(MedPage Today) -- As Space Shuttle Atlantis flies into space for the last time, its passenger manifest included some three dozen mice on board to study a possible treatment for microgravity-induced bone loss, as well as good old osteoporosis. Lab Notes this week also features new findings on overeating, spinal cord repair, and other medical matters.

(MedPage Today) -- Atrial fibrillation and flutter risk increased with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, though this case-control study finding drew skepticism.

(MedPage Today) -- Among patients with acute heart failure, nesiritide (Natrecor) had no significant effect on dyspnea or the rate of heart failure hospitalization or death at 30 days, a large, randomized trial showed.

(MedPage Today) -- For a patient with a terminal illness, a novel form of psychotherapy did not ease patients' distress, but did improve their end-of-life experience, a randomized trial showed.

(MedPage Today) -- In this exclusive video report, staff writer Nancy Walsh talks to a leading rheumatologist, Roy Fleischmann, MD, about the latest advances in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Here's a transcript of their discussion.

(MedPage Today) -- Ambulatory patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) are at risk for certain clinical events that could impair their ability to drive, yet many healthcare providers do not have formal policies to assess medical stability for operating motor vehicles.

(MedPage Today) -- For the first time in a community setting, researchers have identified a genomic hot spot that doubles the risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued its proposed changes to the 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, including a long anticipated -- and long-feared -- plan to cut Medicare pay to physicians by 30%.

A newly released study finds high folate intake is linked to a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, a finding consistent with the findings of most prior epidemiologic studies. The study is reassuring, as prior recent evidence has suggested that consumption of very high levels of folate through supplements and from folate-fortified diet may increase risk of some cancers. Nonetheless, the potential importance of folate in colorectal cancer prevention remains in question because at least one other study found folate supplementation had no effect on recurrence of colorectal adenomas, precursors to colorectal cancer........

A big part of coping with life is having a flexible reaction to the ups and downs. Now, a study which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that people choose to respond differently depending on how intense an emotion is. When confronted with high-intensity negative emotions, they tend to choose to turn their attention away, but with something lower-intensity, they tend to think it over and neutralize the feeling that way........

Using ovarian surface epithelial cells from mice, scientists from Virginia Tech have released findings from a study that they believe will help in cancer risk evaluation, cancer diagnosis, and therapy efficiency in a technical journal: Nanomedicine http://www.nanomedjournal.com/article/S1549-9634%2811%2900184-5/abstract........

Eating a diet high in vitamin D, as well as the nutrients betaine and methionine, might help reduce the risk of macular degeneration, as per new research conducted by Tufts Medical Center scientists. Their study of identical twins from the US World War II Twin Registry also observed that the more a person smoked, the higher their risk of developing macular degeneration. The study, "Smoking, Dietary Betaine, Methionine, and Vitamin D in Monozygotic Twins with Discordant Macular Degeneration: Epigenetic Implications" reported in the journal Ophthalmology on July 1, is the first to look at identical twin pairs in which one twin had early age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and the other had late stage AMD........

In a new article reported in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration, scientists at the University of Missouri School of Medicine take some of the first steps toward unraveling the molecular dysfunction that occurs when proteins are exposed to environmental toxins. Their discovery helps further explain recent NIH findings that demonstrate the link between Parkinson's disease and two particular pesticides - rotenone and paraquat........

A newly released study shows that being married boosts survival odds for both men and women with colon cancer at every stage of the disease. Married patients had a 14 percent lower risk of death as per scientists at Penn State's College of Medicine and Brigham Young University. That estimate is based on analysis of 127,753 patient records........

An international team of researchers led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to reveal for the first time how reduced levels of a specific protein may play a central role in causing at least one inherited form of the disease........

Each one of us receives approximately 60 new mutations in our genome from our parents. This striking value is published in the first-ever direct measure of new mutations coming from mother and father in whole human genomes published recently. For the first time, scientists have been able to answer the questions: how a number of new mutations does a child have and did most of them come from mum or dad? The scientists measured directly the numbers of mutations in two families, using whole genome sequences from the 1000 Genomes Project. The results also reveal that human genomes, like all genomes, are changed by the forces of mutation: our DNA is altered by differences in its code from that of our parents. Mutations that occur in sperm or egg cells will be 'new' mutations not seen in our parents........

The use of bariatric surgery among older, severely obese patients was not linked to a decreased risk of death, as per a research studyin the June 15 issue of JAMA This study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting. "Obesity incidence has stabilized after decades of rapid increases, whereas the prevalence of patients with a body mass index [BMI] greater than 35 increased 39 percent between 2000 and 2005, the prevalence of severe obesity (BMI greater than 40) increased 50 percent, and the prevalence of superobesity (BMI greater than 50) increased 75 percent. Obesity is difficult to treat, and bariatric surgery is the most effective means to induce weight loss for the severely obese. Consequently, obesity surgery rates rapidly increased in tandem," as per background information in the article. "To date, no study to our knowledge has examined the long-term survival of high-risk patients who underwent bariatric surgery"........

A dramatically better computer tool for finding the genetic missteps that fuel cancer has been developed by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital � Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project investigators. Scientists are using the new algorithm to help identify the chromosomal rearrangements and DNA insertions or deletions unique to cancer........

A newly released study reported in the journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy reveals that keeping a dog or cat in the home does not increase children's risk of becoming allergic to the pets. Parents of young children frequently want to know whether keeping a dog or cat in their home will increase the risk of their children becoming allergic to their pets........

A newly released study has determined predictors that can better identify patients who will benefit from a potentially toxic second course of therapy, which offers a small but real chance of cure in select patients with head and neck cancer. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-evaluated journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings could help guide therapy decisions for head and neck cancer patients........