Copyright © 2002 AP Online The Associated Press WASHINGTON - The Galapagos Island finches once studied by Charles Darwin respond quickly to changes in food supply by evolving new beaks and body sizes, according to researchers who studied the birds for almost 30 years. Starting in 1973, husband-and-wife researchers Peter and Rosemary Grant of Princeton University have followed the evolutionary changes in two types of birds, the ground finch and the cactus finch, on Daphne Major, one of the Galapagos Islands. In a study appearing Friday in the journal Science, the Grants report that climate and weather have a dramatic effect on the evolutionary path the finches follow. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 1959 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Copyright © 2002 AP Online By LAURA MECKLER, Associated Press WASHINGTON - The White House is in serious discussions over legislation long opposed by many Republicans to guarantee that insurance for mental health disorders is as comprehensive as that offered for other illnesses, a White House official said Thursday. President Bush may endorse the idea of "mental health parity" at an event Monday in New Mexico, home of Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, who has championed the cause for many years. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, cautioned that no deal has been reached yet on the legislation, which is sharply opposed by business groups, which fear that it will significantly increase the cost of health insurance. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Depression; Schizophrenia
Link ID: 1958 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Charles Darwin had a difficult time explaining how evolution could create something as complex as a human eye. Now a University of Connecticut researcher hopes that by harnessing the power of evolution, he might one day help the blind to see. By picking out favorable mutations within an ancient saltwater microbe that can convert light into energy, Dr. Robert Birge believes he can create a protein capable of replacing electrical signals lost when cells in the retina are destroyed by diseases of the eye, such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. (C) Copyright 2000 Digital Korea Herald. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Vision
Link ID: 1957 - Posted: 04.26.2002

NewScientist.com news service A system that allows doctors to compare a patient's brain scans with a "personalised" atlas created from scans of similar people could reveal subtle and previously hidden abnormalities, say UK doctors. The prototype Dynamic Brain Atlas was created by a team from King's College London, Imperial College London and Oxford University and uses a database of Magnetic Resonance Imaging scans from 200 people. Doctors can select scans from people in the database that most closely match their own patient, in terms of age and sex, for example, to create an averaged "brain atlas" for comparison. Currently, doctors visually compare a patient's scans with one or two others. But the comparison could, for example, highlight "abnormalities" that are simply the result of age differences. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 1956 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Twins are at risk of developing the condition autism, according to researchers. Previous studies have suggested that genes play a key role in determining who is at risk of developing the potentially socially debilitating illness. But two studies carried out in the UK and the US suggest that environmental factors such as experiences in the womb, may also be involved. However, the National Autistic Society has warned that more research is needed. In the first study, David Greenberg, a geneticist at Columbia University in New York, examined a database of families in which at least two siblings had autism. He began to have doubts about the genetic basis of autism when he identified a significant number of both identical and fraternal twins in the database. (C) BBC

Keyword: Autism; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 1955 - Posted: 04.25.2002

By ANASTASIA TOUFEXIS Psychiatric expert witnesses are fixtures of the criminal justice system these days, and nowhere more so than in trials involving pleas of insanity to explain and excuse a crime. One of the most prominent and provocative experts is Dr. Park Dietz, 53, a forensic psychiatrist in Newport Beach, Calif. Dr. Dietz has studied more than 1,000 people whose lawyers are considering insanity pleas, and he has testified in the trials of high-profile defendants like John W. Hinckley Jr., Jeffrey Dahmer and Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who was convicted of murder after drowning her children. Dr. Dietz, who was the star prosecution witness in the Yates trial, found it an especially troubling case, professionally and personally. "It would have been the easier course of action to distort the law a little, ignore the evidence a little, and pretend that she didn't know what she did was wrong," Dr. Dietz said. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Schizophrenia; Depression
Link ID: 1954 - Posted: 04.25.2002

Implanting olfactory ensheathing glial cells into the spinal cords of paralyzed adult rats recently has been shown to promote neuronal cell repair and restore function. After transplantation, the rats were able to walk, even climb over complex terrain, and respond to touch and proprioception (stimuli originating in muscles and tendons) in their hind-limbs. These results are the most dramatic functional and histological repair yet achieved after complete spinal cord transection in adult mammals, and they open new avenues in the search for treatment of spinal cord injuries in other mammals, including humans. The leader of the group of scientists who achieved this, Dr. Almudena Ramon-Cueto, Institute of Biomedicine, Spanish Council for Scientific Research in Valencia, is one of a panel of experts speaking in New Orleans April 22 at an Experimental Biology 2002 American Association of Anatomists symposium on Olfactory Ensheathing Cells: Therapeutic Potential in Spinal Cord Injury. Chaired by Dr. Kathryn J. Jones, Loyola University in Chicago, the panel discusses the location and structure olfactory ensheathing cells, how they work, and why the best hope for restoring function in human spinal cord injury patients might well lie in their own noses.

Keyword: Glia; Regeneration
Link ID: 1953 - Posted: 04.25.2002

Endangered vulture eats excrement to attract mates. MEERA LOUIS Eating cow, goat and sheep excrement gives the Egyptian vulture the edge in the mating game. Ungulate droppings contain pigments called carotenoids, which birds cannot produce for themselves. Carotenoids are nutritious, but more importantly, they keep the area around the vultures' eyes bright yellow. A yellow face makes the fluffy white birds more attractive to mates, J. J. Negro of the Estacion Biologica de Donana in Seville, Spain, and his colleagues have found1. "The yellower the better," says Negro. * Negro, J. J. et al. An unusual source of essential carotenoids. Nature, 416, 807 - 808, (2002). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002 =

Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Evolution
Link ID: 1952 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Being around women who breastfeed has an unexpected effect HOW you smell really can change the way people around you behave-and it has nothing to do with bad BO. Breastfeeding women and newborns give off odours that boost the sexual desire of other women. The finding adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that our natural smell influences other people on an unconscious level, and strengthens the argument that human pheromones exist and still exert a subtle influence over us. In the study, smells associated with breastfeeding increased feelings of sexual intimacy in childless women volunteers. Why this should be so is a mystery, but the researchers suggest it may be a way that women signal to each other that the environment is a good one in which to reproduce.

Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste); Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 1951 - Posted: 04.25.2002

Boston - Physicians have long recognized that early and severe osteoporosis is a serious consequence of anorexia nervosa. With this in mind, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston developed a study to determine if having a bone measurement to screen for low bone density changes the attitude and behavior of young women with anorexia nervosa. While examining normal and low bone density results, researchers found the results to be interpreted both positively and negatively by participants depending on what stage of illness, from diagnosis to recovery, they were in. Those closer to recovery reported bone density results further motivated their recovery. An abstract detailing these findings will be presented at the 2002 International Conference on Eating Disorders, April 25-28, in Boston, by Nava Stoffman, M.D., clinical fellow in the Department of Adolescent Medicine, and colleagues at Children's Hospital Boston.

Keyword: Anorexia & Bulimia
Link ID: 1950 - Posted: 04.25.2002

By Faye Flam Inquirer Staff Writer Do dogs know who they are? Do nest-robbing jays follow a plan? Do any animals have a sense of self? Scientists are pondering these and other questions about how animals think, hoping to understand just how animal consciousness and self-awareness differ from our own. Eventually, the researchers hope to gain insight into how consciousness emerges from the human brain. It might seem evident that many mammals are conscious - that they have feelings and thought, in their own animal ways. But over the course of history, philosophers and scientists have argued otherwise, declaring them as mindless and predictable as robots.

Keyword: Evolution; Intelligence
Link ID: 1949 - Posted: 04.25.2002

In research employing fruit flies, scientists at the University of Arizona have provided new insights into how molecules may control addiction, memory formation, and brain plasticity. Their research has provided the first evidence that the molecule AP1, which helps to regulate changes in the manufacture of certain proteins in brain cells, also is required for long-term changes in the function of synapses (the connections between brain cells). The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), is published in the April 25, 2002 issue of Nature. NIDA Acting Director Dr. Glen R. Hanson says that "understanding addiction at the molecular level will help in the search for new pharmacologic agents to treat or interrupt the biological processes that result in addiction."

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 1948 - Posted: 04.25.2002

For years, researchers have known that the symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) result from damage to a specific region of the brain. A new study shows that the disease also causes widespread damage to the sympathetic nervous system, which controls blood pressure, pulse rate, perspiration, and many other automatic responses to stress. The findings help explain the blood pressure regulation problems commonly found in PD and may lead to new treatments for the disease. Physicians have long known that patients with PD often have incontinence and other symptoms of autonomic nervous system function, and previous studies have found evidence of sympathetic nerve damage in PD patients' hearts. The sympathetic nervous system is one component of the autonomic nervous system. However, this study is the first to show that the disease affects sympathetic nerve endings in the thyroid gland and the kidney, says David S. Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland, who led the study. It also shows that this damage is unrelated to treatment with the most commonly used Parkinson's drug, levodopa. The study appears in the April 23, 2002, issue of Neurology.* Many people with PD develop a problem called orthostatic hypotension (OH), in which blood pressure falls suddenly when a person stands up. This condition can lead to dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting. OH increases the risk of falls and other types of accidents, which can be disabling or even life-threatening. Patients with PD frequently have other symptoms of sympathetic nervous system failure, including intolerance to heat or cold and sexual dysfunction. However, the underlying cause of these problems has been unclear. Goldstein DS, Holmes CS, Dendi R, Bruce SR, Li S-T. "Orthostatic Hypotension from Sympathetic Denervation in Parkinson's Disease." Neurology, April 23, 2002, Vol. 58, No. 8., pp. 1247-1255.

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 1947 - Posted: 04.24.2002

Mississippi's illegal roach killer excites attention. HELEN PEARSON The brain centre targeted by traces of a widely used pesticide has been identified by US researchers. The finding could help explain symptoms seen in people exposed to the pesticide in their homes. Several years ago, some US homes were sprayed illegally with the crop pesticide methyl parathion, known to be toxic at high doses. Evidence has since emerged linking the exposure to anxiety, sleeplessness and depression in people living in the houses. Low levels of the 'cotton poison' may affect a brain centre involved in sleep-wake cycles, memory and anxiety, Hong Zhu revealed at the Experimental Biology 2002 meeting in New Orleans on Monday. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Pain & Touch; Neurotoxins
Link ID: 1946 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Summarized by Robert W. Griffith, MD When I went to my local pharmacy to pick up my blood pressure medication refill I saw a prominent counter display for a new smell-test for Alzheimer's. I felt I had to look into this a bit further, and subsequently found quite a lot of relevant information. One important study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in 2000 examined the predictive value of such a test in people with mildly reduced mental functioning. It would not be surprising if people with Alzheimer's (as well as those with other degenerative diseases of the brain, such as Parkinson's) would have a reduced sense of smell. In patients with Alzheimer's, microscopic examination of nerve cells supplying the olfactory (smell) tissues reveals the same changes as those seen in the nerve cells of the brain. The idea behind studying the sense of smell is to see if a loss of this function correlates with a corresponding loss of brain functioning, in parallel with the microscopic (i.e. structural) changes. If so, a 'smell-test' might be a simple test for Alzheimer's disease. * Olfactory deficits in patients with mild cognitive impairment predict Alzheimer's disease at follow-up. DP. Devanand, KS. Michaels-Marston, X. Liu, et al., Am J Psychiatry , 2000, vol. 157, pp. 1399--1405 Copyright © 2002 Novartis Foundation for Gerontology. All rights reserved

Keyword: Alzheimers; Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste)
Link ID: 1945 - Posted: 06.24.2010

DENVER, COLORADO--Every month, more than 6 million women in the United States suffer a migraine headache at the start of menstruation. Now, investigators believe they've identified a molecule that plays a key role in prompting the migraines. In the early 1980s, researchers determined that menstrual migraines were triggered by the sudden drop in estrogen levels that occurs just before menstruation begins. However, they had little idea how changing hormone levels triggered the headaches. Copyright © 2002 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior; Pain & Touch
Link ID: 1943 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Dermot McGrath LONDON -- They are life's perennial questions: Pepsi or Coke, Mac or PC, cremation or burial? Scientists in the United Kingdom believe they may be close to unraveling some of the brain processes that ultimately dictate the choices we make as consumers. Using a revolutionary method of imaging the brain, researchers from the Open University (OU) and the London Business School say they have identified the brain region that becomes active as the shopper reaches to the supermarket shelf to make their final choice. © Copyright 2002, Lycos, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Keyword: Attention; Brain imaging
Link ID: 1942 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Stress hormones boost immunity crippled by drunken injuries HELEN PEARSON Raising lowered levels of stress hormones could help drunk patients in the emergency room by making up for the ill effects of alcohol on the immune system, the Experimental Biology 2002 meeting heard on Saturday. Of patients admitted to hospital with burns, "50% of them have booze on board", says burns expert Elizabeth Kovacs of the Loyola University Medical Center, Chicago. Drunk people are six times more likely to die after an accident. Alcohol followed by a burn is a dangerous cocktail for the immune system. The double whammy lowers levels of the hormone glucocorticoid. Normally glucocorticoid suppresses inflammation when it is no longer needed, shifting the immune system towards dealing with bacterial and viral infections. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Stress; Neuroimmunology
Link ID: 1941 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Bad news for spice lovers: Chili actually reduces your ability to taste other flavors, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis. In a painful series of experiments that you may not want to try at home, graduate student Chris Simons put capsaicin -- the hot chemical from chili peppers -- on one side of volunteers' tongues. The volunteers then rinsed with solutions representing the five flavors of salty, sweet, sour, bitter and "umami," the flavor linked to monosodium glutamate, and rated the intensity of the flavor. "Capsaicin always suppressed sweetness, bitterness and umami. Saltiness and sourness weren't affected at all," Simons said.

Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste); Pain & Touch
Link ID: 1940 - Posted: 04.23.2002

by Anjana Ahuja Does the existence of a criminal brain diminish the notion of personal responsibility? In the tranquil surroundings of Lake Davis in Florida, Keydrick Jordan shot 76-year-old Ann Mintner six times in a bungled robbery. Jordan was convicted of the murder, but nine months ago a jury spared him the death penalty. Its decision was swayed by medical scans showing that the murderer had brain damage. Jordan’s defence team coupled the images to horrific stories about his childhood: how his mother drank poison in an attempt to abort him; how he watched his stepfather kill a man; how he was forced to bathe in chicken blood in voodoo rituals; and how he was sexually abused, repeatedly, into his teens. “To me, the science was the thing that bore it out,” John Hall, a juror, told a newspaper at the time. “(Jordan) never had a chance to develop any moral instinct, not only because he didn’t have any role models, but because of his brain injury.” Copyright 2002 Times Newspapers Ltd.

Keyword: Aggression; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 1939 - Posted: 06.24.2010