ALMA's Long Baseline Campaign has produced a spectacularly detailed image of a distant galaxy being gravitationally lensed. The image shows a magnified view of the galaxy's star-forming regions, the likes of which have never been seen before at this level of detail in a galaxy so remote. The new observations are far more detailed than those made using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and reveal star-forming clumps in the galaxy equivalent to giant versions of the Orion Nebula. ALMA's Long Baseline Campaign has produced some amazing observations, and gathered unprecedentedly ...

An international, multidisciplinary team including investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) has found that lixisenatide, a member of a class of glucose-lowering drugs frequently prescribed in Europe to patients with diabetes, did not increase risk of cardiovascular events including heart failure. These results - the first to be reported on the cardiovascular safety of a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist - were presented today at the American Diabetes Association's 75th Scientific Sessions. "There are a large number of patients around the world ...

ORANGE, Calif. -- In a study just published by researchers at Chapman University, findings showed that greater life satisfaction in adults older than 50 years of age is related to a reduced risk of mortality. The researchers also found that variability in life satisfaction across time increases risk of mortality, but only among less satisfied people. The study involved nearly 4,500 participants who were followed for up to nine years. 'Although life satisfaction is typically considered relatively consistent across time, it may change in response to life circumstances ...

Glenview, Ill. (June 8, 2015)-- A Canadian study published in the June issue of the journal CHEST found weight loss reduced asthma severity as measured by airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in obese adults. The incidence of asthma is 1.47 times higher in obese people than nonobese people, and a three-unit increase in body mass index is associated with a 35% increase in the risk of asthma. The study supports the active treatment of comorbid obesity in individuals with asthma. The study, the first of its kind to rely on appropriate physiologic tests as diagnostic criteria ...

Baltimore, Md. (Embargoed until 12:30 p.m. EDT, June 8, 2015) - Imaging lung cancer requires both precision and innovation. With this aim, researchers have developed a technique for clinical positron emission tomography (PET) imaging that creates advanced whole-body parametric maps, which allow quantitative evaluation of tumors and metastases throughout the body, according to research announced at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). Scientists have developed a novel agent for cancer imaging that seeks and attaches ...

Baltimore, Md. (Embargoed until 12:30 p.m. EDT, June 8, 2015) - A first-in-human study revealed at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) shows how a powerful new drug finds and attaches itself to the ovarian and prostate cancer cells for both imaging and personalized cancer treatment. The targeted aspect of the imaging agent, called I-124 PEG-AVP0458, is a small protein (avibody) linked to polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains. The drug compound is then labeled with the radionuclide iodine-124. Drugs like PEG-AVP0458 are ...

Baltimore, Md. (Embargoed until 12:30 p.m. EDT, June 8, 2015) - Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), a potentially devastating cancer of the blood and immune system, can range from relatively easy to treat to very aggressive. For more aggressive cases, post-treatment surveillance with molecular imaging could mean the early start of a new, life-saving treatment, say researchers presenting during the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). NHL is the fifth most prevalent cancer in America, according to lead author Mehdi Taghipour, MD, ...

Baltimore, Md. (embargoed until 12:30 p.m. EDT, June 8, 2015) - Research presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) shows how a new molecular imaging agent finds prostate cancer that has spread to other tissues by locking in on an enzyme called prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), associated with prostate cancer. "To date, conventional imaging is limited in detecting prostate cancer metastasis accurately and measurably," said Neeta Pandit-Taskar, MD, co-author of the study and a researcher at Memorial Sloan ...

A recently developed tool can accurately predict the risk of death for patients within 1 year after admission to hospital using routinely collected data, reports a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "An accurate assessment of risk of death, particularly if that risk is high, could motivate and inform discussions between patients and physicians regarding goals of care," states Dr. Carl van Walraven, a researcher at the Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, who developed the tool. Researchers in Canada and the United States ...

Baltimore, Md. -- Scientists are taking medical imaging research and drug discovery to a new level by developing a molecular imaging system that combines several advanced technologies for all-in-one imaging of both tissue models and live subjects, say presenters at the 2015 annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). The preclinical and intra-vital molecular imaging system houses a window for tissue observation in addition to a larger imaging chamber. Together they are being used to peer into the microenvironment of tumors and other ...

Baltimore, Md. (Embargoed until 12:30 p.m., June 8, 2015) - The origin of cancer is often obscured by metastases--tumors that have already spread to other tissues. This is especially the case for neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), a malignancy of nerve cells scattered throughout various organ systems that are sensitive to the signaling of neurotransmitters and hormones. An investigational molecular imaging technique could be the key to finding the elusive primary tumor, say presenters at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). ...

Baltimore, Md. -- A relatively new biomarker called prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is the bullseye for three new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agents that bind to the protein in not only prostate cancer, but a range of tumor types, according to research unveiled at the 2015 annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). 'We have shown in this proof-of-concept study that PSMA could serve as a biomarker for MR-based molecular imaging due to its high concentration within target cells, limited expression within non-targeted ...

Baltimore, Md. -- Amyloid build-up is commonly talked about in relation to Alzheimer's disease, but amyloidosis can be found throughout the body. An excessive accumulation of these insoluble proteins could cause a heart attack or even death. A new molecular imaging scan of amyloid in the heart could help diagnose the problem, say researchers at the 2015 annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). The condition is called transthyretin-type (TTR) amyloidosis after the TTR gene thought to cause the over-abundance of plaque build-up. ...

Baltimore, Md. -- New research presented during the 2015 annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) demonstrates that amyloid positron emission tomography (amyloid PET) scans of the brain provide clearer diagnosis and earlier, more effective treatment for Alzheimer's patients, when results of a more conventional PET scan remain ambiguous. Researchers reviewed the clinical outcomes of two kinds of PET scans: a preliminary scan with a common radiotracer called fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), which acts like glucose in the brain to capture ...

Baltimore, Md. -- Fatal cardiac events are often preceded by abnormal blood clots, also called thrombosis. Scientists have now developed a molecular imaging technique that could save lives by revealing troublesome thrombi, according to a study presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). 'Thrombosis is the underlying cause of deadly diseases such as stroke, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis and heart attack, which affect millions of people worldwide,' said Francesco Blasi, Ph.D., lead author of the study ...

Baltimore, Md. (Embargoed until 12:30 p.m., June 8, 2015) - Neuroinflammation caused by a reactive immune system could be tripping off the neurodegeneration seen in certain dementias, multiple sclerosis, and other deadly diseases of the nervous system. A novel molecular imaging technique could be the key to understanding how best to treat these and other devastating diseases, according to a recent study presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). At the heart of this maladaptive immune response are microglia, ...

Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center are reporting a potentially important discovery in the battle against one of the most devastating forms of leukemia that accounts for as many as one in five children with a particularly aggressive form of the disease relapsing within a decade. In a cover story set to appear in the journal Cancer Cell online June 8, researchers at NYU Langone and elsewhere report that they have successfully halted and reversed the growth of certain cancerous white blood cells at the center of T-cell ...

A research group at Disney Research Pittsburgh has developed a computer vision system that, much like humans, can continuously improve its ability to recognize objects by picking up hints while watching videos. Like most other object recognition systems, the Disney system builds a conceptual model of an object, be it an airplane or a soap dispenser, by using a learning algorithm to analyze a number of example images of the object. What's different about the Disney system is that it then uses that model to identify objects, when it can, in videos. As it does, it sometimes ...

An algorithm developed through collaboration of Disney Research Pittsburgh and Boston University can improve the automated recognition of actions in a video, a capability that could aid in video search and retrieval, video analysis and human-computer interaction research. The core idea behind the new method is to express each action, whether it be a pedestrian strolling down the street or a gymnast performing a somersault, as a series of space-time patterns. These begin with elementary body movements, such as a leg moving up or an arm flexing. But these movements also ...

URBANA, Ill. - Contrary to popular belief, foreclosed properties do not always lead to unkempt lawns. University of Illinois researchers used remote sensing technology to observe rapid change in U.S. urban settings, specifically homes in Maricopa County, Arizona, that foreclosed over about a 10-year period. "We learned that when a property is foreclosed, it's more nuanced than nature just coming in and taking over," said U of I professional geographer Bethany Cutts. "Foreclosure doesn't always mean management stops." Cutts said the team of researchers chose to test ...

Tropical Cyclone 01A has been moving in a northerly direction through the Northern Indian Ocean, and is now curving to the west, moving into the Gulf of Oman. NASA's Aqua satellite and RapidScat instruments gathered imagery and data on the storm. Three days of RapidScat imagery showed how sustained winds increased around the entire storm. The first tropical cyclone of the Northern Indian Ocean Season was born on Sunday, June 7. Tropical Cyclone 1A developed near 16.3 North latitude and 68.5 East longitude, about 536 nautical miles (616.8 miles/992.7 km) south of Karachi, ...

Raising healthy chicks is always a challenge, but in a cold, fish-free Arctic lake, it's an enormous undertaking. Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) parents must constantly fly back and forth between their nesting lakes and the nearby ocean, bringing back fish to feed their growing young, and a new study suggests that the chicks grow fast and fledge while they're still small so that they can reach the food-rich ocean themselves and give their parents a break. Growing chicks must take in enough energy to move around, grow, and maintain their body temperature. The bigger ...

That weathering has to do with the weather is obvious in itself. All the more astonishing, therefore, are the research results of a group of scientists from the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences in Potsdam and Stanford University, USA, which show that variations in the weathering of rocks over the past 2 million years have been relatively uniform despite the distinct glacial and interglacial periods and the associated fluctuations in the Earth's climate. The researchers have observed a most stable behavior in marine sediments, fed year after year through the ...

Over geologic time, the work of rain and other processes that chemically dissolve rocks into constituent molecules that wash out to sea can diminish mountains and reshape continents. Scientists are interested in the rates of these chemical weathering processes because they have big implications for the planet's carbon cycle, which shuttles carbon dioxide between land, sea, and air and influences global temperatures. A new study, published online on June 8 in the journal Nature Geoscience, by a team of scientists from Stanford and Germany's GFZ Research Center for Geosciences ...

The global movement patterns of all four seasonal influenza viruses are illustrated in research published today in the journal Nature, providing a detailed account of country-to-country virus spread over the last decade and revealing unexpected differences in circulation patterns between viruses. In the study, an international team of researchers led by the University of Cambridge and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and including all five World Health Organization (WHO) Influenza Collaborating Centres, report surprising differences between the various types ...