Futurity.org » University of Southern California

Behind gator’s grin, the secret to regrowing teeth?

Alison Trinidad-USC — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:21:20 +0000

USC (US) — Alligator stem cells that allow tooth regeneration may help scientists figure out how to regrow teeth in people.

Researchers have uncovered the unique cellular and molecular mechanisms behind tooth renewal that makes it possible for American alligators to replace each of their 80 teeth as many as 50 times throughout their lifetime.

Feather pigments hint at stem cell ‘fates’

Robin Heffler-USC — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:46:06 +0000

USC (US) — To understand how stem cells turn into certain tissue patterns and shapes, researchers looked at the sources of complex pigment patterns in feathers.

The researchers uncovered several fundamental rules of morphogenesis ─ the organizational process of functional cellular patterning. Their study appears in Science Express.

“Feathers are a good research model because they are unique, able to regenerate repetitively under normal conditions, and are positioned at the surface of the body so that we can see their patterns,” says corresponding author Cheng-Ming Chuong, the study’s team leader and professor of pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California.

Teen smoking influences change over time

Leslie Ridgeway-USC — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:44:32 +0000

USC (US) — Friends in junior high may have more influence on smoking behavior than high school pals do, a new study finds.

The research, which appears in the Journal of Adolescent Health, identifies how friends’ and parental influence on cigarette smoking changes from junior high to high school.

Gender gap in the ‘Women’s Olympics’

Merrill Balassone-USC — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:16:09 +0000

USC (US) / U. TORONTO (CAN) — The 2012 Olympic Games in London was the first time all participating nations allowed women to compete, but there were still 1,233 more male athletes and 30 more medal events exclusively for men.

A new report shows that in what was billed as the “Women’s Olympics,” international rules severely limited the number of female competitors who were allowed to compete in 11 of 26 sports.

Adding customs officers could boost GDP

Andrew Good-USC — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:31:57 +0000

USC (US) — A new customs and border protections officer at each of 33 selected land and airport locations could add $61.8 million to the US economy.

This step could also add 1,053 jobs in the US, according to a study released today by the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE).

Encryption tool keeps online photos private

Robert Perkins-USC — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 20:00:33 +0000

USC (US) — A new tool encrypts part of a photo to keep it secure, but leaves enough data unencrypted that the image can still be used by services like Facebook and Flickr.

In the next five minutes, people will share roughly a half-million photos online.

Patients don’t want to be bargain hunters

Robert Perkins-USC — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:30:49 +0000

USC (US) — When it comes to health care, high deductibles aren’t enough to motivate patients to shop around for cheap medical services, a new study reports.

Consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) offer low premiums but high deductibles on the premise that patients who are faced with deductibles of $1,000 or more for individual coverage (or twice that for family coverage) will look around for the best bargain.

Healthy habits keep adults from shrinking

Suzanne Wu-USC — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:39:31 +0000

USC (US) — Even if you didn’t eat your veggies or drink your milk as a child, you do have some control over your height as you age, research shows.

Using data from a massive longitudinal survey of 17,708 adults beginning at age 45, researchers show that lifestyle choices we make in adulthood influence how tall we stand as we age.

New docs: Fewer hours, but more mistakes

Jim Erickson-Michigan — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:09:24 +0000

U. MICHIGAN (US) — New rules that require young doctors to work fewer hours without a break were supposed to protect patients from sleepy physicians, but a new study finds that medical errors may have actually increased.

Traditionally, residents were allowed to work more than 24 hours without a break. In 2011, new regulations cut back the number of hours they can work consecutively to 16. But while work hours went down, sleep hours didn’t go up significantly and risk of depression symptoms in the doctors stayed the same.

Google math predicts lung cancer’s path

Stephen Carpowich-USC — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:48:33 +0000

USC (US) — A mathematical model like the one Google Search uses to rank webpages also offers insight into how lung cancer spreads.

The researchers used an algorithm similar to the Google PageRank, which predicts which websites people are most apt to visit, and to the Viterbi Algorithm for digital communication to analyze the spread patterns of lung cancer.

Their findings could potentially impact clinical care by helping guide physicians to targeted treatment options designed to curtail the spread of lung cancer.