| New image analytics may offer quick guidance for breast cancer treatment Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:52 AM PST For women with the most common type of breast cancer, a new way to analyze magnetic resonance images (MRI) data appears to reliably distinguish between patients who would need only hormonal treatment and those who also need chemotherapy. The analysis may provide women diagnosed with estrogen positive-receptor (ER-positive) breast cancer answers far faster than current tests and, due to its expected low cost, open the door to this kind of testing worldwide. |
| Hot find: Tightly spaced objects could exchange millions of times more heat Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:52 AM PST Scientists have come up with a formula that describes the maximum heat transfer in such tight scenarios. |
| That first drink is a learning experience Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:52 AM PST A research team has examined whether a single exposure to alcohol can induce memory and behavioral changes that could promote future drinking. Their data suggest that the perceived benefits of alcohol are registered and stored in memory from the first encounter. |
| Genetically modified technology a safe tool to help meet food supply demands, plant scientists say Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:51 AM PST More than 1,000 scientists from nonprofit, corporate, academic, and private institutions say that public doubts about genetically modified food crops are hindering the next Green Revolution. |
| B-cell diversity in immune system's germinal centers may hold key to broad-spectrum vaccines Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:51 AM PST The germinal centers that form in the body's lymph nodes work as a fitness boot camp in which B cells evolve to produce antibodies of increasingly higher affinity to an invading pathogen. This new finding overturns a previously held notion that only a narrow range of B cells can survive this training and go on to secrete high-affinity antibodies. This revised understanding may aid development of effective vaccines against HIV, influenza, and other viruses that mutate rapidly. |
| What makes a bacterial species able to cause human disease? Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:51 AM PST The first comprehensive, cross-species genomic comparison of all 20 known species of Leptospira, a bacterial genus that can cause disease and death in livestock and other domesticated mammals, wildlife and humans, has now been completed by scientists. The resulting analyses reveal novel adaptations and traits in infectious species of Leptospira that not only help illuminate its evolutionary history, but may also provide new preventive and treatment approaches. |
| Engineered gene drives and the future Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:49 AM PST Engineered gene drives, which have the potential to spread desirable genes throughout wild populations or to suppress harmful species, have received a lot of recent attention because of their potential to control organisms, such as mosquitoes that carry diseases such as Zika virus, malaria and dengue fever. At the same time, say researchers, the recently discovered CRISPR gene editing technology has the potential to create, streamline and improve the development of gene drives. |
| Real or virtual: Can we tell the difference? Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:49 AM PST People find it increasingly difficult to distinguish between computer-generated images and real photos, researchers have shown, but they do say that a small amount of training greatly improves their accuracy. |
| Areas of excellence found, also improvement needed in quality of mental health care in the U.S. military Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:49 AM PST The care provided by the US military health care system to service members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression is good in some areas, but needs improvement in other realms, according to a new study. |
| Motion-controlled video games may improve real world skills Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:49 AM PST Motion-controlled video games, such as those played on the Wii, may help boost skills when players compete in the real world, according to a team of researchers. |
| Humans settled, set fire to Madagascar's forests 1,000 years ago Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:49 AM PST A widespread and permanent loss of forests in Madagascar that occurred 1,000 years ago was due not to climate change or any natural disaster, but to human settlers who set fire to the forests to make way for grazing cattle, suggests researchers. |
| Five-dimensional black hole could 'break' general relativity Posted: 18 Feb 2016 11:49 AM PST Researchers have successfully simulated how a ring-shaped black hole could cause general relativity to break down: assuming the universe contains at least five dimensions, that is. |
| Market integration could help protect poor from climate-related food insecurity Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:50 AM PST Global market integration is key to buffering future commodity prices and food security from the negative effects of climate change on agriculture, says an agricultural economist in a new report. |
| Experimental drug may limit harmful effects of traumatic brain injury Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:50 AM PST An experimental drug may aid patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), for which there is currently no effective treatment to prevent increased risk of dementia or other neurologic complications. |
| Tracking market patterns with yesterday's headlines Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:40 AM PST New research uses an historic approach to predict times of stock market volatility and the resulting returns: back issues of The Wall Street Journal. Researchers relied on machine learning, big-data techniques to construct a text-based measure of market uncertainty, using the front pages of The Wall Street Journal going back to 1890. |
| Unique next generation sequencing-based panel designed for pediatric cancer research Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:40 AM PST A next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based panel will be designed specifically for pediatric cancer research, say scientists. The assay would be designed to target biomarkers associated with childhood cancers. |
| A shot in the arm for flu vaccine distribution Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:40 AM PST Each fall, doctors stress the importance of getting a flu shot: influenza is the most frequent cause of death from a vaccine-preventable disease in the United States. But on-time delivery of the vaccine can be tenuous, and there can be shortages during times of peak demand, as seen in 2014. |
| Rotation of cloudy 'super-Jupiter' directly measured Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:40 AM PST Astronomers have measured the rotation rate of 'super-Jupiter-class' exoplanet 2M1207b by observing the varied brightness in its atmosphere. This is the first rotation rate measurement of a massive exoplanet using direct imaging. The observations also confirm that the planet's atmosphere has layers of patchy, colorless clouds. |
| Finding the best seeds to match Africa's needs Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:36 AM PST Soybean farmers in the United States can choose from a "candy store" of hundreds of varieties of soybean seed--high-yielding seed with proven performance traits for every region and latitude. Soybean farmers in Africa may either only have access to a few seed varieties with an unimpressive yield potential, or a few high-yielding varieties for which no performance data exists for their latitude and altitude. A new coordinated soybean variety evaluation program is underway that will address these problems and give African growers more and better seed options. |
| News from the secret world of the egg cell Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:35 AM PST The division of mammalian egg cells depends on cohesin proteins that embrace chromosomes before birth and are not renewed thereafter, scientists have discovered. The cohesin complex is remarkably long-lived but eventually lost irreversibly from chromosomes. The inability of egg cells to renew the ties that hold chromosomes together might contribute to maternal age-related chromosome missegregation and aneuploidy, leading to the production of trisomic fetuses. These insights provide a possible explanation for the molecular causes of the maternal age effect. |
| Scientists discover way to potentially track and stop human and agricultural viruses Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:35 AM PST A new discovery has broad ranging applications in stopping viral outbreaks such as hepatitis C in humans and a number of viruses in plants and animals because it applies to many viruses in the largest category of viral classes -- positive-strand RNA viruses, report scientists. |
| 50 percent of teens visiting emergency department report peer violence, cyberbullying Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:35 AM PST Nearly 50 percent of teens seen in the emergency department for any reason report peer violence and nearly 50 percent also report being the victims of cyberbullying, a new study has found. Almost one-quarter of teens in the emergency department also report symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study shows that cyberbullying, physical peer violence and PTSD are common and inter-related, and that early identification and treatment are crucial. |
| Health provider awareness can curb prescription drug abuse Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:35 AM PST Increasing health care providers' level of concern about prescription drug abuse in their communities may be an effective public health tool in fighting America's prescription drug abuse epidemic, according to a study. |
| Rapidly building arteries that produce biochemical signals Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:35 AM PST Engineers have developed a technique to make artificial arteries that produce biochemical signals vital to their natural functions. The technique is ten times faster than current methods. It was used to make tiny arteries that can support 3-D microscale organ platforms for drug testing and may enable researchers to conduct experiments on arterial replacements in record time. |
| Some aging treatments shown to have opposite effects on males and females Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:35 AM PST What helps her live longer might be harmful to him, according to a new study that may shed light on how and why organisms age. Aging treatments that helped females were shown to hurt males, report scientists at the conclusion of their study. |
| Study reveals mechanism behind enzyme that tags unneeded DNA Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:34 AM PST The two-step process that activates an essential human enzyme, called Suv39h1, which is responsible for organizing large portions of the DNA found in every living cell, has been revealed by new research. Mistakes in packing DNA jeopardizes the stability of chromosomes and can result in severe diseases. Suv39h1 is one of the main enzymes that chemically mark the irrelevant regions of DNA to be compacted by cellular machinery, but little has been known about how it installs its tag until now. |
| Method to predict local climate change developed Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:34 AM PST Global climate models are essential for climate prediction and assessing the impacts of climate change across large areas, but a team has now developed a new method to project future climate scenarios at the local level. |
| Algorithm makes hyperspectral imaging faster Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:34 AM PST Researchers have developed an algorithm that can quickly and accurately reconstruct hyperspectral images using less data. The images are created using instruments that capture hyperspectral information succinctly, and the combination of algorithm and hardware makes it possible to acquire hyperspectral images in less time and to store those images using less memory. |
| Chemistry trick paves way for safer diabetes medication Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:31 AM PST New research points to an entirely new approach for designing insulin-based pharmaceuticals. The approach could open the door for more personalized medications with fewer side effects for Type 1 Diabetes patients, say researchers. |
| Smart physical training in virtual reality Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:31 AM PST A new system in a virtual training room is helping users practice and improve sports exercises and other motor activities. Now six research groups are working on a project to develop a virtual coaching space. |
| Diet soda and fries, please Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:31 AM PST New research aims to untangle the apparent disconnect between stated health concerns and actual food purchases. Researchers found evidence of significant balancing behavior across product categories and consumer health segments that has implications for retail strategies as well as for public policy. |
| Chemoradiation may increase survival for a subset of elderly head and neck cancer patients Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:31 AM PST The addition of chemotherapy (CT) to radiation therapy (RT) improves survival rates among a subset of elderly head and neck cancer patients, specifically those ages 71 to 79 with low comorbidity scores and advanced disease stage, report investigators. |
| Chemotherapy before chemoradiation shows no survival advantage in head and neck cancer Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:31 AM PST Patients receiving induction chemotherapy rather than chemoradiation live no longer and are less likely to receive definitive course of radiation treatment, new research concludes. |
| Teaching stem cells to build muscle Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:23 AM PST Researchers have identified pecific ways in which fetal muscle stem cells remodel their environment to support their enhanced capacity for regeneration, which could lead to targets for therapies to improve adult stem cells' ability to replace injured or degenerated muscle. |
| Stemming the flow: Stem cell study reveals how Parkinson's spreads Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:22 AM PST New clues as to how Parkinson's spreads from cell to cell, a process which has evaded researchers for decades, have been revealed by new research. The work is the first to link the release of alpha synuclein, a naturally occurring protein that plays a central role in the development of Parkinson's, with its most common genetic risk factor -- GBA-1 -- shedding new light on its role in the progression of the devastating neurological condition and its symptoms. |
| Scientists question a popular theory about how the nervous system trims its branches Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:22 AM PST Scientists have long believed axons regulate their own pruning during development. But recent findings have challenged this assumption, and now scientists have proven that axons receive instructions from the cell body when its time to degenerate. |
| Breast milk sugars promote healthy infant growth through gut microbiome Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:22 AM PST Bacteria that live in the gut interact with dietary components to affect health and wellness. Scientists now finds key components in breast milk that promote healthy infant growth and how interactions with the gut bacteria drive this process. |
| Engineered mini-stomachs produce insulin in mice Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:22 AM PST Researchers have spent decades trying to replace the insulin-producing pancreatic cells, called beta cells, that are lost in diabetes. Now researchers have discovered that tissue from the lower stomach has the greatest potential to be reprogrammed into a beta-cell state. The researchers took samples of this tissue from mice and grew them into 'mini-organs' that produced insulin when transplanted back into the animals. |
| Scientists eliminate core symptom of schizophrenia in mice Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:22 AM PST Researchers have successfully disrupted a genetic chain of events in a mouse model of schizophrenia and reversed memory deficits, one of the disorder's most difficult-to-treat symptoms. This discovery -- which builds upon decades of early-stage research -- could lead to more effective therapies for the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia, a psychiatric disorder that affects more than 21 million people worldwide. |
| Study pinpoints driver, potential target in aggressive pediatric leukemia subtype Posted: 18 Feb 2016 10:22 AM PST Scientists report that they have discovered inactivation of the gene EZH2 as a driver and inroad to a potential therapeutic target in aggressive pediatric leukemia subtype. |
| Is there a digital hood? Disadvantaged youth can't get away from negative interactions, whether on the street or online Posted: 18 Feb 2016 08:50 AM PST There is an alarming connection between the negative social interactions disadvantaged youth experience in both the neighborhoods they live in and on social media, new research indicates. |
| Key hurdle overcome in the development of drug against cystic fibrosis Posted: 18 Feb 2016 08:48 AM PST In people suffering from cystic fibrosis the CFTR protein is not located in the right place in mucus-producing cells: it remains inside the cell while it should be in the cell wall. Those cells secrete a tough mucus with serious consequences. However, researchers have now succeeded in conducting the CFTR to the cell walls. |
| Can ecotourism save endangered species? Posted: 18 Feb 2016 08:48 AM PST Using population viability modelling, researchers have developed a method that for the first time quantifies the impact of ecotourism on threatened species. |
| Paleo diet is dangerous, increases weight gain, diabetes expert warns Posted: 18 Feb 2016 08:47 AM PST Following a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet for just eight weeks can lead to rapid weight gain and health complications, a new mouse study has demonstrated. The study has prompted researchers to issue a warning about putting faith in so-called fad diets with little or no scientific evidence. |
| National hospital hand-washing campaign effective but expensive Posted: 18 Feb 2016 08:47 AM PST A health economics study in 50 Australian hospitals of the impact of a national hand hygiene campaign found many hospital patients were protected from a 'golden staph' infection and at least 96 years of life will be saved each year. |
| New way to better predict disease-causing mutations in human genes Posted: 18 Feb 2016 08:47 AM PST A new method has been developed that could help clinicians and scientists better predict which mutations in people's genes could cause a disease and which would remain dormant. |
| 3-D mammography improves cancer detection and cuts 'call backs' over three years Posted: 18 Feb 2016 08:47 AM PST The increased cancer detection and reduced call backs associated with 3-D mammography, also known as Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT), can be maintained years after a patient's first DBT screening with regularly scheduled DBT imaging, according to a new study. |
| Untreated high blood pressure significantly increases risk of bleeding stroke Posted: 18 Feb 2016 08:47 AM PST Untreated high blood pressure significantly increased the risk of a bleeding stroke, compared to patients without high blood pressure, regardless of race. Even when high blood pressure was treated, blacks and Hispanics had a higher chance of a bleeding stroke than whites. |
| Hair sampling shows unintended 'bath salt' use Posted: 18 Feb 2016 07:28 AM PST An American team of researchers is the first to examine whether ecstasy users are unknowingly or unintentionally using "bath salts" and/or other novel psychoactive drugs. |
| With help, tigers clawing back in Southeast Asia Posted: 18 Feb 2016 07:28 AM PST A new study finds that a depleted tiger population in Thailand is rebounding thanks to enhanced protection measures. |
| Novel combination of ingredients may offer greater support for infant brain development Posted: 18 Feb 2016 07:25 AM PST A novel combination of prebiotics, milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), and lactoferrin added to a DHA- and ARA-containing formula fed to piglets, advanced overall brain development compared to piglets who were fed a formula containing only DHA and ARA (both omega fatty acids that are now standard in infant formula), report researchers. |
| Longest-lasting stellar eclipse: Three-and-a-half year eclipses in binary system Posted: 18 Feb 2016 07:25 AM PST Astronomers have discovered an unnamed pair of stars that sets a new record for both the longest duration stellar eclipse (3.5 years) and longest period between eclipses (69 years) in a binary system. |
| When negotiating, it pays to know your customer Posted: 18 Feb 2016 07:25 AM PST Automobile sales personnel who are trained to understand a customer's price sensitivity will strike a better deal for their employers when negotiating the price of a car, shows new research. |
| New clues in the hunt for the sources of cosmic neutrinos Posted: 18 Feb 2016 06:16 AM PST Incredibly dense and powerful objects beyond our Milky Way Galaxy may prevent the escape of high-energy gamma rays that accompany the production of the cosmic neutrinos detected on Earth by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory buried deep in the Antarctic ice sheet, according to a new article. |
| CEOs from highest social class take the most risks, new study finds Posted: 18 Feb 2016 05:42 AM PST Origins of social class explain risk-taking behavior – good or bad – by the top executive at the largest U.S. public corporations, a new study explains. In a survey of 265 chief executive officers, researchers found that CEOs with lower and upper social-class origins take greater strategic risks than those who grew up in middle-class families. Within the two high-risk categories, CEOs with upper social-class origins engage in higher levels of strategic risk-taking than their lower social-class counterparts. |
| Eye movement affected in former childhood cancer patients Posted: 18 Feb 2016 05:36 AM PST Commonly used chemo toxins impair the eyesight in childhood cancer survivors in a way that indicates an impact on the central nervous system, new research confirms. |
| Red meat metabolite levels high in acute heart failure patients, research shows Posted: 18 Feb 2016 05:35 AM PST Patients with acute heart failure often have high levels of the metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) – of which red meat is a major dietary source - according to researchers. |
| Participatory governance in planning processes: How do public administrations learn? Posted: 18 Feb 2016 05:35 AM PST The necessity of strong public participation in planning processes of public authorities has been generally recognized in recent years. It is an area in which public authorities are still undergoing a learning process, since best practice knowledge on shaping and implementing participatory processes is scarce. A study now shows how these learning processes take place at the level of German federal states. |
| Good but few and underpaid: Female inventors gain 14% less than men Posted: 18 Feb 2016 05:35 AM PST New research calls for actions to ensure equal wages for equally performing or skilled employees and to encourage female students to engage in scientific studies, as females are only 4.2% of inventors. |
| Independence and mobility key for older drivers report finds Posted: 18 Feb 2016 05:35 AM PST The majority of older drivers want to continue driving as long as they are able to safely, according to a new report. |
