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Alcohol, Mood and Me (Not You)

By Guest PostMay 4, 2011Healthadolescents with behavioral problems, alcohol and what their mood, consequences of drinking alcohol, current directions in psychological science, depressed mood, electronic device, irrespective of mood, mood and alcohol, psych 101 undergrads, psychologists are learning

Thanks in part to studies that follow subjects for a long time, psychologists are learning more about differences between people. In a new article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, the author describes how psychologists can use their data to learn about the different ways that people’s minds work.

Most psychology research is done by asking a big group of people the same questions at the same time. “So we might get a bunch of Psych 101 undergrads, administer a survey, ask about how much they use alcohol and what their mood is, and just look and see, is there a relationship between those two variables,” says Daniel J. Bauer of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the author of the article. (more…)

Mutations in Single Gene May Have Shaped Human Cerebral Cortex

By Guest PostApril 29, 2011Healthcerebral cortex, genetic analysis, human brain, mutations in gene

The size and shape of the human cerebral cortex, an evolutionary marvel responsible for everything from Shakespeare’s poetry to the atomic bomb, are largely influenced by mutations in a single gene, according to a team of researchers led by the Yale School of Medicine and three other universities. (more…)

Q&A: Creating a Safe Haven For Children

By Guest PostApril 28, 2011General, Healthandrea asnes, assessment, bridging program, child abuse, child abuse program, children, dart, detection, john leventhal, leventhal, new haven, pediatrics, physical abuse, referral and treatment, sexual abuse, yale daily bulletin

For over 25 years, Dr. John M. Leventhal has been fighting a battle to protect the lives of hundreds of children who come through one of the child abuse programs at Yale.

He has won many struggles along the way, but to win the war, he says, the program needs to be armed with more state and federal support, as well as support from individuals and foundations.

“Finding ways to protect children who can’t defend themselves is part of what wakes me up in the morning and motivates me to continue this tough, but important work,” says Leventhal, professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine and director of the Child Abuse Programs at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital. (more…)

Researchers Inject Nanofiber Spheres Carrying Cells into Wounds to Grow Tissue

By Guest PostApril 25, 2011Health, Sciencebiodegradable nanofibers, biodegradable polymers, cell carrier, cell matrix, cells, donor tissue, nanofiber spheres, natural environment, peter ma, university of michigan, wounds

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— For the first time, scientists have made star-shaped, biodegradable polymers that can self-assemble into hollow, nanofiber spheres, and when the spheres are injected with cells into wounds, these spheres biodegrade, but the cells live on to form new tissue.

Developing this nanofiber sphere as a cell carrier that simulates the natural growing environment of the cell is a very significant advance in tissue repair, says Peter Ma, professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and lead author of a paper about the research scheduled for advanced online publication in Nature Materials. Co-authors are Xiaohua Liu and Xiaobing Jin. (more…)

Polluted Air Leads To Disease by Promoting Widespread Inflammation

By Guest PostApril 20, 2011Environment, Healthanimal model, cellular activity, chronic inhalation, enzyme, exposure to pollution, il-12, immune system, inflammation, inflammatory monocytes, interleukin-12, mcp-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein, monocytes, nadph oxidase, ohio state university, polluted air, protein, sanjay rajagopalan, thomas kampfrath, tlr4, tnfa, toll-like receptor 4, tumor necrosis factor alpha, white blood cells

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Chronic inhalation of polluted air appears to activate a protein that triggers the release of white blood cells, setting off events that lead to widespread inflammation, according to new research in an animal model.

This finding narrows the gap in researchers’ understanding of how prolonged exposure to pollution can increase the risk for cardiovascular problems and other diseases. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Scientists Find That Normal Breast Cells Help Kill Cancer Cells

By Guest PostApril 20, 20111 commentHealth, Scienceberkeley lab, breast cancer cells, cytostatic, cytotoxic, dna mutations, extracellular matrix culture, healthy cells, human body, il25, immune system, inflammation, interleukin 25, malignant phenotype, mammary epithelial cells, microenvironmental factors, mina bissell, natural defense mechanism against cancer, pathogens, protein, saori furuta, treatment of breast cancer, tumor cells, tumor surveillance system

It is well known that the human body has a highly developed immune system to detect and destroy invading pathogens and tumor cells. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that the body has a second line of defense against cancer – healthy cells. A new study shows that normal mammary epithelial cells, as they are developing, secrete interleukin 25, a protein known for its role in the immune system’s response to inflammation, for the express purpose of killing nearby breast cancer cells.

“We found that normal breast cells provide an innate defense mechanism against cancer by producing interleukin 25 (IL25) to actively and specifically kill breast cancer cells,” says breast cancer authority Mina Bissell, of Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division, who led this research. “This suggests that IL25 receptor signaling may provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of breast cancer.” (more…)

Study Finds Public Relatively Unconcerned About Nanotechnology Risks

By Guest PostApril 12, 20111 commentHealth, Sciencealcohol, andrew binder, blood transfusions, cell phone use, commercial air travel, david berube, environmental and health safety risks, general public, hazardous, medical x-rays, nanoparticle, Nanotechnology, nuclear energy, obesity, public health risk, smoking, suntan

A new study finds that the general public thinks getting a suntan poses a greater public health risk than nanotechnology or other nanoparticle applications. The study, from North Carolina State University, compared survey respondents’ perceived risk of nanoparticles with 23 other public-health risks.

The study is the first to compare the public’s perception of the risks associated with nanoparticles to other environmental and health safety risks. Researchers found that nanoparticles are perceived as being a relatively low risk. (more…)

How Child Molesters Justify Their Actions

By Guest PostApril 10, 2011Healthchild molesters, children, cognitive distortion, mental age, sexual contact, sexual relations

Men who sexually abuse children generally blame external factors to explain their actions and diminish their guilt. “Every reason they give is a cognitive distortion,” says Sarah Paquette, a student who investigated the issue as part of her master’s thesis at the Université de Montréal School of Criminology. (more…)

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