As nocturnal animals, bats are perfectly adapted to a life without light. They emit echolocation sounds and use the delay between the reflected echoes to measure distance to obstacles or prey. In their brains, they have a spatial map representing different echo delays. A study carried out by researchers at Technische Universität München (TUM) has shown for the first time that this map dynamically adapts to external factors. Closer objects appear larger When a bat flies in too close to an object, the number of activated neurons in its brain increases. As a result, ...

The week-long discussions and decisions of the Nomenclature Section of the XVIII International Botanical Congress took place in Melbourne, Australia in July 2011. This meeting is held every six years and it is where the world's premier experts on the rules for naming algae, fungi and plants get together to debate and update the rule book for naming the organisms they study. This is the primary product of the meeting, the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, which was published in 2012. The other important product is the official report for the ...

Some 40 scientists and technicians from around the world will descend on Jordan in November to take part in a simulated on-site inspection of a suspected nuclear test site on the banks of the Dead Sea. Playing the part of inspectors, the experts will have access to a wide range of sensor technologies to look for signs of whether a nuclear explosion has taken place. At the same time, other role-players representing the state under inspection will try to put them off their scent. The aim of this elaborate exercise, as science writer Edwin Cartlidge explains in this month's ...

New research which finds that invisible blood in urine may be an early warning sign of bladder cancer is likely to shape guidelines for clinicians. Scientists at the University of Exeter Medical School found that one in 60 people over the age of 60 who had invisible blood in their urine (identified by their GP testing their urine) transpired to have bladder cancer. The figure was around half those who had visible blood in their urine – the best known indicator of bladder cancer. However, it was still higher than figures for other potential symptoms of bladder cancer ...

Scientists at the University of Warwick have discovered that 'good' cholesterol is turned 'bad' by a sugar-derived substance. The substance, methylglyoxal - MG, was found to damage 'good' HDL cholesterol, which removes excess levels of bad cholesterol from the body. Low levels of HDL, High Density Lipoprotein, are closely linked to heart disease, with increased levels of MG being common in the elderly and those with diabetes or kidney problems. Supported by funding from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and published in Nutrition and Diabetes, the researchers ...

A new blood test provides a fast and accurate tool to diagnose tuberculosis in children, a new proof-of-concept study shows. The newly developed test (TAM-TB assay) is the first reliable immunodiagnostic assay to detect active tuberculosis in children. The test features excellent specificity, a similar sensitivity as culture tests in combination with speed of a blood test. The promising findings are a major advance for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in children, particularly in tuberculosis-endemic regions. The study has been published on Sept 1st, 2014 in Lancet Infectious ...

A fast-sensitive "electronic-nose" for sniffing the highly infectious bacteria C. diff, that causes diarrhoea, temperature and stomach cramps, has been developed by a team at the University of Leicester. Using a mass spectrometer, the research team has demonstrated that it is possible to identify the unique 'smell' of C. diff which would lead to rapid diagnosis of the condition. What is more, the Leicester team say it could be possible to identify different strains of the disease simply from their smell – a chemical fingerprint - helping medics to target the particular ...

'Green' offices with plants make staff happier and more productive than 'lean' designs stripped of greenery, new research shows. In the first field study of its kind, published today, researchers found enriching a 'lean' office with plants could increase productivity by 15%. The team examined the impact of 'lean' and 'green' offices on staff's perceptions of air quality, concentration, and workplace satisfaction, and monitored productivity levels over subsequent months in two large commercial offices in the UK and The Netherlands. Lead researcher Marlon Nieuwenhuis, ...

New research launched today, 1st September 2014, has concluded that there are seven key issues that need to be addressed to ensure the future success of doctor revalidation, the most profound revision in medical regulation since the Medical Act of 1858. The research has been funded by the Health Foundation, an independent health care charity, as part of a long-term programme looking at different aspects of revalidation. The work has been carried out by academics at the Collaboration for the Advancement of Medical Education, Research and Assessment (CAMERA) at Plymouth ...

When we learn, we associate a sensory experience either with other stimuli or with a certain type of behaviour. The neurons in the cerebral cortex that transmit the information modify the synaptic connections that they have with the other neurons. According to a generally-accepted model of synaptic plasticity, a neuron that communicates with others of the same kind emits an electrical impulse as well as activating its synapses transiently. This electrical pulse, combined with the signal received from other neurons, acts to stimulate the synapses. How is it that some neurons ...

One of the greatest challenges in modern medicine is developing drugs that are highly effective against a target, but with minimal toxicity and side-effects to the patient. Such properties are directly related to the 3D structure of the drug molecule. Ideally, the drug should have a shape that is perfectly complementary to a disease-causing target, so that it binds it with high specificity. Publishing in Nature Chemistry, EPFL scientists have developed a synthetic amino acid that can impact the 3D structure of bioactive peptides and enhance their potency. Peptides and ...

When they are not busy attacking us, germs go after each other. But when viruses invade bacteria, it doesn't always spell disaster for the infected microbes: Sometimes viruses actually carry helpful genes that a bacterium can harness to, say, expand its diet or better attack its own hosts. Scientists have assumed the bacterial version of an immune system would robotically destroy anything it recognized as invading viral genes. However, new experiments at Rockefeller University have now revealed that one variety of the bacterial immune system known as the CRISPR-Cas system ...

VIDEO: This 11-second movie shows a computational simulation of a collision of two converging streams of interstellar gas, leading to collapse and formation of a star cluster at the center. Face-on... Click here for more information. Stars are made mostly of hydrogen and helium, but they also contain trace amounts of other elements, such as carbon, oxygen, iron, and even more exotic substances. By carefully measuring the wavelengths (colors) of light coming from a star, astronomers ...

VIDEO: This computer simulation shows the collision of two streams of interstellar gas, leading to gravitational collapse of the gas and the formation of a star cluster at the center. The... Click here for more information. The chemical uniformity of stars in the same cluster is the result of turbulent mixing in the clouds of gas where star formation occurs, according to a study by astrophysicists at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Their results, published August 31 in ...

A new study of satellite data from the last 19 years reveals that fresh water from melting glaciers has caused the sea-level around the coast of Antarctica to rise by 2cm more than the global average of 6cm. Researchers at the University of Southampton detected the rapid rise in sea-level by studying satellite scans of a region that spans more than a million square kilometres. The melting of the Antarctic ice sheet and the thinning of floating ice shelves has contributed an excess of around 350 gigatonnes of freshwater to the surrounding ocean. This has led to a reduction ...

A new study, published today in Nature Climate Change, suggests that – if current trends continue – food production alone will reach, if not exceed, the global targets for total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2050. The study's authors say we should all think carefully about the food we choose and its environmental impact. A shift to healthier diets across the world is just one of a number of actions that need to be taken to avoid dangerous climate change and ensure there is enough food for all. As populations rise and global tastes shift towards meat-heavy Western ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Over the past several decades, malaria diagnosis has changed very little. After taking a blood sample from a patient, a technician smears the blood across a glass slide, stains it with a special dye, and looks under a microscope for the Plasmodium parasite, which causes the disease. This approach gives an accurate count of how many parasites are in the blood — an important measure of disease severity — but is not ideal because there is potential for human error. A research team from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) has now ...

This news release is available in French. Montréal, August 31, 2014 – A study just published in the prestigious Nature Neuroscience journal by, Sylvain Williams, PhD, and his team, of the Research Centre of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and McGill University, opens the door towards better understanding of the neural circuitry and dynamic mechanisms controlling memory as well of the role of an essential element of the hippocampus – a sub-region named the subiculum. In 2009, they developed a unique approach – namely, the in vitro preparation of a hippocampal ...

Barcelona, Spain – Sunday 31 August 2014: Renal denervation reduces recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF) when performed with pulmonary vein isolation ablation in patients with AF and hypertension, according to research presented at ESC Congress today by Dr Alexander Romanov from the Russian Federation. Dr Romanov said: "The prevalence of AF ranges from 1.5 to 2% in developed countries. This arrhythmia is associated with increased mortality, a five-fold risk of stroke and a 3-fold incidence of congestive heart failure. The vast majority of patients with AF also have arterial ...

Barcelona, Spain – Sunday 31 August 2014: Energy drinks can cause heart problems according to research presented at ESC Congress 2014 today by Professor Milou-Daniel Drici from France. Professor Drici said: "So-called 'energy drinks' are popular in dance clubs and during physical exercise, with people sometimes consuming a number of drinks one after the other. This situation can lead to a number of adverse conditions including angina, cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) and even sudden death." He added: "Around 96% of these drinks contain caffeine, with a typical ...

Barcelona, Spain – Sunday 31 August 2014: Antihypertensive therapy reduces the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events, strokes and mortality in hypertensive older adults, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2014 today by Dr Maciej Ostrowski from Poland. The findings suggest that antihypertensive drugs should be considered in all patients over 65 years of age with hypertension. Dr Ostrowski said: "Over the past few decades, a number of randomised trials and meta‑analyses have supported the benefits of antihypertensive medication in reducing the incidence ...

Barcelona, Spain – Sunday 31 August 2014: Resistant hypertension increases the risk of stroke by 35% in women and 20% in elderly Taiwanese patients, according to research presented at ESC Congress today by Dr Kuo-Yang Wang from Taiwan. The findings suggest that gender and age should be added to the risk stratification of resistant hypertension to enable more appropriate treatment decisions. Dr Wang said: "Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Patients with hypertension that does not respond to conventional drug treatments, ...

Barcelona, Spain – Sunday 31 August 2014: Obese youths have a nearly six fold risk of hypertension, according to research in more than 22 000 young people from the PEP Family Heart Study presented at ESC Congress today by Professor Peter Schwandt from Germany. Professor Schwandt said: "The prevalence of hypertension and obesity in children and adolescents is continuing to rise in most high and middle-income countries. Because adiposity is considered a driving force for cardiovascular disease, we examined whether elevated blood pressure was associated with body fat distribution ...

In patients who experienced an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) event (such as heart attack or unstable angina), use of the drug darapladib to inhibit the enzyme lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (believed to play a role in the development of atherosclerosis) did not reduce the risk of recurrent major coronary events, according to a study published by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the European Society of Cardiology Congress. A number of epidemiologic studies have shown that higher circulating levels of lipoprotein-associated ...

Barcelona, Spain – Sunday 31 August 2014: Renal denervation seems to be more successful at reducing blood pressure in patients with resistant hypertension when it includes accessory renal arteries, according to research presented at ESC Congress today by Dr Linda Schmiedel from Germany. Dr Schmiedel said: "More than one billion people worldwide suffer from arterial hypertension, which is defined as blood pressure (BP) greater than 140/90 mmHg. Up to 15% of patients suffer from resistant hypertension (rHTN) and are unable to reduce BP below 140/90 mmHg despite adhering ...