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Maternal oxygen supplementation during labor in women
Recurrent Mouth and Throat Cancers Less Deadly When Caused by Virus, Study Shows
Researchers propose using distant quasars to test Bell’s theorem
Surprising culprit found in cell recycling defect
New biomarker for life-threatening bowel infection of premature infants
Mauritius Kestrels Show Long-term Legacy of Man-made Habitat Change
Human and Dog Brains Both Have Dedicated Voice Areas
Neuron-generating Brain Region Could Hold Promise for Neurodegenerative Therapies
Researchers Regenerate Sound-sensing Cells in the Ears of Mice with Hearing Damage

Maternal oxygen supplementation during labor in women

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 11:30 AM PST

When a fetal heartbeat pattern becomes irregular during labor, many practitioners give oxygen to the mother. But questions remain whether this oxygen supplementation benefits the fetus or may actually be potentially harmful.

Recurrent Mouth and Throat Cancers Less Deadly When Caused by Virus, Study Shows

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 11:21 AM PST

People with late-stage cancer at the back of the mouth or throat that recurs after chemotherapy and radiation treatment are twice as likely to be alive two years later if their cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), new research led by a Johns Hopkins scientist suggests.

Previous studies have found that people with so-called HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers are more likely to survive than those whose cancers are related to smoking or whose origins are unknown.

Researchers propose using distant quasars to test Bell’s theorem

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 09:33 AM PST

In a paper published this week in the journal Physical Review Letters, MIT researchers propose an experiment that may close the last major loophole of Bell’s inequality — a 50-year-old theorem that, if violated by experiments, would mean that our universe is based not on the textbook laws of classical physics, but on the less-tangible probabilities of quantum mechanics.

Surprising culprit found in cell recycling defect

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 09:21 AM PST

To remain healthy, the body’s cells must properly manage their waste recycling centers. Problems with these compartments, known as lysosomes, lead to a number of debilitating and sometimes lethal conditions.

New biomarker for life-threatening bowel infection of premature infants

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 09:08 AM PST

Care of premature infants has improved, however they remain vulnerable to infections including a bowel infection called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). A new study from Loyola University published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery has identified low reticulated platelets as a potential biomarker for early detection of this life-threatening disease.

Mauritius Kestrels Show Long-term Legacy of Man-made Habitat Change

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST

The widespread loss of forest to sugarcane fields on the island of Mauritius has forced kestrels living there to survive by speeding up their life histories, according to a report published online on February 20 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology. By getting an earlier start, the birds are managing to have just as many offspring, even though they die sooner.

Those changes to the kestrels' life history are apparently driven entirely by their early life experiences, the researchers say.

Human and Dog Brains Both Have Dedicated Voice Areas

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

The first study to compare brain function between humans and any nonprimate animal shows that dogs have dedicated voice areas in their brains, just as people do. Dog brains, like those of people, are also sensitive to acoustic cues of emotion, according to a study in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on February 20.

Neuron-generating Brain Region Could Hold Promise for Neurodegenerative Therapies

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

Scientists show that new neurons are generated in the adult striatum through measurements of carbon-14 that resulted from nuclear-testing

Researchers Regenerate Sound-sensing Cells in the Ears of Mice with Hearing Damage

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST

One of the major causes of hearing loss in mammals is damage to the sound-sensing hair cells in the inner ear. For years, scientists have thought that these cells are not replaced once they're lost, but new research appearing online February 20 in the journal Stem Cell Reports reveals that supporting cells in the ear can turn into hair cells in newborn mice. If the findings can be applied to older animals, they may lead to ways to help stimulate cell replacement in adults and to the design of new treatment strategies for people suffering from deafness due to hair cell loss.