Eurek Alert News - Science Policy

(<i>University of California - San Diego</i>) The San Diego Supercomputer Center and Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis at the University of California, San Diego, in a collaboration with researchers from Universitat de Barcelona in Spain and the University of Cyprus, have created the first geometric "atlas" of the Internet as part of a project to prevent our most ubiquitous form of communication from collapsing within the next decade or so.

(<i>Elsevier Health Sciences</i>) The use of stem cells for research and their possible application in the treatment of disease are hotly debated topics. In a special issue of Translational Research published this month an international group of medical experts presents an in-depth and balanced view of the rapidly evolving field of stem cell research and considers the potential of harnessing stem cells for therapy of human diseases including cardiovascular diseases, renal failure, neurologic disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, pulmonary diseases, neoplastic diseases and Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

(<i>The Hastings Center</i>) A survey in the latest issue of the Hastings Center Report found that most hospices in Oregon, the first state to legalize physician-assistance in dying, either do not participate in or have limited participation in requests for such assistance. Both legal and moral reasons are identified.

(<i>The Hastings Center</i>) This edition of the Hastings Center Report includes a number of essays that look at personalized medicine from several perspectives.

(<i>InHealth: The Institute for Health Technology Studies</i>) The Institute for Health Technology Studies (InHealth) has awarded two follow-on grants totaling more than $830,000 to research teams at Northwestern University and Duke University.

(<i>Georgia Institute of Technology Research News</i>) Researchers have published what is believed to be the first detailed examination of robot deception. They developed algorithms that allow a robot to determine whether it should deceive and designed techniques that help the robot select the best deceptive strategy to avoid getting caught.

(<i>Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres</i>) The Institute for Coastal Research at the GKSS Research Centre Geesthacht, in cooperation with Hamburg KlimaCampus at Hamburg University and further national and international partners, is hosting the international Storm Surges Congress 2010 from Sept. 13-17, at the University of Hamburg. The congress is organized through the global Earth system research project "Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone," that investigates changes to coasts and the social consequences worldwide.

(<i>University of Washington - Health Sciences/UW News, Community Relations & Marketing</i>) The Consortium of Universities for Global Health annual conference held at the University of Washington in Seattle on Sept. 19 to 21 is the largest university-based global health conference ever held.

(<i>Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies</i>) A new poll conducted by Hart Research Associates and the Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center finds that two-thirds of Americans think that synthetic biology should move forward, but with more research to study its possible effects on humans and the environment, while one-third support a ban until we better understand its implications and risks. More than half of Americans believe the federal government should be involved in regulating synthetic biology.

(<i>Duke University</i>) Drug companies may be more willing to develop treatments for neglected diseases including malaria, tuberculosis and leishmanaiasis if the European Union would adopt a "priority review voucher" reward system.

(<i>Institut Pasteur Korea</i>) Researchers at the Pasteur Institutes in Seoul and Paris, and at IPBS in Toulouse, have identified 10 factors that help Mycobacterium tuberculosis avoid destruction inside host cell phagosomes. Two of the genes identified by high-throughput visual screening of 11,000 mutant mycobacteria are involved in the synthesis of acyltrehalose-containing glycolipids. These glycolipids prevent maturation of the host cell phagosome and may be a target for novel antimycobacterial drugs. The work is published on Sept. 9, 2010, in PLoS Pathogens.

(<i>McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health</i>) The lure of greater profits elsewhere in the world may divert firms in developing countries from the creation and distribution of affordable drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for illnesses of local concern, undermining the health prospects of millions of poor people, experts warn in an article to be published by the journal Nature Biotechnology.

(<i>University of Cambridge</i>) An innovative grouping of conservation scientists and practitioners have come together to advocate a fundamental shift in the way we view biodiversity. In their paper, which was published today in the journal Science, they argue that unless people recognize the link between their consumption choices and biodiversity loss, the diversity of life on Earth will continue to decline.

(<i>IEEE-USA</i>) IEEE-USA urges Congress to make the research and development tax credit permanent. The White House made the proposal today.

(<i>Elsevier Health Sciences</i>) The government's role in improving nutrition is now firmly established with nutritional labeling for restaurant meals now mandated across the US. An article in the September issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association explains how state and municipal labeling laws developed and how the new national law will supersede these and replace them with a uniform standard. It addresses the ADA's involvement and how these new regulations will impact registered dietitians and dietetic technicians, registered, as well as consumers.

(<i>Penn State</i>) Repeal of birthright citizenship for the US-born children of unauthorized immigrants would expand the nation's unauthorized population by at least 5 million over the next decade, according to a new report from the Migration Policy Institute.

(<i>Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres</i>) Factoring the planet's multitrillion dollar ecosystem services into policy-making can help save cities and regional authorities money while boosting the local economy, enhancing quality of life, securing livelihoods and generating employment.This is the finding from a major international study, launched in a report by TEEB for Local and Regional Policy Makers, being released in Belgium, Brazil, India, Japan and South Africa.

(<i>American College of Physicians</i>) The American College of Physicians today released a new position paper that provides ethical guidance for using incentives to promote personal responsibility for health. In the paper, ACP stresses that innovative programs designed to motivate behavior change should be part of a comprehensive strategy for well-being and prevention using evidence-based practice to develop nondiscriminatory programs that do not punish patients for unhealthy behaviors.

(<i>NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service</i>) NOAA's Fisheries Service has designated the eastern North Pacific basking shark, a "species of concern" because it has suffered a dramatic decline in population despite decreasing fishing pressure. The label "species of concern" may be given to a species when there are concerns regarding the population status.

(<i>Washington University in St. Louis</i>) A computer scientist at Washington University in St. Louis is part of a collaborative team that is one of four project teams chosen by the National Science Foundation to pursue ways to build a more robust, secure and reliable Internet. Patrick Crowley, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science & engineering and researchers from nine other institutions received one of NSF's "Future Internet Architecture" program awards to create a new Internet architecture.

(<i>Kansas State University</i>) Kansas State University has been a issued a patent for a plentiful and noncontroversial source of stem cells from a substance in the umbilical cord. The patent addresses procedures to isolate, culture and bank stem cells found in Wharton's jelly -- the substance that cushions blood vessels in the umbilical cord. These cells are called cord matrix stems cells and are different than those obtained from the blood cells in umbilical cords.

(<i>Public Library of Science</i>) The first academic analysis of the 1500 documents unsealed in recent litigation against the pharmaceutical giant Wyeth (now part of Pfizer) reveals unprecedented insights into how pharmaceutical companies use ghostwriters to insert marketing messages into articles published in medical journals.

(<i>Burness Communications</i>) The United States must focus on conserving the use of antibacterial drugs, or face a public health crisis from rapidly rising rates of antibiotic-resistant infections, according to an analysis out today. Most proposals to solve this problem focus on giving pharmaceutical companies financial incentives to develop new drugs that could replace those that are no longer working. But a new report in Health Affairs suggests that approach won't work for long.

(<i>Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research</i>) Driving under the influence of alcohol is a major public health problem. New findings show that people who had relapsed to DUI have subtle deficits in their decision-making abilities. These deficits tend to go undetected through conventional neuropsychological testing.

(<i>Elsevier Health Sciences</i>) Food manufacturers advertise a variety of foods on grocery store shelves by using nutrient claims on the front of packaging. A study in the September/October issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior evaluates how consumers are interpreting certain carbohydrate-related content claims and the effects of claims on consumer perceptions of food products. Findings from this study reveal that consumers misinterpret low carbohydrate claims to have health benefits and weight loss qualities beyond their nutrition facts.