Losses Of Long-established Genes Contribute To Human Evolution
While it is well understood that the evolution of new genes leads to adaptations that help species survive, gene loss may also afford a selective advantage. A group of scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz led by biomolecular engineering professor David Haussler has investigated this less-studied idea, carrying out the first systematic computational analysis to identify long-established genes that have been lost across millions of years of evolution leading to the human species.
The actual paper is here
Cholesterol Fine Tunes Hearing:
Levels of cholesterol in the membranes of hair cells in the inner ear can affect your hearing, said a consortium of researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University and Purdue University in a new report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Anti-drinking Campaign Ads May Be 'Catastrophically Misconceived':
Some anti-drinking advertising campaigns may be "catastrophically misconceived" because they play on the entertaining 'drinking stories' that young people use to mark their social identity, say researchers who have just completed a three year study of the subject.
Intensive Care Quality Of Sleep Improved By New Drug, Reports Study:
A new sedative drug has been shown to improve the sleep quality and comfort levels of intensive care patients, compared to the most commonly-used medication, according to research published in the journal JAMA.
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I have looked a bit into the primary literature on sleep in ICUs. It appears that a major culprit in poor sleep for ICU patients is the fact that nurses and doctors who are on duty at night don't behave like it is nighttime.
They wake patients for routine exams and other stuff, make noise, and generally interfere with the ability of patients to sleep. This is because for these night shift workers, it is their "day".
The solution is better training for ICU night workers to respect the fact that it is, in fact, the night for their patients. Needless to say, but worth emphasizing in such training, is that better patient sleep leads to better medical outcomes.