By Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News — In late April, Chinese archivists will unveil a rare collection of items featuring Nushu, a mysterious ancient language created by, and exclusively for, women. The exhibition, to be held at the provincial archive of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China, appears to be part of a growing effort within China to both recognize and preserve Nushu, which many scholars feared was on the verge of extinction. Nushu, meaning women's script, was held so securely by its speakers and writers that women used to burn manuscripts to keep them away from men, or they would bury items containing Nushu with female friends upon their deaths. The language's origins are unclear, but most scholars believe Nushu emerged in the third century during a time when the Chinese government prohibited education of women. Practices such as arranged marriages and foot binding also prevented many women from travelling far beyond their homelands. Copyright © 2004 Discovery Communications Inc.

Keyword: Language
Link ID: 5218 - Posted: 06.24.2010

DURHAM, N.C. -- A drug commonly prescribed to halt pre-term labor and stave off premature birth might leave the brains of children susceptible to other chemicals ubiquitously present in the environment, according to research conducted on laboratory animals by Duke University Medical Center pharmacologists. Their new study found that rats exposed to the pre-term labor drug terbutaline suffer greater brain cell damage than those not given the drug upon secondary exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. The double exposure caused damage to brain regions known to play a role in learning and memory, the team reported in the March 2004 issue of Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. The result might therefore help to explain earlier suggestions that children whose mothers are administered terbutaline suffer cognitive deficits. The National Institutes of Health supported the research. Premature labor occurs in approximately 20 percent of all pregnancies in the United States. Of those, an estimated 1 million women annually are treated with terbutaline or related drugs to halt the early contractions. The drugs administered to pregnant women also penetrate to the fetus where they affect brain development. © 2001-2004 Duke University Medical Center.

Keyword: Development of the Brain
Link ID: 5217 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A woman's face is most alluring at the height of her cycle. DAVID KRAMER Women who make the room light up with their good looks may have a secret up their sleeve - it may be down to their menstrual cycle. Both men and women consider a woman's face to be at its most attractive when she is at the peak of her fertility, according to new research. Craig Roberts from the University of Newcastle and colleagues looked at how female facial attractiveness varies during their menstrual cycle, to see if that might convey the level of their fertility. Other animals have more obvious ways of letting their mates know when they are fertile: for example, female chimps' genital areas swell and turn pink. Roberts and his team selected about 50 women aged between 19 and 33 years in both Newcastle and Prague, the hometowns of two of the group members. They took two pictures of each subject. The first picture showed them when they were fertile, 8 to 14 days after the first day of their last menstruation. The second was taken 14 days later. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2004

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 5216 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Suggests people choose canines who resemble themselves Long the subject of speculation, a new study says that dogs DO resemble their owners. At least this is the case with purebred canines, according to new research conducted at the University of California, San Diego, by social psychologist Nicholas Christenfeld and his UCSD colleague, Michael Roy. The full study, Do Dogs Resemble Their Owners?, appears in the May issue of Psychological Science, the journal of the American Psychological Society that focuses on empirical research in psychology. The UCSD psychologists found that when people pick a dog, "they seek one that, at some level, resembles them, and, when they get a purebred, they get what they want." Forty-five dogs and their owners were separately photographed and judges were shown pictures of an owner, that owner's dog, and one other dog, with the task of picking out the true match. The proof of resemblance was that a majority of the purebred dogs and their owners could be identified by the 28 judges called upon to examine the photographs, with the results showing 16 matches out of the 25 purebreds. There was no evidence of resemblance between the mixed breed dogs and their owners.

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 5215 - Posted: 03.31.2004

UCLA scientists report parallels between human speech and the song of a bird, findings that may contain clues to human speech disorders. The research by a team led by Stephanie White, UCLA assistant professor of physiological science, supports the theory that two genes shared by humans and songbirds, FoxP1 and FoxP2, may play a critical role in human speech, and speech disorders. The study is published March 31 in the Journal of Neuroscience. "We examined the expression of FoxP1 and FoxP2 in embryonic human brains and found a striking correspondence between bird and human expression," said White, a member of UCLA's Brain Research Institute. "The similar expression patterns suggest that songbirds can be studied to investigate neural mechanisms for vocal learning that may be parallel to those used by the human brain. "Our findings make it more likely that FoxP2 plays a critical role for learning speech and vocalization in both humans and the songbird," she said. "Understanding how FoxP1 and FoxP2 function in the songbird may reveal significant insights into human vocal learning and speech disorders."

Keyword: Language; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 5214 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A drug once used to treat stomach ulcers may help to boost brainpower in old age, a study suggests. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh carried out tests on 22 men between the ages of 52 and 75. Some of the men were given a drug called carbenoxolone and others were given a dummy drug. Writing in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, they said those on carbenoxolone had better memory and verbal skills after just six weeks. Carbenoxolone is derived from liquorice root. It used to be prescribed by doctors to treat stomach ulcers. However, it has since been replaced by more effective drugs. The drug is known to block a chemical called 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1. (C) BBC

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 5213 - Posted: 03.30.2004

By DAVID TULLER That teenagers are often so sleep-deprived they can barely crawl out of bed in the morning is not news. But researchers have found that these days, even many babies no longer sleep like a baby. Infants average almost 90 minutes less sleep a day than the 14-hour minimum doctors recommend, according to a survey of more than 1,400 parents and others who care for children 10 and younger. The results are being released today. The poll, by the National Sleep Foundation, an organization that promotes education and research on sleep, also found that toddlers get on average at least two hours a week less and preschoolers more than four hours less than the minimum amount they need to function at their best. Sleep experts recommend 12 to 14 hours a day for children 12 to 35 months old and 11 to 13 hours for preschoolers. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 5212 - Posted: 03.30.2004

By MARY DUENWALD Every doctor recognizes them. The man who discovers a bruise on his thigh and becomes convinced that it is leukemia. The woman who examines her breasts so frequently that she makes them tender, then decides that the soreness means she has cancer. The man who has suffered from heartburn all his life but after reading about esophageal cancer has no question that he has it. They make frequent doctors' appointments, demand unnecessary tests and can drive their friends and relatives — not to mention their physicians — to distraction with a seemingly endless search for reassurance. By some estimates, they may be responsible for 10 to 20 percent of the nation's staggering annual health care costs. Yet how to deal with hypochondria, a disorder that afflicts one of every 20 Americans who visit doctors, has been one of the most stubborn puzzles in medicine. Where the patient sees physical illness, the doctor sees a psychological problem, and frustration rules on both sides of the examining room. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 5211 - Posted: 06.24.2010

An estimated 19 million Americans experience depression in any given year. For many of them, anti-depressant medications help but don't offer a cure. As this ScienCentral news video reports, one researcher is looking into how adding exercise to the prescription might make those people feel better. Becky Sands, a 55-year-old personal financial advisor, has been battling depression since she was about 18 years old. "Something happened in my life, a situational thing, and I really crashed," she says. "After that, one thing lead to another, and I had my ups and downs ever since then." Sands tried medication in her mid-thirties, started feeling better, and went off the drugs. But her depression returned, and she went back on the medication. "I started taking it on a regular basis," she says. "Never forgot a dose but I still didn't feel right and I thought maybe I needed bigger doses. So I went back and the doctor gave me some more and some more and it still didn't make a difference." © ScienCentral, 2000-2004.

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 5210 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Bats, along with other animals that employ echolocation, rely on their ears more than their eyes for orientation and navigation. The creatures send out signals and then listen to the echo bouncing off of an item. But just how the animals analyzed a spate of echoes coming off of the same object, such as a leafy tree, has eluded scientists. New research suggests that bats are skilled statisticians. They appear to perform a type of statistical analysis on the sum of all the acoustical reflections in order to make sense of their complex surroundings. When sonar emissions encounter an object, they form a characteristic signal that scientists call an impulse response (IR), which is essentially an acoustical picture. Simpler items result in straightforward IRs, whereas complex surfaces, such as foliage, lead to more chaotic ones. Lutz Wiegrebe of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich and his colleagues tested the ability of lesser spear-nosed bats, Phyllostomus discolor (see image), to respond to computer-generated IRs for a variety of phantom objects. To do this, the researchers tweaked a statistical property known as roughness, which describes the amount of variation within the signal, and analyzed the bats’ reactions. © 1996-2004 Scientific American, Inc.

Keyword: Hearing
Link ID: 5209 - Posted: 06.24.2010

If you're going to move into someone's house and eat their children, it pays to be discrete. Predators that live in ant colonies, called myrmecophiles, get away with this because they smell, look, and behave just like ants. A new study shows how an Australian spider has reached new levels in this con game. Cosmophasis bitaeniata doesn't just smell like ant--it smells like home. Cosmophasis prey only on weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina). These tropical ants build nests by stitching leaves together with silk produced by their larvae. It is these tender larvae that the spider is after, explains evolutionary biologist Mark Elgar of the University of Melbourne in Australia. He and his colleague Rachel Allan observed how the spiders would enter weaver ant nests and somehow persuade workers to hand over the larvae. In previous studies they had discovered that the gullible ants are tricked into thinking the spider is an ant because it carries the same chemical cloak of "cuticular hydrocarbons," organic compounds that make up arthropods' characteristic body odor. Copyright © 2004 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste); Evolution
Link ID: 5208 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by D. Blake Woodside, M.D. Psychiatric Times The occurrence of eating disorders in men remains relatively rare but consistent. This is true despite recent research suggesting that male cases are far more numerous than had been previously thought. This brief article will comment on recent research findings in this area and describe their relevance to assessment and treatment. Two studies support the notion that eating disorders are more common than had previously been thought (Health Canada, 2003; Woodside et al., 2001). Woodside et al. (2001) reported on the results of a 10,000-person community epidemiologic study. Combining full- and partial-syndrome eating disorder cases for both men and women, the investigators showed an overall rate of three female cases for every one male case-a far cry from the typical 10:1 or 20:1 ratio found in most treatment settings. However, this study assessed only limited Axis II parameters and, as DSM-III-R diagnoses were generated from the data, the prevalence of binge-eating disorder could not be assessed. More recently, Health Canada (2003) released preliminary results from a national, face-to-face mental health survey of over 30,000 people performed in 2001 and 2002. This survey assessed for full-syndrome eating disorders and reported a ratio of male to female cases of approximately 1:5. This was somewhat higher than the findings from Woodside et al. (2001) but showed many more cases than might otherwise have been thought. The somewhat higher ratio in the Health Canada survey is almost certainly related to only full-syndrome cases that the Woodside et al. survey was too small to allow for. © 2004 Psychiatric Times. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Anorexia & Bulimia
Link ID: 5207 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by Malaz Boustani, M.D., M.P.H., and Lea Watson, M.D., M.P.H., Psychiatric Times Depression and dementia are common in older people and their association is very complex. Major and minor depression occur often in patients with dementia and can be associated with deterioration in cognitive functioning. Many clinicians have difficulty determining whether dementia, depression or both are the underlying disease for their patients' apathy, psychomotor retardation, concentration deficit and short-term memory impairment. Moreover, depression in dementia brings additional disability to patients who are demented and their caregivers, and a previous history of depression may be associated with an increased risk for the subsequent development of a dementing illness. In this article, we review the literature to address the interaction between depression and dementia and provide clinicians with information to improve the care of their patients who are demented. The aging of the U.S. population has been accompanied by a dramatic rise in the prevalence of both depression and dementia. Among community-dwelling older adults, 3% to 11% have dementia (Boustani et al., 2003) and 2% to 14% have depression (Beekman et al., 1999). In long-term care settings, 44% to 53% of the residents have dementia (Magaziner et al., 2000) and 9% to 30% have depression (Parmelee et al., 1989; Payne et al., 2002; Rovner et al., 1991; Watson et al., 2003). © 2004 Psychiatric Times. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Depression; Alzheimers
Link ID: 5206 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by Steffen Moritz, Ph.D., and Dieter Naber, Ph.D. Psychiatric Times There is broad consensus that cognitive deficits play a crucial role for both the pathogenesis and prognosis of schizophrenic psychoses. Cognitive disturbances often precede the first psychotic episode (Cannon et al., 2000) and persist over the different stages of the illness (Goldberg et al., 1993). It is important to note, however, that not all patients display neurocognitive disturbances and that contrary to early descriptions of the disorder (Kraepelin, 1893), recent cross-sectional and longitudinal studies suggest that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder rather than a neurodegenerative one (Moritz et al., 2002a; Rund, 1998). A more recent tradition of research has shed light on the impact of neurocognitive disturbances on outcome and treatment-related variables. Meta-analysis research conducted indicated that cognitive deficits, especially impairments in the domains of memory and vigilance, are significant predictors of functional outcome (e.g., community outcome, social problem solving and skill acquisition) (Green, 1996; Green et al., 2000). In addition, neurocognitive functioning is related to insight (Rossell et al., 2003) and coping skills (Wilder-Willis et al., 2002). Further, there is increasing evidence that neurocognitive dysfunction may severely compromise medication compliance (Donohoe et al., 2001). © 2004 Psychiatric Times. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 5205 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Nanoparticles cause brain damage in fish, according to a study of the toxicity of synthetic carbon molecules called "buckyballs". The soccer-ball-shaped molecules show great promise in nanotechnology. But the preliminary study raises the possibility that nanomaterials could cause significant environmental harm, although much further work is needed to establish the extent of this risk. Eva Oberdýrster of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, US, who led the study, found modest concentrations of buckyballs in water caused significant harm to two aquatic animals. Water fleas were killed by the addition of the tiny carbon balls, and fish showed up to a 17-fold increase in brain damage compared with unexposed animals. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Neurotoxins
Link ID: 5204 - Posted: 06.24.2010

But study confirms gender differences A new study that measures pain sensitivities among Whites and African-Americans suggests assessment procedures may be to blame for reported racial differences in the amount of pain experienced. Previous research and anecdotal clinical evidence have suggested that African-Americans tend to be more sensitive to pain than Whites, but the latest research study shows the two groups simply interpret standard pain rating scales differently. The new study also confirms earlier findings that women are more sensitive to pain than men. University of Calgary psychologist Dr. Tavis Campbell led the research project while at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. The results are being published in the April issue of the medical journal, The Journal of Pain. "Many pain medications are addictive and have unpleasant side effects, so it's important for physicians to be able to understand exactly how much pain their patients are experiencing," Campbell says. "This research supports well-established findings of slightly higher sensitivity to pain among women compared to men, but revealed no differences between Whites and African-Americans."

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 5203 - Posted: 03.30.2004

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A single injection of cocaine appears to cause long-lasting craving in rats, which can be triggered by environmental cues, Italian researchers report. Dr. Roberto Ciccocioppo of at the University of Camerino and colleagues note that drug craving seems to be heightened by associated environmental cues. However, it was thought that this degree of dependence would require a long period of sustained drug use. To test this notion in rats previously trained to press a lever to obtain food pellets, the researchers paired environmental triggers with cocaine administration or control conditions. The results are described in an advance online article in the April issue of Nature Neuroscience.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 5202 - Posted: 03.30.2004

By Michael Stroh The sugary tang of dew-moist mulch. Steak spitting atop flaring coals. The laundry-fresh fragrance of a breezy April afternoon. Springtime aromas are easy enough to name - but almost impossible for scientists to explain. Why do certain substances smell the way they do? Long after researchers have unraveled many of the central mysteries of vision and the other four senses, they continue to be stumped by smell. Now scientists at Rockefeller University in New York have taken a small step toward solving the puzzle - not by determining what causes odor, but by showing what doesn't. In the April issue of Nature Neuroscience, scientists have for the first time cast doubt on a provocative theory of odor that has caused a major stink among olfactory researchers in recent years. Copyright © 2004, The Baltimore Sun

Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste)
Link ID: 5201 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Carbenoxolone could aid verbal memory. HELEN R. PILCHER A drug derived from liquorice may boost brain function and slow age-related memory loss, research suggests. Carbenoxolone, which is traditionally used to soothe ulcers, improves mental functioning in healthy elderly men and cognitively impaired diabetic patients. The drug slows the sort of memory decline that occurs with normal ageing, says Jonathan Seckl from the University of Edinburgh, who led the study. It may, for example, help people to remember random words or recall what they did at the weekend. It could also slow the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, says Seckl, although this has yet to be tested. The early stages of dementia are indistinguishable from normal memory loss, so the drug could be given to stave off symptoms. Ten healthy elderly men, without any memory impairment, took carbenoxolone three times a day, the team report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences1. Four weeks later, the subjects performed about 10% better on tests of verbal fluency (the ability to use and recall certain words) than nonmedicated controls. "Carbenoxolone boosts a specific verbal aspect of their memory," says Seckl. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2004

Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 5200 - Posted: 06.24.2010

UC Berkeley experts offer advice on facing 'pitfalls' David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor As controversies simmer across the country over teaching evolution, scientists at UC Berkeley are taking the offensive against the modern-day foes of Charles Darwin. Experts at the university's Museum of Paleontology have created a new Web site designed to offer beleaguered classroom teachers support and guidance through the often slippery attacks they can encounter teaching natural selection and other concepts. The site, at evolution.berkeley.edu, grew out of a conference that the museum hosted four years ago at which representatives from virtually every national scientific and education organization gathered to consider the growing pressures against evolution curricula. "We realized we really needed to put new resources into teachers' hands, and that's how the idea of using the Internet emerged," said David Lindberg, chairman of Berkeley's Department of Integrative Biology and former director of the paleontology museum. ©2004 San Francisco Chronicle

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 5199 - Posted: 06.24.2010