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Rescuing male turkey chicks

A novel approach to classify the gender of six-week-old turkey poults could save millions of male chicks from being killed shortly after birth, according to Dr. Gerald Steiner from the Dresden University of Technology in Germany and his team.

Fat around the middle increases the risk of dementia

Women who store fat on their waist in middle age are more than twice as likely to develop dementia when they get older, reveals a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy.

The study has just been published in the scientific journal Neurology.

Why not mashed paper towels on the Thanksgiving menu?

WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2009 -- Why do people eat mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving Day but not mashed paper towels? That's not such an odd question from a chemistry standpoint because potato and paper are almost as similar as two peas in a pod in terms of the carbohydrates they contain.

New discovery about the formation of new brain cells

The generation of new nerve cells in the brain is regulated by a peptide known as C3a, which directly affects the stem cells' maturation into nerve cells and is also important for the migration of new nerve cells through the brain tissue, reveals new research from the Sahlgrenska Academy published in the journal Stem Cells.

Diabetics show alarming increase in morbid obesity

MAYWOOD, Il. -- A Loyola University Health System study has found that one out of five Type 2 diabetics is morbidly obese -- approximately 100 pounds or more overweight.

Researchers reported that 62.4 percent of U.S. adults with Type 2 diabetes are obese, and 20.7 percent are morbidly obese. Among African American adults with Type 2 diabetes, 1 in 3 is morbidly obese.

Consumers choose locally grown and environmentally friendly apples

URBANA - When asked to compare apples to apples, consumers said they would pay more for locally grown apples than genetically modified (GMO) apples. But in a second questionnaire consumers preferred GMO apples -- that is, when they were described, not as GMO, but as having a Reduced Environmental Impact.

The cause behind the characteristic shape of a long leaf revealed

Cambridge, Mass. -- November 23, 2009 -- Applied mathematicians dissected the morphology of the plantain lily (Hosta lancifolia), a characteristic long leaf with a saddle-like arc midsection and closely packed ripples along the edges.

Upending textbook science on Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is caused by the build-up of a brain peptide called amyloid-beta. That's why eliminating the protein has been the focus of almost all drug research pursuing a cure for the devastating neurodegenerative condition.

Time of day matters to thirsty trees, U of T researcher discovers

TORONTO, November 23, 2009 - The time of day matters to forest trees dealing with drought, according to a new paper produced by a research team led by Professor Malcolm Campbell, University of Toronto Scarborough's vice-principal for research and colleagues in the department of cell and systems biology at the St. George campus.

Burnout and mental distress strongly related to errors by US surgeons

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Major medical errors self-reported by American surgeons are strongly related to both burnout and depression. Those findings appear today in the online edition of Annals of Surgery. The Mayo Clinic-led study included collaborators from Johns Hopkins and the American College of Surgeons.

Exposures to metals and diesel emissions in air linked to respiratory symptoms in children

November 23, 2009 -- Exposure shortly after birth to ambient metals from residential heating oil combustion and particles from diesel emissions are associated with respiratory symptoms in young inner city children, according to a new study by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

Switchgrass produces biomass efficiently

MADISON, WI, November 16, 2009 -- A USDOE and USDA study concluded that 50 million U.S. acres of cropland, idle cropland, and cropland pasture could be converted from current uses to the production of perennial grasses, such as switchgrass, from which biomass could be harvested for use as a biofuel feedstock.

Racial disparity in colon cancer survival not easily explained, UAB researchers say

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A new study by University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers shows that body-mass index (BMI) and co-existing medical conditions (co-morbidity) do not explain the decreased survival observed among African-Americans compared to Caucasians who also have colon cancer. The study is published online Nov. 23 in Cancer, a journal of the American Cancer Society.

10 x '20: ID experts call for 10 new antibiotics by 2020

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has asked for a commitment from the Obama administration and the European Union to further the Society's mission to achieve the development of 10 new antibiotics within the next 10 years, known as the 10 x '20 Initiative.

Multiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."



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