DARIEN, IL - A new study clearly establishes a partial genetic basis underlying racial differences in slow-wave sleep, suggesting that it may be possible to develop sleep-related therapies that target specific genetic variants. Using a panel of 1,698 ancestry informative genetic markers, the study found that greater African genetic ancestry was associated with lower amounts of slow-wave sleep in African-American adults. African ancestry explained 11 percent of the variation in slow-wave sleep after adjustment for potential confounders. Although a similar association was ...

Since its discovery, graphene has captured the attention of scientists and engineers for its many extraordinary properties. But graphene oxide -- an oxidized derivative of graphene -- largely has been viewed as graphene's inferior cousin. "Graphene is so perfect," said Northwestern Engineering's Jiaxing Huang. "And graphene oxide is more defective, so it's like the weaker, less exciting version of graphene." Now a Northwestern University team has found that graphene oxide's seemingly undesirable defects surprisingly give rise to exciting mechanical properties. Led by ...

From the spinning disc of a computer's hard drive to the varying current in a transformer, many technological devices work by merging electricity and magnetism. But the search to find a single material that combines both electric polarizations and magnetizations remains challenging. This elusive class of materials is called multiferroics, which combine two or more primary ferroic properties. Northwestern University's James Rondinelli and his research team are interested in combining ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity, which rarely coexist in one material at room temperature. "Researchers ...

A review of survey data from more than 300 obese people who participated in a federally funded weight loss clinical trial found that although the overall weight loss rates were modest, those who rated their primary care doctor's support as particularly helpful lost about twice as many pounds as those who didn't. In a report on the study by Johns Hopkins researchers, published in the Aug. 21 issue of Patient Education and Counseling, the researchers say the findings could inform the development of weight loss programs that give primary care physicians a starring role. Researchers ...

A recently-published study found that while internal bleeding may be uncommon as a result of taking blood thinners such as Xarelto® (rivaroxaban) and Eliquis® (apixaban), the normal coagulation tests physicians use to check for the side effect of bleeding may not be reliable. The study, published online in Annals of Emergency Medicine, found that in cases reported to Poison Centers, the routine labs used to monitor for clotting factors, such as prothrombin time (PT), PTT or INR commonly ordered to help diagnose internal bleeding may be elevated in a minority of ...

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured an image of Hurricane Danny moving through the Central Atlantic Ocean. Satellite data indicates that Danny is a small Category 2 hurricane, in which hurricane-force winds only extend 15 miles from the eye. A NASA GOES Project animation of visible and infrared imagery of Hurricane Danny was created at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland to show the development and movement of the storm. The animation shows the eastern and central Atlantic Ocean from Aug. 18 to 21, 2015. Forecaster Cangialosi ...

"Flocking" or "swarming" behavior is omnipresent in the living world, observed in birds, fish, and even bacteria. Strikingly similar collective action can also be seen in biomolecules within and between cells. Such self-organization processes are the basis of life - without them no living cell would exist - yet they are not well understood. New insights into how this action is coordinated at the biomolecular level are emerging from studies of a model system based on actin filaments. Experimental evidence proves the inadequacy of widely accepted explanations, according to ...

AMHERST, Mass. - Inspired by natural "snapping" systems like Venus flytrap leaves and hummingbird beaks, a team led by physicist Christian Santangelo at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed a way to use curved creases to give thin curved shells a fast, programmable snapping motion. The new technique avoids the need for complicated materials and fabrication methods when creating structures with fast dynamics. The advance should help materials scientists and engineers who wish to design structures that can rapidly switch shape and properties, says Santangelo. ...

ANN ARBOR--People who have not found their perfect fit in a career can take heart: There is more than one way to attain passion for work. Contrary to popular wisdom, a love-at first-sight experience is not necessary when evaluating a potential job, according to a new University of Michigan study. "The good news is that we can choose to change our beliefs or strategies to cultivate passion gradually or seek compatibility from the outset, and be just as effective in the long run at achieving this coveted experience," said Patricia Chen, a doctoral psychology student and ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered how two important proofreader proteins know where to look for errors during DNA replication and how they work together to signal the body's repair mechanism. When a cell prepares to divide, the DNA splits first, the double helix "unzipping" into two separate backbones. New nucleotides - adenine, cytosine, guanine or thymine - are filled into the gaps on the other side of the backbone, pairing with their counterparts (adenine with thymine and cytosine with ...

In human cells, shortened telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, are both a sign of aging and contribute to it. Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found that the dietary supplement alpha lipoic acid (ALA) can stimulate telomerase, the enzyme that lengthens telomeres, with positive effects in a mouse model of atherosclerosis. The discovery highlights a potential avenue for the treatment for chronic diseases. The results were published Thursday, August 20 in Cell Reports. "Alpha-lipoic acid has an essential role in mitochondria, ...

(Boston)--Poor sleep may impact treatment and recovery in veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). A review of extensive research on sleep in TBI and PTSD has found that sleep-focused interventions can improve treatment outcomes in veterans. Led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and VA Boston Healthcare System, the review article currently appears online in the journal of Clinical Psychology Review. Sleep difficulty is a primary symptom of both PTSD and TBI and has been found to affect the severity ...

People who fear relationship conflicts are just as happy when they are single or in a relationship, according to new research published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. "It's a well-documented finding that single people tend to be less happy compared to those in a relationship, but that may not be true for everyone. Single people also can have satisfying lives," said lead researcher Yuthika Girme, a psychology doctoral candidate at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. In a survey of more than 4,000 New Zealand residents, a nationally ...

Water pollution has been a historical and stubborn problem in the water resource management. Several water pollution accidents continually occurred all over the world, threatening the safety of industry, agriculture and drinking water for resident's life (see Figure 1). An innovative and efficient approach was identified to study the complicated mechanism of water pollution in alluvial rivers. The article titled "Numerical Simulation of Pollution Process Due to Resuspension of Bed Materials Adsorbing Pollutants in Alluvial Rivers" was recently published in Science China ...

Researchers at the University of Strathclyde are developing groundbreaking plasma based light amplifiers that could replace traditional high power laser amplifiers. The research group at the Glasgow-based University are leading efforts to take advantage of plasma, the ubiquitous medium that makes up most of the universe, to make the significant scientific breakthrough. The next generation of high power lasers should be able to crack the vacuum to produce real particles from the sea of virtual particles. Example of these types of lasers can be found at the Extreme Light ...

New research by European and African scientists, including a team from the University of York, warns of the risks posed by the increasing air pollution over the cities of West Africa - amid fears it could have an impact on human health, meteorology and regional climate. The atmosphere above West Africa is still one of the least studied and understood on the planet, despite its central role for the health and economic wellbeing of a large and increasing population. Rapidly expanding cities such as Lagos in Nigeria, Accra in Ghana and Abidjan in Ivory Coast are producing ...

More than a quarter of a million people die each year from using smokeless tobacco, researchers at the University of York have concluded. Millions more have their lives shortened by ill health due to the effects of chewing tobacco-based products, the study reveals. Researchers say it is the first time the global impact of smokeless tobacco consumption on adults has been assessed. The team, which included collaboration from the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College, London, says governments and public health bodies need to consider incorporating the regulation ...

The quality of general family functioning is a major determinant of healthy dietary habits - according to new research published in the Journal of Caries Research and led by Queen Mary University of London. The East London Family (ELF) Study found that a mother's perception of effective general family functioning has a significant effect on limiting the intake of sugary foods and drinks by their three and four year old children. In contrast, less effective family functioning leads to high frequency intake of sugary foods and drinks by three and four year old children ...

While the benefits of cooperation in human society are clear, new research from The University of Nottingham suggests it also has a dark side - one that encourages corrupt behaviour. "Collaborative settings, not just greed, can provide fertile ground for corruption, as typified by recent scandals in the football and banking worlds. But while much is known about individual immoral behaviour, little is known about the collaborative roots of corruption," explains lead author Dr Ori Weisel from the School of Economics at the University. The study, The Collaborative Roots ...

ORANGE, Calif. - Researchers in Chapman University's Food Science Program have just published two separate studies on meat mislabeling in consumer commercial products. One study focused on identification of species found in ground meat products, and the other focused on game meat species labeling. Both studies examined products sold in the U.S. commercial market; and both study outcomes identified species mislabeling among the product samples. In the study on identification of species found in ground meat products, 48 samples were analyzed and 10 were found to be mislabeled. ...

Los Angeles, CA (August 21, 2015) With the globalization of biomedical research and growing concerns about possible pandemics of diseases such as HIV, SARS, and Ebola, international data-sharing practices are of growing interest to the biomedical science community. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of sharing data in low and middle-income settings? What challenges stand in the way for researchers in countries such as India, Kenya, and Vietnam? A new special issue of SAGE's Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics (JERHRE) presents guidelines, protocols, ...

Birds 'shout' to be heard over the noise produced by man-made activity, new research has shown. The innovative study, led by an expert from the University of Exeter, looked at how bluebirds altered their songs in response to increases in nearby background noise caused, in many cases, by human activities such as traffic. It found that the birds altered their songs immediately after noise levels intensified, making 'real-time' adjustments in order to produce songs that are both louder and lower-pitched. The results suggest that birds are able to perceive increases in ...

Chestnut Hill, MA (Aug. 21, 2015) - A fresh look at some old rocks has solved a crucial mystery of the last Ice Age, yielding an important new finding that connects to the global retreat of glaciers caused by climate change today, according to a new study by a team of climate scientists. For decades, researchers examining the glacial meltdown that ended 11,000 years ago took into account a number of contributing factors, particularly regional influences such as solar radiation, ice sheets and ocean currents. But a reexamination of more than 1,000 previously studied ...

CHICAGO -- Each year, 311 -- New York City's main hub for government information and non-emergency services -- receives millions of requests and complaints, including New Yorkers' gripes about their neighbors. In a new study from New York University (NYU) using 311 complaint data, researchers tracked when and where New Yorkers complain about their neighbors making noise, blocking driveways, or drinking in public. They found that these complaints -- a defining aspect of urban life -- are more likely to occur in areas sandwiched between two homogenous communities, where ...

A former adviser to the US Secretary of State says that genetic modification (GM) is the most critical technology in agriculture for meeting the challenges of feeding a growing global population, writing in the open access journal Agriculture & Food Security. Nina Fedoroff, molecular biologist and former Science and Technology Adviser to Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice, warns of the detrimental influence of politics and misinformation on the safety of GM crops. Instead, Fedoroff says that: "GM crops are arguably the safest new crops ever introduced into the human ...