Helping Seniors Beat the Holiday Blues
Depression can be a common problem this time of year, experts say.

Make like ‘Giving Tree’: Give gifts of health
Giving presents that offer fitness, peace of mind and good nutrition sends a message of caring, says Gene Beresin, a psychiatrist at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston. “Health is defined not so much in the nature of the gift, but in the process of giving,” Beresin says.

Gift guide: Table alternatives to video games
Computer and video games and their ever-greater realism get most of the attention these days. What most people don’t realize is that non-computer games, the kind that have you sit down face to face and actually spend some time with other people, have also been getting better.

RadioShack Offers $99 Acer Netbook
Acer, AT&T and RadioShack have teamed up to offer a deal that brings the Acer Aspire netbook to market for only $99. Netbooks are mobile computing devices with a screen size of five to 10 inches that run a full version of a client operating system, such as Windows XP or Linux.

The Difference Between Vista, XP, Linux and Mac OS Explained
A middle school student I know asked me to explain the difference between Vista, XP, Linux and Mac OS. Here’s the gist of our conversation.

Mathematical Model Gives Clearer Picture Of Physics Of Cells, Organelles
[Researchers] have devised a mathematical procedure for accurately predicting the three-dimensional forces involved in creating and maintaining certain organelle membranes. Their study … could potentially shed light on the life cycles of membrane-bound viruses such as HIV.

Patient Photos Spur Radiologist Empathy And Eye For Detail
ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2008) — Including a patient’s photo with imaging exam results may enable a more meticulous reading from the radiologist interpreting the images, as well as a more personal and empathetic approach, according to a study 

Brain Scans Of The Future
Psychologists have found that thought patterns used to recall the past and imagine the future are strikingly similar

Inside The Consumer Mind: Brain Scans Reveal Choice Mechanism
ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2008) — That gorgeous sweater has your name written on it. But, those red suede pumps are calling your name too. What goes through your mind as you consider these choices? During normal economic times, you might indulge in a whole new wardrobe. But now, with considerably tighter budgets, consumers don’t have the luxury of saying “It’s the holidays — I’ll just buy both!” What happens in buyers’ brains as they consider difficult choices? What can retailers do to make the choice process easier for consumers? [A] marketing professor … has conducted research that shows that decision making is simplified when a consumer considers a third, less attractive option.

Pavlov’s Neurons: Brain Cells That Are A Key To Learning Discovered
ScienceDaily (Dec. 9, 2008) — More than a century after Ivan Pavlov’s dog was conditioned to salivate when it heard the sound of a tone prior to receiving food, scientists have found neurons that are critical to how people and animals learn from experience.

Confusion, Not Decay, Most Important In Forgetting Over Short Term
The results … reveal that temporal confusability, and not decay, is important for forgetting over the short term.

How The Brain Thinks About Crime And Punishment
A new study reveals that humans use different neural mechanisms for determining criminal responsibility and assigning an appropriate punishment.

Probing Genetic Underpinnings Of Nicotine Addiction
ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2008) — A new study … shows that smokers who carry a particular version of a gene for an enzyme that regulates dopamine in the brain may suffer from concentration problems and other cognitive deficits when abstaining from nicotine – a problem that puts them at risk for relapse during attempts to quit smoking.

Discovery Could Improve The Lives Of Premature Babies
ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2008) — Scientists … have identified a potential new avenue for altering lung development in the embryo which may help to improve the outcome for very premature babies.

New Food Pyramid Is Aimed at Kids
‘MyPyramid for Preschoolers’ helps parents expand little ones’ diet in a healthy way

Gastric Bypass Success Sparks Debate
Should older people and those with diabetes have the weight-loss surgery?

Experimental Weight-Loss Pill Passes Early Test
People lost significant weight; no side effects on heart seen, study says

Contraceptive Methods Shape Women’s Sexual Pleasure And Satisfaction
New data from The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University demonstrate that many women think condoms undermine sexual pleasure, but those who use both hormonal contraception and condoms report higher overall sexual satisfaction.

Panic Disorder Linked to Higher Risk of Heart Disease
Researchers not sure whether one causes the other, or one is mistaken for the other

Progress Made in Predicting Breast Cancer Risk
Breast density, tumor characteristics help fine-tune treatment, study says

New Mammography Technology Effective In Detecting Breast Cancer
ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2008) — A study has found that positron emission mammography (PEM), a new technique for imaging the breast, is not affected by either breast density or a woman’s hormonal status, two factors that limit the effectiveness of standard mammography and MRI at detecting cancer.

New study firmly ties hormone use to breast cancer
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Taking menopause hormones for five years doubles the risk for breast cancer, according to a new analysis of a big federal study that reveals the most dramatic evidence yet of the dangers of these still-popular pills. Even women who took estrogen and progestin pills for as little as a couple of years had a greater chance of getting cancer. And when they stopped taking them, their odds quickly improved, returning to a normal risk level roughly two years after quitting. Collectively, these new findings are likely to end any doubt that the risks outweigh the benefits for most women.

HRT Users Who Get Breast Cancer Less Likely to Die
They tend to get type of tumors that have better prognosis, study finds

Radiation Before Surgery Improves Pancreatic Cancer Outcomes, Study Shows
ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2008) — Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest and most difficult to treat cancers. Now, in a major step forward, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have shown that administering radiation therapy prior to surgery nearly doubles survival in pancreatic cancer patients with operable tumors.

Broccoli Compound Targets Key Enzyme In Late-stage Cancer
ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2008) — An anti-cancer compound found in broccoli and cabbage works by lowering the activity of an enzyme associated with rapidly advancing breast cancer, according to a University of California, Berkeley, study appearing Dec 3 in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The compound, indole-3-carbinol, is already undergoing clinical trials in humans because it was found to stop the growth of breast and prostate cancer cells in mice.

Tiny sensor detects cancer-causing toxins
U.S. scientists have developed a tiny sensor that can detect small amounts of cancer-causing toxins or trace the effectiveness of cancer drugs inside living cells.

Key Step In Maturation Pathway Of Telomerase Identified
ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2008) — [Researchers have] discovered an important step in the maturation pathway of telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes the sequences that are lost at chromosome ends with every cell division. Telomerase is viewed as a promising cancer treatment target because its inhibition selectively kills cancer cells

Peripheral Artery Disease: Pain When Walking Can Be Reduced With Moderate Exercise, Study Suggests
new research by Ronald Terjung et al. published in The Journal of Physiology shows that regular, moderate exercise can go a long way to relieving the symptoms of PAD, and by some unexpected mechanisms.

Two rare white lion cubs born in Belgrade zoo
BELGRADE (AFP) – Staff at Belgrade Zoo showed off two white lion cubs to the public on Sunday, the first of their rare species to be born here.

Scientists find 2,000-year-old brain in Britain
LONDON – British archaeologists have unearthed an ancient skull carrying a startling surprise — an unusually well-preserved brain. Scientists said Friday that the mass of gray matter was more than 2,000 years old — the oldest ever discovered in Britain. One expert unconnected with the find called it “a real freak of preservation.”

4,000-year-old Amber Necklace Has Been Unearthed In England
The rare find was unearthed from a stone-lined grave – known as a Cist… It is the first time a necklace of this kind from the early Bronze Age has been found in north west England.

Ancient amphibian had a flip-top head
A peculiar amphibian that was clad in bony armor prowled warm lakes 210 million years ago, catching fish and other tasty snacks with one of the most unusual bites in the history of life on Earth.

Did magnetic blip trigger mass extinction?
More than 250 million years ago, a plume of super-hot material began rising through Earth’s mantle, upsetting convection in the core and throwing the planet’s magnetic field into disarray. That event may have caused one of the worst mass extinction events in the planet’s history, leaving behind a barren volcanic wasteland.

Discovery Of Warm Plasma Cloak Surrounding Earth, New Region Of Magnetosphere
ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2008) — A detailed analysis of the measurements of five different satellites has revealed the existence of the warm plasma cloak, a new region of the magnetosphere, which is the invisible shield of magnetic fields and electrically charged particles that surround and protect Earth from the onslaught of the solar wind.

Jupiter’s Moon Europa Does The Wave To Generate Heat
ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2008) — One of the moons in our solar system that scientists think has the potential to harbor life may have a far more dynamic ocean than previously thought.

Planet Formation Could Lie In Stellar Storms Rather Than Gravitational Instability
ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2008) — New research suggests that turbulence plays a critical role in creating ripe conditions for the birth of planets.