http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have discovered that a carefully built magnetic sandwich that interleaves layers of a magnetic alloy with a few nanometers of silver `spacer` has dramatically enhanced sensitivity -a 400-fold improvement in some cases. This material could lead to greatly improved magnetic sensors for a wide range of applications from weapons detection and non-destructive testing to medical devices and high-performance data storage. http://www.physorg.com/news152380708.html Physics Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:58:58 EST news152380708 The brain may be injured by the noise, which is produced when, for example, an anti-tank weapon (Bazooka, Karl Gustav) or a howitzer (Haubits) is fired. Scientists at the Sahlgrenska Academy demonstrated mild injury to brain tissue. In response to this, the Swedish Armed Forces restricted the number of rounds per day Swedish personnel can be exposed to. http://www.physorg.com/news152378159.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:16:26 EST news152378159 Whilst losing a baby is distressing for parents, until now it has been less widely acknowledged that medical staff themselves can be affected by the losses experienced by their patients. http://www.physorg.com/news152371528.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:25:51 EST news152371528 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new neuroimaging study on stressed-out students suggests that male humans, like male rats, don`t do their most agile thinking under stress. The findings, published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that 20 male M.D. candidates in the middle of preparing for their board exams had a harder time shifting their attention from one task to another than other healthy young men who were not under the gun. http://www.physorg.com/news152292294.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:25:28 EST news152292294 Stressful experiences in early childhood can have long-lasting impacts on kids' health that persist well beyond the resolution of the situation. http://www.physorg.com/news152213411.html Medicine & Health Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:30:41 EST news152213411 Scientists have identified a new way to inhibit a molecule that is critical for HIV pathogenesis. The research, published by Cell Press in the January 16th issue of the journal Molecular Cell, presents a target for development of antiretroviral therapeutics that are likely to complement existing therapies and provide additional protection from HIV and AIDS. http://www.physorg.com/news151243641.html Medicine & Health Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:07:21 EST news151243641 High-tech gadgets aimed at older people are becoming more mainstream. This year, a section of the floor at the massive International Consumer Electronics Show featured products and services aimed at seniors and older baby boomers. Young folks might enjoy these, too. http://www.physorg.com/news151174860.html Electronics Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:01:00 EST news151174860 Japanese men in high-stress jobs appear to have an increased risk of stroke compared with those in less demanding positions, according to a report in the January 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news151000807.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:40:07 EST news151000807 A large fraction of the transcription factor Oct-1 is associated with the inner nuclear envelope, but how and why it is retained there was unknown. http://www.physorg.com/news150976704.html Biology Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:58:24 EST news150976704 There are no sheep keeping Mari A. company at bedtime. Rather, she counts thoughts of layoffs, mortgage payments and plummeting stocks. Her insomnia started back in November, when the economy hit a critical low. Restless, she manages to fall asleep but wakes up in the middle of the night and is unable to drift back into a slumber. http://www.physorg.com/news150654506.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:28:26 EST news150654506 Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to have metabolic syndrome than veterans without PTSD, according to a study led by Pia Heppner, Ph.D., psychologist with the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs of San Diego, VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health (CESAMH). The study will be published online January 8 by the journal BMC Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news150614020.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:13:40 EST news150614020 (PhysOrg.com) -- The discovery more than a decade ago of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone secreted by fat tissue, generated headlines and great hopes for an effective treatment for obesity. But hopes dimmed when it was found that obese people are unresponsive to leptin due to development of leptin resistance in the brain. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report the first agents demonstrated to sensitize the brain to leptin: oral drugs that are already FDA-approved and known to be safe. Findings were published January 7 by the journal Cell Metabolism. http://www.physorg.com/news150468469.html Biology Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:47:49 EST news150468469 Individuals who experience trauma during childhood appear more likely to develop chronic fatigue syndrome as adults, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, neuroendocrine dysfunction -or abnormalities in the interaction between the nervous system and endocrine system -appears to be associated with childhood trauma in those with chronic fatigue syndrome, suggesting a biological pathway by which early experiences influence adult vulnerability to illness. http://www.physorg.com/news150397846.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:10:46 EST news150397846 The end of the year is a time when many of us will make resolutions to lose weight or quit smoking. But instead of making resolutions which are often times quickly forgotten, New Years is a good time to take personal inventory of our lives, says Temple University psychologist Frank Farley. http://www.physorg.com/news149350705.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Dec 2008 14:18:25 EST news149350705 In the last few years there has been a growing number of documented cases in which large earthquakes set off unfelt tremors in earthquake faults hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of miles away. http://www.physorg.com/news148136737.html Space & Earth Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:05:37 EST news148136737 (PhysOrg.com) -- Purdue University scientists found that mice raised in cages may relieve stress with behaviors associated with mice in the wild. And for researchers using lab mice, this may mean that by allowing mice to express these behaviors they can conduct research with animals that act and respond more naturally, hopefully making research data more reliable. http://www.physorg.com/news147974728.html Biology Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:05:28 EST news147974728 A University of Iowa researcher and colleagues at the University of Michigan have discovered a direct link between disruption of a critical cellular housekeeping process and fatty liver disease, a condition that causes fat to accumulate in the liver. http://www.physorg.com/news147966719.html Biology Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:51:59 EST news147966719 Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects as many as one in five of all Americans who survive a harrowing experience like rape, assault, war or terrorism. It has emotionally paralyzed survivors of 9/11 and broken up survivors' families. http://www.physorg.com/news147366265.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:04:25 EST news147366265 Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated their ability to measure relatively low levels of stress or strain in regions of a semiconductor device as small as 10 nanometers across. Their recent results* not only will impact the design of future generations of integrated circuits but also lay to rest a long-standing disagreement in results between two different methods for measuring stress in semiconductors. http://www.physorg.com/news146850516.html Nanotechnology Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:48:36 EST news146850516 Although its been over a decade since endothelial progenitor cells or EPCs, cells that circulate in the blood repairing and replacing the cells that line blood vessels, were identified, the field is still evolving. EPCs are now being studied as biomarkers to assess the risk of future cardiovascular disease and as potential agents for vascular regeneration. http://www.physorg.com/news146840544.html Medicine & Health Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:02:24 EST news146840544 If you have had a hard day at work, you may change your eating habits, perhaps favoring comfort food, but you don't suddenly develop the ability to eat the plate and cutlery. A new paper, published in this week's issue of PLoS Biology, describes an evolutionary mechanism in yeast that allows cells to respond to environmental stress in novel ways, including digesting materials that they were previously unable to use - though admittedly, they aren't eating crockery just yet! The work shows that a protein-misfolding mechanism that can reveal hidden genetic variation is far more likely to be triggered when yeast is under environmental stress, and is therefore an evolutionary strategy to trigger rapid evolution. http://www.physorg.com/news146813034.html Biology Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:23:54 EST news146813034 (PhysOrg.com) -- A little bit of stress goes a long way and can have far-reaching effects. Neuroscientists from the University of Washington have found that a single exposure to uncontrollable stress impairs decision making in rats for several days, making them unable to reliably seek out the larger of two rewards. http://www.physorg.com/news146242257.html Medicine & Health Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:50:57 EST news146242257 Two pacemakers in the brain work together in harmony to ensure that breathing occurs in a regular rhythm, according to new research from MIT scientists. http://www.physorg.com/news144956266.html Medicine & Health Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:37:46 EST news144956266 Life can be stressful, whether you're an individual watching the stock market crash or a commuter stuck in traffic. A new study, forthcoming in the journal Psychological Science, examines how stress affects decision-making and finds that older adults alter their behavior more than young adults when under stress - particularly in situations involving risk. http://www.physorg.com/news144396738.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Oct 2008 07:12:18 EST news144396738 A new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers found that a high dose of cortisone could help reduce the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The article appears in Biological Psychiatry, Volume 64, Issue 8 (October 15, 2008), pages 708-717. http://www.physorg.com/news144336629.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:30:29 EST news144336629 Stress during pregnancy can have unfortunate consequences for children born under those conditions - slower development, learning and attention difficulties, anxiety and depressive symptoms and possibly even autism. http://www.physorg.com/news144332350.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:19:10 EST news144332350 Current research suggests that stress may activate immune cells in your skin, resulting in inflammatory skin disease. The related report by Joachim et al., "Stress-induced Neurogenic Inflammation in Murine Skin Skews Dendritic Cells towards Maturation and Migration: Key role of ICAM-1/LFA-1 interactions," appears in the November issue of The American Journal of Pathology. http://www.physorg.com/news144303724.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Oct 2008 05:22:04 EST news144303724 Cortisol helps our bodies cope with stress, but what about its effects on the brain? A new study by Cohen and colleagues, appearing in the October 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry, suggests that the answer to this question is complex. http://www.physorg.com/news143891872.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:57:52 EST news143891872 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new technique sheds light on how red blood cells regulate blood pressure in small blood vessels. http://www.physorg.com/news143822563.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:42:43 EST news143822563 Do mothers purposely expose their offspring to their own stress? If so, why? http://www.physorg.com/news143803772.html Biology Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:29:32 EST news143803772