University of Adelaide researchers have discovered cerebral palsy has an even stronger genetic cause than previously thought, leading them to call for an end to unnecessary caesareans and arbitrary litigation against obstetric staff. In an authoritative review published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, members of the Australian Cerebral Palsy Research Group, based at the University of Adelaide's Robinson Research Institute, argue that up to 45% of cerebral palsy cases can have genetic causes. This builds on research published in February this year ...

A study of marine mammals and other protected species finds that several once endangered species, including the iconic humpback whale, the northern elephant seal and green sea turtles, have recovered and are repopulating their former ranges. The research, published in the June edition of Trends in Ecology and Evolution, suggests that some species, including humpback whales, have reached population levels that may warrant removal from endangered species lists. But returning species, which defy global patterns of biodiversity loss, create an urgent new challenge for policymakers ...

Researchers at Tohoku University and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Japan, have developed a novel ultra-compact heterogeneous wavelength tunable laser diode. The heterogeneous laser diode was realized through a combination of silicon photonics and quantum-dot (QD) technology, and demonstrates a wide-range tuning-operation. The researchers presented their work at a Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO) in San Jose, California, on May 13. The related paper was also be published in Applied Physics Express ...

A research group at Tohoku University has succeeded in fabricating an atomically thin, high-temperature superconductor film with a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of up to 60 K (-213°C). The team, led by Prof. Takashi Takahashi (WPI-AIMR) and Asst. Prof. Kosuke Nakayama (Dept. of Physics), also established the method to control/tune the Tc. This finding not only provides an ideal platform for investigating the mechanism of superconductivity in the two-dimensional system, but also paves the way for the development of next-generation nano-scale superconducting ...

An international team led by Thayne Currie of the Subaru Telescope and using the Gemini South telescope, has discovered a young planetary system that shares remarkable similarities to our own early solar system. Their images reveal a ring-like disk of debris surrounding a Sun-like star, in a birth environment similar to the Sun's. The disk appears to be sculpted by at least one unseen solar system-like planet, is roughly the same size as our solar system's Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt (commonly called the Kuiper Belt), and may contain dust and icy particles. This work provides ...

Using a brand new survey method, researchers in Bergen have asked a broad spectrum of people in Norway about their thoughts on climate change. The answers are quite surprising. Some 2,000 Norwegians have been asked about what they think when they hear or read the words "climate change". There were no pre-set answers or "choose the statement that best describes your view" options. Instead the respondents had to formulate their views on climate change in their own words. The answers have provided striking new insight into what the average person on the street in Norway ...

Long-term changes in immune function caused by childhood trauma could explain increased vulnerability to a range of health problems in later life, according to new research by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London and the NIHR Maudsley BRC. The study, published today in Molecular Psychiatry, found heightened inflammation across three blood biomarkers in adults who had been victims of childhood trauma. High levels of inflammation can lead to serious and potentially life-threatening conditions such as type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular ...

Treatment options for chronic hepatitis C, a serious and life-threatening infection, have improved substantially and several new regimens with shorter durations and improved efficacy and safety profiles are now available. Groups have raised concerns about the evidence used to support the approval of some newer drugs, however, and the issue has been used to cast doubt on their efficacy and even to question treatment or deny reimbursement. To address these concerns, the US Food and Drug Administration's Division of Antiviral Products in the Center for Drug Evaluation ...

This news release is available in French. Montreal, June 2 -- A new study published by the team of Naguib Mechawar, Ph.D., a researcher with the McGill Group for Suicide Studies (MGSS) of the Douglas Institute (CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Ile de Montreal) and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, sheds new light on the disruption of astrocytes in depression. Astrocytes, a class of non-neuronal cells, have previously been implicated in depression and suicide. However, it was not known whether these cells were affected throughout the brain ...

Los Angeles, CA (June 2, 2015) Neighborhoods with more interpersonal conflict, such as domestic violence and landlord/tenet disputes, see more serious crime according to a new study out today in Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency (JRCD). Private conflict was a better predictor of neighborhood deterioration than public disorder, such as vandalism, suggesting the important role that individuals play in community safety. "Private conflicts, for example, domestic violence or friendship disputes over money or girlfriends, can and do spill over into public spaces, ...

Scientists from the University of Louvain have discovered that a key element of infant brain development occurs years earlier than previously thought. The way we perceive faces -- using the right hemisphere of the brain -- is unique and sets us apart from non-human primates. It was thought that this ability develops as we learn to read, but a new study published in the journal eLife shows that in babies as young as four months it is already highly evolved. "Just as language is impaired following damage to the brain's left hemisphere, damage to the right hemisphere ...

Children as young as 4 years old may reap better health from altruistic giving, a behavior that tends to be less common among kids from high-income families, according to new research on the nature and nurture of altruism published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. "The findings provide us with a new understanding of how children's altruistic behaviors, family wealth, and physiological health are intertwined," says psychological scientist and lead researcher Jonas Miller of the University of California Davis. Previous ...

EVANSTON, Ill. --- At a time when teenagers are grappling with new and often confusing health concerns, the overwhelming majority -- 84 percent -- turn to the Internet, according to the first national study in more than a decade to examine how adolescents use digital tools for health information. But while most teens tap online sources to learn more about puberty, drugs, sex, depression and other issues, a surprising 88 percent said they do not feel comfortable sharing their health concerns with Facebook friends or on other social networking sites, according to the study ...

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (JUNE 2, 2015). Researchers from the Canada North Concussion Network in Manitoba examined neuroimaging studies obtained in children and adolescents with sports-related concussions and found that the images appeared normal in 78% of cases. Detailed findings of this study are reported and discussed in "Neuroimaging findings in pediatric sports-related concussion" by Michael J. Ellis, MD, and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. Expert opinion among physicians specializing in sports-related concussion ...

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (JUNE 2, 2015). Researchers from the Canada North Concussion Network in Manitoba investigated the frequency of vestibulo-ocular dysfunction in children and adolescents with sports-related concussion and found that its presence was predictive of a prolonged recovery. Findings in this study are reported and discussed in "Vestibulo-ocular dysfunction in pediatric sports-related concussion" by Michael J. Ellis, MD, and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. Normally, if you are asked to focus on ...

New research presented at this year's Euroanaesthesia shows that use of public access defibrillation on people suffering cardiac arrest is associated with a large increase in chances of survival. However, despite the great potential, publicly accessible Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are not being used enough, concludes research by Dr Marianne Agerskov and colleagues at Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Publicly accessible AEDs are now commonplace in many European countries, and they are often found in sport centres, transportation hubs, and ...

Office workers should be on their feet for a minimum of 2 hours daily during working hours, recommends the first ever UK guidance designed to curb the health risks of too much cumulative sitting time, and published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. This daily quota should eventually be bumped up to 4 hours a day, breaking up prolonged periods of sitting with the use of sit-stand desks, standing based work, and regular walk-abouts, it says. The guidance, which evaluates and distils the available evidence, was drawn up by a panel of international experts, ...

Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics has developed a groundbreaking, combination vaccine that may finally beat Streptococcus A infections. Human trials are set to begin, early as next year, for the vaccine which combines the protein, SpyCEP, with a previously developed vaccine J8-DT. Infections caused by Streptococcus pyogenes are responsible for the deaths of almost 500,000 people worldwide each year. It is particularly prevalent in developing countries and Indigenous populations, including Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders. Infections can ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - June 1, 2015 - Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center report progress in their quest to build replacement kidneys in the lab. The teams' goal is to make use of the more than 2,600 kidneys that are donated each year, but must be discarded due to abnormalities and other factors. The scientists aim to "recycle" these organs to engineer tailor-made replacement kidneys for patients. "We believe the two studies we are reporting provide critical information to the booming field of organ bioengineering as it applies to the kidney," said Giuseppe ...

Soil erosion that occurs in rainy seasons leads to a significant amount of carbon being released into the atmosphere, a new study shows. Investigators who analyzed 240 runoff plots from different regions of the world found that organic carbon losses from soils corresponds to about one-sixth of annual fossil fuel-induced carbon emissions with highest rates for semi-arid soils followed by tropical soils and temperate soils. "The organic carbon lost from soils is more likely to reach the atmosphere under semi-arid sandy soils of weak structure compared to clayey tropical ...

In a study of the effects of increasing climate temperatures on the toxicity of 3 contaminants in different fish species, researchers found that all pesticides and industrial contaminants studied--endosulfan, chlorpyrifos, and phenol--became toxic in the upper 5oC range of species' temperature tolerance. "Within this narrow range of temperatures, other simultaneous changes--such as reduced shading of the water surface as a result of clearing vegetation or increased toxicant exposure--may combine to significantly increase the vulnerability of fish to global warming," ...

It's time for helicopter parents to land and stay grounded. New research by professors at Brigham Young University revealed that parental warmth cannot neutralize the consequences of helicopter parenting. Additionally, a lack of warmth makes the negative effects worse. Such negative effects include lower self-worth and higher risk behavior, such as binge drinking. "From our past work, we thought there might be something positive about helicopter parenting under certain conditions, but we're just not finding it," study author Larry Nelson said. The study, published ...

In a population of Congo Basin foragers called the Aka, 67% of men--but only 6% of women--use cannabis, and the practice seems to protect against infection with parasitic worms. The large sex difference, which is also seen in tobacco use, might be a consequence, in part, of women's avoidance of potentially toxic substances during childbearing years. The results provide evidence of a link between parasite infection and drug use, two of the developing world's great health problems, and they highlight the need for more research on the high rate of substance use in Aka ...

New recommendations offer insights on strategies for treating infants with seizures. In an Epilepsia report, child neurologists who are members of the International League Against Epilepsy note that intervening at the time of a febrile seizure does not alter the risk for subsequent epilepsy, and there is no evidence to support the use of antiepileptic drugs for simple febrile seizures. However, recurrent seizures warrant an urgent assessment, and a variety of antiepileptic drugs may benefit these patients. Unfortunately, there is no high level evidence to support the use ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- For inexperienced investors with little knowledge about the investment process, it may be important to invest in funds that do not require much maintenance. Now, a researcher at the University of Missouri has found that investors with less investment knowledge are more likely to invest in target-date funds (TDFs). Michael Guillemette, an assistant professor of personal financial planning in the MU College of Human Environmental Sciences, says this is a positive trend which will help inexperienced investors invest safely without risking significant losses ...