TERENCE CHEA, Associated Press Writer A federal judge decided Friday to allow a team of marine biologists to keep testing a new sonar system designed to detect whales deep in the Pacific Ocean, rejecting a request by some environmentalists for a permanent injunction against the experiment. U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti heard arguments from the New Hampshire firm that designed the system, the government agency that approved the testing and environmental groups that claimed the radar would harm marine mammals. Scientific Solutions Inc. of Nashua, N.H., resumed testing of the sonar last week off the coast of Central California after receiving a permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service. The judge said Friday that the permit was issued properly. ©2004 Associated Press

Keyword: Hearing; Animal Communication
Link ID: 4815 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News — People feel disgusted about something, or someone, due to an evolved mechanism that helps us ward off potential sources of infection, according to a new study. The study, published in the current Royal Society Biology Letters, involved one of the biggest Web-based experiments ever conducted. Over 40,000 test subjects participated by rating a series of images according to how disgusting the objects, animals, and humans depicted in the photographs seemed to be. The test included pairs of similar images not shown in order. Copyright © 2004 Discovery Communications Inc.

Keyword: Emotions; Evolution
Link ID: 4814 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Current advice: Put your baby to sleep on its back Sharing a bed with a baby who is less than eight weeks old may increase the risk of cot death, research has found. It had been thought it was safe to share your bed with a newborn provided you didn't smoke, drink or take drugs. But the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) has changed its advice to new parents on the back of the latest research. Cot death experts from across Europe collaborated on The Lancet study, which focused on 745 cases. "Today, FSID will start alerting parents to the fact that research has found a link between cot death and bedsharing with babies under eight weeks of age." (C) BBC

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 4813 - Posted: 01.16.2004

Where's the beef? Not on everyone's table. Some wary consumers began banishing the meat from their diets after officials confirmed the first U.S. case of mad cow disease last month. But a technology that is already making the food people eat safer may be the key to eliminating mad cow disease, scientists report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Richard Meyer, co-author of the May, 2003 study and a food safety researcher, has found a way to destroy the misshapen proteins called PrPSc prions (normal prions are called PrP), believed to cause mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). "We take the meat and re-cook it and then we vacuum pack it in plastic and then go ahead and pressurize it at a certain temperature, for a certain time," Meyer explains. The process seems to stop the action of the renegade PrPSc protein that, left unchecked, forms strings, coils, and folds into different shapes, changing normal chemical function. Inside the body, the deadly protein searches for and latches onto healthy PrP, building a pile of misshaped protein that crystallizes in clumps called "plaque." © ScienCentral, 2000-2003.

Keyword: Prions
Link ID: 4812 - Posted: 06.24.2010

The key cognitive step that allowed humans to become the only animals using language may have been identified, scientists say. A new study on monkeys found that while they are able to understand basic rules about word patterns, they are not able to follow more complex rules that underpin the crucial next stage of language structure. For example, the monkeys could master simple word structures, analogous to realising that "the" and "a" are always followed by another word. But they were unable to grasp phrase patterns analogous to "if... then..." constructions. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Animal Communication; Language
Link ID: 4811 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Today, we know a little bit more about one of mankind's deadliest enemies, the mosquito. Scientists have taken an important step toward understanding the mosquito's sense of smell, an avenue of research that may lead to better ways to repel the deadly insect. In a joint effort reported in the Jan. 15 issue of the journal Nature , researchers at Vanderbilt and Yale universities have verified that the antennae of female Anopheles mosquitoes that prey on humans contain receptors that respond to one of the chemical compounds found in human sweat. "This validates our hypothesis that the olfactory system of mosquitoes--and other insects--consists of an array of different receptors, each of which responds to a very narrow range of odorants," says Laurence J. Zwiebel, associate professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt, who participated in the study. His co-authors were Vanderbilt graduate student A. Nicole Fox along with Yale colleagues Elissa A. Halem, a graduate student, and professor John R. Carlson.

Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste)
Link ID: 4810 - Posted: 01.16.2004

Essential to differentiate between two types of dementia before treating NEW YORK--Looking at specific changes in alertness and cognition may provide a reliable method for distinguishing Alzheimer's disease (AD) from dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and normal aging, according a new study from the January 27, 2004, issue of Neurology, the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology, co-authored by Tanis J. Ferman, Ph.D., an expert on DLB. Lewy bodies are round collections of proteins in the brain that are considered the pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease. Lewy bodies are never found in healthy normal brains. In Parkinson's disease the Lewy bodies are largely localized to an area of the brain stem called the substantia nigra. In DLB, Lewy bodies are also found in brain's cortex. Although DLB accounts for as much as 20 to 35 percent of the dementia seen in the United States, treatment and diagnosis is often complicated by a lack of information about the disease. In the study, Dr. Ferman and colleagues examined episodes of fluctuation in cognition (problems in thinking or concentration) experienced by individuals with AD or DLB or normal older adults who had no signs of dementia.

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 4809 - Posted: 01.16.2004

Women around the world are being told they can now have an orgasm at the touch of a button. The makers of "Slightest Touch" say their device can give women longer, better and more intense orgasms. They claim their device can trigger an orgasm without touching a woman's genital area. According to the manufacturers, Slightest Touch works by stimulating the body's sexual nerve pathway. Women start by drinking an electrolyte sports drink 20 minutes before using the device. They then apply two white electrode pads inside their ankles. These pads are connected to the Slightest Touch device, which is about the size of a personal stereo. With the flick of a switch, women can literally get turned on. (C) BBC

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 4808 - Posted: 01.15.2004

Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human central nervous system. Previous research has suggested that GABA is involved in many of the neurochemical pathways affecting alcohol use, abuse and dependence. A study in the January issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research , using family-based analyses to examine the role of a cluster of GABAA receptor genes on chromosome 15q, becomes one of the first to demonstrate a consistent association between alcohol dependence and GABAA receptor gene GABRG3. "There are several lines of evidence that suggest that GABA is involved in alcohol use and abuse," explained Danielle M. Dick, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine and first author of the study. "For example, chemicals that increase the activity of GABAA receptors tend to accentuate the behavioral effects of alcohol, such as motor incoordination, sedation, and withdrawal signs, while chemicals that block GABAA receptors lessen these effects." For this study, Dick and her colleagues decided to focus on GABAA receptor genes on chromosome 15q because of earlier findings from the multi-site Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) "suggesting a gene influencing alcoholism-related phenotypes in this area," she said.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 4807 - Posted: 01.15.2004

Drug user survey reveals long-term memory problems People who take the recreational drug ecstasy risk impairing their memory, according to an international study which surveyed users in places including the USA, UK, other European countries and Australia. The study, which also surveyed non-drug users, found that those who regularly took ecstasy suffered from mainly long-term memory difficulties, and that they were 23 per cent more likely to report problems with remembering things than non-users. The British research team, led by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, also questioned volunteers about their use of other recreational drugs. It found those who regularly used cannabis reported up to 20 per cent more memory problems than non-users. Their short-term memory was mainly affected.

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Learning & Memory
Link ID: 4806 - Posted: 01.15.2004

The purpose of disgust has been quantitatively demonstrated for the first time - it is an evolved response that protects people from disease or harm. Researchers at the UK's London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine surveyed over 40,000 individuals, using a web-based questionnaire posted on BBC Online. Respondents were asked to rate a series of paired photographs according to how disgusting they found each one. In the pairs, one image had some link to disease, while the other was very similar but had no relevance to disease. For example, one pair had a photograph of a healthy-looking man, while in the other the man looked sweaty and ill. Another had a towel with a blue stain paired with a towel with a stain resembling bodily fluids. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Emotions; Evolution
Link ID: 4805 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Scientists who study whales are starting to notice signs that these giant creatures may be exhibiting signs of what we humans would call culture. As this ScienCentral News video reports, it's the latest research into a question that has puzzled scientists for years. Humans may not be the only mammals who have different cultures. Some scientists are starting to consider the notion that whales might also. "Whales are pretty hard to study, but evidence is coming up from quite a number of species that in a whole range of ways, they're learning things from each other and they're passing it on to other whales, and that's culture," says Hal Whitehead, biology professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada. He explored the topic in the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences and based his conclusions on several studies including his own. © ScienCentral, 2000-2003.

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 4804 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Sharing might not be as nice as it's cracked up to be. MICHAEL HOPKIN Have you ever given a friend part of your dessert just so they will stop bugging you for some? You're not alone - chimpanzees and monkeys share their food with others to avoid hassle too. The question of why animals give food to others is a tricky one. Previous theories suggested that generous animals might benefit from similar kindness at a later time. But the no-hassle approach offers a simpler explanation, says Jeffrey Stevens, who carried out the study at the University of Minnesota. Scrounger and donor are both acting in their best interests - the beggar gets food and the other is left in peace. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2004

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 4803 - Posted: 06.24.2010

People rate shapeliness based on a girl's ratio of volume to height. HELEN PEARSON Some people say it's long legs that count, others say it's the bits on top. But according to a Hong Kong study, the best way to judge a woman's attractiveness is to take her volume in cubic metres and divide it by the square of her height. The researchers call the figure her volume-height index, or VHI. The researchers showed more than 50 people 3D movies of rotating female silhouettes in assorted shapes and sizes. They asked the viewers to rate their attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 9. VHI was the formula of the women's body measurements that best matched the scores, they found1. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2004

Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Evolution
Link ID: 4802 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Scientists hunting for culprits that lead to brain damage after strokes have discovered that one likely "bad guy" is actually a "good guy." In experiments in the laboratory and with mice, the Johns Hopkins researchers found that the chemical prostaglandin-E2 protects brain cells from damage. The finding was completely unexpected, the researchers say, because prostaglandin-E2 causes damage in other tissues and is made by an enzyme, COX-2, known to wreak havoc in the brain after injury. The findings appear in the Jan. 7 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. "It's kind of paradoxical, that the product of an enzyme that causes damage is itself beneficial," says Katrin Andreasson, M.D., an assistant professor of neurology and of neuroscience. "It's possible that future treatments for stroke might use drugs to block COX-2 and enhance the effects of prostaglandin-E2, providing sort of a double whammy of protection.

Keyword: Stroke
Link ID: 4801 - Posted: 01.14.2004

Research suggests sick animals may not show symptoms By TODD HARTMAN, SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE Below the drumbeat of reassurances from government and the cattle industry that the meat supply remains safe despite this one case of mad cow disease, a small universe of scientists working on a family of related illnesses is finding disturbing evidence to the contrary. Several studies, including research at a government laboratory in Montana, continue to spark questions about human susceptibility not only to mad cow, but also to sister diseases such as chronic wasting disease, which mainly affects deer and elk, and scrapie, which infects sheep. Mice research and clusters of cases in which humans contracted a disease similar to mad cow also has a few scientists wondering whether consuming infected meat might have killed far more people than medical experts have long assumed, not only in Great Britain, but in the United States as well. ©1996-2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Keyword: Prions
Link ID: 4800 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have identified a gene that appears to have played a role in the expansion of the human brain's cerebral cortex — a hallmark of the evolution of humans from other primates. By comparing the gene's sequence in a range of primates, including humans, as well as non-primate mammals, the scientists found evidence that the pressure of natural selection accelerated changes in the gene, particularly in the primate lineage leading to humans. The researchers, led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator Bruce Lahn at the University of Chicago, reported their findings in an advance access article published on January 13, 2004, in the journal Human Molecular Genetics. Patrick Evans and Jeffrey Anderson in Lahn's laboratory were joint lead authors of the article. ©2003 Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Keyword: Evolution; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 4799 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By LAURIE TARKAN When Jennifer Klein, a 32-year-old social worker in Los Angeles, discovered that she was pregnant, she immediately stopped taking her antidepressant to avoid exposing her baby to it. She had made the same choice with her first child and experienced only the normal ups and downs of pregnancy. This time was drastically different. Several weeks after going off the drug Zoloft she slid into a major depression, which left her crying all day, feeling overwhelmed by simple tasks like going to the supermarket, feeling too tired to move, and extremely anxious, worrying about the pregnancy, her 2-year-old son and her job. "I'd spend all day crying and I couldn't stop," Ms. Klein said. "I hated that my son saw me like that." When she was feeling the most overwhelmed, she said, she thought of giving away the new baby to her sister. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Depression; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 4798 - Posted: 01.13.2004

By ANDREW POLLACK A mericans are about to be reminded again how much they need sleep — and sleeping pills. A new effort appears to be developing to expand the use of sleeping pills, which because of their potential for abuse have long had a reputation as being in some ways more dangerous than the insomnia they are meant to treat. Some sleep experts say newer pills are safer than the ones that once caused deaths from overdose. Moreover, some say, there is growing evidence that insomnia is a serious medical condition, not just a nuisance. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 4797 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Supplements lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. HELEN R. PILCHER A diet rich in vitamin D may reduce the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Two studies involving more than 200,000 American women have highlighted the vitamin's benefits. Women who consumed the recommended daily amount of vitamin D or more were 30% less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis1, and 40% less likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS)2, than those on lower doses. One or two people in 100 worldwide typically develop rheumatoid arthritis, which causes swollen, painful joints. Around 0.04% of the world's population has MS - an incurable condition that can cause fatigue, tremor and paralysis. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2004

Keyword: Multiple Sclerosis
Link ID: 4796 - Posted: 06.24.2010