Studies and Analyses

As world reserves of oil and natural gas dwindle over the coming decades – a prospect predicted by many energy experts – the rate at which the people in most societies around the world have babies is likely to drop precipitously as well.

That is the prediction of anthropologist Virginia Abernethy, professor emerita of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University, speaking on Feb. 13 in the symposium “From the Ground Up: The Importance of Soil in Sustaining Civilization” at the annual meeting of the

The preparation of Espresso Coffee (EC) is influenced by factors related to the coffee and water and other technical conditions related to the machine. Susana Andueza has presented her doctoral thesis about Influence of technological variables on espresso coffee quality. Antioxidant and pro-oxidant capacity of coffee in the University of Navarre.

The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of hot water temperature (88, 92, 96 and 98º C), water pressure (7, 9 and 11atm), grinding gra

A series of studies in rats and mice suggests that short bouts of stress increase the skin’s ability to fight infections and heal minor wounds.

The immune response of animals exposed to acute stress – about two hours of restraint – was two to four times higher compared to non-stressed animals. This was true when the animals’ skin was treated with chemical or protein antigens immediately after a stressful event. An antigen is any substance that the immune system reacts to by

Study evaluates immune response to telomerase tumor antigen as possible vaccine

Researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania have begun a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a telomerase peptide as a possible vaccine against breast cancer. The study will measure potential tumor cell shrinkage in patients after an immune response has been triggered to an antigen – the telomerase peptide – found in more than 90 percent of breast cancer

Although women normally have androgens – so-called “male” hormones – circulating in their bloodstreams, excessive levels can cause a variety of symptoms including acne, weight gain, excessive hair growth (hirsutism), menstrual dysfunction, and infertility.

Hirsutism – the growth of coarse hair in patterns similar to those of men – has long been considered the key marker for androgen excess. Physicians have had difficulty providing a firm diagnosis and identifying underlying causes, however,

As any new mother knows, getting a baby to sleep at night is an art, and perhaps using snippets from Shakespeare’s Hamlet may help. But the science of how babies sleep – and what their processes may have in common with their adult counterparts – could be a small step closer to being better understood.
Background

Sleep shows dramatic changes across early development. Quiet sleep (also known as non-rapid eye movement sleep [QS/NREMS]) increases in the course of the first year of life