Editors:
Natalia Gavrilova and Stacy Tessler Lindau
Natalia Gavrilova took
part in the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America in
News from the NEJM, Nature Journals, Science, BMJ, PNAS and JAMA
Long-term
economic growth stimulus of human capital preservation in the elder...
Health care is a crucial factor in
Oxytocin
receptor genetic variation relates to empathy and stress reactivity ...
Oxytocin, a peptide that functions as both a hormone and
neurotransmitter, has broad influences on social and emotional
processing throughout...
Competition
between collective and individual dynamics [Economic_Sciences]
Linking microscopic and macroscopic behavior is at the heart of many
natural and social sciences. This apparent similarity conceals
essential...
[News
Focus] Human Evolution: What's for Dinner? Researchers Seek Our
Ancesto...
To help prevent diseases like diabetes and heart disease today,
evolutionary biologists are seeking to understand the tastes of our
diverse ancestors.
Longevity:
Sweet food, short life
Nematode worms fed on a diet spiked with glucose die about 20% earlier
than those consuming just the bacterium Escherichia coli.Cynthia Kenyon
and her colleagues at the
Nanotechnology:
Take a deep breath
The early detection of cancer is a priority for ensuring the best
outcome for patients and reducing health care costs. The hunt is on for
biomarkers that can identify individuals who are likely to have cancer,
but inexpensive, simple and preferably minimally invasive methods of
The
CVD paradox: mortality vs prevalence
All-cause mortality is in decline? indeed, worldwide, life expectancy
increased by 9 years between 1979 and 2004
Socioeconomic
status and cardiovascular disease: risks and implications for care
Socioeconomic status (SES) refers to an individual's social position
relative to other members of a society. Low SES is associated with
large increases in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in men and women.
The inverse association between SES and CVD risk in high-income
countries is the
Cultural
evolution and individual development of openness and conservatism [S...
We present a model of cultural evolution in which an individual's
propensity to engage in social learning is affected by...
Trends
in High Levels of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in the United
St...
Context Studies
show that a large proportion of adults with high levels of low-density
lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) remain untreated or undertreated
despite growing use of lipid-lowering medications.
Objective To
investigate trends in screening prevalence, use of cholesterol-lowering
...
Major
Lipids, Apolipoproteins, and Risk of Vascular Disease [Original
Contrib...
Context
Associations of major lipids and apolipoproteins with the risk of
vascular disease have not been reliably quantified.
Objective To
assess major lipids and apolipoproteins in vascular risk.
Design, Setting, and
Participants Individual records were supplied on
302 430 pe...
Biomarkers
for Prediction of Cardiovascular Events [Letters]
Biomarkers
for Prediction of Cardiovascular Events--Reply [Letters]
Evidence
for a common pathway linking neurodegenerative diseases
In the largest Parkinson's disease genome-wide association studies to
date, common variants in three familiar genes SNCA, MAPT and LRRK2 and
two new loci are found to increase disease susceptibility. The studies
suggest genetic heterogeneity for Parkinson's disease risk in different
human population...
Dynamic
DNA methylation programs persistent adverse effects of early-life stress
Severe stress in early childhood can increase an individual's
vulnerability to depression later in life. This study found that
early-life stress in mice resulted in persistent elevation of the
stress hormone arginine vasopressin (AVP), which was caused by
persistent hypomethylation of CpG islands in...
Ageing:
The impact of shrinking telomeres
Shortening of telomeres to a critical length triggers a DNA-damage
response that contributes to ageing. A new study using a mouse model of
accelerated telomere shortening reveals specific transcriptomic and
epigenetic changes that provide clues to how telomere shortening is
linked to ageing.The Terc
Alzheimer
disease: Validating biomarkers for cognitive decline in AD is not a...
Subregional
neuroanatomical change as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease [Ne...
Regions of the temporal and parietal lobes are particularly damaged in
Alzheimer's disease (AD), and this leads to a predictable...
[News
Focus] Neurodegeneration: Acting Like a Prion Isn't Always Bad
If misfolded proteins are so dangerous, why hasn't evolution selected
against them? One possibility is that it hasn't had to: Many of the
diseases caused by protein misfolding strike late in life, after the
reproductive years are over. It's also possible that this type of
protein folding isn't alway...
Retrospective
analysis of attitudes to ageing in the Economist: apocalyptic d...
Objective To investigate the description of older people and ageing in
a major weekly newspaper, influential in political and financial
circles, to see whether it reflected ageing in a balanced...
Forecasting
the Effects of Obesity and Smoking on U.S. Life Expectancy
Using data from
Biomarkers
and Aging in the News Media
• Mutant
genes 'key to long life'
• Researchers
Find Mummies Had Heart Disease
Fast Food, Smoking and Lack of Exercise Contribute to Risk, but
Findings Show Other Reasons why Arteries Clog
• Federal
panel recommends reducing number of mammograms
Women in their 40s should stop routinely having annual mammograms and
older women should cut back to one scheduled exam every other year, an
influential federal task force has concluded, challenging the use of
one of the most common medical tests.
• Slow
walkers more likely to die of heart disease
Older people who walk slowly are almost three times more likely to die
of heart disease and related causes than older people who walk faster,
according to a new study by French scientists.
• Men
Face Higher Odds of Sudden Cardiac Death
Men age 40 and over have a one in eight chance of suffering sudden
cardiac death, and the risk is even higher for African-American men, a
study shows.
• Low
Vitamin D Levels May Raise Heart Risk
Some men with low levels of vitamin D in their blood are at
particularly high risk of developing heart disease and weakened bones
that can lead to osteoporosis, researchers report.
• Genetic
Tests Check Risk for Sudden Death
If you have a relative who has suffered sudden unexplained death,
postmortem genetic testing is a cost-effective way of identifying
genetic mutations that may place you and other surviving family members
at increased risk for potentially fatal heart rhythm disturbances, a
study shows.
• Genetic
variation linked to individual empathy, stress levels
Researchers have discovered a genetic variation that may contribute to
how empathetic a human is, and how that person reacts to stress. In the
first study of its kind, a variation in the hormone/neurotransmitter
oxytocin's receptor was linked to a person's ability to infer the
mental state of others.
• Loneliness
'raises cancer risk'
Loneliness could make cancer more likely, say researchers who found
rodents kept alone developed more tumours.
• Coffee
'might cut prostate risk'
Drinking coffee could help cut the risk of advanced prostate cancer, a
• Antidepressants
change personality, study suggests
People who take antidepressants such as Paxil often say they feel less
stressed and more outgoing, lively, and confident. Now a new study
suggests it's not just because they're less depressed.
• U.S.
cancer cases, deaths continue to decline
New cancer cases and mortality rates linked to the disease have fallen
significantly in recent years for almost all gender and ethnic groups
in the
• Vital
Signs: Risks: Leaving 'Stroke Belt' but Not the Dangers
A study suggested that the risk for the disease might be established
early in life.
• Body
mass, waist size can predict heart disease
Measuring body mass index or waist size in overweight people can
accurately predict the risk of heart disease, Dutch scientists said on
Monday.
• Why
Your Older Brother Didn't Share
Sibling pecking order makes firstborns less cooperative than their
siblings [Read more]
• New
technology could boost disease detection tests' speed and sensitivity
Scientists have developed a way to rapidly manipulate and sort
different cells in the blood using magnetizable liquids. The findings
could dramatically improve the speed and sensitivity of tests used to
detect cancer biomarkers, blood disorders, viruses and other diseases.
• Ginkgo
Biloba Doesn't Prevent Heart Attack, Stroke
Ginkgo biloba, a popular herbal supplement, doesn't prevent
cardiovascular death or major events such as stroke and heart attack in
people 75 and older, a new study says.
• Women's
Secret to Longevity?
Sperm genes may shorten the lifespan of males compared to females, at
least in animals, according to Japanese researchers.
• Link
between sirtuins and life extension strengthened
New research strengthens the link between longevity proteins called
sirtuins and the lifespan-extending effects of calorie restriction.
• Okinawa:
Land of the Rising Lifespan
CBS News Science and Technology Correspondent Daniel Sieberg Goes to
• Delinquent
boys at increased risk of premature death and disability by middle...
Men who have a history of delinquency in childhood are more likely to
die or become disabled by the time they are 48, and not just from the
obvious consequences of antisocial behavior, new research indicates.
The
• Difficult
childhood may increase disease risk in adulthood
Individuals who experience psychological or social adversity in
childhood may have lasting emotional, immune and metabolic
abnormalities that help explain why they develop more age-related
diseases in adulthood, according to a new report.
• Mothers'
exposure to common chemicals may affect boys
Elevated levels of two plastic-softening chemicals in pregnant women's
urine are linked to less-masculine play behavior by their sons several
years later, according to a study published last week in the
International Journal of Andrology.
• Coffee
and tea 'prevent diabetes'
Drinking tea and coffee, whether decaffeinated or not, lowers the risk
of type 2 diabetes, a large body of evidence shows.
• Anti-depressants
'up stroke risk'
Post menopausal women who take anti-depressants face an increased risk
of a stroke, research suggests.
• LDL
Rises Around Time of Menopause
Blood levels of LDL "bad" cholesterol increase dramatically in women
around the time of menopause, and the rise is not related to aging, new
research confirms.
• 1
in 3 Adults in U.S. Is a Caregiver
About one in three adults in the
• We
Will Live Longer in 2050, Study Predicts
Experts say the government has got it wrong on life expectancy in the
future.
NIH
Press Releases
Amyloid
Deposits in Cognitively Normal People May Predict Risk for Alzheimer'...
For people free of dementia, abnormal deposits of a protein associated
with Alzheimer's disease are associated with increased risk of
developing the symptoms of the progressive brain disorder, according to
two studies from researchers at
Blood
Stem-Cell Transplant Regimen Reverses Sickle Cell Disease in Adults
A modified blood adult stem-cell transplant regimen has effectively
reversed sickle cell disease in 9 of 10 adults who had been severely
affected by the disease, according to results of a National Institutes
of Health study in the Dec. 10 issue of the New England Journal of
Medicine. The trial was conducted at the
NIH
Launches Program to Develop Innovative Approaches to Combat Obesity
The National Institutes of Health is launching a $37 million program
that will use findings from basic research on human behavior to develop
more effective interventions to reduce obesity. The program,
Translating Basic Behavioral and Social Science Discoveries into
Interventions to Reduce Obesity, will fund interdisciplinary teams of
researchers at seven research sites. Investigators will conduct
experimental research, formative research to increase understanding of
populations being studied, small studies known as proof of concept
trials, and pilot and feasibility studies to identify promising new
avenues for encouraging behaviors that prevent or treat obesity.
Non-Invasive
Technique Blocks a Conditioned Fear in Humans
Scientists have for the first time selectively blocked a conditioned
fear memory in humans with a behavioral manipulation. Participants
remained free of the fear memory for at least a year. The research
builds on emerging evidence from animal studies that reactivating an
emotional memory opens a 6-hour window of opportunity in which a
training procedure can alter it.
Annual
Report to the Nation Finds Continued Declines in Overall Cancer
Rates;...
Rates of new diagnoses and rates of death from all cancers combined
declined significantly in the most recent time period for men and women
overall and for most racial and ethnic populations in the
Gene's
Position in the Nucleus Can be Used to Distinguish Cancerous from
Norm...
Researchers have identified several genes whose spatial position inside
the cell nucleus is altered in invasive breast cancer when compared to
normal breast tissue. The findings suggest that cancer cells may have
disease-specific, three-dimensional gene arrangements and raise the
possibility that such gene positioning patterns could be used as a new
diagnostic strategy to distinguish cancer tissue from normal tissue.
The study, by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part
of the National Institutes of Health, appeared online Dec. 7, 2009, and
will appear in print on Dec. 14, 2009 in the Journal of Cell Biology.
NIH
Appoints Alan Guttmacher Acting Director of NICHD
Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., is the new acting director of the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development (NICHD), one of the 27 institutes and centers that comprise
the National Institutes of Health.
Researchers
Identify Gene Mutations Underlying Risk for Most Common Form of P...
Two genes containing mutations known to cause rare familial forms of
parkinsonism are also associated with the more common, sporadic form of
the disease where there is no family history, researchers have found.
The findings presented in the Nov. 15, 2009, online issue of Nature
Genetics were supported in part by the National Institute on Aging
(NIA), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,
National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, all components of the National Institutes of Health.
NIAID
Announces New Award to Study the Effects of Radiation and Aging on the
...
"The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID),
part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded nearly $9.7
million over five years to the Radiation Effects Research Foundation
(RERF),
NIH
Announces First National Research Study Recruitment Registry
Individuals who want to participate in research studies now can connect
online with researchers nationwide through the first disease-neutral,
volunteer recruitment registry. ResearchMatch.org is a not-for-profit
secure Web site, designed to provide people who are interested in
participating in research the opportunity to be matched with studies
that may be the right fit for them.
Words,
Gestures Are Translated by Same Brain Regions, Says New Research:
Find...
Your ability to make sense of Groucho's words and Harpo's pantomimes in
an old Marx Brothers movie takes place in the same regions of your
brain, says new research funded by the National Institute on Deafness
and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), one of the National
Institutes of Health.
What Can
Prevent Walking Disability in Older People?
The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes
of Health, today announced the award of $29.5 million in grant support
over the next two years to determine whether a specific physical
activity program can stave off disability in older people. The funding
will begin the Lifestyle Interventions and
NIH
Announcements
Restructured
Application Forms and Instructions for Submissions for FY2011 Fu...
Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Blueprint
Program for Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate
Research Education Experiences (R25)
Expires: 2010/03/25
Ruth
L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional
Research Training Grants (T32)
Expires: 2013/01/08
NIA
Request for information and comments on possibility of using
domesticated dogs to advance the study of aging
Paul
B. Beeson Clinical Scientist Development Award in Aging (K08)
Expires: 2010/01/15
Development,
Application, and Evaluation of Prediction Models for Cancer Risk...
Program Announcement from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Development,
Application, and Evaluation of Prediction Models for Cancer Risk...
Program Announcement from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Obesity
Policy Research: Evaluation and Measures (R01)
Program Announcement from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Obesity
Policy Research: Evaluation and Measures (R21)
Program Announcement from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Obesity
Policy Research: Evaluation and Measures (R03)
Program Announcement from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
Events
• Memory and the
Aging Brain
The NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series includes weekly
scientific talks by some of the top researchers in the biomedical
sciences worldwide.
Air date: 3/17/2010 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time
• New Models for
Large Prospective Studies
Large prospective, population-based cohorts are the optimal design for
defining disease burden and studying the many genetic, lifestyle, and
environmental factors that underlie human disease. Leveraging or
expanding existing efforts to establish a large-scale population cohort
may serve to create a much needed national research resource with which
to examine genetic and environmental contributions to disease and
advance personalized medicine. The symposium, organized by the NIH
Office of the ...
Conferences:
Abstracts Deadline: March 15, 2010
This Newsletter is supported
by a grant from the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of
Health (Grant No. 5 P30 AG012857)
NOTE: We have added new subscribers of Newsletter this
month. Please contact us if you know other researchers who would
be interested in receiving CCBAR monthly newsletter. If you would
like to unsubscribe please notify us at
ngavrilova@babies.bsd.uchicago.edu