― Communication often fumbled during patient hand-offs in hospital
[sciencedaily.com]
As shifts change in a hospital, outgoing physicians must "hand off" important information to their replacements in a brief meeting. But a new study of this hand-off process finds that the most important information is not fully conveyed in a majority of cases, even as physicians rate their communication as successful.
― PEGylated dendrimers: A novel mechanism of drug delivery
[sciencedaily.com]
A research team has shown how PEGylated polylysine dendrimers, a new type of nano-sized drug delivery system, can be altered to target either the lymphatic system or the bloodstream, which may improve the treatment of particular types of diseases.
― Plants discover the benefits of good neighbors in strategy against herbivores
[sciencedaily.com]
Scandinavian scientists have discovered that a species of tree defends itself from herbivore attack by using chemicals emitted by neighboring plants. The study reveals how species of Birch tree absorb chemical compounds from neighboring Marsh tea plants, Rhondodendron tomentosum, in a unique "defense by neighbor strategy."
― Exploiting the architecture of cancers may lead to their destruction
[sciencedaily.com]
To grow larger, solid tumors require a network of blood vessels to nourish them. Chemotherapy exploits these vessels to deliver toxic drugs, but is inefficient if the drugs cannot pass quickly enough from the bloodstream into the tumor. A new study describes a way of transiently making the tumor blood vessels leakier, allowing more efficient drug uptake. This work may ultimately enhance delivery of chemotherapies into tumor tissue.
― Prehistoric response to global warming informs human planning today
[sciencedaily.com]
Since 2004, University at Buffalo anthropologist Ezra Zubrow has worked intensively with teams of scientists in the Arctic regions of St. James Bay, Quebec, northern Finland and Kamchatka to understand how humans living 4,000 to 6,000 years ago reacted to climate changes.
― Effects of lifestyle and exposures are mirrored in blood gene expression
[sciencedaily.com]
A study by Norwegian and French researchers hopes to provide new understanding of how blood cells adjust gene expression in response to various clinical, biochemical and pathological conditions. The Norwegian Woman and Cancer postgenome study highlights numerous blood gene sets affected by one's physical condition, lifestyle factors and exposure variables.
― Nintendo: We’d be “embarrassed” if we were Sony or Microsoft
[inquisitr.com]
Sony and Microsoft will both release motion-sensing controllers this year, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 respectively. Let’s face it: by bringing motion-sensing games to their consoles, S & M are copying Nintendo’s Wii, or at least being heavily influenced by it, if you were feeling kind.
Thing is, they don’t seem too fazed about outright nabbing Nintendo’s idea. Actually, they’re pretty shameless, and now Nintendo bossman Reggie Fils-AIme has stepped in to say they should both be...
― Conservationists urge treaty panel to reject ivory sale by Tanzania, Zambia
[sciencedaily.com]
An international team of conservationists says relaxing a current moratorium on ivory sales to allow one-time sales by Zambia and Tanzania could lead to increased slaughter of elephants for their ivory throughout Africa.
― High-intensity interval training is time-efficient and effective, study suggests
[sciencedaily.com]
The usual excuse of "lack of time" for not doing enough exercise is blown away by new research. The study adds to the growing evidence for the benefits of short term high-intensity interval training (HIT) as a time-efficient but safe alternative to traditional types of moderate long term exercise. Astonishingly, it is possible to get more by doing less!