Marriage, Cohabitation Provide Similar Health Benefit (LiveScience.com)

We've heard married people are happier, but that might not be a reason to rush to the altar, according to a new study.

In terms of health, self-esteem, and psychological well-being, marriage offers little benefit over simply living together without wedding rings, the study found.

It's the relationship itself, rather than its official status, that's key to its benefits, said study researcher Kelly Musick, an associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University's College of Human Ecology.

"Being in a romantic relationship, irrespective of the legal form, does provide benefits over remaining single," Musick said.

Moreover, the findings suggest that for some, cohabitation may be the better option than marriage, Musick said. Participants who cohabited in the study were happier and had greater self-esteem than those who were married. This may be because cohabitation offers more room for independence and personal growth, which may be particularly important for some people at certain stages in life, Musick said.

The study is published in the February issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family.

Marriage vs. cohabitation

Many previous studies looking at the benefits of marriage have focused on comparing married couples with single people, or comparing married with cohabiting couples at one point in time.

The new study followed 2,737 single men and women over six years to see what happened when they entered a relationship or got married. The study data were drawn from national surveys given in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Participants rated their overall health and happiness, and were also asked questions to assess their self -esteem, depression and the strength of their ties to friends and family.

Over the study period, close to 900 participants married or began living with a romantic partner.

In general, both marriage and cohabitation came with an uptick in well being. Those who got married or started living with a partner experienced higher levels of happiness, and lower levels of depression, than those who remained single, although these advantages faded with time.

People who married did report better overall health compared with those who cohabited, which may be explained by the entitlements (such as health insurance for spouses) that come with marriage.

However, marriage and cohabitation also reduced contact with family and friends compared to being single, and this effect lasted over time.

The researchers noted it's been about 20 years since the surveys they used were performed, and the relative benefits of marriage versus cohabitation may have changed in recent years.

However, it's not clear whether their findings would be more or less true today, Musick said. On the one hand, the experiences of marriage and cohabitation have become increasingly similar. But on the other hand, marriage may still hold a greater social status than cohabitation in the United States, she said.

Better off married?

The new findings are extremely valuable because they provide a clearer picture of the advantages of marriage, and counter the view that "marriage is the solution to so many of our problems" said Gary Lee, professor and chair department of sociology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, who was not involved in the study. "I think that?s an incredibly naive view," Lee said.

People who claim marriage brings great benefits to everyone "are kind of cherry-picking the research," Lee said.

In reality, the people who aren't getting married may not be doing so because it won?t make them any better off, Lee said. In today's economic environment, marriage does not bring the same financial benefits as it used it, he said.

The researchers emphasized that "we are certainly not saying that marriage is irrelevant for individual well-being," Musick said. For some, marriage may be a great source of happiness.

Still, the findings call into question the value of using limited resources on campaigns to promote marriage over other family forms, Musick said. ?More research is needed to better inform policy-makers about the advantages, or lack thereof, of such campaigns.

Pass it on: Cohabitation may be just as good as marriage in promoting happiness and well-being.

This story was provided by MyHealthNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily staff writer Rachael Rettner on Twitter @RachaelRettner. Find us on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20120120/sc_livescience/marriagecohabitationprovidesimilarhealthbenefit

la auto show powerball winning numbers powerball winning numbers uc davis pepper spray uc davis pepper spray usc oregon breaking dawn part 2

Cell senescence does not stop tumor growth

Friday, January 20, 2012

Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer. A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano, Italy, and two physicists, from the National Research Council of Italy and from Cornell University, has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth, which is sustained by a small population of cancer stem cells. The results, published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on January 19 explain why it is difficult to treat cancer cells by inducing senescence alone.

The work explores the relationship between melanoma and senescence, the normal process where cells decline and eventually stop duplicating after reaching maturity. The investigators followed the long-term evolution of melanoma cell populations, monitoring the number of senescent cells. After three months, growth slowed and most of the cells turned senescent, however growth did not stop and eventually resumed its initial rate until the senescent cells had almost disappeared.

The authors mathematically modeled the experimental data using the cancer stem cell hypothesis, where a sub-group of cancer cells replicate indefinitely, and are thus unaffected by senescence. These cancer stem cells give rise to a larger population of cancer cells that can duplicate only a finite number of times. The model yielded an indirect confirmation of the presence of cancer stem cells in melanoma, an issue that is still controversial in the cancer research community.

Although a large fraction of cancer cells are susceptible to senescence, the researchers conclude that inducing senescence is unlikely to provide a successful therapeutic strategy because these cells are irrelevant for tumor growth. However, the indirect evidence of cancer stem cells in melanoma may enable the development of new methods to treat specific kinds of cancer. The challenge will be in the strong resistance to drug induced senescence that would be found in the cancer stem cells. Along this line of research, treatment of tumors would focus on targeting only these cancer stem cells, rather than every single cancerous cell.

###

La Porta CAM, Zapperi S, Sethna JP (2012) Senescent Cells in Growing Tumors: Population Dynamics and Cancer Stem Cells. PLoS Comput Biol 8(1): e1002316. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002316

Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org

Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 65 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116906/Cell_senescence_does_not_stop_tumor_growth

maze scholarships vanity fair boo tonga irb super bowl 2011

Artificial Testicle Could Treat Male Infertility (LiveScience.com)

Researchers in California hope to become the first in the world to build an artificial testicle that produces human sperm. Such a device could allow infertile men to conceive children.

While recent studies have shown it's possible to treat infertile male mice by producing sperm using stem cells from the mouse, the same has not been done for humans, said researcher Dr. Paul Turek, director of the Turek Clinic, a men's health medical practice in San Francisco.

Using a newly received government grant, Turek and his fellow researchers hope to develop a human "sperm-making biological machine," he said.

Unlike a non-sperm-producing prosthesis ? a saline-filled implant for men missing a testicle ? the device will not be designed to resemble a testicle. ?? Instead it will most closely resemble a cylindrical bag a few inches long, Turek said, creating a final product that looks something like a transparent, over-sized Tootsie Roll.

Recreating the testicle

Others have tried to grow sperm from cells in lab dishes, but the cells wouldn't go through all the necessary steps, Turek said. Normally cells in the testicle go through about 12 stages on their way to becoming functioning sperm, but in a dish they stop at stage 9 or 10 ? only within the highly specialized environment of the testicle can they complete the process.

Turek said he and his colleagues want to "re-create the testicle in an artificial environment, with all of its components."

To make their artificial testicle, the researchers will first focus on growing cells that normally nurture sperm during their development, including cells called Sertoli cells. Then the researchers will add embryonic stem cells, which can turn into virtually any cell in the human body. These stem cells will be "fortified" with genes to steer them down the right path, so that the stem cells develop the properties of sperm precursor cells, Turek told MyHealthNewsDaily.

In essence, the researchers are hoping re-create the environment within the seminiferous tubules, the structures in the testes where sperm are formed.

The artificial testicle would likely last only as long as it takes to go through one cycle of sperm production, about 70 days, Turek said. After that, another one would have to be created.

Ambitious project

"It's an ambitious project," said Kyle Orwig, an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh who studies ways to restore male fertility."But it would be fantastic if it happened. It would be a major impact on the fertility field."

No one has yet tried to create sperm by re-creating the "home" of sperm cell production and adding stem cells, Orwig said.

It eventually might be possible to use the model to produce sperm for men who are infertile.

To do this, the researchers probably would use adult stem cells from the patient rather than embryonic stem cells. Such cells could be taken from the patient's skin, and researchers would have to "turn back the clock" so the cells ?could develop into sperm. But whether this could work remains to be seen, Turek said.

Turek and his colleague Dr. Constance John, chief executive of MandalMed Inc., a biotech company in San Francisco, received a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Such grants are typically less than $500,000, Turek said.

Turek hopes to complete the artificial testicle in five to seven years.

Pass it on: Researchers are starting a project to create an artificial human testicle that can produce sperm.

This story was provided by MyHealthNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience.Follow MyHealthNewsDaily staff writer Rachael Rettner on Twitter @RachaelRettner. Find us on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20120119/sc_livescience/artificialtesticlecouldtreatmaleinfertility

noreaster noreaster steve miller band boston weather kara dioguardi thomas kinkade the shining

Repurpose a Magazine Rack into a Canned Food Holder [Clever Uses]

Repurpose a Magazine Rack into a Canned Food HolderAnother one for the "why didn't I think of that" files: Turn a magazine holder on its side and stick two pins in it for space-saving organization in the pantry.

Cans, as you know, are awkward to store. They take too much space and, stacked, are just a mess. A magazine holder is apparently the perfect-sized organizer when tilted on its back, as PB&Jstories discovered. With two flattened and spray-painted bobby pins as stoppers at the ends, cans are neatly contained on your shelves.

Kitchen Pantry Reveal! | PB&Jstories via Jessica Mets

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/YxZYCY5mGZ4/repurpose-a-magazine-rack-into-a-canned-food-holder

jets broncos thursday night football demi moore johnny jolly johnny jolly demi moore and ashton kutcher demi moore and ashton kutcher

More Americans Practicing Safe Sex, CDC Reports (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Americans who practice behaviors that put them at risk for HIV infection has declined significantly, federal health officials reported Thursday.

The ranks of those engaging in a risky sexual or drug-related behavior dropped from 13 percent of men and 11 percent of women in 2002 to 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively, in 2010, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Generally, these are behaviors that are studied in higher risk populations, but by looking in the household population we can get a better sense of the level of risk that may exist in the general population that you don't normally think about," said report author Anjani Chandra, a health scientist at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

Some of the risk factors the researchers looked at were gay and bisexual sex, illicit drug use and having several sexual partners or a partner who injects illegal drugs, she said.

"For women, we don't really see that the decline is due to any variation in sexual risk behaviors, whereas for men we see substantial difference by race," she said.

The reasons for the decline in risk behaviors is not clear, Chandra said. Some of the public health messages might be getting through. It also could be that people are reluctant to disclose that they engage in risky behaviors, she said.

"But, it could be real and reflect actual changes in behavior," she said.

The data in the report was collected on almost 23,000 men and women aged 15 to 44 in households throughout the country and represents 6.5 million men and 4.9 million women.

The decline seems to be due to a drop in risky behaviors such as having unprotected sex and having sex with multiple partners, Chandra said.

There were, however, differences in behaviors in different groups. For example, men who had recently been in prison were more likely to report engaging in one or more HIV risk behaviors, compared with other men, the researchers found.

There were also significant variations based on race and income level, they reported.

Sixteen percent of young black men ages 15 to 24 reported at least one HIV risk-related sexual behavior, compared with 8.7 percent of Hispanic men and 6.5 percent of young white men. Poorer men were also more likely to engage in risky behaviors.

The HIV risk in households is not something one usually thinks about when one thinks about HIV risk, Chandra said.

"In household populations, where you may think these behaviors are nonexistent or very rare, they are occurring and they may be placing people at risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases," Chandra said. "Just focusing on high-risk populations may not take care of the concerns that we have."

Dr. Sten Vermund, director of the Institute of Global Health at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, said that the data used was "a highly valid sample of the American population."

Both sexual and drug-related risk behaviors declined in the study period, and that is a positive trend, he said.

"Risk behaviors remain high and the likelihood of encountering an HIV-infected person has never been higher," Vermund noted. "Nonetheless, there is a strong indication that prevention programs are working or cultural norms are shifting, or both."

Philip Alcabes, an associate professor in the School of Health Sciences at Hunter College/City University of New York, is critical of the report as another example of how the government still avoids the real problem of HIV.

"What a waste of time and taxpayer dollars," he said. "Having failed to advocate for structural changes that would actually reduce risk of HIV acquisition and having failed to implement widespread, easily accessible syringe exchange programs, federal agencies instead spend their time studying personal behavior. It's a shame."

"Even though our officials don't have a clear concept of what really happened 30 years ago, they are still looking at AIDS through the same moralizing lens that was common in 1981. That's sad, and disturbing," he said.

More information

For more on HIV/AIDS, visit the AIDS.gov.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sexualhealth/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120120/hl_hsn/moreamericanspracticingsafesexcdcreports

conrad murray sentencing conrad murray sentencing urban meyer adam shulman adam shulman nfl power rankings week 13 nfl power rankings week 13

George Osborne: Japan and UK can work together to isolate Iran and help eurozone - video

The chancellor, George Osborne, has met Japan's prime minister and finance minister during a tour of the far east. After their conference, Osborne told reporters that he had discussed how the UK and Japan could work with the International Monetary Fund to help eurozone countries deal with the debt crisis

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2012/jan/18/george-osborne-japan-iran-video

hayden panettiere greg oden snooki john dillinger atlanta hawks carlos zambrano lisa lampanelli

Many Head and Neck Cancer Survivors Face Eating Problems (HealthDay)

MONDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Persistent pain, eating problems and depression are the most common problems experienced by long-term survivors of head and neck cancer, a new study finds.

In the study, published in the Jan. 16 online issue of the journal Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery, researchers looked at 337 people who were diagnosed with head and neck cancer from 1995 to 2004 and survived at least five years.

More than 50 percent of the survivors had problems eating because of poor throat functioning, 28.5 percent had symptoms of depression and more than 17 percent had substantial pain, the researchers found.

However, when the long-term survivors were compared to age-matched people in the general population, their average general health was similar, Dr. Gerry Funk, of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, and colleagues explained in a journal news release.

The investigators also found that pain and diet in the first year after cancer treatment were the strongest independent predictors of five-year, health-related quality-of-life outcomes.

Problems with mouth and throat function in head and neck cancer survivors can be due to factors such as neuromuscular changes, anatomic deficits after surgery, pain and dental problems, the researchers noted.

"Early interventions addressing eating issues, swallowing problems and pain management will be a crucial component in improving this patient population's long-term quality of life, especially in those who are functioning poorly one year after diagnosis," the study authors concluded.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about head and neck cancer.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120117/hl_hsn/manyheadandneckcancersurvivorsfaceeatingproblems

blackberry outage seal beach ca seal beach seal beach bhutan zip code finder zip code finder

Stephen Colbert's Latest Lesson in Campaign Finance Absurdity ...

In his deepest dive yet into the intricacies of campaign finance?law, Stephen Colbert blazed through a series of open-ended questions about super PACs last night, and even schooled at least one seasoned political reporter.?The Comedy Central host's sketch was prompted by a simple question: What can he and super PAC conspirator Jon Stewart get away with without technically breaking the law? Here's what they came up with.

One-way coordination with super PACs The whole question of illegal campaign coordination between Stewart and Colbert was first raised by former Politico reporter and current BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith, who noticed this week that Colbert seemed to be illegally coordinating with his super PAC when he released his "Vote Cain" ad. Colbert highlighted Smith's line of questioning on his show:

"Stephen Colbert begins taping at around 7:30 p.m., and he detailed his 'Vote Cain' strategy ... on last night's show. Meanwhile, The Colbert Super PAC released a slick 60-second 'Vote Cain' ad before that Colbert Report episode even hit the air. How did both production-intensive video segments get made within hours of each other without illegal coordination?"

"To some in the media, this smells fishy," noted Colbert. In reality, what Colbert did was perfectly legal. Stewart simply told Colbert about the ad campaign ahead of time. And according to Colbert's trusty lawyer Trevor Potter, that's OK:

You see it's perfectly legal, according to former FEC chairman and my and Jon's lawyer Trevor Potter. Evidently, non-coordinating just means I can't help them or?approve?what they're doing. But I can know in advance know what they've done. That's not coordinating. That's just ... ordinating. Information can go one way but not the other. It's like a one-way membrane. Basically, a money placenta. I give him nothing and Jon nourishes me in a warm amniotic bath of strategy and cash until I slide out all wet and electable. All true, All true. We checked. Jon and I don't even need to be psychic.?

?

?

Hilarious fetal?description?aside, the point comes away loud and clear: A super PAC can send messaging and strategy planning to the candidate it supports, it just can't receive instructions back from the candiate. Or can it?

?

Public super PAC coordination?On Jon Stewart's program, the issue of coordination was delved into even further, showing that legal super PAC coordination can go beyond simple one-way discussions. Stewart began the discussion by highlighting Mitt Romney's statements that super PACs can't coordinate in any way. ?I?m not allowed to communicate with a super PAC in any way, shape or form," he said on MSNBC. "My goodness, if we coordinate in any way whatsoever we go to the big house."

?

Not true, however. To explain the legal loophole that allows coordination between super PACs and candidates, he brought on Colbert to discuss, as he put it, the" loop-chasm." "I can't tell you but I can tell everyone through television," Colbert said. Though the legal technicality that Colbert was explaining may not have been completely clear, he was referring to?federal election law that states that coordination between candidates and super PACs is legal if it comes from a "publicly available source." In this case, that public source is television and he and Stewart talked to each other to great comedic effect:

?

?

?

The super PAC safety net Last of all, Stewart asked lawyer Trevor Potter what would happen if he ever had to pay a fine in the event where he actually did illegally coordinate with Colbert. As Potter notes, it could be in the "four to six figure" range. That was a terrifying prospect to Stewart until he realized he could just use super PAC money to pay the fine. Voila!

?

?

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at jhudson at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Source: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2012/01/stephen-colberts-latest-lesson-campaign-finance-absurdity/47547/

chanukah chanukah david archuleta david archuleta hobbit trailer greenhill nj plane crash

Quora Launches An Off-Site ?Follow? Button For Topics And People

Screen Shot 2012-01-17 at 2.18.40 PMQuora has joined the "Button" wars today?with the launch of the Quora "Follow" button, created by Quora engineers?Shu-Uesugi?and?Edmond-Lau. In the same vein as the Twitter "Follow" button, the Quora Follow button can be embedded in any website by cutting and pasting a customized snippet of code from the Quora Resources page. Users can choose between a light button and a dark button to taste. "The goal is to help people discover great Quora users from the outside of www.quora.com," says co-founder?Charlie Cheever, "Like blogs and personal websites. When someone clicks on your button, he/she will start following you immediately if he/she is logged on to Quora; otherwise he/she will be prompted to log in or sign up."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/94vRrQqOwrk/

music awards music awards giants eagles bcs rankings week 13 bcs rankings week 13 philadelphia marathon rhodes scholar