» Featured News

A fur trader who suffered an accidental gunshot wound in 1822 and the physician who saw this unfortunate incident as an opportunity for research are keys to much of our early knowledge about the workings of the digestive system. Symposium, “William Beaumont: America’s First Physiologist and Pioneer of Gastrointestinal Research,” sponsored by American Physiological Society.

Researchers have long known that cancerous tumors grow collections of abnormal blood cells, the fuel that feeds this disease and keeps it growing. Now, new evidence in an animal model suggests that blood vessels in the fat tissue of obese individuals could provide the same purpose—and could provide the key to a new way for people to lose weight.

Up to 20 percent of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have experienced at least one blast concussion. A new study finds about 42% of screened veterans with blast injuries have irregular hormone levels indicative of hypopituitarism, the decreased (hypo) secretion of one or more of the eight hormones normally produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. Many conditions associated with hypopituitarism mimic other common problems that veterans can suffer, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.

Researchers have tested the effects of partial sleep deprivation on blood vessels and breathing control and found that reducing sleep length over two consecutive nights leads to less healthy vascular function and impaired breathing control. The findings could help explain why sleep deprivation is associated with cardiovascular disease.

Conventional knowledge suggests that to avoid acute mountain sickness (AMS), climbers need to “stage,” or set up camp, at a lower altitude for four days when summiting peaks as high as 4300 meters. A U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine team has found that two days of staging at a moderate altitude may be enough.

Johnathan D. Tune will present the American Physiological Society’s Henry Pickering Bowditch Award Lecture on April 21, 2013 during the Society’s 126th annual meeting. Dr. Tune is being recognized for his work on the mechanisms that connect obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. His lecture is entitled, “Translational Insight Into Regulation of Coronary Blood Flow."

Michael Joyner, M.D. will present the American Physiological Society’s Walter B. Cannon Award Lecture on April 20, 2013, during the Society’s 126th annual meeting. The Cannon Award is the Society’s pre-eminent award. The Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist will discuss physiology’s enduring relevancy.

Calls for Nominations for the Editorship of AJP - Cell Physiology and Journal of Neurophysiology

As you know, two bombs exploded yesterday near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. At least 3 people were killed, and more than a hundred were injured, some seriously. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this horrific event.

Almost 4 million people die annually from household air pollution (HAP) caused by exposure to the combustion of biomass fuels, kerosene, or coal. These individuals are among the tens of millions who rely on the products for cooking, heating, and light. A new article explains the need for improved HAP biomarkers, and more.

The APS supports NIH’s efforts to utilize a science-based approach to resolve issues related to future research and care of chimpanzees, President Dr. Susan M. Barman said in a letter to Dr. James Anderson, Director of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives. Nevertheless, the APS concluded that the report was “deeply flawed.”

The APS’s 126th annual meeting offers more than 2,700 programmed abstracts and dozens of symposia. Program highlights include the Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine Lecture, and presentations on eating disorders, human brain function, sex-based differences in exercise metabolism, and understanding emerging concepts about the pathology of diabetes and obesity. The meeting will be held April 20-24, 2013 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, Mass.

APS announces the names of 14 distinguished researchers to be honored for their contributions to the field at the Society’s 126th annual meeting. The event, part of the Experimental Biology (EB) 2013 meeting, will be held April 20-24, 2013 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

New study identifies why prazosin, a drug commonly used to reduce high blood pressure, may cause lightheadedness and possible fainting upon standing in patients with normal blood pressure who take the drug for other reasons, such as PTSD and anxiety.

APS Executive Director shares his views on open access in a New England Journal of Medicine Perspective article titled “Open but Not Free – Publishing in the 21st Century".

Physiology Journals Go Mobile: APS brings new functionality to our highly regarded published research. All 13 of our peer-reviewed journals are now available through the APS Journals app, available from the Apple® iTunes® Store. In addition to the app, we also now provide mobile-optimized versions of each of the journals’ websites.

The APS membership elected its new officers for terms beginning in 2013. David M. Pollock, Georgia Regents University, was elected President-Elect. John C. Chatham, University of Alabama School of Medicine, M. Harold Laughlin, University of Missouri-Columbia, and Marshall (Chip) H. Montrose, University of Cincinnati, were elected to Council. Terms begin at the Society’s annual meeting in April.

The Physiological Genomics Group is soliciting nominations from the members of APS for "The Outstanding Paper by a Junior Investigator" that was published in "Physiological Genomics" during 2012.

“Good” bacteria that live in our intestines have been linked with a variety of health benefits. In a new study, researchers have uncovered another advantage to these friendly microscopic tenants: Chemicals secreted by good bacteria that typically live in the intestines of babies could reduce the frequency and severity of a common and often-lethal disease of premature infants, known as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

Balancing time commitments against health benefits, aerobic training appears to be optimal mode of exercise for reducing fat- and body mass, while a program including resistance training is needed for increasing lean mass in middle-aged, overweight/obese individuals.

It is well known that people with Down syndrome (DS) suffer from marked muscle weakness. A new study led by scientists from Syracuse University sheds light on some of the suspected causes of muscle weakness.

APS is partnering with The Physiological Society (TPS) and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. to publish a new open access peer-reviewed journal, Physiological Reports, which launches in early 2013. The journal will offer peer-reviewed research across all areas of basic, translational and clinical physiology and allied disciplines for physiologists, neuroscientists, biophysicists and clinicians, and is APS’ first fully open access online-only journal.

Chronic wounds such as foot ulcers are a common problem for diabetics and are the cause of more than 80 percent of the lower leg amputations in these patients. There is currently no effective way to improve healing of these types of wounds, but new research may offer some hope. The study has found that diabetic rats on a specific type of high protein diet showed better wound healing compared to rats fed either a standard diet or other high protein foods.

New study findings suggest an explanation for the association between sleep problems and obesity. The study appears in the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.

APS congratulates member Robert J. Lefkowitz, co-winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The Duke University professor shares the award with Brian Kobilka of Stanford for groundbreaking discoveries involving G-protein-coupled receptors.

Small pilot study suggests that when cancer survivors exercise for several weeks after they finish chemotherapy, their immune systems remodel themselves to become more effective.

Nerve fibers and the muscles they control behave differently at different points along the menstrual cycle, potentially making women more vulnerable to knee injuries.

Engaging in hard exercise for just 2.5 minutes per day led volunteers to burn an extra 200 calories a day.

Exercise helps attenuate the premature cardiovascular aging that type 2 diabetes can cause.

The latest conference to be sponsored by the American Physiological Society focuses on the molecular mechanisms involved in exercise-mediated physiological changes in the body, including metabolic, cardiovascular, neurological, and dynamic molecular and cellular pathways. Entitled Integrative Biology of Exercise VI, the meeting will be held October 10-13, 2012 in Westminster, Colorado.

A compound found in purple corn, a relative of the widely-known blue corn, may help to develop therapies aimed at Type 2 diabetes and kidney disease according to a new article published in the American Journal of Physiology – Renal Physiology.

The journal Physiological Genomics has announced it will continue to operate under its current name but will dramatically increase the scope of papers accepted to include contributions in the areas of genomics, systems biology, biomarkers, and emerging technologies

The effects of physical inactivity are, literally, hazardous to your health. The upcoming conference, Integrative Biology of Exercise VI, co-sponsored by The American Physiological Society, brings together national and international scientists for presentations and discussions aimed at better understanding the mechanisms and consequences of inactivity on the human body.

American Physiological Society to receive more than $2.3 million in federal grants to be used to recruit and mentor undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented (UR) groups in an effort to increase their understanding of, interest in, and representation in the scientific and biomedical workforce.

In a new study, researchers have found that adolescents’ blood levels of various micronutrients are correlated with how well they performed in certain physical fitness tests. Though these results don’t prove causality, they suggest a new relationship between different measures of adolescent health.

Are cold feet plaguing your relationship? Scientists have identified the biological mechanism that could be responsible for this phenomenon, a problem that bothers many couples. Read our press release explaining the study and an accompanying editorial which are published in the American Journal of Physiology—Cell Physiology.

Despite dramatically increasing rates of childhood obesity and a growing awareness of its consequences, researchers still know little about why children become obese and how it contributes toward a host of problems in adulthood. A new article reviews dozens of studies on animal models of childhood obesity, suggesting that these models contribute knowledge impossible to attain from human research. Read the article and our press release for more.

Comprehensive Physiology, the APS serial publication launched in January 2011 is now indexed in Medline/PubMed. Indexing will be retroactive to the first issue. The APS, Ron Terjung, Editor-in-Chief, and Wiley-Blackwell, publisher of the Journal on behalf of the APS, are delighted with this outstanding outcome.

The American Physiological Society (APS) and The Physiological Society announce their partnership to publish a new open-access peer-reviewed journal – Physiological Reports. Nominations will be sought immediately from leading academics in the field for the position of Editor-in-Chief prior to the Journal launch in early 2013.

Why do some people faint when they stand? How might the blood-brain barrier be responsible for high blood pressure? Could body mass index (BMI) change heart rate variability? These are among the symposia and poster topics being discussed at our conference on autonomic regulation of cardiovascular function in health and disease being held July 7-12, 2012.

The latest APS conference focuses on the relationship between certain molecular mechanisms that are involved in the development of hypertension, heart failure, and diabetes. Entitled Autonomic Regulation of Cardiovascular Function in Health and Disease, the meeting will be held July 7-10, 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska. Read the program overview here.

The American Physiological Society (APS) applauds the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee for its continued support for medical research. Under the leadership of Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Richard Shelby (R-AL), the Subcommittee recommended $30.723 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the fiscal year starting October 1 (FY 2013).

Our latest conference, “Autonomic Regulation of Cardiovascular Function in Health and Disease,” explores the autonomic interactive mechanisms behind hypertension, heart failure, diabetes and panic disorders. Presentations include studies conducted in both animals and humans and explore potential of the findings for translational research. Meeting held July 7-10, 2012.

The Scientific Programming Committee (SPC) for the 1st Pan-American Congress of Physiological Sciences invites submission of proposals for Plenary Lectures, Keynote Speakers and Symposia. The first historical meeting of physiologists from the three Americas will be held in the city of Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil from August 2-6, 2014. The theme for the Congress is “Physiology without Borders”.

The Journal of Physiology has published an editorial "Congratulations, APS! 125 and counting . . ."

The County of San Diego California proclaimed April 21, 2012 to be "American Physiology Society Day" thoughtout San Diego County.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders extends a welcome to APS and issues a proclamation in recognition of the Society’s 125th anniversary, declaring April 21, 2012 to be “American Physiological Society Day” in the City of San Diego.

In recognition of the Society’s 125th anniversary, and in acknowledgment of the critical role played by the APS journals in the Society’s legacy, Thomson Reuters, which produces the Journal Citation Reports database, including journal Impact Factors, was asked to identify the most highly cited articles since 1900. The Society therefore presents here the top ten cited articles for each of our journals for the following time periods: 1900-1924; 1925-1949; 1950-1959; 1960-1969; 1970-1979; 1980-1989; 1990-1999; and 2000-2011.

The APS 125th anniversary meeting includes more than 2600 programmed abstracts and a variety of symposia. This release highlights eight symposia presentations.