Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a very severe disease that mainly affects the motor system. Recently the focus of public attention thanks to a viral campaign (remember last summer's ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?), ALS leads to progressive paralysis and ultimately death. Among the lesser known symptoms of the disease are cognitive impairments, which may even involve full-blown dementia. One of them is a selective difficulty in understanding and using verbs denoting actions, which these patients find much more challenging to process compared to nouns denoting objects. ...

This news release is available in German. How can a sequence of dance steps best be learned? This question was the subject of a project led by researchers from Bielefeld University and the Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, who developed the study along with dancers and dance instructors. Together they researched whether dancers learn a dance sequence better by seeing or by listening, that is, if a dance instructor first demonstrates the sequence, or if he or she first gives a spoken explanation. The research article detailing the results of this study was recently ...

Through the careful study of modern and early fossil tortoise, researchers now have a better understanding of how tortoises breathe and the evolutionary processes that helped shape their unique breathing apparatus and tortoise shell. The findings published in a paper, titled: Origin of the unique ventilatory apparatus of turtles, in the scientific journal, Nature Communications, on Friday, 7 November 2014, help determine when and how the unique breathing apparatus of tortoises evolved. Lead author Dr Tyler Lyson of Wits University's Evolutionary Studies Institute, the ...

Being shown pictures of others being loved and cared for reduces the brain's response to threat, new research from the University of Exeter has found. The study discovered that when individuals are briefly presented pictures of others receiving emotional support and affection, the brain's threat monitor, the amygdala, subsequently does not respond to images showing threatening facial expressions or words. This occurred even if the person was not paying attention to the content of the first pictures. Forty-two healthy individuals participated in the study, in which ...

Last year CERN announced the finding of a new elementary particle, the Higgs particle. But maybe it wasn't the Higgs particle, maybe it just looks like it. And maybe it is not alone. Many calculations indicate that the particle discovered last year in the CERN particle accelerator was indeed the famous Higgs particle. Physicists agree that the CERN experiments did find a new particle that had never been seen before, but according to an international research team, there is no conclusive evidence that the particle was indeed the Higgs particle. The research team has ...

This news release is available in German. Microbiologists and molecular biologists at ETH Zurich and the University of Bonn have discovered a new agent in fungi that kills bacteria. The substance, known as copsin, has the same effect as traditional antibiotics, but belongs to a different class of biochemical substances. Copsin is a protein, whereas traditional antibiotics are often non-protein organic compounds. The researchers led by Markus Aebi, Professor of Mycology, discovered the substance in the common inky cap mushroom Coprinopsis cinerea that grows on horse ...

An international research project, which includes researchers from the U. of Granada, has proved the need for campaigns to persuade parents of the benefits involved in having their children walk to school. This also includes work on the perception about the security of the paths their children need to follo won the way to school. This research points out, besides, the need for public administrations to actively campaign to persuade children and their families to walk more often as part of their daily routines. Many different surveys have demonstrated that walking to school ...

Since suitable studies are lacking, it remains unclear in which sperm analysis parameters assisted reproduction using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can be superior to in vitro fertilization (IVF). This is the conclusion of the final report published by the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) on 6 November 2014. Benefit assessment depending on parameters The Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) commissioned IQWiG with the examination of two research questions: First, the researchers were to assess the benefit of ICSI in comparison with IVF ...

Eribulin (trade name: Halaven) is approved for women with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer in whom the disease has progressed despite prior drug therapy. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined in a dossier assessment whether the drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy in these patient groups. According to the findings, there are both positive and negative effects. There is proof of minor added benefit for one group of patients. For other groups, there are hints or indications of lesser ...

The current classification system for colorectal cancer, which is based on genetic expression profiles, cannot be used to predict drug responses to FOLFIRI. This is the conclusion reached by a team from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), formed by members from the Gastrointestinal Cancer Clinical Research Unit and the Structural Computational Biology Group. The study, published this week in the journal Nature Medicine, will assist oncologists in making better-informed decisions regarding how to treat their colorectal cancer patients in the clinic. Conclusions ...

Published in Nature Biotechnology, the study showed that specially engineered lipid (fat) bodies, called liposomes, can be used to prevent bacterial toxins from killing human cells. This could prevent unnecessary deaths from diseases such as pneumonia and sepsis. The treatment is a valuable alternative to current medications, particularly for infections that have become resistant to antibiotics. The bacterial toxins, produced by major human pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumonia, Streptococcus pyogenes and Methicillin Resistant Staphlycoccus aureus (MRSA) were ...

During hibernation, dormice enter into 'torpor' to save energy and water. In this state, the dormice become inactive and show a marked decrease in their metabolic rate, causing their body temperature to reduce. Torpor was then found to be a strategy used when food availability was limited. The researchers compared two groups of juveniles born late in the season - one able to feed freely and the other intermittently fasted on alternate days. The fasted dormice showed considerably greater use of torpor, enabling them to maintain high growth rates and accumulate sufficient ...

Muscle-specific protein cofilin-2 controls the length of actin filaments in muscle cells. Sliding of myosin and actin filaments past each other provides the force for muscle contraction. In contrast to most non-muscle cells, the actin filaments in muscle sarcomeres are of precise length and relatively stable. Defects in the organization of these actin filament arrays result in various heart and muscle disorders, such as myopathies. The research group of professor Pekka Lappalainen at Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, has now revealed a new mechanism ...

Bethesda, MD -- After many generations, rats bred for their bad attitude behave differently from those selected for a calm demeanor around humans. Research published November 7 in the journal GENETICS identifies gene regions that contribute to differences between nasty and nice rats in their behavior and the activity of genes in the brain. These results may provide important clues as to which genes make tame animals like dogs behave so differently from their wild ancestors. "Tameness is one trait that all domestic animals share. Whether it's pigs or cats or horses, domestication ...

This news release is available in Spanish. Legal restriction of abortion has a negative connotation since the idea of women resorting to illegal abortion -risking their own lives- is strongly rooted in the public opinion worldwide. However, a series of independently peer-reviewed articles, challenge this notion in some countries. The latest data in this subject have been discussed by the Chilean epidemiologist Elard Koch, Director of Research of the MELISA Institute, in the current issue of the official journal of the Chilean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology. ...

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 7, 2014 - Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYGN) today presented results from a prospective clinical utility study of its Myriad myPath Melanoma test at the 2014 American Society of Dermatopathology (ASDP) annual meeting in Chicago, Ill. Myriad myPath Melanoma is a genetic test that differentiates malignant melanoma from benign skin lesions across all major melanoma subtypes. Key findings of this clinical utility study included a 43 percent reduction in indeterminate diagnoses and a 49 percent change in physicians' treatment recommendations for ...

Scientists from the RIKEN BioResource Center in Tsukuba, Japan, have discovered that a single mutation in the beta-catenin gene, which codes a protein known to be deeply involved in a number of developmental and homeostatic processes, can lead to infertility not through a disruption of the production of egg or sperm cells, but rather by leading to abnormalities in the morphology of the sexual organs, making natural reproduction impossible. Beta-catenin is an essential protein in the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway, which has been shown in mice to be involved in the ...

It arises from what scientists previously described as "junk DNA" or "the dark matter of the genome," but this gene is definitely not junk. The gene GAS5 acts as a brake on steroid hormone receptors, making it a key player in diseases such as hormone-sensitive prostate and breast cancer. Unlike many genes scientists are familiar with, GAS5 does not encode a protein. It gets transcribed into RNA, like other genes, but with GAS5 the RNA is what's important, not the protein. The RNA accumulates in cells subjected to stress and soaks up steroid hormone receptors, preventing ...

The present-day extinct ancestors of turtles had a flexible ribcage and breathed, like us, by alternately expanding and contracting the lungs and thorax. The development of a solid shell on the back and belly, however, rendered this kind of respiratory process impossible. Today's turtles breathe with the aid of a muscle sling attached to the shell, which contracts and relaxes to aerate the lungs. An international team of researchers from North American, African and European institutes and museums have now discovered the origin of this muscle sling: in Eunotosaurus africanus, ...

New research published today in the journal Nature Communications, has demonstrated how glass can be manipulated to create a material that will allow computers to transfer information using light. This development could significantly increase computer processing speeds and power in the future. The research by the University of Surrey, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and the University of Southampton, has found it is possible to change the electronic properties of amorphous chalcogenides, a glass material integral to data technologies such as CDs and ...

A new study suggests that the flightless birds named moa were completely extinct by the time New Zealand's human population had grown to two and half thousand people at most. The new findings, which appear in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, incorporate results of research by international teams involved in two major projects led by Professor Richard Holdaway (Palaecol Research Ltd and University of Canterbury) and Mr Chris Jacomb (University of Otago), respectively. The researchers calculate that the Polynesians whose activities caused moa extinction ...

ATLANTA, GA (November 7, 2014) - Many people have been told, incorrectly, that they're allergic to penicillin, but have not had allergy testing. These people are often given alternative antibiotics prior to surgery to ward off infection. But when antibiotic choices are limited due to resistance, treatment alternatives may be more toxic, more expensive and less effective. According to two studies presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, people who believe they have a penicillin allergy would benefit from consultation ...

ATLANTA, GA (November 7, 2014) - Asthma symptoms affect an estimated 26 million Americans and are one of the leading causes of work and school absences. People who suffer from asthma know it's a challenge to make sure symptoms are under control at all times. And it's even a challenge to know where to get the best information on how to do that. According to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, teens and caregivers have different levels of health literacy, and teens don't necessarily get their information ...

ATLANTA, GA (November 7, 2014) - Last year's long, harsh winter was brutal, and caused some experts to predict the "polar vortex" would turn into the "pollen vortex," and make allergy sufferers more miserable than ever before. But the "pollen vortex" didn't happen - at least not everywhere. According to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, the spring pollen count in Ontario, Canada was not higher than usual, and in fact, was down considerably - and far lower than at any other time in the previous ...

ATLANTA, GA (November 7, 2014) - People who suffer from allergies want to keep up-to-date on the latest information regarding treatment, but it's not always easy. Some doctors don't even know fact from fiction when it comes to treating allergies. According to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, prevailing allergy myths have a long shelf life. The study surveyed 409 physicians - either in internal medicine or pediatrics - on the topic of treating allergies. The physicians all received six questions ...