Highlights of the October 2004 Journal of the American Dietetic Association
...idemic continues to expand. Many nutrition experts say an increase in soft drink consumption among adolescents coupled with the easy access to soft drinks in school vending machines over the past two decades are contributing factors to excess weight among kids. To gauge parents' tho...Lycopene slows human prostate tumour growth in mice and combined with vitamin E is even better
...tify foods. It was too early, said Dr. Limpens, to say whether lycopene and vitamin E could ever be used to prevent prostate cancer in healthy individuals. The first step was to see the results from the studies on men with prostate cancer: changes may, for example, be necessary to optimise the treatment....Scientists sequence genome of kind of organism central to biosphere's carbon cycle
...h, a single-cell microbe, engulfed what scientists say was likely a kind of red alga. The two became one organism, an arrangement called endosymbiosis, and swapped some genetic material to create a new hybrid genome. "This project helps illustrate the amazing diversity of life on our planet," Armbrust ...Pack-MULEs are toting a new look at plant evolution
...odology on its ear. "Even a lot of my colleagues say they don't understand my article," says Jiang, who...s with them and were dubbed Pack-MULEs. No one can say scientists don't have a bit of poet in them. Genome sequences are long it takes 430 MB (that's 430...Phase II trials of second-generation antisense cancer drug planned following successful early study
...pposed to be doing something that we can't always say about targeted therapeutics and we were able to identify a biologically active dose," he said. Antisense drugs work by inhibiting the production of a protein from a specifically targeted gene. As a second-generation antisense drug, OGX-011 is an adv...Researchers identify protein promoting vascular tumor growth
...nd chronic inflammatory conditions, OSU scientists say the findings of this study suggest anti-MCP-1 therapy may be a useful approach for other diseases. "This study's identification of the role of MCP-1 expression has obvious potential for other tumors, as well," Gordillo said. "The concept could be app...Knock knock knocking on rhythm's neural doors
...s fundamentally the same in terms of control -- to say that one is a special form of the other. Thus specialists studying discrete movement have considered rhythm a subset of discrete movement -- the same thing speeded and repeated -- while behaviorists studying rhythmic movement like walking have consid...Researchers create nanotubes that change colors, form 'nanocarpet' and kill bacteria
...ey turned red or yellow. The most critical tests, say the researchers, were those involving E. coli, which were conducted to assess the material's interactions with living cells. In the presence of E. coli, some strains of which are food-borne pathogens, the nanotubes turned shades of red and pink. More...Researchers ID chlorophyll-regulating gene
...at start their lives as seeds buried in soil. They say the burial of seeds was an adaptation that likely ... by the mutant seedlings. The researchers say the ability of plants to precisely regulate production of protochlorophyll was probably an evolution...Females may be more susceptible to overindulge 'sweet tooth' cravings than males
...men? Researchers at The Florida State University say the answer could be yes. Overeating (hyperphagia) and sedentary behavior are known risk factors for obesity, but research in these areas especially overeating has been studied almost exclusively in males. In the new animal study "Diet-induced hy...New hydrothermal vents discovered as 'South Pacific Odyssey' research begins
...rs to questions about the origin of life on Earth, say the scientists, whose plans for their "South Pacific Odyssey" include an unprecedented number of research expeditions to this geologically unique "back-arc basin" during the next two years. "This major undertaking will require the coordinated efforts...Binocular rivalry: Fulfilling visual expectations
It is common to say "I can't believe my eyes" when surprised by what we see. Recent scientific evidence suggests that we are right to be sceptical and that what we see depends in no small part on what we expect to see. In new work reported this week, researchers have ma...Scientists explore genome of methane-breathing microbe
... concentrations for oxidizing methane. Scientists say the organism's potential significance for biotechnology include the use of bacteriophage (viruses that infect bacteria) that have made a home in the genome. Such phages could be exploited to genetically manipulate M. capsulatus to more efficiently pr...Amyloid fibers sprout one step at a time
...ch as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The researchers say this may have important implications for those designing drugs to prevent formation of the brain-damaging proteins in those diseases. The researchers reported their findings in the October 2004 issue of the Public Library of Science Biology. They ...Genes expose secrets of sex on the side
... Hammer said, "That alone wouldn't say the Y chromosome is migrating more, but if just half as many males are getting their genes into the next generation on average as are females, then it implies more males are migrating to do that." The pattern the researchers see ...Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology
...ay inhibit the growth of bacteria in meat and fish say researchers from Massachusetts. Their findings ap...racts when effectively combined with lactic acid," say the researchers. (Y.T. Lin, R.G. Labbe, K. Shetty. 2004. Inhibition of ...Folic acid vitamin use by women reaches all-time high, March of Dimes survey finds
...For results based on samples of this size, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random effects could be plus or minus three percentage points. "Use of Vitamins Containing Folic Acid Among Women of Childbearing Age -- United States, 2004," by Hea...9/11 search-and-rescue dogs exhibit few effects from exposure to disaster sites
... statistically significant," Otto said. "We can't say that these findings preclude illness later in life, but it is clear that we don't see any trends in the current physical or behavioral wellbeing of these dogs that would be cause for alarm." Initially, blood tests showed that the deployed dogs exhi...A liking for sweets, combined with novelty seeking, may predict alcoholism
...eloping alcoholism. Based on our findings, we may say that for children especially boys who prefer stronger sweet tastes and have signs of elevated novelty seeking, it is especially important to delay their first experience with alcohol, although the same advice is good for all children. Garbutt said ...Researchers report new gene test for isolated cleft lip and palate
...ith the isolated cleft lip and palate. The authors say this latest gene test, when used with parents who already have one child with isolated cleft lip and palate, can predict this birth defect in subsequent children about 12 percent of the time. Utilizing this new gene test along with others that have a...