ROCHESTER, Minn. — In an international study, Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators have identified genetic markers that may help in identifying individuals who could benefit from the alcoholism treatment drug acamprosate. The findings, published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, show that patients carrying these genetic variants have longer periods of abstinence during the first three months of acamprosate treatment. Acamprosate is a commonly prescribed drug used to aid patients in recovery from alcoholism. Mayo researchers studied the association between ...

Urban legend states that New York City has as many rats as people: roughly 8 million; but a new analysis suggests there are nowhere near as many. The analysis classified rat sightings by city lot, of which there are roughly 842,000 in New York City. The researchers estimated 40,500 rat-inhabited lots in the city. By liberally assuming that 40 to 50 rats belong to a typical colony and that one full colony occupies each rat-inhabited lot, the researchers concluded that 2 million would be an extremely generous estimate of the city's rat population. "While the rat population ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) appear to have a lot in common. They share risk factors such as obesity and they often occur together. If they also share the same genetic underpinings, then doctors could devise a way to treat them together too. With that hope in mind, scientists applied multiple layers of analysis to the genomics of more than 15,000 women. In a new study they report finding eight molecular pathways shared in both diseases as well as several "key driver" genes that appear to orchestrate the ...

A global research effort has resolved a major biosecurity issue by determining that four of the world's most destructive agricultural pests are one and the same. The Oriental fruit fly, the Philippine fruit fly, the Invasive fruit fly, the Carambola fruit fly, and the Asian Papaya fruit fly cause incalculable damage to horticultural industries and food security across Asia, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of South America. More than 40 researchers from 20 countries examined available evidence and determined that the Carambola fruit fly is a distinct species, but the other ...

A new study found that 43% of nursing students indulge in hazardous alcohol consumption, with 14.9% of men and 18.7% of women meeting criteria for hazardous drinkers. Hazardous drinkers were more likely to be young, to smoke, and to live outside the family nucleus. "Alcohol-prevention activities should envisage greater protection of university settings, particularly where future health professionals are involved," wrote the authors of the Journal of Advanced Nursing study. INFORMATION: ...

New research indicates that scent associated with polar bear paws conveys information that may affect the animals' social and reproductive behavior. This chemical form of communication was likely shaped by the environmental constraints of Arctic sea ice. Scientists worry that this communication may be impacted if scent trails are disrupted due to increased fracturing of sea ice from climate change. "Effective communication is essential for successful reproduction in solitary, wide-ranging animals," said Dr. Megan Owen, lead author of the Journal of Zoology study. "Developing ...

A geologist in Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences has demonstrated that earthquakes--not climate change, as previously thought--affect the rate of landslides in Peru. The finding is the subject of an article in Nature Geoscience (Nature Publishing Group, 2014) by Devin McPhillips, a research associate in the Department of Earth Sciences. He co-wrote the article with Paul Bierman, professor of geology at The University of Vermont; and Dylan Rood, a lecturer at Imperial College London (U.K.). "Geologic records of landslide activity offer rare glimpses ...

The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has grown exponentially since May, indicating inadequate global response. A new analysis indicates that the outbreak's fatality rate is over 70%—rather than 50% as previously claimed by the World Health Organization—and that the total number of affected individuals could exceed 1 million by early next year. As long as the number of infected people rises exponentially, the likelihood of exporting Ebola to other countries does as well. "The disease itself hasn't changed, with essentially the same fatality rate and ...

A new study of 63 women with varied infant feeding experiences reveals that breastfeeding mothers may feel shame if they breastfeed in public due to exposure, while those who do not breastfeed may experience shame through 'failing' to give their infant the 'best start.' Breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding mothers may also experience shame through inadequate support, judgment, and condemnation, leading to feelings of failure, inadequacy, and isolation. "This study highlights the difficulties and tensions that breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding women can face in hospital ...

In people under age 30, radiation is a risk factor for a type of brain tumor called a meningioma, a Loyola University Medical Center study has found. Researchers analyzed records of 35 patients who were diagnosed with meningiomas before age 30. Five had been exposed to ionizing radiation earlier in their lives. They include two patients who received radiation for leukemia at ages 5 and 6; one who received radiation at age 3 for a brain tumor known as a medulloblastoma; and one who received radiation for an earlier skull base tumor that appeared to be a meningioma. The ...

New research indicates that bald and golden eagles in North America may be exposed to dangerously high levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are chemicals used in the production of a wide variety of textiles, plastics, and electronics. Investigators analyzed the livers of 33 bald eagles and 7 golden eagles collected throughout Washington and Idaho, finding that eagles associated with large urban areas had the highest PBDE concentrations. "The PBDE concentrations we observed in eagle livers suggest a range of exposure, from nearly no detection to concentrations ...

New research is challenging the decades-old belief that smoking cigarettes helps keep you slim. A BYU study published in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism finds that exposure to cigarette smoke can actually cause weight gain. But here's the kicker: Secondhand smoke is the biggest culprit. "For people who are in a home with a smoker, particularly children, the increased risk of cardiovascular or metabolic problems is massive," said author Benjamin Bikman, professor of physiology and developmental biology at Brigham Young University. Data ...

Childhood behavioral conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder are linked with an increased risk of being convicted of a felony later in life, with heavy drinking and educational failure contributing to this link. The findings, which come from an analysis of 4,644 men, suggest that substance use and educational disengagement in adolescence operate as stepping stones toward adult criminality among behaviorally disordered children. "We think the findings are important because they suggest potential avenues for preventing antisocial ...

High clouds had moved over Super Typhoon Nuri's eye early on Nov. 4 when NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead as the storm was undergoing eyewall replacement. Eyewall replacement occurs when the thunderstorms that circle the eye of a powerful typhoons or hurricanes are replaced by other thunderstorms. Basically, a new eye begins to develop around the old eye. Many intense hurricanes undergo at least one of these eyewall replacements during their existence. On Nov. 4 at 01:55 UTC (8:55 p.m. EST) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument ...

A new analysis illustrates the robust ways that social media can be employed to inform and improve disaster operations, and it provides a framework that could help standardize and organize disaster social media uses. Disaster social media users in the framework include communities, government, individuals, organizations, and media outlets. Fifteen distinct disaster social media uses were identified, ranging from providing and receiving disaster preparedness information to (re)connecting community members following a disaster. "Ultimately, emerging communication technologies ...

In a recent US study of 1,815 disadvantaged mothers and their children, mothers who worked more than 35 hours per week were more likely to experience insufficient sleep compared with mothers who worked fewer hours, while children were more likely to experience insufficient sleep when their mothers worked between 20 and 40 hours. Nonstandard work schedules—such as working evenings, nights, or week-ends—were linked with an increased likelihood of insufficient sleep for mothers but not their children. "The results highlight a potentially difficult balance ...

MAYWOOD, Il. – In an era of reduced funding, it's not enough for a young researcher to be a good scientist. He or she also needs "street smarts" to, for example, find an influential mentor, dress professionally, network during scientific meetings and be able to describe a research project in the time it takes to ride an elevator. These are among the techniques taught at a "Street Smarts for Science" workshop offered at the annual Society for Leukocyte Biology meeting, and described in the November issue of the journal Nature Immunology. What students learn in ...

Many mental health disorders first surface during adolescence, and college and youth pastors are in a good position to offer help or steer youths elsewhere to find it. But many of those pastors feel ill-prepared to recognize and treat mental illness, according to a Baylor University study. The study — "Adolescent mental health: the role of youth and college pastors" — is published in the journal Mental Health, Religion & Culture. Unlike senior pastors, those who work with young people are expected to have more extensive contact with their congregants because ...

LA JOLLA, CA – November 3, 2014 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that even brief workouts can reduce the risk of relapse in rats withdrawing from methamphetamine. In addition, the team found that exercise affected the neurons in a brain region that had never before been associated with meth withdrawal, suggesting a new direction for drug development. "There was no correlation between length of workout and risk of relapse—it's the mere involvement in the activity of physical fitness, rather than how much time you can put ...

People with lactose intolerance are at lower risk of suffering from lung, breast and ovarian cancers, according to a new study by researchers at Lund University and Region Skåne in Sweden. "We found that people with lactose intolerance, who typically consume low amounts of milk and other dairy products, have a reduced risk of lung, breast and ovarian cancers", says Jianguang Ji, Associate Professor at Lund University and researcher at the Center for Primary Care Research in Malmö. "The risk of cancer was not reduced in relatives of people with lactose intolerance, ...

This news release is available in French. Montreal, November 4, 2014 — Overfishing, climate change and pollution have reduced fish populations in Canadian lakes and rivers. While hatchery-raised fish could return numbers to normal, they aren't as well adapted to their new environments, and there's been concern that the wild population is "tainted" once it breeds with its domesticated counterparts. But new research from Concordia, published in the journal Evolutionary Applications, shows that after a few generations of breeding and natural selection, these ...

Hot flushes are one of the most distressing conditions faced by women who have been treated for breast cancer, but they are not being adequately addressed by healthcare professionals and some women consider giving up their post cancer medication to try and stop them, a new study has shown. More than 70 per cent of women who have had breast cancer experience menopausal problems, and hot flushes in particular, which are among the most prevalent and potentially distressing problems following breast cancer treatment. These can also be long lasting, persisting for more than ...

This news release is available in German. Many musical cultures around the world use pitch systems in which notes are related by simple integer proportions (ratios between note frequencies) corresponding to the harmonic (overtone) series. The diatonic major scale, prevalent in Western music, is a typical example. For a long time, scientists have debated the relative contribution of biology and culture in shaping these pitch systems. One way to answer this question is to study animal "song": if the vocal displays of some animals, such as birds or whales, follow some ...

Consumers often complain that alcohol-free beer is tasteless, but some of the aromas it is lacking can be carried across from regular beer. Researchers from the University of Valladolid (Spain) have developed the technique and a panel of tasters has confirmed its effectiveness. The alcohol in beer acts as a solvent for a variety of aromatic compounds; therefore, when it is eliminated, as in non-alcoholic beers, the final product loses aromas and some of its taste. It is difficult to recover these compounds, but researchers from the University of Valladolid have done just ...

Washington D.C., November 4, 2014 – A Clinical Perspectives article published in the November 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry proposes a tool to empower stakeholders, guide caregivers, and provide a rationale for advocates, when considering the systems of support offered to people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Organizations such as the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry ...