At last, a victory in the war on terror: a new cure for anthrax
AUSTIN — Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a new anthrax antibody that protects against the inhalation of anthrax, according to the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the US Department of Defense. The antitoxin was successful in eliminating both the bacteria itself and its toxins in animals. At this point, anthrax infection can only be treated successfully at early stages and with antibiotics. Further testing along these lines could yield the first successful treatment for deliberately engineered antibiotic-resistant strains of anthrax.

Potheads have increased risk of developing schizophrenia
CHICAGO — The classic paranoid film Reefer Madness may have had it right. New diffusion tensor imaging research presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America indicates that the brains of teenagers using marijuana on a daily basis have similar abnormalities to those with schizophrenia. In both cases, these abnormalities were found in parts of the brain associated with higher language and auditory functions that continue to develop through adolescence. Findings also suggest that the heavy use of marijuana in adolescents with a genetic predisposition for the disease could actually trigger early onset schizophrenia.

As if twins didn't already have enough problems
ABERDEEN, UK — Researchers, using a sample of more than 10,000 Scottish kids born in the 50s, have determined that twins have significantly lower IQs than their non-twin brothers and sisters, according to a November 29 Online First British Medical Journal study. Mental skill test results were taken from primary schools in Aberdeen in 1962 and extracted into age-standardized IQ scores. The findings indicate that twins at seven years of age on average had IQs that were 6.6 points lower than their singleton siblings. By the age of nine, the scores were 6.9 points lower. These results had nothing to do with sex, family size, parental age or social class but showed a marked correlation to birth weight and gestational age. Not surprisingly, the twins were found to have been born smaller and earlier in gestation; they were also small even by the standards of their gestational age. Researchers concede that test scores from children born more recently could yield very different results.

Short kids not mental giants
BRISTOL, UK — Speaking of IQ, when Sir Isaac Newton spoke of standing on the shoulders of giants could he have been alluding to the childhood stature of great minds who came before him? A new IQ study suggests a link between childhood height and intelligence. The authors tested 547 eight-year-olds for IQ and insulin growth factor (IGF-I) in their blood. The results showed kids with high levels of IGF-I did better on the intelligence test — for each 100 nanograms per millilitre increase in IGF-I investigators saw a three point jump in IQ results. The study authors suggest it would be possible to use diet to increase levels of the hormone. The study appears in the November issue of Pediatrics.

Swimming with Flipper could take the blues away
LEICESTER — Swimming with dolphins might be a great way to treat depression, according to a study published in the November 26 issue of BMJ. Thirty patients diagnosed with mild or moderate depression were split into two groups — half swam and snorkelled with dolphins, the other half enjoyed the same water activities without the marine mammals' company. All subjects stopped any drugs or psychotherapy during the trial and had their depression scores measured at the beginning and end of the experiment. Researchers found the patients in the dolphin group showed fewer depressive symptoms after two weeks of treatment, compared to the four weeks it typically takes to see improvement though conventional therapy.

Owls and squirrels, strangely enough, help out troubled kids
ESSEX — Who needs cartoons? A real life Rocket J Squirrel could be just what the doctor ordered for helping emotionally troubled children. An editorial published in the same November 26 special issue of the BMJ claims that ecotherapy — restoring health through contact with nature — could be beneficial for children with emotional and behavioural problems. They point to a number of studies that show ecotherapy can help these kids overcome social isolation. "Partnerships between healthcare providers and nature organizations to share and exchange expertise could create new policies that recognize the interdependence between healthy people and healthy ecosystems," writes author Dr Ambra Burls.

At long last, France saves face
LYON — The first partial face transplant in the world was performed November 27th in Lyon, France. Doctors successfully transplanted a nose, lips and chin onto a 38-year-old woman who had been savaged by a dog. The injury made it difficult for the patient to chew or speak. According to the hospital's statement, the patient was in "excellent" condition and the transplanted organs appeared "normal." The fact the woman's face will not look like it did before the attacks worries some. "For all transplant patients the acceptance that part of their body is not their own is a difficult concept," said Dr Stephen Wigmore, who heads the ethics department of the British Transplantation Society. Still, the primary concern at this point is rejection.

Severe neglect in childhood can change the brain's biology
MILWAUKEE — Being an isolated, lone wolf as a youngster can affect the normal activity of vasopressin and oxytocin, two hormones with a crucial role in determining a child's ability to express intimacy and form social bonds later in life. Psychologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied 18 four-year-old kids who had stayed in Russian and Romanian orphanages before they were adopted into Milwaukee area homes. The researchers found that even though the children were now living in stable homes, many still exhibited behaviours associated with early neglect, like an abnormal willingness to receive comfort from strangers. Urinalysis confirmed that these kids had lower levels of vasopressin, which is believed to regulate the ability to recognize people in a familiar social environment.

The feeling's gone and I just can't get it back
PAVIA, ITALY — In another study that comes as a surprise to no one, scientists have identified that the giddy passion experienced by new lovers is tied to "a love molecule" — specifically nerve growth factor (NGF) — which essentially wears out after a year. Italian researchers writing in the November 10 online edition of Psychoneuroendocrinology found significantly higher levels of NGF in the blood of 58 subjects who'd just recently fallen head over heels, than they did in a group of single people and those in longer relationships. After a year with the same lover, the amount of NGF in the lovestruck had fallen to the same level as the others.

 

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