Diversity ... Michael Schumacher wants to see more women racing in Formula 1. Source: Rob Griffith / AP

Michael Schumacher has helped launch a CAMS-funded Women of Australian Motorsport scholarship aimed at improving the odds for women competing in racing during a luncheon in Melbourne.

And the former Formula 1 champion says women have no physical barriers to competing at the top level.

"There is no reason why women should not be competitive in any of those fields that we have available in motor sport because physical limits - even in F1 - they're not so high that women couldn't do it," Schumacher said.

"I mean if you look at the athletics I'm pretty sure there are a few women who are fitter than I am.

"The main issue, why we don't see so many, is in the early days when you start to prepare to become a racing driver, it's a very small percentage of women doing it.

"That's why in the end, developing to the final stage, there is a left over chance of very little and I think this is the principal issue."

The recipient of the scholarship will be selected by a committee consisting of Steven Richards, and Women of Australian Motor Sport committee members Leanne Tander and Sue Evans.

Tander is the wife of V8 Supercars driver Garth Tander and a successful racer in her own right. She is also Australia's delegate to the FIA's Women and Motor Sport Commission.

Catch all the Formula 1 action with out weekend-long LIVE BLOG of the Australian Grand Prix.

More here:
Schumi launches women's scholarship

Thanks to all those who have been sending their ideas about why they like comparative physiology. Two non-science students sent me a list this week with the reasons they think comparative physiology is interesting. Do they deserve a Dolittle t-shirt? At least for "originality"?

Let me know what you think. Will post the update next week.

To try your chance at a FREE "What's new in comparative physiology" t-shirt just in time for Experimental Biology 2012, send Dr. Dolittle your reasons for enjoying comparative physiology. Be sure to also tell Dr. Dolittle what you are most looking forward to at the meeting. A new winner will be chosen every week prior to EB! If you are caught wearing Dr. Dolittle promotional items (official or homemade) at the meeting, you just may win a $10 Starbucks gift card! Just remember, the item MUST say either: "Dr. Dolittle", "Life Lines", or "comparative physiology".

To enter, send your reasons to Dr. Dolittle at drdlttl01@gmail.com

Good luck everyone! I look forward to hearing your ideas about why you like comparative physiology.

Continued here:
Update on our Contest! [Life Lines]

Public release date: 12-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Allison Flynn allison.j.flynn@mcgill.ca 514-398-7698 McGill University

A recent study led by Gergely Lukacs, a professor at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, and published in the January issue of Cell, has shown that restoring normal function to the mutant gene product responsible for cystic fibrosis (CF) requires correcting two distinct structural defects. This finding could point to more effective therapeutic strategies for CF in the future.

CF, a fatal genetic disease that affects about 60,000 people worldwide, is caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), a membrane protein involved in ion and water transport across the cell surface. As such, CF is characterized by impaired chloride secretion causing the accumulation of viscous mucous that may cause multiple organ dysfunctions, including recurrent lung infection.

The most common mutation in CFTR, known as deltaF508, is caused by a single amino acid deletion and results in a misfolded version of CFTR that is retained within the cell and quickly degrades rather than being trafficked to the cell membrane where it would function as a chloride channel.

In 2005, Lukacs and his lab suggested that deltaF508 mutation effect is not restricted to the domain (the nucleotide binding domain 1 or NBD1, one of five building blocks of CFTR) where the deltaF508 is located. Specifically, his team found that the mutation destabilizes the NBD1 as well as the NBD2 architecture, suggesting that domain-domain interaction plays a critical role in both normal and pathological CFTR folding.

Building on his team's previous work and computer generated models of CFTR, Lukacs and his team set out to determine whether it was possible to correct both NBD1 stability and domain-domain interaction defect. Using a combination of biophysical, biochemical and genetic techniques, the team found that only simultaneous correction of both folding defects was able to ensure normal-like cell surface expression and function of the mutant.

"These findings offer a plausible explanation for the limited efficiency of the available correctors currently under clinical trial. If there are two different folding steps to correct, it is difficult to envision how a single drug could work," explained Lukacs. "The proposed two-step folding model points to the fact that the correction strategy has to be reconsidered."

###

The study was funded in part by The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Canada, The Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), Canada Research Chair (CRC) program and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

More here:
'2 steps' ahead in cystic fibrosis research

Image source: Burlington Equine Veterinary Services, LLC.

Talk about comparative physiology! Some older horses develop a condition called equine heaves, which is similar to asthma in humans. Horses that live in more humid environments that promote mold growth are more prone to the disorder than horses that have lived in dry environments. It is also common in stabled horses fed hay as a result of prolonged exposure to dust particles released while eating. Similar to humans with asthma, there seems to be a genetic link to the disorder in horses.

The treatment of horses with heaves is similar to humans: changing the environment to have fewer dust particles or mold as well as treatment with anti-inflammatory medications and sometimes bronchodilators (image above). This makes the horse an ideal model in which to study asthma. Dr. Virginia Buechner-Maxwell at Virginia Tech University says the condition is actually easier to study in a horse because larger samples of blood can be collected for testing and the animals comply with treatments for their condition better than humans. Her lab is also able to collect samples from the larynx of horses which requires only light sedation, whereas collecting similar samples from humans requires anesthesia since our larynx is more prone to spasms.

To read more or listen to the podcast from Virginia Public Radio, click here.

If you are planning on attending Experimental Biology 2012, don't forget to enter the contest to win a free Dr. Dolittle "What's New in Comparative Physiology" t-shirt and try your chance at also winning free coffee at the meeting! To learn more, click here.

Sources: Virginia Public Radio

Camargo FC, et al., Heaves in Horses. Cooperative Extension Service, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.

Burlington Equine Veterinary Services, LLC

See the original post here:
Using horses to study asthma [Life Lines]

Source: ISNA

Iranian-American Khosrow Kashfi, Associate Medical Professor and Chemistry, Physiology and Pharmacology Coordinator at the City College of New York, has developed gas-filled aspirin drug which can boost its cancer-fighting ability.

Khosrow Kashfi

Read full article by New Scientist: Gas-filled aspirin is a potent anti-cancer drug

The new aspirin is dubbed "NOSH" which stands for Nitric Oxide and Hydrogen Sulphide.

Loading aspirin with gas boosts its cancer-fighting ability and might even reduce the harmful side effects of taking aspirin every day.

Aspirin is known to damage cancer cells, which is thought to be behind its preventative effect. To test the new drug, Kashfi's team added it to cells from 11 types of human tumour, including colon, pancreas, breast, lung and prostate cancer.

"It turned out to be significantly more potent than aspirin alone," Kashfi said.

"We could be looking at a human trial within two years," Kashfi added.

... Payvand News - 03/07/12 ... --

Follow this link:
Iranian scientist creates gas-filled aspirin to fight cancer

SACRAMENTO Fan Yang, a doctoral student in the molecular, cellular and integrative physiology program (MCIP), received the 2011-12 Loren D. Carlson Prize in Physiology for his work on the molecular mechanisms underlying temperature-dependent activation of thermo-TRP channels. Yang will be recognized at the graduate studies commencement in June 2012.

The Prize in Physiology is awarded each year by the MCIP Support Committee to a doctoral student whose research expands understanding of the fundamental principles of physiology.

Yang has focused on studies that better define how the body senses and controls body temperature, a function that can affect many organ systems. He has published numerous papers, including first-author research studies in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the Journal of Biological Chemistry two high-impact, peer-reviewed journals.

"Yang's work is improving our understanding of how neurons encode temperature information and is receiving favorable reviews by researchers in the field," said Catherine VandeVoort, MCIP graduate group chair. "He and his faculty mentor, Jie Zheng, exemplify our university's commitment to educating the next generation of leaders in the field who will guide, define and create change within the global community."

The Loren D. Carlson Prize in Physiology is named after the late Loren Daniel Carlson, a former assistant dean and chair of the Division of Sciences Basic to Medicine and chair of the Department of Human Physiology. Carlson directed the physiology graduate group and served as a catalyst in the development of a creative interdepartmental and scientifically productive graduate program.

The Graduate Group in Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology is one of 90 graduate-degree programs offered at UC Davis. The program emphasizes collaborative and interdisciplinary training in the fundamental principles of molecular, cellular and integrative physiology across a wide range of subdisciplines, including cardiorespiratory, cellular, comparative, endocrine, reproductive, exercise, metabolic and neurophysiology.

The UC Davis School of Medicine is among the nation's leading medical schools, recognized for its research and primary-care programs. The school offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public health and in informatics, and its combined M.D.-Ph.D. program is training the next generation of physician-scientists to conduct high-impact research and translate discoveries into better clinical care. Along with being a recognized leader in medical research, the school is committed to serving underserved communities and advancing rural health. For more information, visit UC Davis School of Medicine at medschool.ucdavis.edu.

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Postdoctoral student awarded physiology prize

Olympic legacy will make kids scientists

1:00pm Tuesday 6th March 2012 in News By Wendy Brading

A SENIOR Essex University lecturer has been involved in a nationwide initiative to create an Olympic legacy.

Dr Valerie Gladwell, a senior lecturer in physiology, has been advising the Wellcome Trust on the In the Zone project.

It will see every school in the country receiving a free experiment kit to allow students to learn how their bodies work during exercise, movement and rest.

The 5million project aims to create an Olympic legacy of an interest in science and movement. The kits, which are now being distributed to schools, contain equipment and resources needed to carry out scientific experiments related to human physiology.

They will help pupils explore questions such as whether having longer legs helps you jump further and what happens inside a persons body and mind when they take part in sport.

Dr Gladwell, who is based in the universitys school of biological sciences, worked with the Wellcome Trust project team as a sports science expert, advising them on the experiments for secondary school students.

She features in the Ive Got The Power zone for 16 to 19-year-olds, which explores how the body is powered during exercise.

She also helped to create the projects live data zone, where pupils will go online to enter their data, which can then be used by pupils and scientists in research.

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Olympic legacy will make kids scientists

NEW ORLEANS, LA--(Marketwire -03/06/12)- GenoVive, a pioneer in DNA-based, all-natural weight management solutions, today announced that Dr. Ruth DeBusk, PhD, RD, and Dr. Barbara E. Ainsworth, PhD, MPH, FACSM, FNAK, have joined the company's Scientific Advisory Board, advising on the integration of nutrition and exercise into the innovative and all-natural weight management program based on genetic science.

Dr. Ainsworth is a professor in the Exercise and Wellness Program within the School of Nutrition and Health Promotion at Arizona State University, and a fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the National Academy of Kinesiology, the Research Consortium of American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the North American Society of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Professionals. Dr. Ainsworth holds an honorary academic appointment at the Akershus University College in Oslo, Norway, has served as President for the ACSM and was a 2006 ACSM Citation Award recipient. Her ongoing research relates to physical activity and public health with a focus on the assessment of physical activity in populations. She has authored more than 250 publications and is the lead author for the Compendium of Physical Activities.

Dr. DeBusk is a geneticist and clinical dietician in practice in Tallahassee, Florida. Trained first as a food and nutrition professional and subsequently as a geneticist and molecular biologist, Dr. DeBusk has been a member of the genetics faculty at Florida State University for many years. Her research combines nutrition and genetics, focusing on genetic regulation of nutrient absorption in response to environmental signals. She has served on local, state, national and international committees and advisory boards related to nutrition, genetics and biotechnology, is an author of several books, including the American Dietetic Association's Genetics: The Nutrition Connection. Her many awards include the Florida Dietetic Association's 2009 Outstanding Dietician Award, and the 2007 Harold Harper Award for Science and Practice by the American College for the Advancement in Medicine.

Drs. Ainsworth and DeBusk join Scientific Advisory Board Chairman, Dr. Steven H. Zeisel, MD, PhD, and board members Dr. David Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, and Dr. Daniel Pomp, MS, PhD.

"Dr. Ainsworth and Dr. DeBusk are both exceedingly respected in their fields for their deep expertise and practical experience, and their membership on the GenoVive Scientific Advisory Board is an outstanding addition to our team of leaders in the fields of genetics, nutrition and exercise physiology," said Vic Castellon, founder and CEO, GenoVive LLC. "As Americans continue to battle the overweight and obesity epidemic, GenoVive remains committed to the continued development of a long-term and comprehensive solution to weight management based on individual genetics and personalized nutrition and exercise through collaboration with our Scientific Advisory Board members," Castellon added.

The GenoVive Scientific Advisory Board was established to guide the company's research activities, seeking out the most innovative and promising research projects for continuing validation of the emerging field of nutrigenomics, which is the study of the effects of foods on gene expression and the role certain genes play in weight gain.

"Combining gene-informed diets and physical activity protocols to address weight management and metabolic health is the scientific foundation for personalized lifestyle medicine," said Dr. Ainsworth. "Not only does the application of nutrigenomics inform dietary choices, understanding individual differences in responsiveness to exercise protocols provide a roadmap for metabolic health and effective weight control."

"Our personal health continuum is influenced by our daily diet and lifestyle choices and those choices interact with our genes throughout our lifetime," said Dr. DeBusk. "Advances in understanding the role of genes in health and disease and that food is powerful information for our genes has made us keenly aware of the importance of knowing what's in our genetic makeup and being able to match our diet and lifestyle choices to our genetic potential."

About GenoVive LLC

Founded in 2008, GenoVive, a division of Genvis Bio Group, LLC, based in New Orleans, LA, represents a new approach to weight loss and sustained healthy eating. GenoVive's geneticists and food scientists developed customized, all-natural meal and exercise programs, featuring ideal combinations of macronutrients based on individual DNA. GenoVive is sold directly to the consumer at GenoVive.com and by phone with convenient home delivery. Follow GenoVive on Twitter @myGenovive, Facebook, and YouTube.

See original here:
GenoVive Expands Scientific Advisory Board, Adds Prominent Experts in Nutrigenomics and Exercise Physiology

Public release date: 6-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Lisa Merkl lkmerkl@uh.edu 713-743-8192 University of Houston

George Kovacik ggkovacik@tmhs.org 832-667-5844

HOUSTON, March 6, 2012 Measure twice and cut once is a well-known phrase among surgeons, but this is not always what happens. To better prepare new surgeons for the operating room, University of Houston (UH) computer scientists are working with medical researchers at the Methodist Institute for Technology, Innovation and Education (MITIE) to improve existing training processes. At the core of their effort is understanding the role of stress on a surgeon's path to competency.

Ioannis Pavlidis, director of the Computational Physiology Laboratory at UH, Dr. Barbara Bass, chair of the department of surgery at The Methodist Hospital, and their colleagues describe their findings in a paper titled "Fast by Nature How Stress Patterns Define Human Experience and Performance in Dexterous Tasks." The article appears in Scientific Reports, the new open-access research publication from the Nature Publishing Group.

The group recently completed a three-year study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that measured the stress levels of physicians during surgical training. In addition to the $500,000 from NSF, the researchers received a $200,000 grant from the John F. and Carolyn Bookout Fund to supplement the study.

Pavlidis and his colleagues developed a non-contact method of measuring stress and the body's response to threats or challenges. This new thermal imaging method is capable of quantifying performance and physiological stress indicators by measuring facial perspiration, revealing how a person reacts to a threatening situation. This is called a sympathetic response. Pavlidis, Bass and their teams were able to monitor these sympathetic responses of 17 surgeons 10 experienced and 7 novices while engaged in laparoscopic surgical training over the course of several months.

Bass, an authority in surgical education and director of MITIE, had long recognized that surgeons in training exhibit stress as they learn to perform surgical procedures. The team hypothesized this stress could be measured using the thermal facial mapping technology developed by the Pavlidis research laboratory and set out to determine if facial thermal stress would correlate with surgical skill performance.

"We found that regardless of experience level, surgeons attempt to perform tasks at the same speed," Pavlidis said. "This is counterintuitive, because you would expect common sense to tell a novice to be more careful and slow down in an effort to reduce errors. This was not the case in our study. Instead, the novices attempted the tool transferring, cutting and suturing tasks as fast as the experienced surgeons, thereby making many more errors due to their lack of experience to accommodate such speed."

This led Pavlidis and his colleagues to question why this was the case, and they discovered that high stress levels in novices were the likely trigger of fast behavior. When presented with a challenging task, he said, the basic human instinct of survival mode kicked in precipitating action, even if the speed of that action was counterproductive for the desired result.

See the original post here:
UH, Methodist team up to prepare surgeons for the operating room

The award ceremony took place at the Pre-Oscar Benefit hosted by Guard A Heart Foundation and Aviir at Hollywoods Avalon Theater on February 25th. Dr. Louis Ignarro, Co-recipient of "1998 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine" and Mr. Larry King, founder of The Larry King Cardiac Foundation, were honored at the event.

Hollywood, CA (PRWEB) March 05, 2012

Approximately 1,450 guests from around the world came to honor luminaries in Heart Health awareness, prevention, research and philanthropy. The evening culminated with performances by top entertainers and rising stars, a silent auction, and raffle.

Guard A Heart Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease prevention, and presented the first Guardian of Hearts Award to Larry King in recognition of his contribution to saving lives through The Larry King Cardiac Foundation. The award was presented at a private pre-Oscar party held at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood on February 25, 2012. This invitation-only event included foreign dignitaries, politicians and celebrities.

Dr. Louis Ignarro, co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for demonstrating the signaling properties of nitric oxide to improve cardiovascular health and prevent heart disease, was also honored at the event. His ground-breaking work the basis for his 2005 best-selling book, NO More Heart Disease established Dr. Ignarro as perhaps the worlds leading authority on the nutritional approach to cardiac wellness.

This exclusive gala represented the launch of Guard A Hearts Know Your Risk, Save A Life campaign to raise awareness about the importance of effective risk assessment in preventing heart attacks. Douglas Harrington, M.D., CEO of Aviir Heart Laboratories, Phil Tsao, Associate Professor of Cardiology and Tom Quertermous, M.D., Head of Cardiology Research at Stanford University presented the award to Mr. Larry King. Aviir is a biotechnology company founded by cardiologists and scientists at Stanford University, dedicated to the prevention of cardiovascular disease through innovative laboratory tests.

The HOME Foundation

Frank Verdugo

855-288-HOME (4663)

info (at) HOMEFoundationRaffle (dot) com

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The HOME Foundation Proudly Supports the Guard A Heart Foundation as they Award Larry King The Guardian of Hearts ...

Posted on March 5, 2012, Monday

KUALA LUMPUR: According to human physiology, kidneys function to remove toxins and excess water from the blood, apart from helping to maintain blood pressure, produce red blood cells and keep the bones healthy.

However, kidneys can be damaged by diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), infection and inflammation, as well as stones and cysts in the organs.

Other causes of damage have been attributed to prolonged use of pain killers and consumption of alcohol.

If kidney damage becomes too severe, the organ will lose its ability to function normally. This is known as end-stage kidney (renal) disease (ESRD), or simply kidney failure.

Nephrologists have identified diabetes and hypertension as the leading causes of ESRD, accounting for more than 60 per cent of new cases of dialysis patients in Malaysia.

According to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), there are three types of kidney failure acute, chronic and end-stage. Acute kidney failure is usually temporary and is reversible.

However, sometimes this type of kidney failure may not respond to treatment and may progress to chronic kidney failure or end-stage kidney failure, says a nephrologist.

When the loss of kidney functions is gradual and progressive, it is known as chronic kidney failure.

Eventually, the kidneys are unable to remove wastes or maintain the bodys salt and fluid balance, resulting in the need to receive dialysis treatment.

Read the original post:
Protein in urine — a sign of kidney damage

New policy to apply to all articles submitted for publication in societys 13 peer-reviewed journals

Newswise BETHESDA, Md. (March 1, 2012)The American Physiology Society (APS) has announced a new policy requiring the reporting of the sex of experimental animals and the sex or gender of humans used in studies submitted for publication in any of the organizations 13 peer-reviewed journals. This notable requirement for all research study authors has been approved by the APS leadership and will be presented in an editorial, In Pursuit of Scientific Excellence Sex Matters (http://bit.ly/Arm0FL) written by Virginia Miller, Ph.D., Professor, Surgery and Physiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. The announcement was made by Hershel Raff, Ph.D., Chair of the societys Publications Committee. He added that the editorial will appear in the journals beginning this month.

At first glance this change in author guidelines appears to align to the overall acceptance by the scientific community that sex or gender issues must be addressed in the conduct and reporting of physiological and scientific research. Unfortunately, what has been accepted in theory by the research community has not been universally reflected in the current content of scientific journal articles, said Dr. Miller in an interview. With the acceptance that sex does matter, it would follow that scientific journal research articles would report sex or gender of the experimental material in the Methodology section of the submitted content but this has not been the case, she said.

Why Sex and Gender Matter

Dr. Miller points to the 2001 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences report, "Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter?" which offered the first significant assessment of sex and gender differences in biomedical research and determined that sex does matter. The IOM report, supported by the Society for Women's Health Research, found that sex differences important to health and human disease occur at conception and throughout the life span, affecting behavior, perception, and health. However, a recent published review of basic science journals, including studies of cells in culture from high impact cardiovascular journals, and of basic and clinical scientific literature, suggests that sex of experimental material is not consistently reported.

The literature review found that less than 40 percent of studies using experimental animals and only about 25 percent of studies using cells in culture identified the sex of the experimental material. This percentage is low given the growing knowledge base indicating that physiology and pathophysiology differ between male and female animals and humans beyond reproductive function to include all physiological systems, according to the editorial.

The article offers future authors guidance on how the sex of experimental material should be reported. Proposed IOM definitions state that sex is a biological construct dictated by the presence of sex chromosome and in animals and humans the presence of functional reproductive organs. On the other hand, gender is a cultural concept referring to behaviors which might be directed by specific stimuli (visual, olfactory) or by psychosocial expectations that result from assigned or perceived sex and therefore can influence biological outcomes. The new editorial policy for all APS journals requires the reporting of sex for cells, tissues and experimental animals and humans (i.e. male and female) or gender where appropriate and suitable for the experimental design of the research effort. In the era of physiological genomics and individualized medicine, the presence of an XX or XY chromosomal complement is fundamental to the genome of an individual person, animal, tissue or cell, writes the author.

Publication and Clinical Medicine

Dr. Miller, who is a past member of the APS governing Council and who has held leadership positions for six scientific journals and provides peer review for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and other health-related research organization, closes the editorial with a call for other scientific journals to adopt similar policies. She advocates that in our pursuit of scientific excellence, sex matters, and promotes that adoption of this policy by all journal reviewers; associate editors and editors will improve communication of scientific results and perhaps assist in more rapid translation of information from basic science to clinical medicine.

According to Raff, The APS believes that our society must be a leader in instituting and enforcing a policy for reporting sex and gender in experimental studies. The reporting strengthens our understanding of physiology, which is the basis of translational medicine. The policy is currently in effect for all APS journals.

View original post here:
APS Issues Policy Requiring Identification of Sex or Gender in Reporting of Scientific Research

Public release date: 1-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Donna Krupa dkrupa@the-aps.org 301-634-7209 American Physiological Society

BETHESDA, Md. (March 1, 2012)The American Physiology Society (APS) has announced a new policy requiring the reporting of the sex of experimental animals and the sex or gender of humans used in studies submitted for publication in any of the organization's 13 peer-reviewed journals. This notable requirement for all research study authors has been approved by the APS leadership and will be presented in an editorial, "In Pursuit of Scientific Excellence Sex Matters," written by Virginia Miller, Ph.D., Professor, Surgery and Physiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. The announcement was made by Hershel Raff, Ph.D., Chair of the society's Publications Committee. He added that the editorial will appear in the journals beginning this month.

At first glance this change in author guidelines appears to align to the overall acceptance by the scientific community that sex or gender issues must be addressed in the conduct and reporting of physiological and scientific research. "Unfortunately, what has been accepted in theory by the research community has not been universally reflected in the current content of scientific journal articles," said Dr. Miller in an interview. "With the acceptance that 'sex does matter', it would follow that scientific journal research articles would report sex or gender of the experimental material in the Methodology section of the submitted content but this has not been the case," she said.

Why Sex and Gender Matter

Dr. Miller points to the 2001 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences report, "Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter?" which offered the first significant assessment of sex and gender differences in biomedical research and determined that sex does matter. The IOM report, supported by the Society for Women's Health Research, found that sex differences important to health and human disease occur at conception and throughout the life span, affecting behavior, perception, and health. However, a recent published review of basic science journals, including studies of cells in culture from high impact cardiovascular journals, and of basic and clinical scientific literature, suggests that sex of experimental material is not consistently reported.

"The literature review found that less than 40 percent of studies using experimental animals and only about 25 percent of studies using cells in culture identified the sex of the experimental material. This percentage is low given the growing knowledge base indicating that physiology and pathophysiology differ between male and female animals and humans beyond reproductive function to include all physiological systems," according to the editorial.

The article offers future authors guidance on how the sex of experimental material should be reported. Proposed IOM definitions state that "sex" is a biological construct dictated by the presence of sex chromosome and in animals and humans the presence of functional reproductive organs. On the other hand, "gender" is a cultural concept referring to behaviors which might be directed by specific stimuli (visual, olfactory) or by psychosocial expectations that result from assigned or perceived sex and therefore can influence biological outcomes. The new editorial policy for all APS journals requires the reporting of sex for cells, tissues and experimental animals and humans (i.e. male and female) or gender where appropriate and suitable for the experimental design of the research effort. "In the era of physiological genomics and individualized medicine, the presence of an XX or XY chromosomal complement is fundamental to the genome of an individual person, animal, tissue or cell," writes the author.

Publication and Clinical Medicine

Dr. Miller, who is a past member of the APS governing Council and who has held leadership positions for six scientific journals and provides peer review for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and other health-related research organization, closes the editorial with a call for other scientific journals to adopt similar policies. She advocates that in our pursuit of scientific excellence, sex matters, and promotes that adoption of this policy by all journal reviewers; associate editors and editors will improve communication of scientific results and perhaps assist in more rapid translation of information from basic science to clinical medicine.

See the rest here:
APS issues new policy requiring identification of sex or gender in reporting scientific research

Forget the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders we need a new system based on brain physiology, says psychiatrist Nick Craddock

You don't believe we should update the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) used to classify mental illness. Why not? There are many reasons we should pause. The DSM checklist of symptoms is not fit for purpose: its categories don't map onto the emerging science of emotion and cognition, yet the DSM-5 rewriters plan to pull in more areas in the new categories and over-medicalise the situation further. Obviously the people rewriting DSM are not stupid, but the project is the wrong thing now. There are lots of great findings coming out of biology, neuroscience and psychology. We will need a new diagnostic system based on these.

How do you see a non-DSM system of classifying mental illness? It should be based on brain physiology, and make sense in biological and psychological terms. People think mental health is very different from physical health but I think our understanding of it is similar to where we were 100 years ago with illnesses such as diabetes. Take schizophrenia - people vary so much, but the DSM definition doesn't capture that. In 20 years' time the condition will have a biological and psychological typology. Right now our approach is like a blunderbuss.

What changes in DSM-5 worry you? Suppose you suffer from severe low mood, lack of energy and lack of self-esteem for two weeks continuously. As things stand, if this happens up to six months after a bereavement, it would be considered normal. For most of us that fits with common sense. DSM-5 drops that exclusion and classifies such an episode as depression. This seems unhelpful, to say the least.

What about the "temper tantrum" category? DSM-5 plans to bring in "Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder" which refers to an onset of temper outbursts before age 10. The thinking is this may be a prelude to later bipolar disorder. However, I believe we need much more firm evidence for the benefits of doing this before labelling children with such a diagnosis.

Do you have any other concerns? There's likely to be a move to include people with mild delusions, hallucinations or disorganised speech into the psychosis category as "an attenuated form with intact reality testing". This underlines the overwhelming criticism of DSM - we need more research to distinguish correctly between normal and abnormal states before it is clinically justified to add a new diagnosis like this.

DSM is American. Does it apply in Europe? In Europe we look more to the World Health Organization's International Classification of Disease in our clinical work, but DSM does guide research here.

How strong is the opposition to DSM-5? There is widespread scepticism globally because of the issues I have mentioned and the DSM's poor ability to translate outside the context of the US healthcare system. Over 11,000 people working in or concerned with mental health care have signed a petition calling for a rethink.

Nick Craddock is professor of psychiatry at the Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences at Cardiff University School of Medicine, and is the director of the Welsh National Centre for Mental Health

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

Original post:
There's no sense in revising the psychiatrist's bible

NEW YORK, Feb. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Beautiful skin was always a privilege of family genes.

But even the flawless skin appearance had limited time: aging processes would start taking a toll sometime after 40th of age and that was a status quo. Everybody accepted the law of human physiology.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120229/NY59364LOGO )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110207/NY43170-b )

The picture has changed when BIONOVA Skincare arrived on the scene. Equipped with the last findings in human physiology and biochemistry, utilizing a proprietary technology based on Life Science Nanotechnology this brand radically changed the total approach to the skin in a Beauty industry.

By treating the skin as the largest and one of the most important organs of a human body, BIONOVA created customized lines, using identical bioactive ingredients naturally produced within the body in the same ratio and quantities. This approach helps the skin to self-restore andself-heal, enhancing the skin function as a bodyguard.

The approach towards enhancing and restoring the skin function gives HEALTHY, FLAWLESS skin to everyone. The family genes privilege became a myth faded by offering customized processes that take into consideration all skin types and all skin concerns.

Names of BIONOVA products are very straightforward and say exactly what they do. No ambiguity in understanding and reading labels.

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Regular consumption of high-flavanol chocolate, could help to promote brain performance by boosting the efficiency of certain brain functions, suggests new research supported by Barry Callebaut.

The study funded by Barry Callebaut and published in Physiology and Behavior investigated the effects of flavonol-rich on the functioning of spatial working memory. The research team, from Swinburne University, Australia, reported that 30 days supplementation with a high-flavanol chocolate drink did not affect behavioural measures of accuracy and reaction time; however, a number of brain areas were found to be significantly improved in terms of memory encoding, working memory hold period, and retrieval.

In the absence of significant behavioural effects, these differences in brain activation can be interpreted as evidence of increased neural efficiency in spatial working memory function associated with chronic cocoa flavanol consumption, said the research team, led by David Camfield of Swinburne.

"This is the first time that science has positively linked consumption of high flavanol cocoa and chocolate products from Barry Callebaut to improved brain performance, said Hans Vriens, chief innovation officer at Barry Callebaut.

When consumed regularly, the brain is able to complete memory tasks with less effort," he added.

Study details

Sixty-three volunteers aged between 40 and 65 given a daily chocolate drink over the 30 period of the randomised, controlled, double-blind trial.

Participants were divided up into three test groups, with each group consuming a chocolate drink containing a different amount cocoa flavanols the first group received a drink containing 10 grams of dark high-flavanol chocolate (corresponding to 500 mg cocoa flavanols), the second group received a drink which contained 10 grams of conventional dark chocolate (250 mg of cocoa flavanols), whilst the third group received 10 grams of dark chocolate that contained only a few cocoa flavanols.

Camfield and his team used tasks that assess spatial working memory to measure human brain activity. In addition, and in order to compare brain activities, on the first and on the 30th day computer-tomography (CT) brain scans of the test subjects were made while participants solved the special memory tasks.

Camfield and his colleagues found no differences between the various groups in the accuracy or the reaction times of the test subjects in solving the task.

Original post:
Flavanol rich chocolate could boost brain performance, say researchers

I am getting very excited about the upcoming Experimental Biology conference especially since this year marks the 125th anniversary of The American Physiological Society for which there are many planned celebrations. Not to mention, the programming for comparative physiology at this year's meeting is really exciting:

Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Section

Distinguished Lecture: Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 8:00-10:00 AM James Hicks August Krogh Distinguished Lectureship of the APS Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Section

Symposia: Monday, April 23, 2012, 3:30-5:30 PM Nina Stachenfeld and Bernard B. Rees Impact of Environmental Estrogens and Androgens on Human and Animal Health and Reproductive Function

Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 3:30-5:30 PM Kenneth R. Olson Hydrogen Sulfide: Ecology, Physiology, and Clinical Applications

Featured Topics: Monday, April 23, 2012, 10:30 AM-12:30 PM Martin Jastroch Future Directions of Mitochondrial Bioenergetics in Integrative Physiology

Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 10:30 AM-12:30 PM Theodore Garland, Jr. and Thomas H. Meek Understanding the Evolution of Physiology: Insights from Selection Experiments in Rodent Models

To help celebrate the anniversary, try your chance at winning a FREE Dr. Dolittle "What's New in Comparative Physiology" t-shirt (image below)! To enter please write to Dr. Dolittle (drdlttl01@gmail.com) and explain why you are attending the meeting, what excites you about comparative physiology, and what you most look forward to at the meeting. Be sure to include proof of registration. A new winner will be chosen every week prior to EB and we will send you the t-shirt in time for you to wear it in San Diego.

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Getting ready for Experimental Biology 2012 and our new contest! [Life Lines]

Washington, Feb 29 (IANS) Cold air is bad for heart patients, especially when they are undertaking physical activity, because they are unable to cope with the higher oxygen demanded by the body.

"This study can help us understand why cold air is such a trigger for coronary events," said Lawrence I. Sinoway, professor of medicine and director of the Heart and Vascular Institute, Penn State College of Medicine.

Breathing cold air during exercise can cause uneven oxygen distribution throughout the heart. But a healthy body generally corrects for this problem and redistributes blood flow, making sure the heart continues to function properly.

In people with heart problems, such as coronary artery disease, this may not be the case, said Sinoway, the Journal of Applied Physiology and American Journal of Physiology, Heart and Circulatory Physiology report.

"If you are doing some type of isometric work and you're breathing cold air, your heart is doing more work -- it's consuming more oxygen," said Sinoway, according to Penn State statement.

Isometric work includes such activities as shovelling snow and carrying a briefcase or laptop bag. The heart works harder when exerted in cold temperatures and the number of deaths due to cardiac arrest peaks during the winter.

"There are two different things going on here -- demand and supply," said Matthew D. Muller, postdoctoral fellow at the Heart and Vascular Institute, Penn State College of Medicine.

"We thought that oxygen demand in the heart would be higher with cold-air breathing and we also thought that oxygen supply would be a little bit impaired. And that's generally what we found," added Muller.

More here:
Cold air bad for heart patients

PALO ALTO, Calif. — A NASA scientist has won a free flight to suborbital space, but he may not be able to claim the prize.

Thomas Goodwin, a physiology and bioengineering researcher at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, won a suborbital flight on XCOR Aerospace's Lynx vehicle, a $95,000 value. Goodwin's name was randomly selected here Monday (Feb. 27) at the 2012 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC-2012).

"I'm not sure I can accept this," Goodwin said, referencing his status as a government employee, which may prevent him from using the prize. "I'm very surprised."

If government regulations and red tape prohibit Goodwin from claiming the award, a backup is ready to step up; XCOR officials drew an alternate name just in case. Conference attendees who registered in advance were entered in the drawing.

XCOR's Lynx is a two-person space plane designed to take off and land on a conventional airport runway. In addition to flights with paying passengers, the rocket-powered vehicle is being designed to carry research experiments to suborbital space.

XCOR officials have said the Lynx could be in flight-test operations by the end of 2012. The company plans to charge $95,000 per seat when the space plane is up and running. XCOR also announced Monday that it recently secured $5 million in equity funding that will help fund its work on the Lynx.

Whoever eventually goes up in the space plane will be in for a real treat, XCOR officials said.

"Hang onto your hat, because it's going to be one amazing ride," said former NASA astronaut and space shuttle commander Rick Searfoss, XCOR's chief test pilot.

XCOR isn't the only company developing craft to take scientists, experiments and tourists up to suborbital space. Virgin Galactic, for example, is charging $200,000 for rides on its SpaceShipTwo vehicle, which seats six passengers, along with two pilots.

NSRC-2012, which runs through Wednesday (Feb. 29), brings scientists and educators together to talk about how commercial suborbital spacecraft can help advance research in atmospheric science, physics, planetary science, biology and physiology, among other fields, according to conference organizers.

The meeting is jointly hosted by NASA, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, and the Colorado-based Southwest Research Institute.

You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

The rest is here:
NASA Scientist Wins Free Space Trip on Rocket Plane

Serving By Doing- Honors College Volunteer Week 2012!
Attention UA Students: Want a fun and interactive way to support the community you live in? Looking for a way to interact with fellow students while assisting the less fortunate? The UA Honors College is hosting their first annual volunteer week entitled “Serving by Doing” from February 27th-March 3rd. There will be a variety of activities including the following:
•Monday: BorderLinks Awareness Event (12pm-2pm, UA Mall)
•Tuesday: Blood Drive at UA Main Library (10am-3pm, UA Main Library)
•Wednesday: Project Linus Blankets for Children in Need (6:00-8:00pm, Honors College)
•Thursday: Crafts for Kids for Project Sunshine (5:30pm-6:30pm, Honors College)
•Friday: Ben’s Bells (10am-1pm, Ben’s Bells on University)
•Saturday: Cats in the Community (10:30am-2:00pm, World Care Center)
**Advanced registration required by Feb. 16th for Cats in the Community, http://catsincommunity.arizona.edu/2012_volunteer_registration.
** Register with Honors Student Council, from 10:45-2pm, and bring the waivers to the Honors College before February 15th!
Register for Service Week online at HonorsStudentCouncilAZ.com and direct any questions: to HonorsStudentCouncil@gmail.com. Everyone is invited and those who participate in at least 3 events win a FREE T-Shirt!!! (*while supplies last) Registration opens February 12th at HonorsStudentCouncilAz.com !!!! The events are open to ALL students, including non-honors students. We look forward to seeing you!
Tamara Armstrong
University of Arizona
Honors College
Physiology Major
French Minor
Biology Minor
Honors Student Council Philanthropy Chair
Blue Chip Pima Lodge Programming Assistant

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