Friday, March 28, 2008

NSAIDs attenuate tumor invasion

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/sfeb-npi032608.php

Public release date: 26-Mar-2008
Dr. Wen-Chung Hung Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine

Researchers at the National Sun Yat-Sen University and Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan have revealed a new mechanism by which nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) attenuate tumor invasion and metastasis. The research, to be published in the April 2008 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, provides new insights for the understanding of the anti-cancer effects of NSAIDs.
...
we elucidated the underlying mechanism and demonstrated that up-regulation of SPARC in human lung cancer cells was mediated via inhibition of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) expression and promoter de-methylation. This is the first report to show that NSAIDs may inhibit the expression of DNMTs to reverse promoter methylation and to reactivate gene transcription.”

Methylation of genes because of lack of nutrition appears to play a role in the decreased cognitive ability caused by inadequate nutrition during the pre-natal and early childhood period, which may last several generations. Perhaps this research on reversing the methylation will lead to treatment in this area.

We're not What We Say We Are

We're not What We Say We Are
copyright Patricia M. Shannon 1991

We say that we're just below angels,
but we sit on our butts all day,
watching the boob tube and killing
our souls a little more each day.

We say we're the peak of creation,
master of all we survey,
but we're killing our rivers and forests,
and expecting our children to pay.

(chorus)
When will we learn, will be ever learn,
to be what we say we are?
Is it too much to expect us to try
to be what we say we are?

We say that we're rational creatures,
not animals, no not we,
but we think that the purpose of college
is to support the football team.

We say we're a Christian nation,
leaders of the free world we are,
but we're spending our money on weapons
and allowing our children to starve.

(chorus)

Family study bolsters link between pesticides and Parkinson's

Years ago, there was evidence that a common industrial chemical can cause Parkinson's. Look for the chemical industry to make sure these findings are not widely known.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/bc-fsb032608.php

Public release date: 27-Mar-2008 Charlotte Webber BioMed Central

For the first time, the association between Parkinson’s disease and exposure to pesticides has been shown in patients with the neurological disorder compared with their unaffected relatives, according to a study in the online open access journal BMC Neurology.

Parkinson’s disease is a common neurological disorder affecting about 1 million people in the USA. The disorder typically develops in later life resulting in symptoms such as tremors and muscle rigidity

Although variations in several genes have been identified that contribute to the disease, these rare genetic defects account for a small proportion of the overall prevalence of the disorder.

The majority of Parkinson’s disease cases are thought to be due to an interaction between genetic and environmental factors.

“Previous studies have shown that individuals with Parkinson’s disease are over twice as likely to report being exposed to pesticides as unaffected individuals” says the study’s lead author, Dana Hancock, “but few studies have looked at this association in people from the same family or have assessed associations between specific classes of pesticides and Parkinson’s disease.”


The authors detected an association between pesticide use and Parkinson’s disease. Among these, the strongest were between the disorder and use of herbicides and insecticides, such as organochlorides and organophosphates. No association was found between Parkinson’s disease and well-water drinking or living or working on a farm, which are two commonly used proxies for pesticide exposures.

Many studies have supported pesticides as a risk factor for PD, but “biological evidence is presently insufficient to conclude that pesticide exposure causes PD”, says Hancock.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Cooperative Classrooms Lead To Better Higher Achievement In Young Adolescents

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080327172216.htm

ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2008) — Students competing for resources in the classroom while discounting each others' success are less likely to earn top grades than students who work together toward goals and share their success, according to an analysis of 80 years of research.
...
According to the studies, adolescents in classrooms that supported cooperative learning -- studying together to complete a project or prepare for an exam -- got along better with their peers, were more accurate on academic tests and achieved higher scores on problem-solving, reasoning and critical thinking tasks compared to adolescents who were in classrooms geared toward competitive learning -- studying alone knowing that success would mean only one winner and plenty of losers.
...
This may also hold true for the adult worker whose organization supports cooperative interactions, Roseth said. "Some research has shown that high performing teams that cared about each other or had individuals who felt they had a good friend among them in business and industry succeeded in being more productive and effective."

Boosting Number Skills Of Low-income Preschoolers

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080325083304.htm

Playing Numerical Board Games Boosts Number Skills Of Low-income Preschoolers

ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2008) — Playing numerical board games can improve low-income preschoolers' number skills, offering a promising way to reduce the discrepancies in numerical knowledge between children from poor families and those from middle-income families.

Children vary greatly in the math knowledge they bring to school, with children from poor families tending to have far less math knowledge than their peers from middle-class families. These differences appear to have large and long-term consequences, with proficiency in math at the start of kindergarten strongly predictive of math achievement test scores years later. The gap in math knowledge likely reflects differences in exposure at home to informal numerical activities, including numerical board games.

Board games with consecutively numbered, linearly arranged spaces--think Chutes and Ladders--provide children with good opportunities to learn about the relation between numerals and their sizes.

superior to us?

When our sun becomes a red giant, maybe these will survive.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080325095239.htm

Common Aquatic Animals Show Extreme Resistance To Radiation

ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2008) — Scientists at Harvard University have found that a common class of freshwater invertebrate animals called bdelloid rotifers are extraordinarily resistant to ionizing radiation, surviving and continuing to reproduce after doses of gamma radiation much greater than that tolerated by any other animal species studied to date.
...
Roughly a half-millimeter in size and commonly observed under microscopes in high-school biology classes, bdelloid rotifers are highly unusual in several regards: They appear to be exclusively asexual, have relatively few transposable genes, and can survive and reproduce after complete desiccation at any stage of their life cycle. Meselson and Gladyshev hypothesize that it's this last property that explains bdelloids' apparently unique resistance to radiation.

Compassion Meditation Changes The Brain

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080326204236.htm

ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2008) — Can we train ourselves to be compassionate? A new study suggests the answer is yes. Cultivating compassion and kindness through meditation affects brain regions that can make a person more empathetic to other peoples' mental states, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This study was the first to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to indicate that positive emotions such as loving-kindness and compassion can be learned in the same way as playing a musical instrument or being proficient in a sport. The scans revealed that brain circuits used to detect emotions and feelings were dramatically changed in subjects who had extensive experience practicing compassion meditation.

The research suggests that individuals - from children who may engage in bullying to people prone to recurring depression - and society in general could benefit from such meditative practices, says study director Richard Davidson, professor of psychiatry and psychology at UW-Madison and an expert on imaging the effects of meditation. Davidson and UW-Madison associate scientist Antoine Lutz were co-principal investigators on the project.

My Computer Has a Mind of Its Own

My Computer Has a Mind of its Own
copyright Patricia M. Shannon 1998
(Can be sung to the tune : My Heart Has a Mind of its Own,
sung by Connie Francis)

I said to my PC, You are so mean to me,
why did you lose the file that my boss wants right now to see?
I try to type in “GO”, but my machine says “NO”!
Guess my computer has a mind of its own.

I never thought I’d be in abject slavery
to a glass and metal box on my desktop.

My deadline is past due; all my machine will do
is tell me “System Error SJ19342”.
I can’t save my spreadsheet, must Control-Alt-Delete.

Guess my computer has a mind of its own.
Yes, my computer has a mind of its own.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Ibuprofen Destroys Aspirin's Positive Effect On Stroke Risk

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312171140.htm

ScienceDaily (Mar. 17, 2008) — Stroke patients who use ibuprofen for arthritis pain or other conditions while taking aspirin to reduce the risk of a second stroke undermine aspirin's ability to act as an anti-platelet agent, researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown.

Brains Are Hardwired To Act According To The Golden Rule

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080321131055.htm

ScienceDaily (Mar. 21, 2008)

Donald Pfaff, the author of the new book The Neuroscience of Fair Play: Why We (Usually) Follow the Golden Rule, thinks he has the answer. Our brains, he says, are hardwired to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Individual acts of aggression and evil occur when this circuitry jams.

Oneness

The Oneness of Being
copyright Patricia M. Shannon 1992

The Earth is our mother, and the sun is our father,
They nourish us and sustain us.
Though I stand on a mountaintop alone.
I am not alone, for I am one with all.

The oneness is a blessing, a constant source of strength;
the loneliness of being will rend your heart no more.
But in this world imperfect, it also is a curse,
I feel the pain of others as if it were my own.

Let us work together, and join our hearts as one,
to make a world where children no longer die from guns.
Throw away your hatreds, your wars and your drugs;
the highest high you'll ever know is when you feel as one.

Money Buys Happiness When You Spend On Others

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150034.htm

ScienceDaily (Mar. 21, 2008) — Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Harvard Business School have found that it's possible to buy happiness after all: when you spend money on others.

In a series of studies, UBC Asst. Prof. Elizabeth Dunn found that individuals report significantly greater happiness if they spend money "pro-socially" -- that is on gifts for others or charitable donations -- rather than spending on themselves.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080321114214.htm

We Help Friends Due To Empathy; Relatives Due To Expectation Of Reciprocity

ScienceDaily (Mar. 21, 2008) — Empathy is an emotional reaction to the plight of others. Empathy can lead to altruistic behaviour, i.e. helping someone with the sole intention of enhancing that person’s wellbeing. If we see people in difficulty, for example, we feel the same emotions, and this may prompt us to help them. Yet the relationship between empathy and altruism is still far from clear. Psychologist Lidewij Niezink has researched this subject. She concluded that when we help friends in need, we are prompted by feelings of empathy, and that when we help relatives we do so because we have expectations of reciprocity.
...

Niezink also compared various studies of empathy, and concludes that the methods varied quite considerably. ‘They are not talking about the same concept. That makes it more difficult to study altruism.’ Niezink then developed the ‘altruistic choice model’. The model works as follows. You see the suffering of others and this leads to a feeling of empathy, over which you have no control. This can be followed by various emotional responses: sympathizing/identifying with the person in question, concern or ‘softheartedness’ (tender feelings). These are responses that we can influence. These responses, in turn, can lead to compassion and altruism, i.e. understanding the other person’s suffering and the willingness to alleviate it. According to Niezink: ‘Altruism is a choice and something that we can actively cultivate when we observe others in need.’

Negative perception unjustified

Niezink is surprised about the fact that altruism is undervalued in our society. ‘We are pack animals. We cannot exist in isolation, so it is no scandal if we are willing to help each other. I’m not saying we must, but we can. Altruism makes the world a more pleasant place.’ It is rewarding to help someone. ‘Some people say, therefore, that helping others is based on selfish motives. If you help someone and it has positive consequences for you, that does not mean to say that your underlying motives are not altruistic.'

Adapted from materials provided by University of Groningen.

spring is here

Yesterday was the first day of spring.
And my body sure felt it!

Spring Has Sprung
Spring has Sprung
copyright 1997 Patricia M. Shannon

Spring has sprung,
the flowers grow,
their pollen flows,
so does my nose.
Oh, hear it blow,
how it does glow.

declining U.S. wages

http://www.cjr.org/feature/red_ink_rising.php?page=2

The twin myths of over-consumption and the immoral debtor, to use Elizabeth Warren’s phrases, have been debunked for years. Warren documents that the average American household today actually spends less than in the 1970s on clothing, food, and major appliances, and that, after paying for education, housing, insurance, and health care, it has less disposable income, even though the household now has two wage earners.

Research shows, for instance, that nearly 30 percent of low and middle-income people with credit-card debt reported medical expenses to be a major contributor. And in a study cited by Warren, 87 percent of families with children filing for bankruptcy listed one of the “big three” reasons—divorce or separation, job loss, or medical expenses—as the cause.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Promote green buildings for biggest, easiest cuts in North American CO2 emissions

http://www.eurekalert.org/pubnews.php?start=75

Public release date: 13-Mar-2008
Contact: Eduardo Viadas
eviadas@cec.org
514-350-4331
Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Buildings responsible for over one-third of continent's CO2 emissions; Report prescribes policies to slash buildings' energy use

Promoting the green design, construction, renovation and operation of buildings could cut North American greenhouse gas emissions that are fuelling climate change more deeply, quickly and cheaply than any other available measure, according to a new report issued by the trinational Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).

North America’s buildings cause the annual release of more than 2,200 megatons of CO2 into the atmosphere, about 35 percent of the continent’s total. The report says rapid market uptake of currently available and emerging advanced energy-saving technologies could result in over 1,700 fewer megatons of CO2 emissions in 2030, compared to projected emissions that year following a business-as-usual approach. A cut of that size would nearly equal the CO2 emitted by the entire US transportation sector in 2000.

It is common now for more advanced green buildings to routinely reduce energy usage by 30, 40, or even 50 percent over conventional buildings, with the most efficient buildings now performing more than 70 percent better than conventional properties, according to the report.

Depression: the symptoms in children are not like in adults

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/dai-dts031408.php

Public release date: 14-Mar-2008
Contact: Dr. Stephan Mertens
mertens@aerzteblatt.de
Deutsches Aerzteblatt International
Depression: the symptoms in children are not like in adults

Depression is not always manifested in children as dejection and anhedonia. Depending on the age of the child, the dominant features may be weeping, irritability or defiance, as explained by Prof. Claudia Mehler-Wex and Dr. Michael Kölch of Ulm University in the new edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2008; 105(9): 149-55).

The signs of depression in infants are often screaming, restlessness, and weeping attacks for no clear reason. Preschool children may behave irritably and aggressively, while schoolchildren may be listless and apathetic. The symptoms in adolescents become similar to those in adults.
...
Depressive minors often exhibit other psychological abnormalities. Thus, anxiety disorders and disorders in social behavior occur widely, followed by substance abuse and aggression.

Not What We Say We Are

I haven't posted a poem here for awhile, so here's a cheerful one.

We're not What We Say We Are
copyright Patricia M. Shannon 1991

We say that we're just below angels,
but we sit on our butts all day,
watching the boob tube and killing
our souls a little more each day.

We say we're the peak of creation,
master of all we survey,
but we're killing our rivers and forests,
and expecting our children to pay.

(chorus)
When will we learn, will be ever learn,
to be what we say we are?
Is it too much to expect us to try
to be what we say we are?

We say that we're rational creatures,
not animals, no not we,
but we think that the purpose of college
is to support the football team.

We say we're a Christian nation,
leaders of the free world we are,
but we're spending our money on weapons
and allowing our children to starve.

(chorus)

Men who do housework may get more sex

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080306/ap_on_re_us/sharing_chores;_ylt=A0WTcSGcbtBHIQUBtQOs0NUE

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer Thu Mar 6, 1:51 PM ET

NEW YORK - American men still don't pull their weight when it comes to housework and child care, but collectively they're not the slackers they used to be. The average dad has gradually been getting better about picking himself up off the sofa and pitching in, according to a new report in which a psychologist suggests the payoff for doing more chores could be more sex.
...
Joshua Coleman, a San Francisco-area psychologist and author of "The Lazy Husband: How to Get Men to Do More Parenting and Housework," said equitable sharing of housework can lead to a happier marriage and more frequent sex.

"If a guy does housework, it looks to the woman like he really cares about her — he's not treating her like a servant," said Coleman, who is affiliated with the Council on Contemporary Families. "And if a woman feels stressed out because the house is a mess and the guy's sitting on the couch while she's vacuuming, that's not going to put her in the mood."

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Does Arts Training Make People Smarter?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304150459.htm

Are Smart People Drawn To The Arts Or Does Arts Training Make People Smarter?

ScienceDaily (Mar. 6, 2008) — Learning, Arts, and the Brain, a study three years in the making, is the result of research by cognitive neuroscientists from seven leading universities across the United States. In the Dana Consortium study, researchers grappled with a fundamental question: Are smart people drawn to the arts or does arts training make people smarter?
...
Children motivated in the arts develop attention skills and strategies for memory retrieval that also apply to other subject areas.
...
4. In children, there appear to be specific links between the practice of music and skills in geometrical representation, though not in other forms of numerical representation.

Bacteria May Reduce Risk For Kidney Stones

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305121018.htm

ScienceDaily (Mar. 6, 2008) — Researchers from Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center have found that the bacteria Oxalobacter formigenes (O. formigenes), a naturally occurring bacterium that has no known side effects, is associated with a 70 percent reduction in the risk of recurrent kidney stones.