- December 16, 2008
- 09:07 PM
- 530 views
Chitosan as a weight-loss aid
by Matt G in HealthAndFitness.co.nz
Title: Chitosan for overweight or obesity.
Authors: Jull AB, Ni Mhurchu C, Bennett DA, et al.
Source: Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews. 2008 July 16;(3):CD003892.
Because of the complexity of the biochemistry, physiology and psychology involved, weight management can be a challenging task. Weight loss can improve the health and wellbeing of overweight or obese people - as well [...]... Read more »
Jull AB, Ni Mhurchu C, Bennett DA, Dunshea-Mooij CA, Rodgers A. (2008) Chitosan for overweight or obesity. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. DOI: 18646097
- December 16, 2008
- 08:27 PM
- 567 views
Exercise reduces dementia risk
by Matt G in HealthAndFitness.co.nz
Title: Exercise is associated with a reduced risk for incident dementia among persons 65 years of age and older.
Authors: Larson EB, Wang L, Bowen JD, et al.
Source: Annals of Internal Medicine. January 2006, 144:73-81.
Regular exercise is well-documented to promote overall improvements in health. A number of studies to date have specifically demonstrated improvements in the [...]... Read more »
Larson EB, Wang L, Bowen JD, McCormick WC, Teri L, Crane P, Kukull W. (2006) Exercise is associated with reduced risk for incident dementia among persons 65 years of age and older. Ann Intern Med, 144(2), 73-81. DOI: 16418406
- December 16, 2008
- 10:25 AM
- 2,324 views
Coffee as a source of biodiesel: A closer look
by Greg Laden in Greg Laden's Blog
Owing to popular demand among the readership of this blog, I've taken a closer look at the original article claiming that spent coffee grounds can be employed as a source of fuel. There are several important details that come though in the paper coming out in the next issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that have not come through in the press reports. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
Kondamudi, NarasimharaoMohapatra, Susanta, & Misra, Mano. (2008) Spent Coffee Grounds as a Versatile Source of Green Energy. Agicultural and Food Chemistry.
- December 16, 2008
- 09:42 AM
- 1,476 views
Rubber hand feels real for amputees
by Mo in Neurophilosophy
One of the bigger challenges facing researchers who are developing artificial limbs is to create prostheses that not only act but also feel like real limbs. This is especially true for the hand, which is one of the most sensitive parts of the human body, and although advanced prosthetic hands with fully articulated digits which move independently of one another are now available, they would be far more useful if they provided the user with sensory feedback.
Last year, surgeons from the Rehabili........ Read more »
H. H. Ehrsson, B. Rosen, A. Stockselius, C. Ragno, P. Kohler, & G. Lundborg. (2008) Upper limb amputees can be induced to experience a rubber hand as their own. Brain. DOI: 10.1093/brain/awn297
- December 16, 2008
- 08:09 AM
- 1,126 views
Alas, Poor Noradrenaline
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic
Previously I posted about the much-maligned serotonin theory of depression and tentatively defended it, while making it clear that "low serotonin" was certainly not the whole story. Critics have noted that the serotonin-is-happiness hypothesis has become folk wisdom, despite being clearly incomplete, and this is generally ascribed to the marketing power of the pharmaceutical industry. What's also interesting is that a predecessor and rival to the serotonin hypothesis, the noradrenaline theory, f........ Read more »
J. J. Schildkraut, & S. S. Kety. (1967) Biogenic Amines and Emotion. Science, 156(3771), 21-30. DOI: 10.1126/science.156.3771.21
- December 16, 2008
- 08:00 AM
- 1,759 views
Addicting Games
by David Bradley in Sciencetext
Tech writer and web designer Wayne Smallman has been discussing whether video games are good or bad for kids and has kicked up something of a magnetic traffic storm into the bargain. Earlier this year, Allan Reiss and colleagues at…... Read more »
W Boot, A Kramer, D Simons, M Fabiani, & G Gratton. (2008) The effects of video game playing on attention, memory, and executive control. Acta Psychologica, 129(3), 387-398. DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2008.09.005
- December 16, 2008
- 01:32 AM
- 797 views
Is Temozolomide a new treatment for aggressive pituitary tumors?
by staticnrg in survive the journey
The authors of this study, Low 06-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase[P1] (MGMT) expression and response to temozolomide in aggressive pituitary tumours, detail the use of temozolomide as a possible treatment for the aformentioned tumors. They also evaluate 06-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) "expression in pituitary tumours and consider whether MGMT expression is associated with response to temozolomide therapy in aggressive pituitary tumours".Why is this relevant? Because so many AC........ Read more »
Ann I. McCormack, Kerrie L. McDonald, Anthony J. Gill, Susan J. Clark, Morton G. Burt, Kirsten A. Campbell, Wilton J. Braund, Nicholas S. Little, Raymond J. Cook, Ashley B. Grossman.... (2008) Low 0(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) expression and response to temozolomide in aggressive pituitary tumours . Clinical Endocrinology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2008.03487.x
- December 15, 2008
- 11:01 PM
- 1,587 views
Internet Addiction Research Disappointing
by Dr Shock in Dr Shock MD PhD
I am not a firm believer of Internet Addiction. One of the main features of addiction is having complaints, suffer complications of the addiction. The main features of an addiction are social and/or emotional problems leading to doctors visit or other forms of help seeking. So what we are looking for is teenagers using the [...]... Read more »
Sookeun Byun, Celestino Ruffini, Juline E. Mills, Alecia C. Douglas, Mamadou Niang, Svetlana Stepchenkova, Seul Ki Lee, Jihad Loutfi, Jung-Kook Lee, Mikhail Atallah.... (2008) Internet Addiction: Metasynthesis of 1996–2006 Quantitative Research. CyberPsychology , 2147483647-5. DOI: 10.1089/cpb.2008.0102
- December 15, 2008
- 07:36 PM
- 1,689 views
When is a Honeyeater not a Honeyeater? The Tricks of Convergent Evolution
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
tags: evolution, honeyeaters, Meliphagidae, Mohoidae, birds, ornithology, birds, molecular phylogeny, extinct species, South Pacific Islands
Two nectar-feeding birds from Hawai'i, the kioea (brown-streaked, in middle) and an o'o species (lower left), looked so much like nectar specialists from the western Pacific (two species on right) that taxonomists put them all in the same honeyeater family, the Meliphagidae. All the Hawaiian birds are unfortunately extinct, but DNA evidence shows that thei........ Read more »
R FLEISCHER, H JAMES, & S OLSON. (2008) Convergent Evolution of Hawaiian and Australo-Pacific Honeyeaters from Distant Songbird Ancestors. Current Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.051
- December 15, 2008
- 07:05 PM
- 1,449 views
Slender yield from fat gene studies
by dgmacarthur in Genetic Future
Willer et al. (2008). Six new loci associated with body mass index highlight a neuronal influence on body weight regulation Nature Genetics DOI: 10.1038/ng.287
Thorleifsson et al. (2008). Genome-wide association yields new sequence variants at seven loci that associate with measures of obesity Nature Genetics DOI: 10.1038/ng.274
There are two massive studies now online in Nature Genetics looking at the genetic architecture of body mass index (BMI). Body mass index is a widely-used measure of b........ Read more »
Cristen J Willer, Elizabeth K Speliotes, Ruth J F Loos, Shengxu Li, Cecilia M Lindgren, Iris M Heid, Sonja I Berndt, Amanda L Elliott, Anne U Jackson, Claudia Lamina.... (2008) Six new loci associated with body mass index highlight a neuronal influence on body weight regulation. Nature Genetics. DOI: 10.1038/ng.287
Gudmar Thorleifsson, G Bragi Walters, Daniel F Gudbjartsson, Valgerdur Steinthorsdottir, Patrick Sulem, Anna Helgadottir, Unnur Styrkarsdottir, Solveig Gretarsdottir, Steinunn Thorlacius, Ingileif Jonsdottir.... (2008) Genome-wide association yields new sequence variants at seven loci that associate with measures of obesity. Nature Genetics. DOI: 10.1038/ng.274
- December 15, 2008
- 06:26 PM
- 715 views
Antibiotic Treatment: Increasing the Rates of Genetic Exchange
by Tim Sampson in The Times Microbial
The dangers of single antibiotic treatment are well known and well established. It is common knowledge that improper use of antibiotics can lead to the development of resistant strains in which the antibiotic was created to be used against.The development of these resistances in a population is most often thought to be due to direct selective pressure. That is, those cells containing mutations that resist the antibiotic, or those that contain a protein to export or degrade the antibiotic, are h........ Read more »
Prudhomme, M. (2006) Antibiotic Stress Induces Genetic Transformability in the Human Pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. Science, 313(5783), 89-92. DOI: 10.1126/science.1127912
- December 15, 2008
- 06:01 PM
- 893 views
Attitudes predict interracial dating behaviors and vice versa
by eHarmony Labs in eHarmony Labs Blog
Attitudes about racial and ethnic groups can influence decisions about whom you choose to date, but did you know that dating behaviors may impact your attitudes as well. Read more.... Read more »
S. Levin, P. L. Taylor, & E. Caudle. (2007) Interethnic and interracial dating in college: A longitudinal study. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 24(3), 323-341. DOI: 10.1177/0265407507077225
- December 15, 2008
- 05:07 PM
- 711 views
The Giant’s Shoulders #6
by Charles in Rigorous Trivialities
And now it’s time for the sixth edition of The Giant’s Shoulders! Without further ado: the posts
1672 - Isaac Newton experiments with light and prisms. These experiments ignited a controversy in physics: is light a particle or a wave? This wasn’t resolved until the 1900s with the quantum theory. More on the events [...]... Read more »
Arthur B. DuBois, Stella Y. Botelho, & Julius H. Comroe. (1956) A NEW METHOD FOR MEASURING AIRWAY RESISTANCE IN MAN USING A BODY PLETHYSMOGRAPH: VALUES IN NORMAL SUBJECTS AND IN PATIENTS WITH RESPIRATORY DISEASE 1. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 35(3), 327-335. DOI: 10.1172/JCI103282
- December 15, 2008
- 05:00 PM
- 960 views
Antibiotic Treatment: Increasing the Rate of Genetic Exchange
by Tim Sampson in The Times Microbial
The dangers of single antibiotic treatment are well known and well established. It is common knowledge that improper use of antibiotics can lead to the development of resistant strains in which the antibiotic was created to be used against. The development of these resistances in a population is most often thought to be due to direct selective pressure.However, there is a 2006 study, published in Science, which shows that antibiotic treatment does more than "merely" select for resistan........ Read more »
Prudhomme, M. (2006) Antibiotic Stress Induces Genetic Transformability in the Human Pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. Science, 313(5783), 89-92. DOI: 10.1126/science.1127912
- December 15, 2008
- 04:58 PM
- 1,417 views
What's moving? You? The background? Something inbetween?
by Dave Munger in Cognitive Daily
When I was 12 years old, I sometimes got to ride the train from Seattle to my aunt's house in Portland. Staring at the countryside flashing past the train window, it seemed to me that the landscape was rotating in a giant circle: Nearby objects flashed past the train as expected -- they appeared to move the opposite way the train was going. But the mountains in the distance seemed to be moving forward, faster than the train. It was as if the land next to us was just a vast turntable, rotating ra........ Read more »
Richard T. Dyde, & Laurence R. Harris. (2008) The influence of retinal and extra-retinal motion cues on perceived object motion during self-motion. Journal of Vision, 8(14), 1-10. DOI: 10.1167/8.14.5
- December 15, 2008
- 03:07 PM
- 672 views
God or science - but not both!
So, one Big Question that remains after the recent research on attitudes to nanotechnology is whether this is a general effect - is there any fundamental obstacle to people holding scientific and religious ideas at one and the same time? Does religion really displace science, and vice versa? Data published today suggest that it does.This research is about framing - about how setting up people's preconceptions can affect the way they think. What the researchers (Jess Preston of the University of ........ Read more »
J PRESTON, & N EPLEY. (2009) Science and God: An automatic opposition between ultimate explanations. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(1), 238-241. DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2008.07.013
- December 15, 2008
- 12:17 PM
- 1,587 views
Assessing and Treating Dysfunction of the Gluteus Medius
by Mike Reinold in MikeReinold.com
The October 2008 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning has an impressive review article of the anatomy, function, assessment, and strengthening of the gluteus medius from a group of clinicians in New Zealand. The authors do a good job reviewing some of the basic anatomy and function of the muscle and relating this information to research reports looking at dysfunction and treatment of the muscle for several lower extremity injuries. I think this is a great topic of discussion ........ Read more »
Presswood L, Cronin J, Keogh J, & Whatman C. (2008) Gluteus Medius: Applied Anatomy, Dysfunction, Assessment, and Progressive Strengthening. . Strength and Conditioning Journal, 30(5), 41-53. DOI: http://www.nsca-scj.org/pt/re/ssc/fulltext.00126548-200810000-00007.htm;jsessionid
- December 15, 2008
- 09:09 AM
- 1,301 views
Personal Health Records and Mental Health
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Personal health records or PHRs are becoming more and more popular these days as health information technology capabilities become more wide-spread. Look at Google Health as one example. The federal government has picked Google Health as one of four components of a Medicare pilot program in Arizona. The other three companies were HealthTrio, NoMoreClipboard.com, and [...]... Read more »
J. Myers, T. R. Frieden, K. M. Bherwani, & K. J. Henning. (2008) Ethics in Public Health Research: Privacy and Public Health at Risk: Public Health Confidentiality in the Digital Age. American Journal of Public Health, 98(5), 793-801. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.107706
Alexander S. Young, Edmund Chaney, Rebecca Shoai, Laura Bonner, Amy N. Cohen, Brad Doebbeling, David Dorr, Mary K. Goldstein, Eve Kerr, Paul Nichol.... (2007) Information Technology to Support Improved Care For Chronic Illness. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22(S3), 425-430. DOI: 10.1007/s11606-007-0303-4
Victor Strecher. (2007) Internet Methods for Delivering Behavioral and Health-Related Interventions (eHealth). Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 3(1), 53-76. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.3.022806.091428
- December 15, 2008
- 08:33 AM
- 1,422 views
Sponging dolphins keep it in the family
by Ed Yong in Not Exactly Rocket Science
In Shark Bay, off the Western coast of Australia, a unique population of bottlenose dolphins have a unusual trick up their flippers. Some of the females have learned to use sponges in their search for food, holding them on the ends of their snouts as they rummage through the ocean floor.
To Janet Mann at Georgetown University, the sponging dolphins provided an excellent opportunity to study how wild animals use tools. Sponging is a very special case of tool use - it is unique to Shark Bay's dol........ Read more »
Janet Mann, Brooke L. Sargeant, Jana J. Watson-Capps, Quincy A. Gibson, Michael R. Heithaus, Richard C. Connor, & Eric Patterson. (2008) Why Do Dolphins Carry Sponges?. PLoS ONE, 3(12). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003868
- December 15, 2008
- 03:08 AM
- 1,022 views
Does rhythm make our bodies move?*
by Henkjan Honing in Music Matters
Why do some people dance more rhythmically to music than others? Are these differences genetically or culturally determined? These are some typical questions journalists who are interested in rhythm research like to ask.The link between musical rhythm and movement has been a fascination for a small yet passionate group of researchers. Early examples, from the 1920s, are the works by Alexander Truslit and Gustav Becking. More recently researchers like Neil Todd (University of Manchester, England)........ Read more »
J. Phillips-Silver. (2005) Feeling the Beat: Movement Influences Infant Rhythm Perception. Science, 308(5727), 1430-1430. DOI: 10.1126/science.1110922
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