One aspect of the climate change models researchers have been developing looks at how plant ranges might shift, and how factors such as temperature, water availability, and light levels might come into play. Forests creeping steadily north and becoming established in the thawing Arctic is just one of the predicted effects of rising global temperatures. A recent study published online August 24, 2014 in Nature Genetics offers a more in-depth, population-based approach to identifying such mechanisms for adaptation, and describes a method that could be harnessed for developing ...

A revolutionary new scientific method developed at the University of Leeds will improve the diversity of 'biologically active molecules', such as antibiotics and anti-cancer agents. The researchers, who report their findings online today in the journal Nature Chemistry, took their inspiration from evolution in nature. The research may uncover new pharmaceutical drugs that traditional methods would never have found. "Nature produces some amazing structures with really interesting biological activity, but the plant or animal did not design them. Instead the organisms ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass-- Lower rates of asthma and other health problems are frequently cited as benefits of policies aimed at cutting carbon emissions from sources like power plants and vehicles, because these policies also lead to reductions in other harmful types of air pollution. But just how large are the health benefits of cleaner air in comparison to the costs of reducing carbon emissions? MIT researchers looked at three policies achieving the same reductions in the U.S., and found that the savings on health care spending and other costs related to illness can be big ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — By striking up the right rhythm in the right brain region at the right time, Brown University neuroscientists report in Nature Neuroscience that they managed to endow mice with greater touch sensitivity than other mice, making hard-to-perceive vibrations suddenly more vivid to them. The findings offer the first direct evidence that "gamma" brainwaves in the cortex affect perception and attention. With only correlations and associations as evidence before, neuroscientists have argued for years about whether gamma has an important role ...

Researchers from UCL (University College London) have demonstrated how an interplay between nutrition, metabolism and immunity is involved in the process of ageing. The two new studies, supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), could help to enhance our immunity to disease through dietary intervention and help make existing immune system therapies more effective. As we age our immune systems decline. Older people suffer from increased incidence and severity of both infections and cancer. In addition, vaccination becomes less efficient ...

For centuries poppy plants have been grown to provide opium, the compound from which morphine and other important medicines such as oxycodone are derived. Now bioengineers at Stanford have hacked the DNA of yeast, reprograming these simple cells to make opioid-based medicines via a sophisticated extension of the basic brewing process that makes beer. Led by Associate Professor of Bioengineering Christina Smolke, the Stanford team has already spent a decade genetically engineering yeast cells to reproduce the biochemistry of poppies with the ultimate goal of producing ...

PITTSBURGH—The world grows increasingly more chaotic year after year, and our brains are constantly bombarded with images. A new study from Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC), a joint project between Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, reveals how neurons in the part of the brain responsible for recognizing objects respond to being shown a barrage of images. The study is published online by Nature Neuroscience. The CNBC researchers showed animal subjects a rapid succession of images, some that were new, and some that the subjects ...

PITTSBURGH—Scientists can now monitor and record the activity of hundreds of neurons concurrently in the brain, and ongoing technology developments promise to increase this number manyfold. However, simply recording the neural activity does not automatically lead to a clearer understanding of how the brain works. In a new review paper published in Nature Neuroscience, Carnegie Mellon University's Byron M. Yu and Columbia University's John P. Cunningham describe the scientific motivations for studying the activity of many neurons together, along with a class of machine ...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Research by Indiana University geologists suggests that an intermediate amount of vegetation -- not too little and not too much -- is most effective at stabilizing freshwater river deltas. The study, "Optimum vegetation height and density for inorganic sedimentation in deltaic marshes," was published online Aug. 24 by Nature Geoscience. The findings may help guide restoration of river deltas, such as those near the mouth of the Mississippi River, which are under threat as sea levels rise. Authors are William Nardin, a postdoctoral fellow in the ...

DENVER – Bcl-2-like protein 11 (BIM) deletion in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is associated with shorter progression free survival (PFS) in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) or chemotherapy treated Asian patients. Also, BIM deletion independently predicts overall survival (OS) of advanced NSCLC patients. The BIM protein can activate the programmed cell death also known as the apoptotic pathway in cells. BIM deletion has been detected in 12.8% of the Asian population but is very rarely observed in the Caucasian population. ...

DENVER – For the first time an oncogenic somatic mutation at amino acid 918 in the RET (rearranged during transfection) protein has been identified in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) tumors and enforced expression of this mutation within SCLC cell lines produced increased intracellular signaling and cell growth. SCLC is a highly malignant form of lung cancer representing 15% of all lung cancers and is strongly associated with tobacco smoking. NSCLC, representing 85% of lung cancer, has been extensively examined for genomic alterations and targeted therapies are approved ...

DENVER – Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations found in the circulating free tumor DNA (ctDNA) from the plasma of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients correlates well with the EGFR mutations from patient-matched tumor tissue DNA. EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy is approved for EGFR activating mutation positive patients with advanced NSCLC, but the standard for determining mutation status is with DNA derived directly from tumor tissue, which can be limited or not available. A more abundant and less invasive source of tumor DNA may ...

DETROIT – Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a complex autoimmune disease that affects 1 to 2 percent of adults, requires patients to not only cope with pain, disability and joint disfigurements, but also other stressors such as disrupted work, family life and marital functioning. While many pharmacological advances help some RA patients, residual pain and disability is common. In addition, some patients avoid newer medications due to their high cost or side effects. Because of this, there is interest in psychosocial interventions for RA such as cognitive-behavioral and emotional ...

La Jolla, CA – Research presented at the 29th Annual International Papillomavirus Conference shows that a therapy being developed by Hera Therapeutics Inc. combats three types of human papillomavirus, including the two that cause 70 percent of all cervical cancer. When tested in several cultured human cell models, HTI-1968 blocked the replication of HPV-16, HPV-18 and HPV-11 cells, according to Louise T. Chow, Ph.D. and Thomas Broker, Ph.D., who presented the findings at the Seattle conference. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the National ...

(PHILADELPHIA) - A Penn Medicine team has found that targeted automated alerts in electronic health records significantly reduce urinary tract infections in hospital patients with urinary catheters. In addition, when the design of the alert was simplified, the rate of improvement dramatically increased. The alerts help physicians decide whether their patients need urinary catheters in the first place and then alert them to reassess the need for catheters that have not been removed within a recommended time period. The electronic alert, developed by medical researchers ...

In a study published today (August 22nd), in the scientific journal PLoS One, researchers at the Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme establish the effect of serotonin on sensitivity to pain using a combination of advanced genetic and optical techniques. "Serotonin is a small molecule known to be implicated in a wide range of brain functions, from the control of sleep and appetite, to the regulation of complex emotional behaviours, This neurotransmitter is also popularly thought to contribute to feelings of well being and happiness, as some anti-depression medications work ...

West Orange, NJ. August 22, 2014. A new study of self-awareness by Kessler Foundation researchers shows that persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be able to improve their self-awareness through task-oriented cognitive rehabilitation. The study was epublished ahead of print on July 2 in NeuroRehabilitation. (Yael Goverover, Helen Genova, Hali Griswold, Nancy D. Chiaravalloti & John DeLuca: Metacognitive knowledge and online awareness in persons with multiple sclerosis doi: 10.3233/NRE-141113). Self-awareness is one's ability to recognize cognitive problems caused by ...

WASHINGTON, August 21, 2014 — Diabetes affects nearly 10 percent of the U.S. population. Among the biggest complaints of diabetics: constant finger pricking to test blood glucose levels. Fortunately, research published in ACS Chemical Biology reports the development of a protein that could lead to less pain and more accurate results for diabetes patients. In the American Chemical Society's (ACS') newest Breakthrough Science video, Sylvia Daunert, Ph.D., shows off her "designer protein" that could eventually allow diabetics to check their blood sugar from their iPhones. ...

Anyone who has suffered an injury can probably remember the after-effects, including pain, swelling or redness. These are signs that the body is fighting back against the injury. When tissue in the body is damaged, biological programs are activated to aid in tissue regeneration. An inflammatory response acts as a protective mechanism to enable repair and regeneration, helping the body to heal after injuries such as wounds and burns. However, the same mechanism may interfere with healing in situations in which foreign material is introduced, for example when synthetics are ...

NASA's TRMM satellite saw Tropical Storm Karina get a boost on August 22 in the form of some moderate rainfall and towering thunderstorms in the center of the storm. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite passed directly above the center of Tropical Storm Karina on August 22, 2014 at 0151 UTC (Aug. 21 at 9:51 p.m. EDT). A rainfall analysis that used data from TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) showed that storms near Karina's center were dropping rain at a rate near 25 mm/1 inch per hour. Where the heaviest rainfall was occurring, TRMM spotted a couple ...

(Edmonton) Thanks to important discoveries in basic and clinical research and technological advances, the fight against cancer has mobilized into a complex offensive spanning multiple fronts. Work happening in a University of Alberta chemistry lab could help find new and more selective therapies for cancer. Researchers have developed a compound that targets a specific enzyme overexpressed in certain cancers—and they have tested its activity in cells from brain tumours. Chemistry professor Christopher Cairo and his team synthesized a first-of-its-kind inhibitor that ...

New Rochelle, NY, August 21, 2014—Popular fiction that normalizes and glamorizes violence against women, such as the blockbuster Fifty Shades series, may be associated with a greater risk of potentially harmful health behaviors and risks. The results of a provocative new study are presented in the article "Fiction or Not? Fifty Shades Is Associated with Health Risks in Adolescent and Young Adult Females," published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health ...

CLEVELAND – Renal artery stenting to open blockages in the kidney arteries may benefit patients who have historically been excluded from modern clinical trials, according to new recommendations for renal artery stenosis e-published in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions today by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI). University Hospitals Case Medical Center's Sahil Parikh, MD, Director, Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program and Professor of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine was the lead author ...

AMES, Iowa – Sticking to a general rule of pouring just a half glass of wine limits the likelihood of overconsumption, even for men with a higher body mass index. That's the finding of a new Iowa State and Cornell University study to be published in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Drug Policy. Laura Smarandescu, lead author and an assistant professor of marketing at Iowa State, says the research team looked at a variety of factors to understand and control over pouring. Researchers found BMI affected how much men poured, but had no influence on women. ...

Although Tropical Storm Lowell is not over land the storm is large enough to cause strong ocean swells in Baja California. NASA's Terra satellite passed over Lowell and captured an image that shows how it dwarfed Tropical Storm Karina. The National Hurricane Center noted that swells generated by Lowell will affect the west coast of the Baja California, Mexico, peninsula and portions of the coast of southern California through the weekend of August 23 and 24. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. NASA's Terra satellite passed ...