoplanets and has discovered more than 40.

Medicine/Pharmacology - 16.05
Cholesterol not reliable indicator of heart attack risk in kidney-disease patients
Cholesterol testing fails to accurately predict high risk of heart attack in patients with kidney disease, UAlberta research shows. - In the mainstream population, high cholesterol typically pinpoints those at risk of heart attack.

Physics/Material Science - Microtechnics/Electroengineering - 16.05
Stacking 2-D materials produces surprising results
New experiments reveal previously unseen effects, could lead to new kinds of electronics and optical devices. - Graphene has dazzled scientists, ever since its discovery more than a decade ago, with its unequalled electronic properties, its strength and its light weight.

Chemistry - Medicine/Pharmacology - 15.05
Jekyll into Hyde: Breathing auto emissions turns HDL cholesterol from ’good’ to ’bad’
Academic researchers have found that breathing motor vehicle emissions triggers a change in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, altering its cardiovascular protective qualities so that it actually contributes to clogged arteries.

Life Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 14.05
Study IDs key protein for cell death
Findings may offer a new way to kill cancer cells by forcing them into an alternative programmed-death pathway. - When cells suffer too much DNA damage, they are usually forced to undergo programmed cell death, or apoptosis.

Life Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 14.05
DNA analysis unearths origins of Minoans, the first major European civilization
Posted under: Health and Medicine , News Releases , Research , Science , Social Science , Technology , UW and the Community - DNA analysis is unearthing the origins of the Minoans, who some 5,000 years ago established the first advanced Bronze Age civilization in present-day Crete.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Physics/Material Science - 13.05
Domestic production of medical isotope Mo-99 moves a step closer
Irradiated uranium fuel has been recycled and reused for molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) production, with virtually no losses in Mo-99 yields or uranium recovery. - Medical isotope production technology has advanced significantly now that scientists have made key advances in separating Mo-99 from an irradiated, low-enriched uranium (LEU) solution.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 13.05
Akiko Iwasaki named HHMI investigator
Yale immunobiologist Akiko Iwasaki has been selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator, one of the most prestigious designations in biomedical science. - She was one of 27 of the nation's top researchers to receive this honor, which recognizes their work and gives them the support necessary to move their research forward in new directions.