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A new study shows that people who are physically active before suffering a stroke may have less severe problems as a result and recover better compared to those who did not exercise before having a stroke. The research is published in the October 21, 2008, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Yale researchers have described how dueling brain systems may explain why you forget to drop off the dry cleaning and may point to ways that substance abusers and people with obsessive compulsive disorder can overcome bad habits. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Christopher J. Pittenger, M.D., and colleagues describe a sort of competition between areas of the brain involved in learning that results in what Pittenger calls the "dry cleaning effect.

Many of us are bad at remembering names but we are very quick to point out that at least we never forget a face. Never mind recognizing a familiar face - how is it that we recognize faces at all? Facial recognition is so automatic that we do not think about how our brain actually perceives a face. Previous studies have indicated that during face recognition, we look most often at the eyes, nose and mouth. Now, a new study has pinpointed exactly where our eyes land when we see a face.

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of tissues including bone and muscle, today announced the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study of ACE-031, its lead compound for treating diseases involving the loss of muscle mass and function. The Phase 1 trial is a randomized, placebo-controlled single-dose, dose-escalating study to evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetics of ACE-031.

Medical highlights of papers from among the 1,300 talks at the AVS 55th International Symposium in Boston are described below. Overall, the meeting showcases advances in technology, materials research, nanotechnology, alternative energy, and medicine.