© University of Rochester 1996-2012
People with cancer can reduce postchemotherapy nausea by 40 percent by using ginger supplements, along with standard antivomiting drugs, before undergoing treatment, according to Rochester scientists. The research, led by Julie Ryan, an assistant professor of dermatology and radiation oncology, is the largest randomized study to demonstrate the effectiveness of ginger supplements. The results were presented at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Rochester researchers have discovered that the hormone estrogen plays a pivotal role in how the brain processes sound. Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the findings show for the first time that a sex hormone can directly affect auditory function, say researchers Raphael Pinaud, an assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences; Liisa Tremere, a research assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences; and Jin Jeong, a postdoctoral fellow in Pinaud’s laboratory.
With the help of an ultrafast laser, University optical scientists have created a metal that attracts, repels, and guides liquids. The research by Chunlei Guo, an associate professor of optics, and his assistant, Anatoliy Vorobyev, a visiting research associate, was published in Applied Physics Letters. The results may prove valuable in medical diagnostics, computer processing, and other fields.
Heart attack survivors who receive implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs)—devices that are designed to correct arrhythmias, electrical malfunctions that throw the heart out of rhythm—live longer the longer they have the devices. That’s according to a study led by Ilan Goldberg, a research associate professor in the Heart Research Follow-Up Program, that showed the devices reduced risk of sudden cardiac death by 31 percent in heart attack survivors. The findings follow a 2002 study by Arthur Moss, a professor of medicine, that changed medical guidelines nationwide and made thousands of heart attack survivors eligible for ICD therapy.
Exposure to dioxins during pregnancy harms the cells in rapidly changing breast tissue, which may explain why some women have trouble breastfeeding or don’t produce enough milk, according to a study by Rochester researchers. Published in an online report in Toxological Sciences, the study shows that dioxin causes mammary cells to stop their natural cycle of proliferation as early as six days into pregnancy. The research was conducted in the laboratory of B. Paige Lawrence, an associate professor of environmental medicine and of microbiology and immunology.
A study by Rochester researchers suggests that wealth, fame, and good looks can actually make a person less happy. Published in the Journal of Research in Personality, the study tracked 147 alumni from two universities during their second year after graduation. The researchers—Edward Deci, a professor of psychology and the Gowen Professor in the Social Sciences; Christopher Niemiec, a doctoral candidate in psychology; and Richard Ryan, a professor of clinical and social psychology—assessed participants in such key areas as satisfaction with life, self-esteem, anxiety, physical signs of stress, and the experience of positive and negative emotions. Reaching materialistic and image-related milestones actually contributes to ill-being, researchers found, with those who achieved them experiencing more negative emotions and physical symptoms of anxiety.
© University of Rochester 1996-2012