What does Iconocast do? We receive health and science press releases from major research institutes, government agencies, and universities daily. These are articles and press releases that are sent to all publishers regularly. Do we also borrow news from other publishers? Yes, we do and so do many other major Internet publishers such as SeattleTimes.com (from almost all publishers), Washingtonpost.com (from all publishers) and CBS News (from WebMD.com and many other websites and blogs). However, contrary to these publishers, Iconocast adds value to the content presented. The new Iconocast technology provides the most accurate updates on important and valuable health and science news inside a (green-border) table (Google News). Are past news or articles worth searching? Yes, we believe past articles are still valuable if they are effectively updated. Majority of these articles are truly timeless.
How does it work for today's article? Before showcasing today's article, the new Iconocast algorithm also presents links to substantially more views, articles, and news inside a Green Border Table in regards to the article on the page. In most cases the first or second links provided by Google News inside the table is to the original source of the article. Most people click on those links and land on the page where the original article is located. Website that participate in Google news and their articles show up in Iconocast have experienced an increase in traffic (also from the back-links or the link popularity that Iconocast provides). If you are not participating in Google news, Google will be happy to consider your site. We also strongly believe the more views and news about the same article, the more information, intelligence, and much more trustworthy is that article. This is an effective way for the reader to expand on the information and make sure that the article has validity and is reliable. Let us examine some examples. Take a look at this article: The Associated Press : Ad gives hot dogs a bum rap, experts say. If you examine both Google News and Google Scholar results, you get much more important news on what really causes colon cancer, what might help, what prevents, and what is more risky than the poor Hot Dogs. Of course we can never compete with a company as larger as the The Associated Press, however, we strongly believe we have justifiably added value over what they are presenting. Here is another example : CIA, FBI push 'Facebook for spies' If you examine the Google News Table, you get an expanded view of the activities (private social networking system for the CIA, the FBI and the National Security Agency called A-Space), and Google Scholar will give you important legal issues, privacy issues, and other important intellectual views.

Here is another example: Sarah Jessica Parker Removes Trademark Mole. Notice there are more than 100 articles that validate the news about the mole disappearance. After seeing the links to all these 100 article, don't you feel a bit more confident that the mole is really gone? Or check out this one : Miley Cyrus Without Clothes On in the Shower ; is this true? Fake? If you examine the information and news inside the Green Border Table on the page, you will quickly realize they are fake. These two examples and many, many other examples we can bring justify a system of check and balances to examine the validity of what people actually put out on the Internet. One can confidently say that Iconocast is based on our correct system of "Check (- the article) and Balances (- Google News)". No other News Agency provides the same service as Iconocast does. Everyday, Iconocast is viewed, searched and utilized by FBI, CIA, US Military (more than 54,000 hits so far for September), US Government (more than 29000 hits for September; see the table below), NSA, almost all private background checking agencies, NBC News, Apple Computer, Government News Agencies, Department of Health, CDC, and many other health related websites.

What is the significance of our system? To do a quick search in Google News on the relevant keywords of the article, we are able to identify what each article is about by just examining the title of the article. How reliable is our system? Look at this example : How much risk can you handle? Making better investment decisions. The system correctly identifies the keywords: "you + risk + investment" right at the top of the Green Border Table. This is not an easy task. There are just too many other words in that title such as: How + much + can + handle + Making + better + decision. All these words were correctly eliminated. We strongly believe we have achieved something substantial here.
In addition, Iconocast is the very first International Multimedia News Library, providing updated archived news translated to more than 7 languages.

It is now well known that satellite dish (tv) and the start of the Internet were very instrumental in break up of the tyrannical regime of Soviet Union. I say why stop there? Why not translate our good values (healthy living, healthy eating, quality arts, book reviews, green living, ..... ) in the western free society for everyone in the world? Compared to racy television programs that are translated today (e.g. Bachelorette, Lipstick Jungle), isn't this a better representation of the western values? Iconocast main focus are health, science, technology, and arts. In some cases we have also collected business, real estate, books review, entertainment, gossip, and movie review.
Iconocast acts only as a library for these collections. What does it mean by library? It means we do not present these articles on daily basis (contrary to the news we receive from Universities and research institutes; there is no gossip news on today.htm page). We only save them for future reference and of course these articles can always be searched inside Iconocast by using the Google Search below on this page. In reality we recycle the past content (gossips and entertainment news) with today Google News. We do not intend to violate any copyright laws. If we have missed a link to the original article, we will correct this error. Iconocast is the very first Internet Library that is capable of recycling (value added) the past content. Just not too long ago there was a news (gossip) regarding the iPod effect on Heart Pacemaker. Two weeks later it was known that iPod has absolutely no effect on Pacemaker. Iconocast is the only Internet Library that corrected this content (gossip and rumors) by providing recent Google News at the top of the mentioned article which refuted the iPod harm on pacemaker. I wish someone could have calculated the loss to Apple computer for that period of doubt and more important the loss to the society for temporarily losing its trust on one of the best gadgets ever invented. Take a look at this one: Leaked Document Shows Verizon's Psyops Anti-iPhone Propagands. Now if you examine the Google News Table, you get a better, fair and expanded view on iPhone and all the neat things it can do. Isn't this more fair? You also get competitive analysis, and news on future Google Cell Phone Android. This is what we call check, expand, fair, and balance. Because there are so many wild and unchecked information on the Internet, some people joke that WWW stand for Wild Wild Web. We just like to hopefully remove the sarcasms.

I personally love the music of Amy Winehouse. It is a shame how much garbage is written on the Internet about Amy (e.g.:Amy Winehouse's hair extentions harvested from corpse). It is just as if we love to destroy and tear apart personalities and characters if they are famous or talented. We should wait another 100 years until someone with her talents give us enjoyment.
We strongly believe there is a justified opportunity for correcting gossips and false accusations, and it is to the advantage of the society for a healthy rule of mass communication and intelligence. Iconocast can also be used as an instrument that can remove burden of the liability of the shoulders of those who distribute false news and gossips unknowingly. How important is this effort? Recent article such as "Lawsuits Against Bloggers Seen Rising; Since 2004, 159 Court Actions Have Targeted Citizen Journalists for Libel and Other Charges" is a good indication.
In summary, there is really no difference between Iconocast and your city library with one unique advantage that Iconocast adds value by recycling the news with today's content.
And finally, I like to dedicate this website to the loving memory and honor of Tim Russert and his inspiring legacy. Just like us, he loved the News. He used to say if it's Sunday, it's meet the press. We like to say, if it's in the Internet, it is either expanded, updated, validated or refuted in Iconocast, not just in English, but in Spanish, Portuguese, German, Japanese, Italian, ......

Creative People

Here are the steps to creativity and secrets of creative people. No one has ever got off the bed and was a Picasso. No one!

My suggestions to those who like to be creative is to find something, a task, hobby, or profession that you find purified, noble and virtuous. Then copy your favorite leader, teacher, master or mentor. We all have to start with copying before we are creative in our fields. Even the most successful surfer, surgeon, rock climber had to copy his/her first teacher. At first, Picasso also copied. It does not matter how long you have to imitate, copy, plagiarize (give the credit of course), duplicate, or replicate. It does not matter. Don't forget you have to find what you do purified, noble and virtuous. If you don't, it will not work for you. It never works. What about those who have been copied? The smart and open minded have a saying: "Imitation is the highest form of flattery". The closed minded who were lucky once, complain.....This closed mindedness impedes creativity in our great country. Should you be happy that you copy? No! Absolutely not, and through this unhappiness that is the motivation you gain to become creative.

OK, you might think we are a bit unorthodox here and claim things (copying and plagiarizing) that might make people roll their eyes. So we like to bring some great and unique examples. We truly believe copying and plagiarizing will only help those who are true to their tasks and truly find what they do noble and virtuous. We strongly believe these are the people who will eventually become creative and will lead greatly. Do we have an example? Yes we do. Boston University, where Dr. King got his Ph.D. in systematic theology, conducted an investigation and found that he plagiarized major portions of his doctoral thesis. We do not mention this to diminish Dr. King's accomplishments. Totally contrary. We only mention this to foster our own argument. We strongly believe the creativity will eventually come to people once they gathered more insights. And, so did Dr. King. How do you think Japanese did it? How did they become so creative? They copied in 50s and 60s. When they were able to accumulate enough insights into building Cars, TVs,....they stormed out with creativity and ingenuity. Ronald Reagan enjoyed quoting Thomas Paine ("We have it in our power to begin the world over again."! ). Kelsey Grammer was imitating Bob Hope in Frasier and his Dad was John Wayne. Now imagine putting these two characters in one show. What do you get? Cheers! I like to make sure I am clear on the fact that it is the task that must be found noble and virtuous and not copying or plagiarizing. Copying is never noble, however, if you find the task noble, we believe copying will help and will lead toward creativity. Barak Obama also quotes Thomas Paine when he says I am Citizen Of The World! Did anyone notice? Of course they do. But since they have so much respect for Barak or even they, themselves, copy (I mean the so called elite themselves) they shot their mouth. Does Barak ever says Thomas Paine said it first in sometimes around 1774 (giving credit)? No! The moral of the story? Everyone copies. Only those who truly find the task, the occupation, the career noble and virtuous and will concentrate to perfect it and develop insights, will be creative. Why did entrepreneurship and creativity flourished in Ronald Reagan Era? Because Ronald Reagan was himself creative and a political entrepreneur. Lucky those who find serving their community and this great country noble and virtuous.

In the process of copying, you will concentrate on the task. Then you develop insights about the task. The trick is to combine finding nobility, concentration and developing insights in a spiral circle. Each will strengthen the other in a spiral manner on a circle. In other words, the more you find the task purified, noble and virtuous, the more you will concentrate and the more you will develop insights. The more you concentrate, the more you will find it virtuous and the more you will develop insights. The more you develop insights, the more you will concentrate and the more you will find it virtuous. Each must help the other grow and become stronger and stronger. This is essential in the process. We call this the tornado process. Nobility, concentration and insights are the winds of the tornado and each wind pushes the other to make the tornado stronger and stronger. If the tornado process does not happen, the creativity is not there.

Inside the tornado process you need to develop good observation techniques. You will develop more intuition about the task and how to do it even better than your mentor or master. This will be the turning point from just copying to becoming creative.

Hopefully, it will come the day that you will realize you can be creative. It will just come to you. Believe me it will. One day you will find yourself in a Picasso kind position. It might take 5 years or 5 weeks or 5 days. It all depends how much natural talents you have, how powerful is your tornado, and how much you love what you do. We can not say for certain what talent is. Is it a byproduct of the tornado effect? We don't know. We believe it is. We like to believe we are all talented. We are. We just need to discover our own tornado process. Each one of us has a tornado process hidden somewhere. You need to find your own tornado process.

What are the sign of the tornado process?

If you find yourself doing something nonstop with an amazing energy you never thought you possessed, you are experiencing the tornado. Say, you can not stop playing the piano. You can not stop climbing that rock. You can not stop writing that novel.

These are all the signs of the tornado. Some jobs you do for 5 minutes and you want to die. Say, cleaning your kitchen. Believe me you are not born to clean kitchens or mowing the lawn. And that is good news.

An interesting question would be: How can I find what I am good at? What is my tornado?

I was not introduced to Argentine Tango music and dance until I was 38 years old. Then I discovered some sort of tornado process when I started learning and copying my Argentine dance masters. You need to look for original signs and clues. When I was 25 or even younger I saw an Argentine Tango dance show conducted by Leslie Caron (she was in Father Goose with Cary Grant). I truly found it purified, noble and virtuous. Did I take the second step and the third step (concentration and developing insights into this dance) at 25? No! Unfortunately not. Sad!

Was I too old at age 38? Maybe. The moral of the story is this: If you find something immediately virtuous and noble, do not let go. Here is your clue. If you watch a surfer surfing and you find it immediately noble, do not give up. Go learn surfing. If you find a rock climber, climbing and you find it virtuous, do not just pass by. Go learn rock climbing. If you watch a piano concert and you think you have been mesmerized, do not just say it was just a show. Go learn piano.

Some 15 or 20 years ago, there was a TV show called LA Law. Then, I read in Wall Street Journal, that the application to Law Schools had tripled because of LA Law TV show. This might sound funny to you. But, this is the real tornado process in action for some of the young talented lawyers. There are so may Doctor shows on TV. From Gray Anatomy to ER and Hopkins. They are the best examples of developing tornado process for very young future doctors. So are shows like criminal justice or CSI.

Why are we talking about creativity on this page?

When I started our news publishing business I had no choice but to copy the big and successful Internet news publishers like seattletimes.com or Yahoo News. I had no journalism background. I worked nonstop for 5 years. Sometimes I put like 18 hours or more a day to run this website. Was I happy I could not contribute something new, creative? Of course I was not happy. But this is the price you pay until you get there and become creative. Hopefully there will be a point when you have gatherer enough insights and intuition. When I had enough intuition that I could be creative, I developed our Google news table at the top of every news we publish. I invented a very unique and effective algorithm to discover the keywords from the title of the news. Up to 5 months ago, every news was handled one by one. Now everything is an automatic process done by a software engineered by me. I only hope you find it useful and you also find it creative. One more thing; do I still work 18 hours or more. Sadly the answer is yes. The tornado will never go away. This is the amazing part of the process. Like it or not, once the tornado gets going, you can not stop the tornado. YOU CAN NOT!

Who invented the Tornado Process? The Tornado process (only named by me) is more than 5000 year old method used by Buddhist Monks to meditate. If you think about it, it really applies to anything we do and why we do. Imagine courting a woman. Every man find his woman purified, noble and virtuous. I have met few women who have told me they have never been in love. Tornado is the process of finding love. The first step in finding love is to find a woman or man that you find totally purified, noble and virtuous. You will define the nobility and the ways you believe someone is virtuous. Then you concentrate on that person and then you find insights about her/him. This is the part that every woman says I like him to notice the detail about me. That really mean that she/he wants him/her to develop insights about the opposite. When the tornado develops about a woman or man, love is created.

Who is currently the most famous Tornado man? Perhaps the most famous Tornado man is Michael Phelps. Michael does nothing but swim, eat and sleep. And he has been doing it for more than 8 years now. Last thing I heard was that swimming pools all over the country are filled with kids.

Today I heard they are not going to allow soft baseball in the next Olympics. Why? Because US is too good. This is again the sign of closed mindedness. Next they will ban Basketball and then Swimming,.....

If you like to know more about the tornado process, see www.motivationbook.com.

Looking at beautiful art can act as a painkiller

By Richard Alleyne

Beauty is truth, the English romantic poet John Keats once wrote, but according to the latest scientific research it is also a painkiller. Looking at a beautiful piece of art has long been said to have the power to heal emotional wounds but the new research also claims it offers a distraction from physical pain.   Works by Vincent Van Gogh, such as Starry Night [left] and Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus were deemed beautiful while paintings by Fernando Botero [inset] were viewed as ugly The research carried out by the University of Bari in Italy could help vindicate hospitals who are accused of wasting money on art and decor as it suggests a pleasant environment helps patients overcome discomfort and pain. A team headed by Professor Marina de Tommaso at the Neurophysiopathology Pain Unit asked a group of men and women to pick the 20 paintings they considered most ugly and most beautiful from a selection of 300 works by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli. They were then asked to contemplate either the beautiful paintings, or the ugly painting, or a blank panel while the team zapped a short laser pulse at their hand, creating a sensation as if they had been pricked by a pin. The subjects rated the pain as being a third less intense while they were viewing the beautiful paintings, compared with when contemplating the ugly paintings or the blank panel. Electrodes measuring the brain's electrical activity also confirmed a reduced response to the pain when the subject looked at beautiful paintings. While distractions, such as music, are known to reduce pain in hospital patients, Prof de Tommaso says this is the first result to show that beauty plays a part. The findings, reported in New Scientist, also go a long way to show that beautiful surroundings could aid the healing process. "Hospitals have been designed to be functional, but we think that their aesthetic aspects should be taken into account too," said the neurologist who published her findings in the paper Aesthetic Value of Paintings (And) Affects on Pain Thresholds. "Beauty obviously offers a distraction that ugly paintings do not. But at least there is no suggestion that ugly surroundings make the pain worse. "I think these results show that more research is needed into the how a beautiful environment can alleviate suffering." The 12 volunteers, six female and six male, were picked randomly from the student body at the university and were aged between 22 and 38. They were asked to choose their favourite paintings from the website http://wwar.com/artists/. Pictures they liked included Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh and Botticellis Birth of Venus. Pictures they found ugly included works by Pablo Picasso, the Italian 20th century artist Anonio Bueno and Columbian Fernando Botero. One of the problems with the study for those wishing to reduce pain is the subjective nature of beauty. Edvard Munch's The Scream was deemed by some people as beautiful. "These people were not art experts so some of the pictures they found ugly would be considered masterpieces by the art world," said Prof de Tommaso.

Today's Health, Science, Technology, Personal Finance News

(please report bugs and errors: suzanne@liveinfospace.com)

Novel Anti-Cancer Mechanism Found in Long-Lived Rodents

'Baby' fat cells may be key to treating obesity, say UT Southwestern researchers

Dr. Jonathan Graff, associate professor of developmental biology and molecular biology, has shown in mice that immature fat cells in the walls of the blood vessels that nourish fatty tissue... Click here for more information.

DALLAS – Sept. 18, 2008 – Immature, or "baby," fat cells lurk in the walls of the blood vessels that nourish fatty tissue, just waiting for excess calories to help them grow into the adult monsters responsible for packing on the extra pounds, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in mice.

Researchers have long known that such cells were probably located near blood vessels, but they didn't know exactly where. Discovering their existence, their identity and their lair may direct future research to find ways to stop these cells from creating undesired fat – or to use these immature cells for such clinical treatments as filling in a woman's breast after a lumpectomy.

"There's both intellectual and clinical importance in this discovery," said Dr. Jonathan Graff, associate professor of developmental biology and molecular biology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study, which appears in today's online edition of the journal Science. "Identifying the progenitor cells and finding where they live gives us an exciting therapeutic opportunity.

"Since we can now isolate the progenitor cells, we can interrogate them molecularly and gain insight not only into how they function but also how to harness their powers to help in a variety of human conditions. And because we have found their location, we might be able to develop therapies that can help people with obesity, diabetes or other metabolic challenges."

Dr. Graff said it might soon be possible to isolate immature cells from each person’s own fat and move those cells into other parts of the body, where they might be medically useful. For example, progenitor fat cells from the belly or thighs could be moved to a soldier’s wounds or scars from breast cancer surgery. These cells might even be moved for purely cosmetic reasons.

Ordinarily, the progenitor cells, called adult stem cells, create new fat cells in several situations, such as when the young body is growing and needs to form fat cells. They are also necessary when weight is stable; as fat cells die and must be replaced by new ones, as with most tissues in the body.

When caloric intake exceeds use, however, not only do existing fat cells get larger to store more fat, but progenitor cells also create entirely new fat cells.

To locate the progenitor cells, the researchers engineered mice so that the stem cells would glow green, making them easy to follow as they transformed from progenitors into fully developed fat cells.

The researchers found that the progenitor cells were embedded within the walls of the blood vessels that run through fat tissue.

"They're not just attached to the vessel wall, they're an integral part of it," Dr. Graff said.

This arrangement makes sense, Dr. Graff said, because it allows the cells to respond to the nutrients such as glucose that are present in the blood after a meal. When they sense excess caloric intake, they drift out of the vessel walls and mature into fat cells. This helps to ensure that they reside in the appropriate location among other fat cells.

The green glow also allowed the researchers to separate the progenitor cells from other cells using a technique that isolates only the glowing cells.

They then grew the cells in culture to analyze some of their properties and found that the progenitor cells have a distinct set of molecules on the surface, which could allow the cells to be isolated easily for transplant or study.

In future research, the scientists plan to characterize the cells more fully and to isolate the progenitors just by removing unwanted fat. These cells then can be moved to other locations in that same person for reconstructive purposes, to treat a variety of diseases, and also paradoxically to treat obesity and diabetes.

Other UT Southwestern researchers involved in the study were lead author Dr. Wei Tang, postdoctoral fellow in developmental biology; graduate student Daniel Zeve; Dr. Jaemyoung Suh, postdoctoral researcher in developmental biology; Dr. Bob Hammer, professor of biochemistry; Dr. Michelle Tallquist, assistant professor of molecular biology; Dr. Darko Bosnakovski, former postdoctoral research fellow in developmental biology; and Dr. Michael Kyba, former assistant professor of developmental biology.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Excellence for Education Foundation.

This news release is available on our World Wide Web home page at
http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/home/news/index.html

To automatically receive news releases from UT Southwestern via e-mail, subscribe at http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/receivenews

Dr. Jonathan Graff -- http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/findfac/professional/0,2356,20367,00.html

New study: Overbearing parents foster obsessive children

New Université de Montréal study correlates parenting and a child’s relationship to his or her hobby

A new study has found that parental control directly influences whether a child will develop a harmonious or obsessive passion for their favorite hobby. Conducted by Professor Geneviève Mageau, of the Université de Montréal's Department of Psychology, the study will be published this fall edition of the Journal of Personality.

Mageau focused on 588 musicians and athletes between the ages of six and 38 who practice their hobby at different levels (beginner, intermediate and expert). Mageau used a Likert-type scale to measure how parents support the autonomy of their child.

She also evaluated the psychological well being of the child regarding their hobby, which in this case was piano, saxophone, skiing or swimming.

"The more controlling parents are, the harder it is for the child to have a harmonious passion for their favorite activity," says Mageau. Her concept of supporting autonomy means allowing a child to face up to his or her responsibilities, while considering the child's point of view and also providing answers to their questions without being authoritative.

"Youngsters with a harmonious passion had parents or an entourage that supported them, while those with an obsessive passion were raised in an oppressive environment," she says.

According to Mageau, adults often admit exercising abusive authority over their children and sometimes forcing their offspring to pursue an activity against their will. "The child learns that by obeying their parents they will be loved," she says. "The risk is that as adults they continue to pursue the activity to maintain their self-esteem."

On the Web:

About the Université de Montréal: http://www.umontreal.ca/english/index.htm.

Media contact:
Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins
International press attaché
Université de Montréal
Telephone:514-343-7593
Email: sylvain-jacques.desjardins@umontreal.ca

Walnut Trees Emit Aspirin-Like Chemical to Deal With Stress

Discovery may help scientists better understand air quality, farm crops

Walnut trees in a grove in California are tested for chemical emissions to the atmosphere. Credit and Larger Version

September 18, 2008

Walnut trees respond to stress by producing significant amounts of a chemical form of aspirin, scientists have discovered.

The finding, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., opens up new avenues of research into the behavior of plants and their impacts on air quality, and also has the potential to give farmers an early warning signal about crops that are failing.

"Unlike humans, who are advised to take aspirin as a fever suppressant, plants have the ability to produce their own mix of aspirin-like chemicals, triggering the formation of proteins that boost their biochemical defenses and reduce injury," says NCAR scientist Thomas Karl, who led the study. "Our measurements show that significant amounts of the chemical can be detected in the atmosphere as plants respond to drought, unseasonable temperatures, or other stresses."

For years, scientists have known that plants in a laboratory may produce methyl salicylate, which is a chemical form of acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin. But researchers had never before detected methyl salicylate in an ecosystem or verified that plants emit the chemical in significant quantities into the atmosphere.

The team of scientists reported its findings last week in the journal Biogeoscience. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NCAR's sponsor.

"Biosphere-atmosphere interactions are important to the understanding of the Earth system," said Cliff Jacobs, program director in NSF's Division of Atmospheric Sciences. "This fortuitous discovery of methyl salicyclate in quantities not anticipated adds to an already important study."

Researchers had not previously thought to look for methyl salicylate in a forest, and the NCAR team found the chemical by accident. They set up specialized instruments last year in a walnut grove near Davis, Calif., to monitor plant emissions of certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

These hydrocarbon compounds are important because they can combine with industrial emissions to affect pollution, and they can also influence local climate.

When the NCAR scientists reviewed their measurements, they found to their surprise that the emissions of VOCs included methyl salicylate.

The levels of methyl salicylate emissions increased dramatically when the plants, which were already stressed by a local drought, experienced unseasonably cool nighttime temperatures followed by large daytime temperature increases.

Instruments mounted on towers about 100 feet above the ground measured up to 0.025 milligrams of methyl salicylate rising from each square foot of forest per hour.

Karl and his colleagues speculate that the methyl salicylate has two functions. One of these is to stimulate plants to begin a process known as systemic acquired resistance, which is analogous to an immune response in an animal.

This helps a plant to both resist and recover from disease. The methyl salicylate also may be a mechanism whereby a stressed plant communicates to neighboring plants, warning them of the threat. Researchers in laboratories have demonstrated that a plant may build up its defenses if it is linked in some way to another plant that is emitting the chemical.

Now that the NCAR team has demonstrated that methyl salicylate can build up in the atmosphere above a stressed forest, scientists are speculating that plants may use the chemical to activate an ecosystem-wide immune response.

"These findings show tangible proof that plant-to-plant communication occurs on the ecosystem level," says NCAR scientist Alex Guenther, a co-author of the study. "It appears that plants have the ability to communicate through the atmosphere."

The discovery raises the possibility that farmers, forest managers, and others may eventually be able to start monitoring plants for early signs of a disease, an insect infestation, or other types of stress. At present, they often do not know if an ecosystem is unhealthy until there are visible indicators, such as dead leaves.

"A chemical signal is a very sensitive way to detect plant stress, and it can be an order of magnitude more effective than using visual inspections," Karl says.

"If you have a sensitive warning signal that you can measure in the air, you can take action much sooner, such as applying pesticides. The earlier you detect that something's going on, the more you can benefit in terms of using less pesticides and managing crops better."

The discovery also can help scientists resolve a central mystery about VOCs. For years, atmospheric chemists have speculated that there are more VOCs in the atmosphere than they have been able to find. Now it appears that some fraction of the missing VOCs may be methyl salicylate and other plant hormones.

This finding can help scientists better track the impact of VOCs on the behavior of clouds and the development of ground-level ozone, an important pollutant.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF (703) 292-7734 cdybas@nsf.gov
David Hosansky, NCAR (303) 497-8611 hosansky@ucar.edu

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov
NSF News: http://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/

New Stem Cell Centre Gives Hope For Stroke Damage

• undertake and foster world-class stem cell research;
  
  
• establish and maintain collaborative links in stem cell research within Australia and internationally;
  
  
• provide higher degree and research training opportunities;
  
  
• to build public awareness of stem cell research in South Australia.

New Tool For Early Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer

Blood Clot Drug May Be Less Effective When Taken With Commonly Used Acid-Reducer

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Knowing When To Refer For Testing Is As Easy As 1, 2, 3

Does your physician know when it is appropriate to refer you to a specialist to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)? Due to a high prevalence of CTS, and the number of other conditions that mimic symptoms of CTS, a team of researchers set out to develop an easy screening questionnaire to help physicians determine when it is appropriate to refer a patient for nerve conduction studies and needle electromyography (EMG) - the two electrodiagnostic tests, most commonly used to diagnose CTS.

The carpal tunnel is a small tunnel made of bones and ligaments in the wrist. The median nerve runs down the forearm through the tunnel into the hand on the palm side of the hand and provides feeling to the hand and fingers. The median nerve can become irritated by inflammation in this tunnel, which leads to carpal tunnel syndrome. CTS can be a result of many factors arising from work and lifestyle, health, injuries, and even genetic predisposition. The most common cause of CTS is repetitive hand motion. Common symptoms include tingling, numbness and pain in the hand, which are typically worse at night and can even cause people to awaken from sleep.

A simple seven item screening questionnaire was used to screen patients with possible CTS prior to referral for electrodiagnostic testing. The questionnaire was completed by 100 consecutive patients. Three key questions were found to predict the diagnosis of CTS: 1) tingling in at least two of the first four digits; 2) symptoms worse during the night/on awakening; and 3) improvement on shaking the hand. With at least two affirmative responses to three questions the sensitivity of the questionnaire to predict abnormal electrodiagnostic test was 97% (p < 0.001). According to Dr. Simon Podnar, "It seems that only patients with the most advanced CTS may be missed by the questionnaire; therefore looking for muscle atrophy and abnormal skin sensation in the hand is not to be skipped on physical examination by the doctor."

This simple questionnaire proved to be a useful screening tool with a high sensitivity for predicting electrodiagnostic abnormalities typical for CTS. Used by clinicians in combination with physical examination, the questionnaire can result in more timely referrals for electrodiagnostic testing, diagnosis, and treatment for patients with CTS.

The complete findings and results of this study are being presented at the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) 55th Annual Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, September 17-20, 2008. The AANEM is the largest organization worldwide, with over 5000 members dedicated to advancing neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, and electrodiagnostic medicine.

American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM)
2621 Superior Dr. NW
Rochester, MN 55901
United States
http://www.aanem.org

Older People Who Diet Without Exercising Lose Valuable Muscle Mass

A group of sedentary and overweight older people placed on a four-month exercise program not only became more fit, but burned off more fat, compared to older sedentary people who were placed on a diet but did not exercise.

The new study also showed that when older people diet without exercising, they lose more lean muscle compared to those who exercise, said senior researcher Bret H. Goodpaster. When they combined weight loss with exercise, it nearly completely prevented the loss of lean muscle mass. The results are important because older people tend to lose muscle mass as they age and too much muscle loss may interfere with activities of daily living.

The study, "Separate and combined effects of exercise training and weight loss on exercise efficiency and substrate oxidation," appears in the current issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology, published by The American Physiological Society. Francesca Amati, John J. Dube, Chris Shay and Goodpaster, all of the University of Pittsburgh, carried out the study.

Study looks at exercise efficiency

The researchers wanted to know the best way to get better (more efficient) at completing a defined exercise task. In particular, they wanted to know if greater fitness could be achieved through exercise training, weight loss (through dieting), or both. In addition, they wanted to know which fuel source the body would draw upon, carbohydrates or fats, under these different conditions.

The 64 participants were 60-75 years of age and were either overweight or obese. All of the participants were sedentary at the outset of the study. The researchers divided the participants into three groups:

-- exercise only

-- diet only

-- exercise plus diet

Those who exercised could either walk on a treadmill or ride a stationary bicycle, although most chose to walk. The dieters reduced their caloric intake to achieve a 10% weight loss by the end of the four-month study period. The final group combined both the daily exercise and the diet.

Exercise increases efficiency, burns more fat

The researchers measured how many calories the participants expended during a set work load on a stationary bicycle at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. They found that the:

-- Exercise group expended fewer calories (became more efficient) on the exercise task at the end of the study compared to the beginning.

-- Exercise group drew more on fat stores as the source of their body's fuel.

-- Diet-only group did not gain efficiency in performing the exercise task, even though they weighed less at the end of the experiment.

-- Diet-only group's weight loss resulted from a loss of both muscle and fat.

-- Exercise plus diet group was the most efficient at the exercise task at the end of the experiment. This shows an additive effect of both dieting and exercise, but most of that benefit was due to exercise.

-- Exercise plus diet group, like the exercise-only group, drew more on fat stores as an energy source.

"The take-home message is that, even among older people and during a fairly short period of time, exercise produces metabolic changes that require the expenditure of fewer calories during physical activity," Goodpaster said. Exercise also allowed older people to more preferentially burn fat, which may be healthier metabolically."

American Physiological Society (APS)
9650 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20814
United States
http://www.the-aps.org

93% Of Brits Are Scared Of Going To The Dentist, UK

New Approach To Detect Rare Genetic Variants Aims To Help Women Evaluate Hormone Replacement Therapy And Breast Cancer Risk

Open Alternative To WeightWatchers Launched

Survey Shows 'Grey's Anatomy' Viewers Gained HIV Knowledge

Many viewers of an episode of ABC's prime-time medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" that included a story about mother-to-child HIV transmission gained awareness of the issue, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, USA Today reports.

For the study, the Foundation worked with writers of the show to embed in the episode the story of an HIV-positive pregnant woman. According to USA Today, the woman is "distraught" before being told by her physician that with proper treatment, her child has a 98% chance of being born HIV-negative. The Foundation conducted three national random surveys of regular viewers of the show one week before, one week after and six weeks after the episode. The surveys combined had 1,505 respondents.

Victoria Rideout, vice president and director of the Foundation's program for the Study of Media and Health, said the goal of the survey was to measure the "impact of the message about mother-to-child HIV transmission" (Marcus, USA Today, 9/17). One week before the show, 15% of the viewers surveyed said that they were aware of the mother-to-child HIV transmission risk. One week after the show, 61% of viewers of the episode were aware of the risk. Six weeks after the show, 45% of viewers remembered the information correctly (Childs, ABC News, 9/17). According to the survey, the increase from 15% to 61% awareness of the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission translates to more than eight million people learning correct information on the issue from watching the episode. The survey also found that the percentage of viewers who said it was "irresponsible for a woman who knows she is HIV-positive to have a baby" dropped from 61% to 34% after the episode aired, and then increased to 47% six weeks after the show (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 9/16). Rideout said she was "astounded" by the number of viewers who "picked up on factual health info about HIV embedded in the show, and that they remembered it weeks later."

The Foundation and the University of Southern California's Annenberg Norman Lear Center also released a second study of top-10 prime time television shows, finding that six out of 10 episodes from 2004 to 2006 included at least one health-related storyline. "People are very hungry for information about health," Linda Rosenstock, dean of the University of California-Los Angeles School of Public Health, said, adding that entertainment media do "societal good" by putting accurate health information into shows. Jay Bernhardt of CDC said that embedding information accurately into TV content could "help change behaviors about health" (USA Today, 9/17).

The studies, and a Kaisernetwork.org webcast of a briefing discussing them, are available online.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Major News Of The Day