ATLANTA – October 08, 2014 – A study from American Cancer Society researchers finds the increased risk of premature death associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) is similar for African Americans and whites, in contrast to previous, smaller studies that indicated the association may be weaker for African Americans. The study, published in the open-access, online publication PLOS ONE, finds that among never smokers without prevalent disease, overweight and obesity are strongly associated with subsequent risk of mortality in every race. The authors say ...

New Haven, Conn. - HIV is adept at eluding immune system responses because the protein it uses to infect cells is constantly changing. Now a team of researchers including scientists from Yale have stripped the cloak from this master of disguise, providing a high resolution image of this surface spike protein and monitoring how it constantly changes its shape, information that suggests new ways to attack the virus through drugs and vaccines. In two papers published simultaneously online Oct. 8 in the journals Science and Nature. team of researchers led by scientists ...

Highly-detailed radio-telescope images have pinpointed the locations where a stellar explosion called a nova emitted gamma rays, the most energetic form of electromagnetic waves. The discovery revealed a probable mechanism for the gamma-ray emissions, which mystified astronomers when first observed in 2012. "We not only found where the gamma rays came from, but also got a look at a previously-unseen scenario that may be common in other nova explosions," said Laura Chomiuk, of Michigan State University. A nova occurs when a dense white dwarf star pulls material onto ...

New research has illuminated the movement and complete structure of the spikes on HIV that the virus uses to bind to the cells it infects. This research, led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health, Weill Cornell Medical College and Yale University School of Medicine, could help advance efforts to develop HIV vaccines and treatments. Three sets of a pair of molecules called gp120 and gp41 constitute each HIV spike, which adopts different configurations before and after the virus fuses with a cell. The atomic-level structures of pre-fusion gp120 and post-fusion ...

NEW YORK — (October 8, 2014) -- Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed technologies that allow investigators, for the first time, to watch what they call the "dance" of HIV proteins on the virus' surface, which may contribute to how it infects human immune cells. Their discovery is described in the Oct. 8 issue of Science, and is also a part of a study published the same day in Nature. The new technology platform opens new possibilities for devising an approach to prevent HIV infection, says Dr. Scott Blanchard, an associate professor of physiology ...

Astronomers have discovered a black hole that is consuming gas from a nearby star 10 times faster than previously thought possible. The black hole—known as P13—lies on the outskirts of the galaxy NGC7793 about 12 million light years from Earth and is ingesting a weight equivalent to 100 billion billion hot dogs every minute. The discovery was published today in the journal Nature. International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research astronomer Dr Roberto Soria, who is based at ICRAR's Curtin University node, said that as gas falls towards a black hole it gets ...

An international team of astronomers has been able to see into the heart of an exploding star, by combining data from telescopes that are hundreds or even thousands of kilometres apart. Their results are published at 18:00 hours on Oct 8 2014 in the journal Nature. Highly-detailed images produced using radio telescopes from across Europe and America have pinpointed the locations where a stellar explosion (called a nova), emitted gamma rays (extremely high energy radiation). The discovery revealed how the gamma-ray emissions are produced, something which mystified astronomers ...

This news release is available in German. A team of ETH Zurich researchers led by professors Nenad Ban and Ruedi Aebersold have studied the highly complex molecular structure of mitoribosomes, which are the ribosomes of mitochondria. Ribosomes are found in the cells of all living organisms. However, higher organisms (eukaryotes), which include fungi, plants, animals and humans, contain much more complex ribosomes than bacteria. In eukaryotes, ribosomes can also be divided into two types: those in the cytosol – which comprises the majority of the cell – and ...

(PHILADELPHIA) – Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are ancient workhorse molecules and part of the cellular process that creates the proteins, critical building blocks of life that keep a cell running smoothly. A new discovery suggests that the number of human genomic loci that might be coding for tRNAs is nearly double what is currently known. Most of the newly identified loci resemble the sequences of mitochondrial tRNAs suggesting unexpected new links between the human nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, links that are not currently understood. Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) represent ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A study of the removal of two dams in Oregon suggests that rivers can return surprisingly fast to a condition close to their natural state, both physically and biologically, and that the biological recovery might outpace the physical recovery. The analysis, published by researchers from Oregon State University in the journal PLOS One, examined portions of two rivers – the Calapooia River and Rogue River. It illustrated how rapidly rivers can recover, both from the long-term impact of the dam and from the short-term impact of releasing stored ...

Alexandria, Va. — When Francisco Pizarro landed in Peru in 1532, his band of Spanish conquistadors set off a chain of far-reaching consequences for the people and economics of western South America. The Chira Beach-Ridge Plain in northwestern Peru is rippled by a set of nine ridges — several meters tall by up to 300 meters wide and 40 kilometers long, and large enough to be visible from space — running parallel to the shoreline. The pattern, observed along at least five other Peruvian beaches, was thought to have formed naturally over the past 5,000 years. ...

Reports of insomnia are common among the elderly, but a new study finds that sleep problems may stem from the quality of rest and other health concerns more than the overall amount of sleep that patients get. An estimated 30 percent of adults report having some symptoms of insomnia, which includes difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early and then not feeling well rested during the daytime. Prior studies suggest that nearly half of older adults report at least one insomnia symptom and that lack of restorative sleep might be linked to heart disease, ...

As the effects of a changing climate become acute, organizations charged with overseeing refuge areas must take action to adapt. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) maintains the National Wildlife Refuge System, which constitutes world's largest system of protected lands and waters. According to a November BioScience article by Robert Fischman and Vicky Meretsky of Indiana University and their coauthors, the service may not always be adequately planning for an altered future, but best practices from several plans point the way for improvement. For instance, existing ...

Using a high-throughput screening assay, EPFL scientists have discovered two small molecules that could overcome the multidrug resistance of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), which commonly infects the lungs. In 2012, the World Health Organization estimated that tuberculosis affected 8.6 million people worldwide, causing death in 1.4 million. However, the fight against the disease is hampered by the fact that treatment requires a long time and that Mtb often develops ...

(NEW YORK, NY, Oct. 8, 2014) – Nursing home infection rates are on the rise, a study from Columbia University School of Nursing found, suggesting that more must be done to protect residents of these facilities from preventable complications. The study, which examined infections in U.S. nursing homes over a five-year period, found increased infection rates for pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTIs), viral hepatitis, septicemia, wound infections, and multiple drug-resistant organisms (MDROs). "Infections are a leading cause of deaths and complications for nursing ...

URBANA, Ill. – Because of its aggressive behavior and its harmful effects, the invasive prairie plant Lespedeza cuneata has been added to several noxious weed lists. Research at the University of Illinois on how soil bacteria interact with the plants' roots to form nodules that fix nitrogen demonstrated that the invasive variety had superior performance when pitted against the native plant variety Lespedeza virginica. "We expected Lespedeza cuneata to be a strong competitor when up against its native cousin that's planted primarily for prairie restoration," ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine have identified epigenetic protein changes caused by binge drinking, a discovery that could lead to treatments for alcohol-related liver diseases. "We know that chronic alcohol use is damaging to the liver, but binge drinking amplifies that damage," said Shivendra Shukla, Ph.D., Margaret Proctor Mulligan Professor at the MU School of Medicine and lead author of the study. Excessive alcohol use is one of the most common causes of chronic liver failure. Long-term liver damage from alcohol ...

This news release is available in German. It does seem slightly odd at first: you hold the phone in one hand, and move the other in the air above its built-in camera making gestures that resemble sign language. Sometimes you move your index finger to the left, sometimes to the right. You can spread out your fingers, or imitate a pair of pliers or the firing of a pistol. These gestures are not, however, intended for communicating with deaf people; they are for controlling your smartphone. By mimicking the firing of a pistol, for example, a user can switch to another ...

The remnants of Hurricane Simon were fanning out over the desert Southwestern U.S. on Oct. 8 and NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared data on the thunderstorms expected to bring flash flooding. NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) indicated on Oct. 8, that Simon's remnants would be bringing heavy rain and the possibility of flash flooding to the desert Southwest. NWS noted "Moisture associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Simon will bring showers and isolated thunderstorms to parts of the Desert Southwest on Wednesday. Rainfall totals of up to an inch or more ...

A government program to provide health insurance for catastrophic illness to households below the poverty line in Karnataka, lowered both mortality rates and out-of-pocket expenses for the residents, according to a recent evaluation published in the leading global health journal The BMJ. The program is implemented by the Karnataka government with support from the World Bank Group. An evaluation of the program, the Vajpayee Arogyashree Scheme (VAS), funded by the World Bank Group and led by Neeraj Sood, professor and director of research at the USC Schaeffer Center for ...

The sports media's positive reaction to the hiring of a female referee in professional football is a good sign, according to a Penn State researcher, but did little to help expose deeper issues that hinder greater acceptance of women in sports. In a study of online stories and posts about the hiring of Shannon Eastin as an NFL official during the 2012 referee's union strike, Dunja Antunovic, a doctoral candidate in mass communications, said that the media mostly celebrated her NFL debut. "It was generally positive," said Antunovic. "However, it might be a mistake to ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The risk of developing cancer in a salivary gland might be higher in people with mutations in either of two genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer, according to a new study by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James). Although salivary gland cancer is rare, this retrospective study suggests it occurs 17 times more often in people with inherited mutations in genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2, than those in the general ...

It is estimated that as many as half of patients taking cancer drugs experience a decrease in mental sharpness. While there have been many theories, what causes "chemo brain" has eluded scientists. In an effort to solve this mystery, neuroscientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) conducted an experiment in an animal memory model and their results point to a possible explanation. Findings appeared in The Journal of Neuroscience. In the study involving a sea snail that shares many of the same memory mechanisms as humans and a drug ...

Certain types of corals, invertebrates of the sea that have been on Earth for millions of years, appear to have found a way to survive some of their most destructive threats by attaching to and growing under mangrove roots. Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and Eckerd College recently published research on a newly discovered refuge for reef-building corals in mangrove habitats of the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than 30 species of reef corals were found growing in Hurricane Hole, a mangrove habitat within the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument in St. John. Corals ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new study offers fresh insights into how talking on a cell phone or to a passenger while driving affects one's performance behind the wheel. The study used a driving simulator and videophone to assess how a driver's conversation partner influences safety on the road. "We've done years of study on driver distraction, and previous studies suggest that passengers often aren't distracting. In fact, passengers can be helpful, especially if they're adults who have had experience and also are active drivers themselves," said University of Illinois psychology ...