| Zika Virus found in Colombia: Looking for ways to stop it Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:24 PM PST In October 2015, researchers ran the first tests confirming the presence of Zika virus transmission in the South American country. The team documents a disease trajectory that started with nine positive patients and has now spread to more than 13,000 infected individuals in that country. |
| Brain’s wiring connected to sensory processing disorder Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:24 PM PST Researchers have found that boys and girls with sensory processing disorder (SPD) have altered pathways for brain connectivity when compared to typically developing children, and the difference predicts challenges with auditory and tactile processing. |
| Large-scale conspiracies would quickly reveal themselves, equations show Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:23 PM PST Physicists decided to test whether some science-related conspiracies alleged to exist were in fact tenable. The answer -- they'd all have given themselves away in less than four years. |
| Sleep apnea treatment associated with reduced readmissions for patients with heart failure Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:23 PM PST Early diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea may reduce six-month readmissions for patients hospitalized with heart failure, according to new research. |
| What do lentils have to do with geology? Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:22 PM PST When clayey materials are compressed and sheared, they commonly develop a 'scaly fabric' wherein the clay is divided by braided shear surfaces into lentil-shaped chips. Although such scaly fabrics are found at the bed of glaciers, the base of landslides, and in gougey faults, little is known about how they form or how they deform. Researchers have now used dry lentils to help explore this process. |
| Texting at night affects teens' sleep, academic performance Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:22 PM PST A new study is the first of its kind to link nighttime instant messaging habits of American teenagers to sleep health and school performance. Media use among children of all ages is increasing exponentially; studies have found that children ages 8 to 18 use electronic devices approximately seven-and-a-half hours daily. |
| Early puberty associated with gestational diabetes Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:22 PM PST Women who began having menstrual cycles at age 11 had a 39 percent higher risk of developing gestational diabetes, new research has demonstrated. The study followed more than 27,000 women and observed that when menarche began at age 11 compared to age 14, women had a 39 percent higher risk of developing gestational diabetes. An increased risk, although lower, also occurred when menarche began at 12 and 13. |
| Ecotourism, natural resource conservation proposed as allies to protect natural landscapes Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:22 PM PST If environmentalists want to protect fragile ecosytems from landing in the hands of developers -- in the US and around the globe -- they should team up with ecotourists, according to a study. Environmentalists often fear that tourists will trample all over sensitive natural resource areas, but tourism may bring the needed and only economic incentives to help drive conservation, said an author of the study. |
| Cancer riddle solved: How cancer cells form tumors Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:22 PM PST Using real-time recording of cellular movement, biologists have discovered how tumors form. Cancer cells extend cables and grab other cells. As little as five percent cancerous cells are needed for tumor formation, they suggest, stating that their findings could lead to more precise cancer testing. |
| Cancer in China Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:22 PM PST There were 4.3 million new cancer cases and more than 2.8 million cancer deaths in China in 2015, with lung cancer the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in China, a new report estimates. |
| Zika virus 'a game-changer' for mosquito-borne diseases Posted: 26 Jan 2016 11:41 AM PST The Zika virus, unlike other mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue, is relatively unknown and unstudied. That is set to change since Zika, now spreading through Latin America and the Caribbean, has been associated with an alarming rise in babies born in Brazil with abnormally small heads and brain defects – a condition called microcephaly. |
| Scientists create graphene barrier to precisely control molecules for making nanoelectronics Posted: 26 Jan 2016 11:41 AM PST Gardeners often use sheets of plastic with strategically placed holes to allow their plants to grow but keep weeds from taking root. Scientists have found that the same basic approach is an effective way to place molecules in the specific patterns they need within tiny nanoelectronic devices. |
| Bitcoin study reveals false beliefs on ease of use and privacy Posted: 26 Jan 2016 10:08 AM PST People who have used Bitcoin, and those who don't have any experience with it, have something in common: Both groups share misconceptions about how the controversial digital currency actually works, a new study finds. |
| Anti-asthma drugs taken during pregnancy associated with autism risk Posted: 26 Jan 2016 10:08 AM PST Taking B2AR agonist asthma drugs during pregnancy appears to be associated with an increased risk that the child will develop autism, according to new research. |
| Titan targets tumors Posted: 26 Jan 2016 10:08 AM PST Researchers are using Titan to understand and control new methods for particle acceleration that could have big impacts on laser-driven tumor removal. Since lasers were first produced in the early 1960s, researchers have worked to apply laser technology from welding metal to surgeries, with laser technology advancing quickly through the last 50 years. |
| Mass media coverage helps slow down disease spread in an epidemic Posted: 26 Jan 2016 10:08 AM PST Mass media coverage about an epidemic can help slow the spread of the disease, according to a new study. Researchers say to maximize this effect media reports should focus on changing people's behavior in an epidemic. |
| Disclosure of incidental genetic findings can have positive impact for patients Posted: 26 Jan 2016 10:01 AM PST Providing unanticipated information about risk of coronary artery disease during a genetic risk assessment for Alzheimer's disease helped some participants cope with their results, and also motivated participants to make changes to their health behaviors, report researchers at the conclusion of a randomized controlled study. |
| Bed bugs that feed are more likely to survive pesticide exposure Posted: 26 Jan 2016 09:52 AM PST Bed bugs that take blood meals after being exposed to pesticides are more likely to survive, according to research. The researchers suggest that insecticide efficacy testing protocols should be changed so that they include using recently fed bed bugs, and that bugs that are fed one to three days after being exposed to pesticides. |
| Comparison of smoking cessation therapies finds similar quit rates Posted: 26 Jan 2016 09:52 AM PST Among adults motivated to quit smoking, 12 weeks of treatment with a nicotine patch, the drug varenicline, or combination nicotine replacement therapy produced no significant differences in confirmed rates of smoking abstinence at 26 or 52 weeks, raising questions about the current relative effectiveness of intense smoking cessation pharmacotherapies, according to a study. |
| Scientists preserve the endangered ghost orchid Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:21 AM PST This rare orchid is unique for several reasons. First, it resembles a ghost when its white flower moves at night; hence, it is known as the Ghost Orchid. It is also leafless, and its roots attach to the bark of the host tree. About 2,000 ghost orchids remain in Florida, all the more reason to step up efforts to stabilize the current populations. Ghost orchids became more famous through a popular book, "Orchid Thief," about a man arrested for stealing them from trees in a forest in Collier County, near the Everglades. |
| Food imported from low-GDP nations poses higher safety risks, study finds Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:21 AM PST Food imported into the United States from countries with low GDP poses higher safety risks, suggesting the need for food safety management reforms, according to a new analysis of federal import violations data. |
| Scientists identify potential 'guardian' against neurodegeneration Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:21 AM PST Stopping disruptions in cellular "trash removal" brought on by errors in molecular marks on DNA may guard against neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's. |
| Being married might hurt your chances of weight loss after surgery Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:21 AM PST Spouses ideally could play a key role in helping patients lose pounds and keep them off after weight-loss surgery, but being married might actually work against patients, researchers have found. The researchers concluded that the impact of weight-loss surgery extends to his or her romantic relationships and likely to the entire family. |
| Use of psychosocial treatments in conjunction with medication for opioid addiction Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:19 AM PST Psychosocial interventions, used together with effective medications, are a key part of recommended treatment for opioid addiction. But while research generally supports the effectiveness of psychosocial treatments, there are major gaps in the evidence on their use in conjunction with medications, according to a review. |
| Engineer models heart valves, wind turbines for better designs, performance Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:19 AM PST Computer modeling technologies are being developed to help engineers design better machines. The models are being applied to wind turbines, artificial hearts and gas turbines. |
| Why you should never use the term 'the mentally ill' Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:19 AM PST Even subtle differences in how you refer to people with mental illness can affect levels of tolerance, a new study has found. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers found that participants showed less tolerance toward people who were referred to as "the mentally ill" when compared to those referred to as "people with mental illness." |
| Energy Harvesting via Smart Materials Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:19 AM PST A group of smart materials known as "electrostrictive polymers" have been explored for their potential mechanical energy harvesting abilities. |
| An ancestor of the rabbit connects Europe and Asia Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:15 AM PST The species Amphilagus tomidai was recently discovered - an ancestor of the rabbit which lived in present-day Siberia during the Miocene, about 14 million years ago. The discovery of this mammal, belonging to a family which was thought to only exist in Europe, reveals that the two continents were presumably connected free of natural barriers due to the disappearance of the ancient Paratethys Sea. A study presents a new species, the Amphilagus tomidai, found in south-eastern Siberia (Russia) and dating back to the Middle Miocene, about 14 million years ago. The discovery of this mammal, an ancestor of the present-day rabbit, represents an important biogeographic link that confirms the widespread distribution of this group as well as the relationship between Asia and Europe during this period. |
| Alzheimer-type brain pathology after transplantation of dura mater Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:15 AM PST Up to now Alzheimer's disease has not been recognized as transmissible. Now researchers have demonstrated Alzheimer-type pathology in brains of recipients of dura mater grafts who died later from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. |
| New policies, educational programs help, but don't solve, problems with opioid abuse Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:14 AM PST Medical provider training, new clinic policies and efforts to 'taper' opioid use for pain treatment could significantly reduce the level of opioid medication that patients used -- a limited but positive step for a nation enmeshed in opioid use, abuse and overdose deaths. |
| DNA imprinting defects associated with childhood osteosarcoma development, progression Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:14 AM PST Children diagnosed with osteosarcoma may be impacted by a DNA imprinting defect also found in parents, according to new research. DNA imprinting is a phenomenon in which just one of the two inherited genes is active while the other is present but inactive. |
| Solving hard quantum problems: Everything is connected Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:14 AM PST Quantum objects cannot just be understood as the sum of their parts. This is what makes quantum calculations so complicated. Scientists have now calculated Bose-Einstein-condensates, revealing the secrets of the particles' collective behavior. |
| Model explains huge recurring rainstorms in tropical Indian and Pacific oceans Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:14 AM PST A new model explains three fundamental features of the Madden-Julian Oscillation: Its huge size, its timescale of about 45 days, and why the tropical storm clouds always move toward the east. |
| Pension benchmarks give consumers false impression of fund performance Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:14 AM PST Benchmarks that measure the performance of pension funds, and fees charged to consumers by investment fund managers, require greater scrutiny, suggests new research. |
| Incidence of psychiatric disorders has increased in a shrinking population of smokers Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:08 AM PST While cigarette smoking rates have declined among younger people in the United States, those who do smoke are more likely to have a psychiatric or substance use disorder compared with those who began smoking in earlier decades, new research indicates. |
| Social media use in young adults linked to sleep disturbance Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:07 AM PST Young adults who spend a lot of time on social media during the day or check it frequently throughout the week are more likely to suffer sleep disturbance than their peers who use social media less, according to new research. |
| Mosquitoes capable of carrying Zika virus found in Washington, D. C. Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:15 AM PST Researchers have reported the discovery of a major population of the mosquito species Aedes aegypti, the species capable of carrying tropical diseases such as Zika virus, dengue fever and chikungunya, in a Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, D.C. To add insult to injury, the team identified genetic evidence that these mosquitoes have overwintered for at least the past four years, meaning they are adapting for persistence in a northern climate well out of their normal range. |
| Better access to contraception means more sex for married couples Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:14 AM PST Married couples in low- and middle-income countries around the world that use contraception are having more frequent sexual intercourse than those that do not, new research suggests. |
| Community-level violence linked to teens' risky sexual behavior Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:14 AM PST Teens' experiences with violence -- either through fear of violence, observing violent events, or being victims of violence themselves -- are associated with how likely they are to have sex and use condoms, new research suggests. |
| Physician assistant home visits significantly reduce hospital readmissions after heart surgery Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:14 AM PST Two home visits by a physician's assistant (PA) during the week after hospital discharge significantly reduces the chance that a heart surgery patient will be readmitted, and reduces overall costs associated with the heart surgery, a new study demonstrates. |
| One trillion kilometers apart: A lonely planet and its distant star Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:10 AM PST Astronomers have found a planet, until now thought to be a free floating or lonely planet, in a huge orbit around its star. Incredibly the object, designated as 2MASS J2126, is about 1 trillion (1 million million) kilometers from the star, or about 7000 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun. |
| A look into the evolution of the eye Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:02 AM PST Scientists have succeeded in reconstructing a 160 million year old compound eye of a fossil crustacean found in southeastern France visible. With the reconstruction of the eye, the scientists succeeded in making the structure of soft tissue visible -- which was long considered to be impossible. |
| Virologists investigating novel applications for viruses Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:01 AM PST Viruses can be classified in a completely new way based on viral structures, new research suggests. A better understanding of how viruses work can help open up new applications for viruses in the field of synthetic biology, for instance. |
| New fluorescent nanomaterials whose inspiration was taken from plant antenna systems Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:01 AM PST One of the biggest temptations facing a scientist is to try and reproduce natural phenomena which are so fascinating given their effectiveness and perfection. Scientists have now designed a set of fluorescent nanomaterials which have taken their inspiration from the antenna systems of plants. These new multifunctional materials aim to imitate the photosynthetic organisms of plants. These microorganisms consist of thousands of chlorophyll molecules embedded in a protein matrix, which provides them with a specific orientation/arrangement and intermolecular distance. |
| 3D images reveal the body's guardian against urinary infection Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:00 AM PST Researchers have obtained the first 3D structure of uromodulin, the building block of the unique safety net that constantly protects our urinary tract against bacterial infections. Uromodulin also plays a part in certain chronic diseases of the kidney. By analyzing the structure of uromodulin, the researchers that they can better understand the mutations that cause these kidney diseases. |
| Don't blame grey squirrels: Their British Invasion had much more to do with us Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:00 AM PST DNA profiling reveals grey squirrels are not as good invaders as we think, and that humans played a much larger role in spreading them through the UK. Grey squirrels were imported to the UK from the 1890s onward, and the traditional view is that they spread rapidly across the UK due to their ability cope with new landscapes. |
| Milestone for Parkinson's research: The amyloid protein ?-synuclein has been visualised in the cell for the first time Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:00 AM PST The protein ?-synuclein plays an important role in Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases. Although a considerable amount is known about the structure of the protein within the Parkinson's-typical amyloid deposits, nothing was known about its original state in the healthy cell up to now. Scientists have now for the first time visualized the protein in healthy cells with the help of high resolution spectroscopic procedures. Surprisingly, they discovered an unstructured state. |
| With microbial technology, researchers increases by 26% the recovery of hydrocarbons in oil wells Posted: 26 Jan 2016 06:00 AM PST With microbial technology, the a research team aims to increase hydrocarbon recovery factor in extraction wells. The Technology of Hydrocarbons Recovery using Microbes uses microorganisms found in oil samples that already produce metabolites like carbon dioxide, solvents and acids to increase the recovery factor. |
| Epilepsy drug could protect nerves from damage in MS Posted: 26 Jan 2016 05:58 AM PST An epilepsy drug could lead to a new treatment that protects nerve damage in MS patients, according to research. Scientists have found that the anti-convulsant drug phenytoin protected neural tissue in patients with optic neuritis. Optic neuritis is a symptom of MS which causes the nerves carrying information between the eye to the brain to become inflamed and damaged. |
| Diverse migration helps birds cope with environmental change Posted: 26 Jan 2016 05:57 AM PST Migratory birds that are 'set in their ways' could be more vulnerable to environmental impacts, according to new research. Many species of migratory birds are in decline as a result of human impacts such as climate change and habitat loss. New research reveals why some species are more vulnerable than others. |
| Breaking the brain's garbage disposal: Study shows even a small problem causes big effects Posted: 26 Jan 2016 05:57 AM PST You wouldn't think that two Turkish children, some yeast and a bunch of Hungarian fruit flies could teach scientists much. But in fact, that unlikely combination has just helped an international team make a key discovery about how the brain's 'garbage disposal' process works -- and how little needs to go wrong in order for it to break down. |
| Scientists demonstrate key aspect of evolutionary theory Posted: 26 Jan 2016 05:57 AM PST Evolutionary theory predicts that pairs of chromosomes within asexual organisms will evolve independently of each other and become increasingly different over time in a phenomenon called the 'Meselson effect.' Researchers have demonstrated the Meselson effect for the first time in any organism at a genome-wide level, studying a parasite called Trypanosoma brucei gambiense. |
| Messages from the food police Posted: 26 Jan 2016 05:57 AM PST We have all seen messages from the 'food police' telling us that sugary snacks are bad. But is it possible that seeing these messages actually make us more likely to eat sugary snacks? Researchers find that these messages backfire among dieters. Dieters ate 39 percent more cookies after seeing a 'food police' style message that says, 'All sugary snacks are bad" than those who saw a positive message.' |
| Treating depressive symptoms from their roots Posted: 26 Jan 2016 05:57 AM PST A wide range of compounds is on the market to ameliorate depressive symptoms, however their efficiency is achieved only after long periods of treatment and not in 100 percent of patients. Researchers identified early cellular changes in the brain for the emergence of depressive symptoms, and a novel promising drug target. |
| Open-source laser fabrication lowers costs for cancer research Posted: 26 Jan 2016 05:57 AM PST In a move that slashes 90 percent of the cost of mass-producing metastatic microtumors and therapeutic microtissues for screening and research, bioengineers have adapted techniques from the open-source 'maker' movement to reprogram a commercial laser cutter to etch up to 50,000 tiny 'microwells' per hour into sheets of silicone. |
| Health and thinking skills linked to same genes, study shows Posted: 26 Jan 2016 05:57 AM PST Genes that influence people's health also shape how effectively they think, a study shows. Scientists found that genes associated with diseases including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and autism also have an impact on some cognitive functions. |
| Study links fatty liver, heart failure in obese people Posted: 26 Jan 2016 05:57 AM PST Fatty liver is independently associated with subclinical heart failure in obese people, according to a new study. The findings add more support to the importance of dietary interventions in such patients, researchers said. |
| Targeted axillary dissection of lymph nodes after chemotherapy improves staging accuracy of node-positive breast cancer Posted: 25 Jan 2016 03:51 PM PST A new procedure improves the accuracy of axillary staging and pathologic evaluation in clinically node-positive breast cancer, and reduces the need for a more invasive procedure with debilitating complications. |
| Study solves mystery of cell powerhouse's balance of calcium Posted: 25 Jan 2016 03:48 PM PST A decades-long mystery of how the cell's powerhouse, and its energy currency of calcium ion flow, is maintained under different physiological conditions has been solved. The team identified a novel regulatory mechanism that governs levels of calcium inside cells. Without this physiological mechanism, calcium levels can increase uncontrollably, contributing to a variety of neurodegenerative, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases. |
