Social Sciences

North America's biological field stations have long been home to a rich legacy of research results, scientists say, making them important places for serendipitous discoveries in the biological and environmental sciences. In a paper published in the April issue of the journal BioScience, researchers affiliated with the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network and other groups state that few people realize the value of the data and specimens held at field stations--until an event such as a disease outbreak or environmental disaster triggers their use. "At…

A new multi-center study shows that an experimental drug lowers prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels – a marker for tumor growth – in men with advanced prostate cancer for whom traditional treatment options have failed. The study, led by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), is published today in Science Express, the online version of the journal Science. Most men with metastatic prostate cancer eventually build up resistance to the drugs that lower or block male hormones and develop a more aggressive form of the illness called castration-resistant prostate cancer…

Lack of an adequate amount of the mineral phosphate can turn a common bacterium into a killer, according to research to be published in the April 14, 2009, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. The findings could lead to new drugs that would disarm the increasingly antibiotic-resistant pathogen rather than attempting to kill it. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most serious hospital-acquired pathogens. A common cause of lung infections, it is also found in the intestinal tract of 20 percent of all Americans and 50 percent of hospitalized patients in the United…

They do not go to parks over the weekend or to the beach in summer. They do not receive gifts under the Christmas tree. They only see the sun behind the bars. Until before 2006 (the year the parliament granted a major pardon which decreased the number of prisoners), children up to three years of age living with their mothers in prison were around one hundred. Italian law states that, in order to avoid the trauma of mother-child separation, mothers sentenced to prison or awaiting trial can bring with them their children in specific nest areas of the jail. Of course little ones living in such…

Cancer patients who wore acupressure wristbands had much less nausea while receiving radiation treatment, making the bands a safe, low-cost addition to anti-nausea medication, according to a study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management by University of Rochester Medical Center researchers. Previous research has suggested that the placebo effect – essentially, an outcome related to your body that you expect to happen – might be why elastic wristbands reduce nausea. However, the findings of the latest study do not support that notion, even though researchers continue to…

DENVER – What married couples have suspected for years is now proven by researchers at the University of Denver (DU) and Texas A&M – children can add problems and stress to a marriage. According to an eight-year study of 218 couples, ninety percent of the couples experienced a decrease in marital satisfaction once the first child was born. "Couples who do not have children also show diminished marital quality over time," says Scott Stanley, research professor of psychology at DU. "However, having a baby accelerates the deterioration, especially seen during periods of adjustment right…

More than half of non-smoking New Yorkers have elevated levels of cotinine in their blood – meaning that they were recently exposed to toxic second-hand smoke in concentrations high enough to leave residues in the body. Cotinine, a by-product of nicotine breakdown, is not harmful itself but signals exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. A Health Department study, published online this week in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, shows that 57% of adult New Yorkers (2.5 million) have elevated cotinine levels, compared to 45% of adults nationwide – a finding that may reflect the city's…

By combining the results of a number of powerful techniques for studying material structure at the nanoscale, a team of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working with colleagues in other federal labs and abroad, believe they have settled a long-standing debate over the source of the unique electronic properties of a material with potentially great importance for wireless communications. The new study* of silver niobate not only opens the door to engineering improved electronic components for smaller, higher performance wireless devices, but also…

Baseball season is underway. With the pros, college and high school teams taking to the baseball diamonds and Little Leaguers soon to follow, orthopedic specialists at Rush University Medical Center are cautioning players to be aware of and take precautions against throwing injuries. An analysis of pitching injuries by researchers at Rush is published in the March/April issue of Sports Health. "Throwing a baseball is one of the fastest and most violent maneuvers that any joint in the body is subjected to. The violent and rapid motion places numerous structures in the shoulder at risk for…

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A new study conducted at Mayo Clinic reports that one in six patients receiving therapeutic doses of certain drugs for Parkinson's disease develops new-onset, potentially destructive behaviors, notably compulsive gambling or hypersexuality. VIDEO ALERT: Additional audio and video resources including excerpts from an interview with Dr. J. Michael Bostwick describing the research, are available on the Mayo Clinic News Blog. The study extends findings from two Mayo case series published in 2005 that reported a connection between dopamine agonist medications and compulsive…