
Public Release: 25-Mar-2013

UW researchers discover the brain origins of variation in pathological anxiety
New findings from nonhuman primates suggest that an overactive core circuit in the brain, and its interaction with other specialized circuits, accounts for the variability in symptoms shown by patients with severe anxiety. In a brain-imaging study to be published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health describe work that for the first time provides an understanding of the root causes of clinical variability in anxiety disorders.
Contact: Susan Lampert Smith
ssmith5@uwhealth.org
608-890-5643
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Nouns before verbs?
Researchers are digging deeper into whether infants' ability to learn new words is shaped by the language being acquired. A Northwestern University study cites a promising new research agenda aimed at bringing researchers closer to discovering the impact of different languages on early language and cognitive development. Researchers have asked why infants learn new nouns more rapidly than new verbs, with many researchers asserting that the early noun-advantage is a universal feature of human language.
Contact: Hilary Hurd Anyaso
h-anyaso@northwestern.edu
847-491-4887
Northwestern University
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Artifacts shed light on social networks of the past
The advent of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have made us all more connected, but long-distance social networks existed long before the Internet. A new study led by a UA anthropologist provides new information on social networks in the pre-Hispanic Southwest in A.D. 1200-1450. Among the findings are that people were able to maintain surprisingly long distance relationships in a time when the only mode of transportation was walking.
Contact: Barbara Mills
bmills@email.arizona.edu
520-621-6298
University of Arizona
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Scientists confirm first 2-headed bull shark
Scientists have confirmed the discovery of the first-ever, two-headed bull shark.
Contact: Layne Cameron
layne.cameron@cabs.msu.edu
517-353-8819
Michigan State University
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New study analyzes the risk to endangered whales from ships in southern California
Researchers have identified areas off southern California with high numbers of whales and assessed their risk from potentially deadly collisions with commercial ship traffic in a study published in the scientific journal Conservation Biology.
Contact: Jim Milbury
jim.milbury@noaa.gov
562-980-4006
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
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New model predicts hospital readmission risk
Preventing avoidable readmissions could result in improved patient care and significant cost savings. In a new model developed at Brigham and Women's Hospital, researchers help clinicians identify which medical patients are at the greatest risk for potentially avoidable hospital readmissions so extra steps can be taken to keep those patients healthy and out of the hospital. The model is published in the March 25, 2013 online edition of JAMA Internal Medicine.

Contact: Tom Langford
tlangford@partners.org
617-534-1605
Brigham and Women's Hospital
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NCEAS research sheds light on achieving conservation's holy grail
Solutions that meet the broad, varied, and often competing priorities of conservation are difficult to come by. Research published in the March 28 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences takes a hard look at why, in an effort to find ways to resolve the issue.
Contact: Sonia Fernandez
sonia.fernandez@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-4765
University of California - Santa Barbara
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Michigan hospitals national leaders in preventing common and costly urinary tract infections
Michigan hospitals take the lead in preventing catheter-associated UTIs.

Contact: Beata Mostafavi
bmostafa@umich.edu
734-764-2220
University of Michigan Health System
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Homeowner associations can support native species in suburban neighborhoods
Although it's known that construction of homes in suburban areas can have negative impacts on native plants and animals, a recent study led by University of Massachusetts Amherst ecologist Susannah Lerman suggests that well- managed residential development such as provided by homeowners associations can in fact support native wildlife.

Contact: Janet Lathrop
jlathrop@admin.umass.edu
413-545-0444
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
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Ghanaian pregnant women who sleep on back at increased risk of stillbirth
Pregnant women in Ghana who slept on their back (supine sleep) were at an increased risk of stillbirth compared to women who did not sleep on their back, according to new research led by a University of Michigan researcher.
Contact: Mary Masson
mfmasson@umich.edu
734-764-2220
University of Michigan Health System
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Einstein study reveals new approach for stopping herpes infections
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered a novel strategy for preventing infections due to the highly common herpes simplex viruses, the microbes responsible for causing genital herpes (herpes simplex virus 2) and cold sores (herpes simplex virus 1). The finding, published online by The FASEB Journal, could lead to new drugs for treating or suppressing herpes virus infections.

Contact: Kim Newman
sciencenews@einstein.yu.edu
718-430-3101
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
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Developing our sense of smell
Caltech biologists have found that neural-crest stem cells--multipotent, migratory cells unique to vertebrates that give rise to facial bones, smooth muscle, and other structures--also play a key role in building the nose's olfactory sensory neurons, the only neurons that regenerate throughout adult life. Learning how they form may offer insights into how neurons in general can be induced to differentiate or regenerate and new avenues for the treatment of neurological disorders or injury.

Contact: Deborah Williams-Hedges
debwms@caltech.edu
626-395-3227
California Institute of Technology
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Decreased water flow may be trade-off for more productive forest
As the need for carbon sequestration, biofuels, and other forest products increases, study suggests that there might be unintended consequences to enhancing ecosystems using fertilization.
Contact: Jane Hodgins
jmhodgins@fs.fed.us
651-649-5281
USDA Forest Service - Northern Research Station
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Smithsonian scientists use DNA to quickly unravel relationship between plants and insects
It can take years of direct observation for a researcher to fully understand the diets of a community of herbivorous insects in a tropical rain forest. Now, five Smithsonian scientists are paving a fast track using the DNA found inside the insects' stomachs, potentially turning years of research into months. This method will help scientists understand the ecology and evolution of plant-herbivore interactions more efficiently.
Contact: John Gibbons
gibbonsjp@si.edu
202-633-5187
Smithsonian
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Urban vegetation deters crime in Philadelphia
A new study of Philadelphia found that abundant vegetation, when well-maintained, can deter certain types of crime---particularly assault and robbery. The study is the first to look at the issue across an entire urban area and offers strong evidence for urban greening as part of city planning and crime prevention strategies.
Contact: Kim Fischer
kim.fischer@temple.edu
215-204-7479
Temple University
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Psychology study shows distance plays key role in gun control arguments
New UT psychology study shows people are more supportive of gun control policy when elected officials base their arguments on broader statistics, rather than isolated incidents.
Contact: Erin Burgoon
erin.burgoon@gmail.com
734-730-0138
University of Texas at Austin
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Researchers issue forecast for 'moderate' New England red tide in 2013
New England is expected to experience a "moderate" red tide this spring and summer, report NOAA-funded scientists studying the toxic algae that cause blooms in the Gulf of Maine. The "red tide" is caused by an alga Alexandrium fundyense, which produces a toxin that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. Red tide typically occurs annually along some portions of the Gulf of Maine coast. This year's outlook is similar to the 2012 red tide which was also classified as "moderate."

Contact: WHOI Media Relations
media@whoi.edu
508-289-3340
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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Researchers decode biology of blood and iron disorders mapping out novel future therapies
Two studies led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College shed light on the molecular biology of three blood disorders, leading to novel strategies to treat these diseases.

Contact: Lauren Woods
Law2014@med.cornell.edu
646-317-7401
Weill Cornell Medical College
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Kidney sparing surgery underutilized for patients who need it most
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have released study results that show national treatment trends in the surgical management of patients with kidney disease. The study found that partial and complete kidney removal (total nephrectomy) and energy-based techniques to destroy tumors are all on the rise. Surprisingly, the patients most in need of kidney-sparing surgery are still more likely to undergo total nephrectomy.
Contact: Jackie Carr
jcarr@ucsd.edu
619-543-6163
University of California - San Diego
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Predictions of climate impacts on fisheries can be a mirage
In the early 1940s, California fishermen hauled in a historic bounty of sardine that set the backdrop for John Steinbeck's "Cannery Row" novel. But by the end of the decade the nets came up empty and the fishery collapsed. Where did they all go? According to a new study led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, the forces behind the sardine mystery are a dynamic and interconnected moving target.
Contact: Mario Aguilera or Robert Monroe
scrippsnews@ucsd.edu
858-534-3624
University of California - San Diego
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Office workers carry biomarker of potentially harmful flame retardant, study finds
A flame retardant removed from children's pajamas 30 years ago but now used in polyurethane foam is prevalent in office environments, especially in older buildings, where urine testing of workers turned up widespread evidence of its biomarker, a new study led by Boston University School of Public Health researchers has found.

Contact: Lisa Chedekel
chedekel@bu.edu
617-638-7721
Boston University Medical Center
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Arguments in the home linked with babies' brain functioning
Being exposed to arguments between parents is associated with the way babies' brains process emotional tone of voice, according to a new study to be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Contact: Anna Mikulak
amikulak@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300
Association for Psychological Science
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Tearing down the technological 'Tower of Babel' along international borders
A recent experiment in communications between Canada and the US proved interoperable communications between the two countries will work.

Contact: John Verrico
john.verrico@hq.dhs.gov
202-254-2385
US Department of Homeland Security - Science and Technology
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New study suggests that same-sex parents are judged more harshly than heterosexual parents
Is there a double standard for gay parents? A new study published this month by a Binghamton University research team suggests that gay parents are being judged more harshly than straight parents.
Contact: Ryan Yarosh
ryarosh@binghamton.edu
607-777-2174
Binghamton University
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Youth with diabetes at greater risk following transition from pediatric to adult care
A new study found that young people with type 1 diabetes who had transitioned from pediatric to adult care were two and a half times more likely to have chronically high blood glucose levels, putting them at higher risk for heart attacks, strokes, blindness and kidney failure later in life.

Contact: Amy Albin
aalbin@mednet.ucla.edu
310-794-8672
University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
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