The combination of extended wakefulness and low-dose alcohol has significant adverse effects on a persons ability to drive, and elevates the risk of getting into a vehicular accident, as per a research studyreported in the October 1 issue of the journal SLEEP. The study, authored by Mark E. Howard, PhD, of the Institute for Breathing and Sleep in Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia, focused on 19 volunteer professional drivers, who participated in a driving simulation and the Psychomotor Vigilance Task. The subjects were measured in a rested state (12-15 hours awake) and after extended wakefulness (18-21 hours awake) during two sessions. Alcohol was administered during one session, with performance measured at blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of 0.00 percent, 0.03 percent and 0.05 percent in a non-sleep deprived state, and at 0.03 percent after extended wakefulness (at 1 a.m. and at 3 a.m.). During the second session, tests were performed at the same times without alcohol........

New research at MIT has revealed for the first time the role of bone's atomistic structure in a toughening mechanism that incorporates two theories previously proposed by scientists eager to understand the secret behind the material's lightweight strength. Past experimental studies have revealed many different mechanisms at different scales of focus, rather than a single theory. The combination mechanism uncovered by the MIT scientists allows for the sacrifice of a small piece of the bone in order to save the whole, helps explain why bone tolerates small cracks, and seems to be adapted specifically to accommodate bone's need for continuous rebuilding from the inside out........

In groundbreaking research, researchers have demonstrated the ability to strategically attach gold nanoparticles - particles on the order of billionths of a meter - to proteins so as to form sheets of protein-gold arrays. The nanoparticles and methods to create nanoparticle-protein complexes can be used to help decipher protein structures, to identify functional parts of proteins, and to "glue" together new protein complexes. Applications envisioned by the scientists include catalysts for converting biomass to energy and precision "vehicles" for targeted drug delivery........

The occurence rate of medicine errors can be reduced by implementing a computerized doctor order entry (CPOE) system, as per a review of several studies conducted by scientists at the University of Minnesota. The review, recently reported in the online journal Health Services Research, analyzed 12 studies conducted between 1990 and 2005 that compared the number of handwritten and computerized medicine errors made by hospital physicians. Medication errors, which include prescribing the wrong drug, ordering an inaccurate dosage, or administering a drug at the wrong time, dropped by as much as 66 percent in United States hospitals that switched to a CPOE system. Illegible handwriting and transcription errors account for more than 60 percent of medicine errors........

The enabling of structured doctoral research within a collaborative scientific network has been the declared objective of the Research Training Group Programme, offered by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), since its inception in 1990. How important the internationalisation of this programme is to the DFG is also shown by the International Research Training Group programme, founded in 1997, in which German groups together with groups from abroad offer structured doctoral programmes. The DFG also expects Research Training Groups not belonging to this category to have an international orientation, and it supports efforts to establish international contacts. At its meeting on 1 June 2007 in Bonn, for example, the committee responsible for Research Training Groups allocated additional funds to seven projects for cooperation with the graduate schools funded by the Academy of Finland........

Nature, through the trial and error of evolution, has discovered a vast diversity of life from what can only presumed to have been a primordial pool of building blocks. Inspired by this success, a new Biodesign Institute research team, led by John Chaput, is now trying to mimic the process of Darwinian evolution in the laboratory by evolving new proteins from scratch. Using new tricks of molecular biology, Chaput and co-workers have evolved several new proteins in a fraction of the 3 billion years it took nature........

"My baby is doing what other babies her age are doing -- she's feeding herself, putting on her own clothes and she loves to dance". Lolita Harding is describing her daughter Dave'yana, who will turn three in September, thanks in large part to a thymus transplant she received at Duke University Medical Center in April 2005 to reconstitute her absent immune system. Dave'yana was the 31st baby to receive such a transplant at Duke to correct immune system deficiencies caused by a condition called DiGeorge anomaly. Duke is the only center in the world that performs the procedure........

How is California regulating its $3 billion stem cell research initiative? Regulations governing human stem cell research must strive to assure strict oversight while simultaneously fostering scientific innovation through collaboration, says a group of researchers from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), one of the world's largest supporters of such research........

Abnormalities in the ligaments found on the outside of the knee (lateral collateral ligament complex or LCLC) are usually seen on MRI in patients with knee osteoarthrosis (OA), as per a research studyconducted by scientists from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA........

Just thinking about swallowing makes it harder to do. Head and neck cancer, a stroke, brain tumor, brain injury or even a tracheostomy tube and mechanical ventilation needed to sustain life can make it impossible. Dysphagia, or swallowing problems, can also result from aging and accompanying loss of muscle strength........

When a person's under stress or injured, the adrenal gland releases cortisol to help restore the body's functions to normal. But the hormone's effects are a number of and varied, lowering the activity of the immune system, helping create memories with short-term exposure, while impairing learning if there's too much for too long. Given the variety of its effects,understanding how cortisol is made is essential to producing medications that can alter its production........

A consortium of Canadian and American scientists report in Nature Genetics the results from a search of the entire human genome for genetic risk factors leading to the development of Crohn's disease. Specifically, using a novel approach, the authors identified that the PHOX2B, NCF4 and ATG16L1 genes constitute genetic risk factors for Crohn's disease. In addition, their study identified two regions of the genome where genetic risk factors are located but no known genes were implicated further work will be necessary to identify the causal genes in these regions........

A study of how the brain of a premature infant responds to injury has found vulnerabilities similar to those in the mature brain but also identified at least one significant difference, as per neuroresearchers and neonatologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. In an animal model of brain injury, scientists showed for the first time that parts of the developing brain are vulnerable to damage from glutamate, a nervous system messenger compound. Glutamate is already well-known for its links to injury in the mature brain. But researchers also found damage in the developing brain that could not be associated with glutamate, suggesting that different therapys are needed to prevent brain injury in premature infants........

One of the persistent riddles of the deadly 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic is why it struck different cities with varying severity. Why were some municipalities such as St. Louis spared the fate of the hard-hit cities like Philadelphia when both implemented similar public health measures? What made the difference, according to two independent studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was not only how but also how rapidly different cities responded........

Fats in our stomach may reduce the protective effects of antioxidants such as vitamin C. Scientists at the University of Glasgow found that in the presence of lipid the ability of antioxidants, such as ascorbic acid (the active component of vitamin C), to protect against the generation of potential cancer-forming compounds in the stomach is less than when no lipids are present. Our results illustrate how diet can influence gastric biochemistry, says Emilie Combet, the post-doctoral researcher working on the project, who will be presenting her results at the Society of Experimental Biologys Annual Main Meeting on Monday 2nd of April........