PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A new study shows that adipose-derived human stem cells, which can become vital tissues such as bone, may be highly resistant to the common chemotherapy drug methotrexate (MTX). The preliminary finding from lab testing may prove significant because MTX causes bone tissue damage in many patients. MTX is used to treat cancers including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common form of childhood cancer. A major side effect of the therapy, however, is a loss of bone mineral density. Other bone building stem cells, such as bone marrow ...

This news release is available in German. If you want to send light on a trip through optical fibres with as little loss as possible, you should opt for infrared light, as is the case, for example, in the telecommunication networks worldwide. For certain applications, such as spectroscopic investigations on ions or atoms, however, (laser) light in the ultraviolet range is required. But this type of light would quickly damage conventional optical fibres. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) in Erlangen/Germany and of the QUEST Institute, ...

Drawing inspiration from the structure of bones and bamboo, researchers have found that by gradually changing the internal structure of metals they can make stronger, tougher materials that can be customized for a wide variety of applications – from body armor to automobile parts. "If you looked at metal under a microscope you'd see that it is composed of millions of closely-packed grains," says Yuntian Zhu, a professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and senior author of two papers on the new work. "The size and disposition of those grains affect the ...

DALLAS – July 2, 2014 – Cognitive behavioral therapy in addition to medication improves the long-term success of treatment for children and adolescents suffering from depression, a new UT Southwestern Medical Center study indicates. Based on the results of a clinical trial conducted at UT Southwestern and Children's Medical Center of Dallas, depression relapse rates were substantially lower in a group of youth who received both forms of treatment versus medication alone. "Continuation-phase strategies designed to reduce the high rates of relapse in depressed youths ...

July 2, 2014 - We can all think of great sports rivals: tennis players Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, or basketball players Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. These fierce, personal rivalries seem worlds apart from a hometown 5K race. Yet even local races often produce rivals who push each other to higher levels of performance, according to new research that surveyed runners and used data from 184 races. Rivalries are distinct from other competitions as those involved place higher stakes on their performance independent of any tangible ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study of adult twins suggests that the level of socioeconomic deprivation in a neighborhood is associated with the sleep duration of residents. Results show that increased socioeconomic deprivation was significantly associated with decreased sleep duration across all twins. Further analysis within twin pairs found that this association remained significant after accounting for genetics and shared family environment, indicating a robust relationship. "These results are a starting point for discussing the impact that neighborhood-level factors have ...

New Rochelle, NY, July 2, 2014—With more than 554 million active users, Twitter is one of the most popular social networking sites. Active users of social networking who are in a romantic relationship may find that Twitter-related conflicts cause relationship problems that can become serious enough to result in infidelity or divorce, as described in a study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking , a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking ...

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have taken a major step forward in understanding the causes of a disorder which causes chronic pain in sufferers. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a serious condition affecting a limb after an – often small – accident or operation. It can cause severe pain lasting many years, as well as limb swelling, hair and nail growth changes, and muscle atrophy, but until now there has been no clear evidence of the cause. Now the research team from the University's Institute of Translational Medicine alongside colleagues at the ...

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say a protein essential to regulating cell cycle progression – the process of cell division and replication – activates a key tumor suppressor, rather than inactivating it as previously thought. "The finding is the result of literally 20 years of work in my lab," said Steven F. Dowdy, PhD, professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at UC San Diego. "It completely turns upside-down what was thought to be a fundamental aspect of cell cycle progression in all cancer cells driven ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- When it comes to fixing deforestation and forest degradation, good intentions can lead to bad outcomes. That's the take-away from a new study by two University of Florida researchers who say efforts to restore damaged and destroyed tropical forests can go awry if the people making the plans of action don't choose wisely. "We need to be careful about what is it we're losing and gaining," UF biology professor Francis E. "Jack" Putz said. Putz worked with UF biology professor Claudia Romero on the paper, which will appear in the July issue of Biotropica. ...

DETROIT – An antibiotic therapy known to reduce catheter-related bloodstream infections in hemodialysis patients has been shown for the first time to reduce mortality, according to a Henry Ford Health System study. Researchers found that a low-dose "lock" solution of gentamicin/citrate reduced mortality by 68 percent compared to a solution of heparin, a blood-clotting therapy long considered the standard of care. Additionally, the gentamicin/citrate solution was associated with a 73 percent reduction in bloodstream infections compared to the heparin treatment. Bloodstream ...

Figuring out how to survive on a lean-season diet of hard-to-reach ants, slugs and other bugs may have spurred the development of bigger brains and higher-level cognitive functions in the ancestors of humans and other primates, suggests research from Washington University in St. Louis. "Challenges associated with finding food have long been recognized as important in shaping evolution of the brain and cognition in primates, including humans," said Amanda D. Melin, PhD, assistant professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences and lead author of the study. "Our work suggests ...

Millions of people in the West today utilize traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, herbs, massage and nutritional therapies. Yet only a few U.S. schools that teach Chinese medicine require Chinese-language training and only a handful of Chinese medical texts have so far been translated into English. Given the complexity of the language and concepts in these texts, there is a need for accurate, high-quality translations, say researchers at UCLA's Center for East–West Medicine. To that end, the center has published a document that includes a detailed discussion ...

PITTSBURGH—Mindfulness meditation has become an increasingly popular way for people to improve their mental and physical health, yet most research supporting its benefits has focused on lengthy, weeks-long training programs. New research from Carnegie Mellon University is the first to show that brief mindfulness meditation practice – 25 minutes for three consecutive days – alleviates psychological stress. Published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, the study investigates how mindfulness meditation affects people's ability to be resilient under stress. "More and ...

Testosterone prescriptions for older men in the United States have increased more than three-fold over the past decade. Recent studies linking testosterone use with increased risk of heart attack and stroke have caused widespread concern among patients and their families. A new U.S.-based study of more than 25,000 older men shows that testosterone therapy does not increase men's risk for heart attack. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, examined 25,420 Medicare beneficiaries 66 years or older treated with testosterone ...

Addressing climate change will require substantial new investment in low-carbon energy and energy efficiency – but no more than what is currently spent on today's fossil-dominated energy system, according to new research from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and partners. To limit climate change to 2° Celsius, low-carbon energy options will need additional investments of about US $800 billion a year globally from now to mid-century, according to a new study published in the journal Climate Change Economics. But much of that capital could ...

New research from the University of Manchester (UK) and Monash University (Australia) shows a link between alcohol sponsorship and hazardous drinking in UK athletes. The study, published online today in the scientific journal Addiction, is the first to examine alcohol sponsorship of athletes in the UK, and comes at a time when there are calls in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa for greater restriction or bans of alcohol sponsorship and advertising in sport. Researchers surveyed more than 2000 UK sportspeople from universities in the North West, ...

Ecologist Thomas Mueller uses satellite data to study how the patterns of plant growth relate to the movement of caribou and gazelle. The research sparked an idea: Would the footprint of human activity show up in the data? Mueller, of the University of Maryland in College Park (now at the Biodiversity and Climate Research Center in Frankfurt) teamed up with university and NASA colleagues to find out. Their new analysis shows that on a global scale, the presence of people corresponds to more plant productivity, or growth. Specifically, populated areas that have undergone ...

Strong northwesterly wind shear took its toll on Tropical Storm Elida, weakening it to a remnant low early on July 2. In infrared satellite imagery from NOAA's GOES-West satellite, Elida appeared to be a tight swirl of low clouds devoid of any deep convection. Infrared satellite instruments are used to see the heat objects emit. During night-time hours when there's no sunlight to light clouds, satellites like NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite or GOES-West satellite looks at clouds in infrared light. Infrared data from NOAA's GOES-West satellite ...

Georgia Tech researchers have created a tool to monitor the accessibility of Web pages around the world that can be installed by adding a single line of code to a web page. The tool, Encore, runs when a user visits a website where the code is installed and then discreetly collects data from potentially censored sites. The researchers hope the data they collect will allow them to determine the wheres, whens and hows of what's blocked, as well as identify ways to get around restricted access. "Web censorship is a growing problem affecting users in an increasing number ...

Tropical Storm Arthur appears to be ramping up, and NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite spotted heavy rainfall occurring around the storm's center on July 1 when it was centered over the Bahamas. Those heavy rains are expected to affect the southern U.S. coastline over the next several days as the National Hurricane Center expects Arthur to strengthen into a hurricane. On July 2, the NHC issued a Hurricane Watch for Bogue Inlet to Oregon Inlet, North Carolina and Pamlico Sound. In addition, a Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the east coast ...

NASA's Aqua satellite captured a picture of Tropical Storm Douglas as it began moving into cooler waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Those cooler waters, coupled with drier air are expected to bring about the storm's demise, according to the National Hurricane Center. A visible image of Tropical Storm Douglas was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite on July 1 at 21:20 UTC (5:20 p.m. EDT). The thickest band of thunderstorms appeared over the southern semi-circle of the weakening storm while bands ...

Squid tentacles are loaded with hundreds of suction cups, or suckers, and each sucker has a ring of razor-sharp "teeth" that help these mighty predators latch onto and take down prey. In a study published in the journal ACS Nano, researchers report that the proteins in these teeth could form the basis for a new generation of strong, but malleable, materials that could someday be used for reconstructive surgery, eco-friendly packaging and many other applications. Ali Miserez and colleagues explain that in previous research, they discovered that sharp, tough squid sucker ...

The "green building" trend is often associated with helping the environment by using eco-friendly materials and energy-saving techniques, but these practices are designed to improve people's health, too. Now scientists are reporting evidence that they can indeed help people feel better, including those living in low-income housing. Published in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology, the study found that certain health problems of public housing residents who moved into green buildings noticeably improved. Gary Adamkiewicz, Meryl Colton and colleagues note that ...

Computer technology has transformed the way we live, but as consumers expect ever more from their devices at faster speeds, personal computers as well as larger electronic systems can overheat. This can cause them to slow down, or worse, completely shut down. Now researchers are reporting in the ACS journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research that liquids containing nanoparticles could help devices stay cool and keep them running. Rahman Saidur and colleagues point out that consumers demand a lot out of their gadgets. But that puts a huge strain on the tiny parts ...