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. A test capable of confirming or ruling out Alzheimer's disease has been validated and standardized by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. By measuring cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of two of the disease's biochemical hallmarks - amyloid beta42 peptide and tau protein - the test also predicted whether a person's mild cognitive impairment would convert to Alzheimer's disease over time. Researchers were able to detect this devastating disease at the earliest stages, before dementia symptoms appeared and widespread irreversible damage occurred. The findings hold promise in the search for effective pharmaceutical therapies capable of halting the disease. http://www.physorg.com/news156435142.html Medicine & Health Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:13:05 EST news156435142 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Pennsylvania State University have identified for the first time a specific "niche factor" in the mouse testes called colony stimulating factor 1, Csf1, that has a direct effect on sperm stem cell self-renewal. Moreover, the study shows that the origin of this growth factor is the Leydig cell - located in the testes and stimulated by the pituitary gland to supply testosterone - that secretes Csf1 and enhances self-renewal of the stem cells. http://www.physorg.com/news155588652.html Biology Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:08:17 EST news155588652 Sick or injured African-American patients wait about an hour longer than patients of other races before being transferred to an inpatient hospital bed following emergency room visits, according to a new national study published in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine. The authors say the findings underscore the urgency to find equitable, cost-effective solutions to provide better care in the nation's emergency departments, which are already strained by unprecedented crowding and more visits from the nation's uninsured population, which is expected to balloon toward 55 million people in the next decade. http://www.physorg.com/news155474066.html Medicine & Health Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:15:07 EST news155474066 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the University of Connecticut have pinpointed the source of immature cells that spur misplaced bone growth. Unexpectedly, the major repository of bone-forming cells originates in blood vessels deep within skeletal muscle and other connective tissues, not from muscle stem cells themselves. The work also shows that cells important in the inflammatory response to injury trigger skeleton-stimulating proteins to transform muscle tissue into bone. http://www.physorg.com/news155315646.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:14:38 EST news155315646 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have unlocked the mystery of a puzzling human disease and gained insight into cardiovascular development, all thanks to a big-hearted fish. http://www.physorg.com/news154788885.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:58:24 EST news154788885 Two-thirds of patients referred for psychiatric services following an emergency room visit are likely to reach only an answering machine when they call for help, compared to about 20 percent of patients calling medical clinics with physical symptoms. Only 10 percent of all calls to mental health clinics in nine U.S. cities resulted in an appointment scheduled within two weeks, according to a new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news154779867.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:24:51 EST news154779867 (PhysOrg.com) -- In a new, year-long University of Pennsylvania survey of dog owners who use confrontational or aversive methods to train aggressive pets, veterinary researchers have found that most of these animals will continue to be aggressive unless training techniques are modified. http://www.physorg.com/news154101338.html Biology Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:58:03 EST news154101338 If you ever argued with your mother when she told you to get some sleep after studying for an exam instead of pulling an all-nighter, you owe her an apology, because it turns out she's right. And now, scientists are beginning to understand why. http://www.physorg.com/news153578717.html Medicine & Health Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:45:56 EST news153578717 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have generated altered immune cells that are able to shrink, and in some cases eradicate, large tumors in mice. The immune cells target mesothelin, a protein that is highly expressed, or translated in large amounts from the mesothelin gene, on the surface of several types of cancer cells. The approach, developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), shows promise in the development of immunotherapies for certain tumors. The study appears online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.physorg.com/news153513867.html Medicine & Health Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:45:10 EST news153513867 In the third century BCE, the Greek poet Callimachus wrote a 'Hymn to Zeus' asking the ancient, and most powerful, Greek god whether he was born in Arcadia on Mt. Lykaion or in Crete on Mt. Ida. http://www.physorg.com/news152819760.html Other Sciences Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:56:36 EST news152819760 A connection between genetic and environmental causes of Parkinson's disease has been discovered by a research team led by Aaron D. Gitler, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Gitler and colleagues found a genetic interaction between two Parkinson's disease genes (alpha-synuclein and PARK9) and determined that the PARK9 protein can protect cells from manganese poisoning, which is an environmental risk factor for a Parkinson's disease-like syndrome. The findings appear online this week in Nature Genetics. http://www.physorg.com/news152720701.html Medicine & Health Sun, 01 Feb 2009 14:25:21 EST news152720701 For the first time, a team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have imaged in real time the body's immune response to a parasitic infection in the brain. http://www.physorg.com/news152371179.html Biology Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:20:06 EST news152371179 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have likely found one reason why the Ebola virus is such a powerful, deadly, and effective virus. Using a cell culture model for Ebola virus infection, they have discovered that the virus disables a cellular protein called tetherin that normally can block the spread of virus from cell to cell. http://www.physorg.com/news152290263.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:51:27 EST news152290263 Happiness inequality in the U.S. has decreased since the 1970s, according to research published this month in the Journal of Legal Studies. http://www.physorg.com/news152197090.html Other Sciences Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:58:49 EST news152197090 Living with a female of its species can extend the reproductive life of a male mouse by a dramatic 20 percent, according to a study reported at the online site of the journal Biology of Reproduction. http://www.physorg.com/news151857782.html Biology Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:43:43 EST news151857782 Studies at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine on brain electrical signaling offer a fresh perspective on vertebrate evolution, provide additional evidence supporting Darwinian views of evolution, and may also lead to more effective treatment of epileptic seizures in infants. Researchers discovered how evolutionary changes produced a series of improvements in molecules generating electrical signals in nerves between 550 and 400 million years ago. By making nervous systems faster and smarter, these innovations appear to have contributed to the evolutionary success and diversity of vertebrate animals. http://www.physorg.com/news151687890.html Medicine & Health Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:32:26 EST news151687890 (PhysOrg.com) -- A research team led by Nancy Speck, PhD, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has identified the location and developmental timeline in which a majority of bone marrow stem cells form in the mouse embryo. The findings, appearing online this week in the journal Nature, highlight critical steps in the origin of hematopoietic (or blood) stem cells (HSCs), says senior author Speck, who is also an Investigator with the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at Penn. http://www.physorg.com/news150731605.html Biology Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:53:25 EST news150731605 Efforts to fight the toll of cardiac arrest have typically focused on pre-hospital factors -- bystander CPR education and improvement, public defibrillation programs, and quicker EMS response. But new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine reveals that the hospital where patients are cared for after being resuscitated plays a key role in their chances of survival following these incidents, which takes the lives of more than 300,000 Americans each year. http://www.physorg.com/news150718306.html Medicine & Health Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:11:46 EST news150718306 (PhysOrg.com) -- Cellular engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have determined that cardiomyocytes, the specialized cells that form the heart muscle, thrive when cultured in an environment that mimics their own elastic nature but falter, weaken or die when `grown` on stiffer or softer materials. http://www.physorg.com/news150568853.html Biology Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:40:53 EST news150568853