- February 20, 2009
- 09:31 AM
- 907 views
Oral immunoglobulin and Autism: Study shows no treatment effect.
by Nestor Lopez-Duran in Translating Autism
A review of: Benjamin L. Handen, Raun D. Melmed, Robin L. Hansen, Michael G. Aman, David L. Burnham, Jon B. Bruss, Christopher J. McDougle (2009). A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Human Immunoglobulin for Gastrointestinal Dysfunction in Children with Autistic Disorder Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders DOI: 10.1007/s10803-008-0687-yI have previously reviewed studies testing the basic premises of the leaky gut theory of autism. This theory suggests that children with au........ Read more »
Benjamin L. Handen, Raun D. Melmed, Robin L. Hansen, Michael G. Aman, David L. Burnham, Jon B. Bruss, & Christopher J. McDougle. (2009) A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Human Immunoglobulin for Gastrointestinal Dysfunction in Children with Autistic Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-008-0687-y
- February 20, 2009
- 08:00 AM
- 1,348 views
Whatever Happened to SARS?
by sciencebase in Sciencebase Science Blog
In 2004, I did some reportage for the Royal Society from their meeting on emerging viral infections. The meeting was held just after the worldwide SARS outbreak that threw nations into chaos and had the more susceptible parts of the media hyping the end of the world. Of course, SARS, an emerging pathogen, was lethal [...]Post from: Sciencebase Science Blog... Read more »
Yi-Chun Lin. (2009) Impact of the spread of infectious disease on economic development: a study in risk management. Int. J. Risk Assess. Manage., 11(3/4), 209-218.
- February 20, 2009
- 05:00 AM
- 1,792 views
Did smallpox lead to HIV-1 resistance?
by vrr in virology blog
The entry of HIV-1 into lymphocytes requires two cellular proteins, the receptor CD4, and a co-receptor, either CXCR4 or CCR5. Individuals who carry a mutation in the gene encoding CCR5, called delta 32, are resistant to HIV-1 infection. This observation was the basis for giving an AIDS patient a bone marrow transplant from a donor [...]... Read more »
A. S. Lalani. (1999) Use of Chemokine Receptors by Poxviruses. Science, 286(5446), 1968-1971. DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5446.1968
- February 20, 2009
- 05:00 AM
- 133 views
Sexual Deception by Orchids
by Linda in Oz Blog No. 159
You might think they're lovely, but their researchers might disagree. Actually, plant biochemists and ecologists would argue that orchid flowers are meant to resemble female bee behinds. The evolutionary benefit to this mimcry is attracting pollinators, like flying insects. In the case of the orchid, during mating season the male bee would be attracted and deceived by the flower, and while trying to mate with it, he might fall into it and get pollen on himself. Then, after finishing his bus........ Read more »
Adler, L., & Irwin, R. (2005) ECOLOGICAL COSTS AND BENEFITS OF DEFENSES IN NECTAR. Ecology, 86(11), 2968-2978. DOI: 10.1890/05-0118
Kessler, D., & Baldwin, I. (2007) Making sense of nectar scents: the effects of nectar secondary metabolites on floral visitors of Nicotiana attenuata. The Plant Journal, 49(5), 840-854. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2006.02995.x
Schiestl, F. (2005) On the success of a swindle: pollination by deception in orchids. Naturwissenschaften, 92(6), 255-264. DOI: 10.1007/s00114-005-0636-y
Schiestl, F. (2003) The Chemistry of Sexual Deception in an Orchid-Wasp Pollination System. Science, 302(5644), 437-438. DOI: 10.1126/science.1087835
- February 20, 2009
- 02:32 AM
- 1,003 views
Increased access to science, but who gets to publish?
by Marc Cadotte in The EEB and flow
What role will open access (OA) journals play as science publishing increasingly moves to the internet and involves a more diverse array of participants? In a recent short article in Science, Evans and Reimer tried to answer this using citation rates from 8253 journals and examine trends in citation rate shifts. They found that researchers from wealthier countries were not likely to shift to citing OA journals while researchers from poorer countries did. The authors conclude that the overall sh........ Read more »
J. A. Evans, & J. Reimer. (2009) Open Access and Global Participation in Science. Science, 323(5917), 1025-1025. DOI: 10.1126/science.1154562
- February 20, 2009
- 01:29 AM
- 1,278 views
Friday Weird Science: When it feels really good to brush your teeth
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
This is another post along the lines of the odd things that get off certain members of the humans species. I'm sure some of us wish we were these people, but in some cases (like this one), it's not a fortunate as you might suppose.
Chuang, et al. "Tooth-brushing epilepsy with ictal orgasms". Seizure, 2004, 13, 179-182.
This post brought to you by the bibliography of Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach. Also brought to you by the letter L, and by a very tired Scicuri........ Read more »
Y CHUANG. (2004) Tooth-brushing epilepsy with ictal orgasms. Seizure, 13(3), 179-182. DOI: 10.1016/S1059-1311(03)00109-2
- February 20, 2009
- 12:05 AM
- 1,365 views
Less supply chain disruptions with vendor managed inventory?
by Jan Husdal in husdal.com
ResearchBlogging.orgHow does a traditional supply chain compare to a vendor managed inventory supply chain when it comes to performance during disruptions? In her 2005 paper, The impact of transportation disruptions on supply chain performance, Martha Wilson found out, not surprisingly, that vendor managed inventory (VMI) fares better than the traditional retail managed inventory.... Read more »
WILSON, M. (2007) The impact of transportation disruptions on supply chain performance. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 43(4), 295-320. DOI: 10.1016/j.tre.2005.09.008
- February 19, 2009
- 11:05 PM
- 2,063 views
A Short History of Chocolate in the United States
by Dr Shock in Dr Shock MD PhD
The use of chocolate as medicine has a long and interesting history in Europe and South America. This history is very well documented. Little is known about the medicinal use of chocolate in Northern America until recent.
Eighteenth century Anglo-Americans brought from Europe long-held medical beliefs to the newly formed Colonial Territories. Medicine practiced in 17th [...]... Read more »
Deanna L. Pucciarelli, & Louis E. Grivetti. (2008) The Medicinal Use of Chocolate in Early North America. Molecular Nutrition , 52(10), 1215-1227. DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.200700264
- February 19, 2009
- 07:30 PM
- 1,734 views
Reading the contents of working memory
by Mo in Neurophilosophy
Working memory refers to the process by which small amounts of information relevant to the task at hand are retained for short periods of time. For example, before cellular phones became so ubiquitous, calling someone usually involved first finding the number and then remembering it for a just few seconds by repeating it to oneself several times. Once the digits had been dialled, they are immediately forgotten.
Very little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying working memory, but very........ Read more »
Harrison, S.A. . (2009) Decoding reveals the contents of visual working memory in early visual areas. Nature.
Harrison, S.A. . (2009) Decoding reveals the contents of visual working memory in early visual areas. Nature.
- February 19, 2009
- 07:08 PM
- 1,020 views
Coffee Grounds as Biofuel
by Will in Will and Beyond
Coffee chemistry[1] and green chemistry are both very fun, and here's a great combination of the two. The Misra group out of University of Nevada took used coffee grounds and used them to create biodiesel and fuel pellets. Below is a flow chart summarizing what they are proposing.
Biodiesel is simply made by transesterifying fats and oils. The chemistry is pretty basic, and I'm not going into it, but take a glance at Wikipedia if it's new to you. Coffee grounds contain oils; the Starbucks g........ Read more »
Narasimharao Kondamudi, Susanta K. Mohapatra, & Mano Misra. (2008) Spent Coffee Grounds as a Versatile Source of Green Energy. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 56(24), 11757-11760. DOI: 10.1021/jf802487s
- February 19, 2009
- 05:50 PM
- 1,781 views
Lower back pain often does not require imaging
by Jake Young in Pure Pedantry
Here is a lesson in why defensive medicine should be avoided: it costs a lot, it doesn't help patients, and it has the potential to hurt them. Chou et al. published a study in the Lancet showing that in patients presenting with lower back pain without serious clinical symptoms (more on this in a second) imaging does not improve outcomes. Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
Roger Chou, Rongwei Fu, John A Carrino, & Richard A Deyo. (2009) Imaging strategies for low-back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, 373(9662), 463-472. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60172-0
- February 19, 2009
- 04:26 PM
- 1,679 views
Diatoms Large and Small
by Greg Laden in Greg Laden's Blog
Diatoms are algae with hard parts. They make up a major part of the plankton found in fresh and salt water environments. Usually, diatoms exist as single celled free floating organisms, but they can also be colonies of several single cells. Their tiny little 'shells' are made up of silica (these shells are called "fustules"). Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...... Read more »
Litchman, E., Klausmeier, C.A., & Yoshiyama, K. (2009) Contrasting size evolution in marine and freshwater diatoms . PNAS. DOI: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/02/06/0810891106.full.pdf html
- February 19, 2009
- 02:28 PM
- 1,364 views
Reflections on mirror neurons and speech perception
by Greg Hickok in Talking Brains
In the very first empirical report of mirror neurons di Pellegrino, Fadiga, Gallese, & Rizzolatti (1992) noted the surface similarity between mirror neurons and the motor theory of speech perception. [the invariance of the acoustic patterns of speech] led several authors to propose that the objects of speech perception were to be found not in the sound, but in the phonetic gesture of the speaker, represented in the brain as invariant motor commands (see Liberman and Mattingly 1985). Although our........ Read more »
G. Pellegrino, L. Fadiga, L. Fogassi, V. Gallese, & G. Rizzolatti. (1992) Understanding motor events: a neurophysiological study. Experimental Brain Research, 91(1). DOI: 10.1007/BF00230027
Andrew J. Lotto, Gregory S. Hickok, & Lori L. Holt. (2009) Reflections on mirror neurons and speech perception. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2008.11.008
- February 19, 2009
- 01:58 PM
- 2,111 views
Assisted migration, bison, and conservation values
by Kent in Uncommon Ground
In developing any conservation plan, whether for a single species or for an entire ecosystem, we have to know what "success" would look like. After all, if we don't know where we're going, we'll probably end up somewhere else. But...... Read more »
Stephen G. Willis, Jane K. Hill, Chris D. Thomas, David B. Roy, Richard Fox, David S. Blakeley, & Brian Huntley. (2009) Assisted colonization in a changing climate: a test-study using two U.K. butterflies. Conservation Letters, 2(1), 46-52. DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-263x.2008.00043.x
- February 19, 2009
- 11:17 AM
- 1,001 views
TRB: Schadenfreude’s Not in Our Dictionaries, but It’s in Our Brains
I’ve always enjoyed the word “schadenfreude.” The idea that the Germans have a word for such a complicated situational emotion, and that we didn’t even bother to come up with an English equivalent and simply imported the German, has long fascinated me. Plus, it’s a fun word to say. By way of explanation for [...]... Read more »
H. Takahashi, M. Kato, M. Matsuura, D. Mobbs, T. Suhara, & Y. Okubo. (2009) When Your Gain Is My Pain and Your Pain Is My Gain: Neural Correlates of Envy and Schadenfreude. Science, 323(5916), 937-939. DOI: 10.1126/science.1165604
- February 19, 2009
- 10:39 AM
- 1,187 views
Gender Affects Treatment Delays for Heart Disease
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Many studies, as well as common medical sense, indicate that any delay in treatment for acute cardiac symptoms can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Complications of delaying treatment may cause cardiac dysrhythmias, congestive heart failure, infections in the lining of the heart, rupture of the heart structures, or death. Any delay in the recognition [...]... Read more »
T. W. Concannon, J. L. Griffith, D. M. Kent, S.-L. Normand, J. P. Newhouse, J. Atkins, J. R. Beshansky, & H. P. Selker. (2009) Elapsed Time in Emergency Medical Services for Patients With Cardiac Complaints: Are Some Patients at Greater Risk for Delay?. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 2(1), 9-15. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.108.813741
J. P. Ornato. (2009) Gender Delay in Emergency Medical Services: Does it Really Exist?. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 2(1), 4-5. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.108.841916
Linda Perkins-Porras, Daisy L. Whitehead, Philip C. Strike, & Andrew Steptoe. (2008) Causal beliefs, cardiac denial and pre-hospital delays following the onset of acute coronary syndromes. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31(6), 498-505. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-008-9174-3
Anne G. Rosenfeld. (2004) Treatment-Seeking Delay Among Women With Acute Myocardial Infarction. Nursing Research, 53(4), 225-236. DOI: 10.1097/00006199-200407000-00005
- February 19, 2009
- 10:30 AM
- 962 views
High functioning autism vs. Asperger's. Autism diagnostic issues (Part II)
by Nestor Lopez-Duran in Translating Autism
Part II review of: Fred R. Volkmar, Matthew State, Ami Klin (2009). Autism and autism spectrum disorders: diagnostic issues for the coming decade Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50 (1-2), 108-115 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02010.xMuch controversy and confusion remains about the differences between high functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome. As the authors described, there are many areas of overlap as well as differences between the original Asperger’s proposal and autism......... Read more »
Fred R. Volkmar, Matthew State, & Ami Klin. (2009) Autism and autism spectrum disorders: diagnostic issues for the coming decade. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50(1-2), 108-115. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02010.x
- February 19, 2009
- 10:30 AM
- 873 views
High functioning autism vs. Asperger's. Autism diagnostic issues (Part II)
by Nestor Lopez-Duran in Translating Autism
Part II review of: Fred R. Volkmar, Matthew State, Ami Klin (2009). Autism and autism spectrum disorders: diagnostic issues for the coming decade Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50 (1-2), 108-115 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02010.xMuch controversy and confusion remains about the differences between high functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome. As the authors described, there are
Visit www.translatingautism.com for the full post.
Visit www.translatingautism.com for the full p........ Read more »
Fred R. Volkmar, Matthew State, & Ami Klin. (2009) Autism and autism spectrum disorders: diagnostic issues for the coming decade. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50(1-2), 108-115. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02010.x
- February 19, 2009
- 09:47 AM
- 870 views
Trendy flu
by Eva Amsen in Expression Patterns
Playing with Google Trends is a favourite pastime of geeks .
You can look at searches that are more popular in certain locations compared to others, and you compare the popularity of searches over time. For example, if you look at the trends for searches for “christmas”, “easter”, “valentines”, and “halloween” you’ll see that they are more popular in the days leading up to those holidays, peak on the day itself, and then abruptly drop again........ Read more »
Jeremy Ginsberg, Matthew H. Mohebbi, Rajan S. Patel, Lynnette Brammer, Mark S. Smolinski, & Larry Brilliant. (2008) Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine query data. Nature, 457(7232), 1012-1014. DOI: 10.1038/nature07634
- February 19, 2009
- 09:46 AM
- 815 views
Google vs. influenza
by iayork in Mystery Rays from Outer Space
It seems that influenza is a popular target for internet-based research; perhaps because it’s so common and well-known that population trends can be picked up accurately this way.
Five Google.com scientists, and one from the CDC, have published evidence in Nature1 that Google search terms are accurate ways of measuring influenza epidemics. Their influenza tool is [...]... Read more »
Jeremy Ginsberg, Matthew H. Mohebbi, Rajan S. Patel, Lynnette Brammer, Mark S. Smolinski, & Larry Brilliant. (2008) Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine query data. Nature, 457(7232), 1012-1014. DOI: 10.1038/nature07634
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