EUGENE, Ore. -- Large-scale organic farming operations, based on a review of almost a decade of data from 49 states, are not reducing greenhouse gas emissions, says a University of Oregon researcher. The increasing numbers of commercialized organic operations -- which still make up just 3 percent of total agricultural lands -- appear to contribute to increased and more intense levels of greenhouse gases coming from each acre of farmland, reports Julius McGee, a doctoral student in the UO sociology department. His study appeared in the June issue of the journal Agriculture ...

A new study published in Marketing Science, a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), finds that peer influence among physicians can affect both trial and repeat prescription behavior of a risky new prescription drug. The study, Social Contagion in New Product Trial and Repeat, tracks prescriptions of a new drug over 17 months, and measures the discussion and patient referral connections among physicians in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The research was conducted by professors Raghuram Iyengar and Christophe ...

University of Leicester psychologist describes unique case as new to science 38-year-old fit and healthy man suffered memory loss after local anaesthetic and root-canal treatment at dentist For the past decade he can only remember up to 90 minutes And he awakes each day thinking it is the same day he went to the dentist Symptoms are akin to those depicted in movies such as Groundhog Day and Memento There is no evidence that the treatment at the dentist can be blamed for his condition "One of our reasons for writing up this individual's case was that we ...

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lung diseases are the third most common cause of death worldwide: toxic particles, infections, and chronic inflammatory responses pose a permanent threat to our lungs. To date, the regenerative mechanisms leading to healing of lung injury remain incompletely understood. Since few to no causal therapies are in place for most lung diseases, it is important to understand how these healing processes, which involve initial inflammation, fibrosis, and then resolution thereof, occur in the lung. Using novel mass spectrometry ...

A team of scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has found that blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) have strong antibacterial effect on major foodborne pathogens, and are most effective when in cold temperatures (between 4°C and 15°C) and mildly acidic conditions of around pH 4.5. This opens up novel possibilities of using blue LEDs as a chemical-free food preservation method. Acidic foods such as fresh-cut fruits and ready-to-eat meat can be preserved under blue LEDs in combination with chilling temperatures without requiring further chemical ...

A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that women with low levels of an anti-stress hormone have an increased risk of getting breast cancer. The study is the first of its kind on humans and confirms previous similar observations from animal experiments. The recent findings on a potential new marker for the risk of developing breast cancer are presented in the renowned Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study focused on a hormone which circulates freely in the blood, enkephalin, with pain- and anxiety-reducing properties. Enkephalin also reinforces the immune ...

Despite modern chemoradiation therapy it is still very difficult to give reliable prognoses for malignant gliomas. Surgical removal of the glioma is still the preferred method of treatment. Doctors at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen's Department of Neurosurgery have now developed a new procedure for analysing radiological imaging scans which makes it possible to predict the course of a disease relatively precisely. Their findings have now been published in the journal 'Scientific Reports'.* The Friedlein Grading A/B (FGA/B) classification system - named after the physician ...

July 14, 2015 - Studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques are beginning to reveal differences in brain connectivity--the ways that different parts of the brain are connected to each other and work together--in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), reports a review in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. Some common themes are beginning to emerge from research on structural and functional brain connectivity in ASD, according to David Kennedy, PhD, and colleagues of University of Massachusetts Medical School. ...

July 14, 2015 - More than 80 percent of people with depression in the general population aren't eligible for clinical trials of antidepressant drugs, according to a study in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. At least five patients would need to be screened to enroll just one patient meeting the typical inclusion and exclusion criteria for antidepressant registration trials (ARTs), suggests the new research by Drs. Sheldon Preskorn and Matthew Macaluso of University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita and Dr. Madhukar Trivedi ...

July 14, 2015 - Benzodiazepine drugs are widely used in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but available evidence suggests that they are not effective--and may even be harmful, concludes a systematic review and meta-analysis in the July Journal of Psychiatric Practice. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. "Benzodiazepines are ineffective for PTSD treatment and prevention, and risks associated with their use tend to outweigh potential short-term benefits," write Dr. Jeffrey Guina and colleagues from Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. They also ...

Collision physics can be like a game of billiards. Yet in the microscopic world, the outcome of the game is hard to predict. Fire a particle at a group of other particles, and they may scatter, combine or break apart, according to probability distributions governed by quantum mechanics. These processes can tell us about fundamental properties of matter and, if antimatter projectiles are used, also about matter-antimatter interactions. Scientists at UCL have finally answered one of the basic questions that has remained outstanding until now: if, in a collision with matter, ...

CHICAGO-- Algae is evolving as the next new alternative protein source consumers are anxious to bite into as an ingredient in crackers, snack bars, cereals and breads, according to a July 12th presentation at IFT15: Where Science Feeds Innovation hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in Chicago. Algae, quinoa and pulses are considered by some food technologists to be the best protein sources and strong alternatives to slow meat consumption, reduce food waste and help feed the world's growing population. Algae is a new vegan source of protein with a comparable ...

Recent research has warned of the health detriments associated with sitting for long stretches of time at the office, but what about the nearly half of all employees worldwide who are required to stand for more than 75% of their workdays? Prolonged standing is associated with short-term adverse health issues, including reports of fatigue, leg cramps, and backaches, which can affect job performance and cause significant discomfort. A new study published in Human Factors suggests that, over time, this type of sustained muscle fatigue can result in serious health consequences. "The ...

James Cook University researchers are creating a buzz in bee research, gluing tiny transmitters to the backs of the insects for the first time. Lead researcher, JCU's Dr Lori Lach, said the team glued Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) chips to the backs of 960 bees, providing new insights into how disease affects the threatened insects. "We just had to hold them in our hands and hope the glue dried quickly. It was actually quite a process - they had to be individually painted, then individually fed, then the tag glued on. Then individually scanned so we knew which ...

A new report to state lawmakers on hydraulic fracturing in California provides an important road map for scientists as they strive to produce energy while protecting human health and the environment, according to a scientist with appointments at University of the Pacific and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. William T. Stringfellow, director of the Environmental Measurements Laboratory at Lawrence Berkeley and a professor of engineering at Pacific, was part of a team of scientists who prepared the state-mandated independent assessment of oil well stimulation treatments, ...

PITTSBURGH, July 14, 2015 - People diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in later childhood have weaker brain connectivity in midlife compared to those who were diagnosed at earlier ages according to a University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences study. The findings are reported in a special issue of Psychosomatic Medicine that is focused on diabetes, obesity and the brain. Sixty-six middle-aged adults (ages 32 to 58) who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as children participated in the study. "Other studies have shown an association between earlier onset ...

As part of the Government's Summer Budget, the Chancellor, George Osborne, confirmed funding for six new multidisciplinary research centres - worth a total of £45 million with partner contributions - that will drive forward the UK's Digital Economy research, knowledge and skills. Designed to help create and deliver real-world impact, the £23 million investment will come via The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and will support the centres over the next five years. The centres will be hosted by the Universities of York, Bath, and ...

How heat travels, matters. Yet, there is still no consensus on the exact physical mechanism that causes anomalous heat conduction - despite the existence of previous numerical simulation, theoretical predictions and experimental observations. Now, a team based in Asia has demonstrated that electron transport depends on temperature. It follows a scaling governed by a power law - and not the exponential scaling previously envisaged. These findings were recently published in EPJ B by Yunyun Li Tongji University, Shanghai, China, and colleagues in Singapore. Heat conduction ...

Kyoto, Japan - A group led by Assistant Professor Dan Ohtan Wang from Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) in Japan successfully visualized RNA behavior and its response to drugs within the living tissue brain of live mice by labeling specific RNA molecules with fluorescent probes. Their study, published in Nucleic Acids Research, can potentially lead to faster, and more accurate screening processes for the discovery and development of new drugs. RNA is a molecule that plays a key role within a living organism, holding information ...

BOSTON (July 13) - A study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that genetic test results, as revealed by non-invasive prenatal testing for fetal chromosome abnormalities, may detect underlying conditions in the mother, including cancer. The study reports on a case series of eight women who had abnormal noninvasive prenatal testing results. Their fetuses had normal chromosomes; retrospective genomic analysis showed the results were due to undiagnosed cancers in the mothers. A team of scientists and clinicians, led by Diana W. Bianchi, ...

AURORA, Colo. (July 14, 2015) - A new study by a team of researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus found that long-term stimulant abuse had more significant effects on brain volume in women compared with men. For the study, Jody Tanabe, MD, professor of radiology, and her colleagues sought to determine how the brains of people previously dependent on stimulants were different from the brains of healthy people. The results were published online in the journal Radiology. "We specifically wanted to determine how these brain ...

CHICAGO--Consumers who get fiber from many sources--both naturally occurring and added in manufacturing--may benefit more than people who limit their intake to a single type, according to a July 12th symposium at IFT15: Where Science Feeds Innovation hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in Chicago. Researchers have found that Americans fall woefully short of the recommended amount of dietary fiber per day--38 grams for men and 25 grams for women. Men typically get around 18 grams and women get around 15 grams, said Julie Miller Jones, Ph.D, LN, CNS, professor ...

The CORRECT study, published ahead of print online today in The Lancet Oncology, is one of the largest trials to date comparing data provided by liquid versus tissue biopsy in metastatic colorectal cancer patients. According to the study, liquid biopsy (BEAMing technology) could become an essential tool for analyzing tumor genotypes in real time, and identifying significant mutations that occur during the course of disease and are not detected by tissue biopsy. The results of the phase III study, co-directed by Josep Tabernero, Head of the Vall d'Hebron University ...

Funeral directors, who prepare bodies for burial, may be at heightened risk of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS for short, as a result of the formaldehyde used in embalming fluid, suggests research published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, was the subject of last year's ice bucket challenge. It is progressive, causing muscle weakness, paralysis, and eventually respiratory failure and death. There is no cure for the condition, which is thought to affect 450,000 people ...

One in four dogs competing in the world's largest canine show (Crufts) is overweight, despite the perception that entrants are supposed to represent ideal specimens of their breed, reveals research published online in Veterinary Record. The widespread dissemination of show dog images online may be 'normalising' obesity in dogs, now recognised to be a common canine disorder, say the researchers. As in people, obesity in dogs has been linked to orthopaedic problems, diabetes, respiratory disease, and certain types of cancer. It also affects both the quality and length ...