Pressure in Biological News

System that regulates blood pressure is amiss in some healthy, young blacks

AUGUSTA, Ga. When stress increases blood pressure, a natural mechanism designed to bring it down by excreting more salt in the urine doesn't work well in about one-third of healthy, black adolescents, researchers report. They hope the finding, which is being presented May 8 at the American Soc...

'Arid aquaculture' among livelihoods promoted to relieve worsening pressure on world's drylands

"Arid aquaculture" using ponds filled with salty, undrinkable water for fish production is one of several options experts have proven to be an effective potential alternative livelihood for people living in desertified parts of the world's expanding drylands. In a report released today, researc...

Scientist plans to test for blood pressure genes affected by age

A geneticist at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston plans to scan the genomes of about 4,000 people in the hopes of finding out why blood pressure often increases as young adults age. The two-year study by principal investigator Myriam Fornage, Ph.D., is funded with a new $...

High blood pressure takes big toll on small filtering units of the kidney

Take a kidney out of the body and it still knows how to filter toxins from the blood. But all bets are off in the face of high blood pressure. "How does the kidney know how to do it and why does it break in hypertension?" says Dr. Edward W. Inscho, physiologist in the Medical College of Geor...

Blood pressure response to daily stress provides clues for better hypertension treatment

How the body regulates blood pressure in response to daily stress is the focus of a study geared toward helping people whose pressure is out of control. "Research shows that two-thirds of patients' high blood pressure is not controlled despite the best efforts of their doctors. That is terribl...

Baker Institute study finds continuing upward pressure on retail gasoline prices

With the price of a barrel of oil hovering around $120, U.S. drivers can expect to pay more at the pump in the near future, according to a new study by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. "There is room for retail gasoline prices to move up," said Kenneth Medlock III, a Baker ...

UF scientists discover compound that could lead to new blood pressure drugs

GAINESVILLE, Fla. University of Florida researchers have identified a drug compound that dramatically lowers blood pressure, improves heart function and in a remarkable finding prevents damage to the heart and kidneys in rats with persistent hypertension. The findings, which appear in todays...

Learning how to say 'no' to alcohol advertising and peer pressure works for inner-city adolescents

NEW YORK (Feb. 29, 2008) -- Teens who can recognize and resist the persuasive tactics used in alcohol ads are less likely to succumb to alcohol advertising and peer pressure to drink. The results of a three-year study of inner-city middle school students by Weill Cornell Medical College researc...

High blood pressure in older adults traced to gene's effects in blood vessels

COLUMBUS, Ohio Scientists have identified the gene that sets off a sequence of events in the blood vessels of otherwise healthy adults that can lead to high blood pressure. The disease process eventually makes conditions in vessels ripe for the creation of blockages that can cause heart attacks, ...

Blood pressure drug telmisartan shows powerful activity against stroke

NEW YORK (Dec. 12, 2007) -- Telmisartan, a drug widely used to help control blood pressure, may have uniquely potent activity in preventing stroke, according to a new study conducted in an animal model. Whether they used the drug alone or in combination with a different type of antihypertensive...

Cutting salt isn't the only way to reduce blood pressure

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Most people know that too much sodium from foods can increase blood pressure. A new study suggests that people trying to lower their blood pressure should also boost their intake of potassium, which has the opposite effect to sodium. Researchers found that the ratio of sodiu...

OSU study shows exposure to bad air raises blood pressure

COLUMBUS, Ohio The air people breathe while walking in the park, working in the garden or shopping downtown may be unhealthy enough to seriously spike their blood pressure, a new study suggests. Cardiovascular researchers at The Ohio State University Medical Center are the first to report a di...

Yale study shows how rare genes have big impact on blood pressure

New Haven, Conn. -Yale University researchers report today in the journal Nature Genetics that they have discovered that rare genetic variants can be associated with a dramatically lower risk of developing high blood pressure in the general population. The insight that rare mutations may colle...

Drinking milk may help ease the pressure

Women who drank more fat free milk and had higher intakes of calcium and vitamin D from foods, and not supplements, tended to have a lower risk for developing hypertension or high blood pressure, according to a new study published in the American Heart Association journal, Hypertension. After ...

Mayo Clinic study: Ossur's collars superior in immobilization and reduction of pressure

December 12, 2007 (Aliso Viejo, California) Ossur, an emerging leader in the non-invasive orthopaedics market following several acquisitions and a period of integration, is pleased to announce that the Journal of Trauma has published the long-awaited results of a two year cervical collar study pe...

Expecting an afternoon nap can reduce blood pressure

BETHESDA, Md. (Oct. 15, 2007) Where does the benefit lie in an afternoon nap" Is it in the nap itself--or in the anticipation of taking a snooze" Researchers in the United Kingdom have found that the time just before you fall asleep is where beneficial cardiovascular changes take place. This...

Crammed with charged DNA, pressure rises inside virus

It could be an artist’s depiction of someone’s stomach before and after a rather decadent meal. But it is a 3-D cryoelectron microscope reconstruction of the cross-section of a virus, before and after cramming itself full of its own DNA. The virus, phi29, has a tiny motor that pumps its DNA int...

It's OK for men with high blood pressure to have a drink or two, new study finds

A prospective cohort study of nearly 12,000 men with hypertension found that men who drank moderately had reduced risk of heart attacks. A glass of beer, a glass of wine, or a shot of liquor each counts as one drink. Moderate consumption of alcohol is known to be linked to a lower risk of he...

How nice, brown rice: Study shows rice bran lowers blood pressure in rats

Thousands of years ago, humans began scrubbing off and discarding the outer layer of long-grain rice, preferring the polished white kernel beneath. Now, for the first time, scientists in Japan have shown that this waste product of rice processing, called rice bran, significantly lowers blood pressu...

Genes affecting blood pressure change as children become adults

As children transform into adults some of the genes involved in controlling their blood pressure change as well, according to a study of more than 500 pairs of twins. The study of black and white identical and fraternal twins showed that changes in gene expression between ages 14 and 18 accounted...

Use of high hydrostatic pressure to inactivate Hepatitis A virus in oysters studied

NOAA/Virginia Sea Grant has awarded Virginia Tech $119,000 to study whether high hydrostatic pressure will inactivate Hepatitis A virus in both shucked and unshucked oysters. The project, led by Daniel Holliman, an M.D. with the High Pressure Processing Laboratory, and Laura Douglas, lab manager,...

Gene therapy to lower blood pressure just enough

A newly developed virus that introduces a blood pressure-lowering gene into cells and enables that gene to maintain blood pressure at healthy levels for four months promises to take gene therapy for the disorder a step closer to reality, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report re...

Carnegie donates landmark clones to biology

...can make the transporters work independently. So why did this simpler mutation not succeed? The researchers believe that there must still be selective pressure on the system. The simplest explanation is that the mechanism is still necessary today, probably to control uptake and prevent toxicity. "The newl...

AGU journal highlights -- Aug. 6, 2009

...o ocean mass flows in the Southern Ocean and demonstrates the usefulness of the GRACE satellites in monitoring ocean mass variations. Title: Bottom pressure changes around Antarctica and wind-driven meridional flows Authors: Rui M. Ponte and Katherine J. Quinn: Atmospheric and Environmental Research, In...

Wastewater produces electricity and desalinates water

... using either a reverse osmosis process -- one that pushes water under high pressure through membranes that allow water to pass but not salt -- or an electrodia...alination can be accomplished without electrical energy input or high water pressure by using a source of organic matter as the fuel to desalinate water," the r...

Understanding how weeds are resistant to herbicides

...m evolving, but at least slow the rate at which it happens," said Tranel. "If you use the same herbicide year after year, you're exerting selection pressure -- you're selecting for that rare plant or mutation that will survive. When you do that, and you kill all of the siblings that are weaker, the mutant ...

August 2009 Geology and GSA Today media highlights

...rtion of hydrogen sulfide, which appears to be consistent with characteristics of high-grade zones related to alteration halos. Elevated fluid pressure and extreme mechanical weakness of a plate boundary thrust, Nankai Trough subduction zone Harold J. Tobin and Demian M. Saffer, Dept. of Geology and...

'Microfluidic palette' may paint clearer picture of biological processes

... the chamber. Fluid flow in and out of the short arms of each Y at constant pressure assures a constant stream of fresh chemicals. Because the pressure in the chamber is balanced by filling it previously with a buffer solution,...

Jet-propelled imaging for an ultrafast light source

...surized gas to make a co-flowing liquid sheath. By adjusting gas and liquid pressure and other parameters, he was able to create a "virtual nozzle" that could s...pening in the outer tube, so the gas surrounds it, then increases speed and pressure as it approaches the opening, squeezing and accelerating the thin stream of...

Bizarre walking bat has ancient heritage

...ather, it would seem that walking is rare in bats because it has advantages for them only in special circumstances. Competition with other mammals and pressure from terrestrial predators does not deter modern vampire bats from walking. Likewise, the rich rainforest environment in which the ancestors of the my...

Experimental treatment halts hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in newborns

...our of every 1,000 births. The causes are mostly unknown, although some studies point to the possibility of problems with the placenta, maternal blood pressure or complications related to the umbilical cord. Close to 20 percent of newborn children with hypoxic-ischemia die and 25 percent of those who survive ...

High-tech vehicle design boosts emergency rescue capacity

...ue vehicles are easy and safe to operate, and simple to clean and disinfect. Environment disasters and terrorist attacks are putting ever increasing pressure on the rescue services as they often have to take care of a high number of victims in a very short period. In particular, there is a need to get medic...

Red List overlooks island species

... really in most urgent need of conservation". "Expending efforts on species that are not threatened simply because they are iconic or because powerful pressure groups are fighting for them does not help efforts to prevent biodiversity loss", the biologist concludes. ...

Scientists discover gene mutation responsible for hereditary neuroendocrine tumor

...are rare, generally benign tumors that arise from cells called glomus cells, which are located along blood vessels and play a role in regulating blood pressure and blood flow. Approximately 25 percent of paragangliomas are hereditary. Of the four familial PGL syndromes, three forms have previously been associ...

Music is the engine of new U-M lab-on-a-chip device

... researchers use sound waves to drive a unique pneumatic system that does not require electromechanical valves. Instead, musical notes produce the air pressure to control droplets in the device. The U-M system requires only one "off-chip" connection. "This system is a lot like fiberoptics, or cable televis...

'Invisibility cloak' could protect against earthquakes

...ss smoothly into the material and are compressed into small fluctuations in pressure and density. The path of the surface waves can be made into an arc that dir...mall scale experiments are underway." Seismic waves also include coupled pressure and shear body waves which are less destructive than surface waves. Sebasti...

A 'heart healthy' diet and ongoing, moderate physical activity may protect against cognitive decline

...ecommended by physicians to people with high blood pressure or pre-hypertension. The DASH diet eating plan has been proven to lower blood pressure in studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. High blood pressure is considered a risk factor for Alzheimer's and de...

World's largest ocean observatory takes shape

...-way communicationsare protected in a trawl-resistant frame. All NEPTUNE Canada components and instruments are specially designed to withstand intense pressure and the cold, corrosive salt-water environment of the North Pacific. Many involve breakthrough technology being deployed for the first time anywhere i...

New way to make sensors that detect toxic chemicals

...erms. "Basically, you mix everything together in a pressure vessel, pop it in the oven, rinse it off and it's ...rature and pressure, and leave the material in the pressure cooker for just the right amount of time. For this study, they set the pressure cooker to around 225 C. They found they can make t...

1-finger exercise reveals unexpected limits to dexterity

...o rubbing a surface, using a computer track pad or iphone. Adult volunteers wearing a closefitting Teflon cover on their forefingers applied fingertip pressure on a slippery Teflon surface linked to a force-measuring sensor. First, the volunteers simply pressed as hard as they could without moving. Then, s...