Swimming News and Research

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Scientists create reference guide for harmful germs in sand

On warm days, the beach seems an ideal destination for family rest and relaxation. Who hasn't built a sand castle or been buried up to the neck in sand? However, that family fun has a dark side -- sand can harbor illness-causing microbes. Unfortunately, there are no guidelines for sand quality at recreational sites.

12 Apr 2012

NCAA grant to kick off long-term study of concussion, other head injuries in athletes

A grant from the NCAA will kick off a groundbreaking, long-term study of concussion and other head injuries among athletes, led by University of Michigan researchers and their colleagues around the country.

15 Mar 2012

Cooler hands may improve results of work out: Study

Researcher Stacy Sims, a research scientist and exercise physiologist at Stanford University School of Medicine presented her findings Tuesday at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism scientific sessions in San Diego. “If you think about adipose [fat] tissue, it's a great insulator,” Sims said. For people who are obese, that means they often get too hot while exercising. “It would be like Lance Armstrong wearing a wet suit for the entire Tour de France,” she said. “We're trying to address those barriers.”

14 Mar 2012

Sperm only react to changes in calcium concentration

Sperm have only one aim: to find the egg. The egg supports the sperm in their quest by emitting attractants. Calcium ions determine the beating pattern of the sperm tail which enables the sperm to move. Together with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden and the University of G-ttingen, scientists from the caesar research centre in Bonn, an institute of the Max Planck Society, have discovered that sperm only react to changes in calcium concentration but not to the calcium concentration itself.

8 Mar 2012

Scientists discover that sperm do not function like olfactory cells

According to a 2003 study by German and American scientists, a component of the Lily of the Valley scent known as Bourgeonal alters the calcium balance of human sperm and attracts the sperm. The "Lily of the Valley phenomenon" - also the title of a book about smelling - was born as a result of this discovery that sperm act as swimming olfactory cells which follow a "scent trail" laid by the egg. However, a detailed explanation for the Lily of the Valley phenomenon remained illusive as neither Bourgeonal nor other scents could be identified in the female sex organ.

29 Feb 2012

Active video games do not increase exercise in kids

Active video games have been promoted to help kids be more physically active. But a new study finds that having active video games in the home may not translate into more exercise.

28 Feb 2012

U-M Cardiovascular Center now offers Edwards aortic valve replacement

As the population ages, more Americans will be susceptible to aortic stenosis, but not all patients can tolerate surgery to treat it. Select U.S. hospitals are now performing minimally invasive procedures called transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, to replace a patient's diseased aortic valve without heart bypass or open heart surgery.

From Medtronic 23 Feb 2012

AGHE to hold 38th Annual Meeting and Educational Leadership Conference, Feb. 23-26

The Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) - the educational branch of The Gerontological Society of America - will hold its 38th Annual Meeting and Educational Leadership Conference from February 23 to 26 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, VA. Media representatives are invited to attend free of charge.

18 Feb 2012

Exposure to common flame retardant may affect fertility and long-term memory

Mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to autism-like behaviors that were exposed to a common flame retardant were less fertile and their offspring were smaller, less sociable and demonstrated marked deficits in learning and long-term memory when compared with the offspring of normal unexposed mice, a study by researchers at UC Davis has found.

16 Feb 2012

Machine-learning methods show that patients with severe brain injury could communicate accurately

Only by employing complex machine-learning techniques to decipher repeated advanced brain scans were researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell able to provide evidence that a patient with a severe brain injury could, in her way, communicate accurately.

14 Feb 2012

U of A professor receives $542,000 from NSERC for drinking water research

Water is something people can't live without, that's why it's important that Xing Fang Li finds out what is in our tap water that may pose a disease risk. The researcher from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta just received $542,000 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for drinking water research.

14 Feb 2012

Scientists develop mutant zebrafish to study Maple Syrup Urine Disease

In medical research, finding a reliable and cost-effective animal model can greatly enhance success in identifying disease mechanisms and genetic pathways, potentially cutting years off drug testing regimes and development of new treatment strategies.

14 Feb 2012

Few ways to stay on track on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day has turned into a day of indulgences. Whether swimming in the eyes of the one you love over a luscious dinner or drowning your loneliness in a box of chocolates, Valentine's Day can be a big road bump on your path to better health and fitness.

9 Feb 2012

New research gains increased respect for contraceptive method

Imagine a contraceptive that could, with one or two painless 15-minute non-surgical treatments, provide months of protection from pregnancy. And imagine that the equipment needed were already in physical therapists' offices around the world.

31 Jan 2012

Study documents a need for increased injury prevention efforts in many popular activities for kids

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents a need for increased injury prevention efforts in many of the most popular activities for kids (walking, bicycling, swimming, sports and playground use) in the United States.

21 Jan 2012

Two new studies focus on causes of arrhythmia and SCD

Researchers in Rhode Island Hospital's Cardiovascular Research Center have published two new studies focusing on the causes of arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death (SCD) when a genetic disorder is present.

18 Jan 2012

New 20-minute procedure effective in treating perforations of the eardrum

A revolutionary surgical technique for treating perforations of the tympanic membrane (eardrum) in children and adults has been developed at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre, an affiliate of the Universit- de Montreal, by Dr. Issam Saliba.

17 Jan 2012

Chemical preservative in cosmetics can interrupt neurological development

Scientists, health officials, and manufacturers already know that a chemical preservative found in some products, including cosmetics, is harmful to people and animals in high concentrations, but a new Brown University study in tadpoles reports that it can also interrupt neurological development even in very low concentrations.

11 Jan 2012

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation names 18 new Fellows

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 18 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its fall Fellowship Award Committee review.

11 Jan 2012

AB receives TÜV approval for Neptune waterproof sound processor in Europe

Advanced Bionics (AB), the global leader in cochlear implant technology, announced today that it received approval in Europe for Neptune, the world's first and only swimmable, waterproof sound processor.

7 Jan 2012