Clinical trials ended early due to positive treatment effects likely exaggerate those effects, according to a new review published in JAMA. The authors caution that researchers should resist pressures to end clinical trials early because of the potential risk to patients in the trials.

The clinical trials reviewed were ended early because of a convincing -- and usually large -- apparent difference between an experimental treatment and an existing standard therapy. The studies were ended so participants taking a placebo or less effective medications could also take the studied drug.

Ice loss in Greenland, which has been increasing during the past decade over its southern region, is now moving up its northwest coast, according to a study published in Geophysical Research Letters.

A comparison of data from NASA's GRACE Satellite and continuous GPS measurements made from long-term sites on bedrock on the edges of the ice sheet revealed the ice loss. The study indicates the ice-loss acceleration began moving up the northwest coast of Greenland starting in late 2005.

Foods spiked with "fructans" from the agave plant, the source of tequlia, may help protect against osteoporosis by boosting the body's absorption of calcium and could have other health benefits, according to research presented today at the ACS National Meeting.

Fructans are non-digestible carbohydrates. They consist of molecules of fructose -- the sugar found in honey, grapes, and ripe fruits -- linked together into chains. Rich natural sources include artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, garlic and onions, and chicory. Fructans do not occur in tequila, however, because they change into alcohol when agave is used to make tequila.

Geophysicists have developed a new model of the Earth, 20 years in the making, that offers a precise description of the relative movements of 25 interlocking tectonic plates that account for 97 percent of the Earth's surface.

Dubbed MORVEL for "mid-ocean ridge velocities,"  the new model is detailed in Geophysical Journal International. The work builds on a 1990 study describing tectonic plate velocities. During the past 20 years, researchers have incorporated more and higher-quality data to improve the model's resolution and precision.

In paintings of the last supper from last Millennium, the sizes of the portions and plates have gradually grown bigger and bigger, according to a forthcoming study in the International Journal of Obesity.

The finding suggests that the phenomenon of serving bigger portions on bigger plates – which pushes people to overeat – has occurred gradually over the millennium.

"We took the 52 most famous paintings of the Last Supper (from the book 'Last Supper,' 2000) and analyzed the size of the entrees, bread and plates, relative to the average size of the average head in the painting," said Brian Wansink, the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing and of Applied Economics and director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab.

Research has shown that healthy people can benefit from moderate alcohol consumption.

And a new analysis in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that patients who have already suffered a heart attack, stroke or another ischemic vascular event can reap these benefits, too.

Researchers analyzed the most important scientific studies performed during the last years. Eight in total in four Countries: United States, Sweden, Japan and Great Britain. Each study took into account patients already affected by an ischemic vascular event.