The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling legalizing marriage between same-sex couples in all 50 states follows on the heels of national polls showing rapid cultural changes in attitudes toward lesbian and gay people. A new University of Virginia study confirms this, showing that not only are Americans' conscious and unconscious biases against lesbian women and gay men decreasing across all demographic groups, but the trend also appears to be accelerating. "Many people have this gut feeling that our culture has changed," said lead researcher Erin Westgate, a doctoral psychology ...

ROCHESTER, MINN. - A group of 118 of the nation's leading cancer experts have drafted a prescription for reducing the high cost of cancer drugs and voiced support for a patient-based grassroots movement demanding action on the issue. Their recommendations and support are outlined in a commentary, co-authored by the group, in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. "High cancer drug prices are affecting the care of patients with cancer and our health care system," says lead author Ayalew Tefferi, M.D., a hematologist at Mayo Clinic. "The average gross household income in ...

WASHINGTON, DC (July 23, 2015) -- Chicken, turkey and pork sold in grocery stores harbors disease-causing bacteria known as Klebsiella pneumoniae, according to a new study. The research, which was published online today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, shows that contaminated meat may be an important source of human exposure to Klebsiella.The U.S. food safety system has traditionally focused on a few well-known bacteria like Listeria, Salmonella and Campylobacter, which cause millions of cases of food poisoning every year. The research published today suggests ...

The Middle East is called the "Cradle of Civilization" because it is where our hunter-gatherer ancestors first established sedentary farming communities. Recently, the traditional dating of humans' first agricultural attempt was shaken up by the discovery of the earliest-known example of plant cultivation in the Levant, 11,000 years earlier than previously accepted. The team of archaeologists, botanists, and ecologists from Bar-Ilan University, Haifa University, Tel Aviv University, and Harvard University published their work in the scientific journal Plos One on July ...

Until now, researchers believed farming was "invented" some 12,000 years ago in the Cradle of Civilization -- Iraq, the Levant, parts of Turkey and Iran -- an area that was home to some of the earliest known human civilizations. A new discovery by an international collaboration of researchers from Tel Aviv University, Harvard University, Bar-Ilan University, and the University of Haifa offers the first evidence that trial plant cultivation began far earlier -- some 23,000 years ago. The study focuses on the discovery of the first weed species at the site of a sedentary ...

Family members who make major medical decisions for relatives in an intensive care unit (ICU) may suffer posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) if they cope by avoiding the situation, according to a new study by scientists at Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. The patient isn't the only one affected by the long stay, according to Amy Petrinec, from the school of nursing. Family members may suffer, especially if they're required to make medical decisions with long-range consequences they may not understand, or are reluctant to question. Family ...

(NEW YORK CITY - July 22, 2015) Is it possible that too much iron in infant formula may potentially increase risk for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's in adulthood -- and are teeth the window into the past that can help us tell? This and related theories were described in a "Perspectives" article authored by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the University of Technology Sydney and Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Australia, and published online recently in Nature Reviews Neurology. "Teeth are of particular ...

LOS ANGELES (July 22, 2015) - For the first time, researchers have employed a gene-editing technique involving low-dose irradiation to repair patient cells, according to a study published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine. This method, developed by researchers in the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, is 10 times more effective than techniques currently in use. "This novel technique allows for far more efficient gene editing of stem cells and will increase the speed of new discoveries in the field," said co-senior author Clive ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Coral reefs, under pressure from climate change and direct human activity, may have a reduced ability to protect tropical islands against wave attack, erosion and salinization of drinking water resources, which help to sustain life on those islands. A new paper gives guidance to coastal managers to assess how climate change will affect a coral reef's ability to mitigate coastal hazards. About 30 million people are dependent on the protection by coral reefs as they live on low-lying coral islands and atolls. At present, some of these islands experience ...

Poor schools that have more black and minority students tend to punish students rather than seek medical or psychological interventions for them, according to a Penn State sociologist. "There's been a real push toward school safety and there's been a real push for schools to show they are being accountable," said David Ramey, assistant professor of sociology and criminology. "But, any zero-tolerance policy or mandatory top-down solutions might be undermining what would be otherwise good efforts at discipline, and not establishing an environment based around all the options ...

BEER-SHEVA, Israel...July 22, 2015 - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and University of Colorado researchers have developed a dynamic "smart" drug that targets inflammation in a site-specific manner and could enhance the body's natural ability to fight infection and reduce side effects. The uniqueness of this novel anti-inflammatory molecule, reported in the current issue of Journal of Immunology, can be found in a singular property. When injected, it is as a non-active drug. However, a localized site with excessive inflammation will activate it. Most other anti-inflammatory ...

Edward Snowden's leak of classified documents to journalists around the world about massive government surveillance programs and threats to personal privacy ultimately resulted in a Pulitzer Prize for public service. Though Snowden had no intention of hiding his identity, the disclosures also raised new questions about how effectively news organizations can protect anonymous sources and sensitive information in an era of constant data collection and tracking. A new study by University of Washington and Columbia University researchers that will be presented next month ...

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, July 22, 2015 - In a large population-based study of randomly selected participants in Germany, researchers found that mild cognitive impairment (MCI) occurred significantly more often in individuals diagnosed with a lower ankle brachial index (ABI), which is a marker of generalized atherosclerosis and thus cumulative exposure to cardiovascular risk factors during lifetime. Interestingly, this strong association was only observed in patients with non-amnestic MCI, but not amnestic MCI. There also was no independent association of MCI and intima ...

Typhoon Halola's strongest typhoon-force winds were located on the northern half of the storm, as identified from the RapidScat instrument that flies aboard the International Space Station. RapidScat gathered surface wind data on the Typhoon Halola on July 21at 2 p.m. GMT (10 a.m. EDT). RapidScat data showed that the strongest sustained winds stretched from northwest to northeast of the center at speeds up to 30 meters per second (108 kph/67 mph). Strong winds wrapped around the center of circulation from northwest to east to the southern quadrant, while the weakest winds ...

Much to his own surprise, Hannes Baur from the Natural History Museum Bern not only reports on whole two new parasitoid wasps at the heart of Europe, the Swiss Alps and Swiss Central Plateau. While the common discovery usually involves cryptic, or "camouflaging" within their groups species, his stand out. Baur's work is published in the open-access journal ZooKeys. The insects he describes are visibly quite unique with their body structures. In the case of the Pteromalus briani wasp, its extraordinarily protruding hind legs differentiate it among the whole family. Meanwhile, ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A study of the West Nile virus risk associated with "dry" water-detention basins in Central Illinois took an unexpected turn when land managers started mowing the basins. The mowing of wetland plants in basins that failed to drain properly led to a boom in populations of Culex pipiens mosquitoes, which can carry and transmit the deadly virus, researchers report. A paper describing their findings is in press in the journal Ecological Applications. The team, led by University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Andrew Mackay, found that mowing down cattails ...

GeoSpace Warmer air, less sea ice lead to mercury decline in Arctic Ocean The amount of mercury in the Arctic Ocean is declining as the region rapidly warms and loses sea ice, according to a new study. A new study in Geophysical Research Letters suggests that fish, marine mammals, polar bears, whales and humans in the Arctic might potentially be consuming lower amounts of toxic methylmercury as the region warms. Eos.org Puzzles invite you to explore Earth with interactive imagery The EarthQuiz challenge can take you to virtual field locations with just the click of ...

The Mississippi River delta is a rich ecosystem of barrier islands, estuaries, and wetlands that's home to a diverse mix of wildlife -- as well as more than 2 million people. Over the past few decades, the shape of the delta has changed significantly, as ocean waves have carved away at the coastline, submerging and shrinking habitats. To keep flooding at bay, engineers have erected dams and levees along the river. However, it's unclear how such protective measures will affect the shape of the river delta, and its communities, over time. Now researchers from MIT and ...

MELBOURNE, FLA. -- The coral reefs that have protected Pacific Islanders from storm waves for thousands of years could grow rapidly enough to keep up with escalating sea levels if ocean temperatures do not rise too quickly, according to a new study from Florida Institute of Technology. The study, published Wednesday in the journal Royal Society Open Science, provides the first evidence that well-managed reefs will be able to keep up with sea-level rise through vertical growth. But that can happen only if carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere stay below 670 parts-per ...

PITTSBURGH, July 22, 2015 - Late- and post-menopausal women have significantly greater volumes of fat around their hearts - a risk factor for heart disease - than their pre-menopausal counterparts, a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study has shown for the first time. The finding, published online and scheduled for the Sept. 1 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, likely can be attributed to changing hormone levels and could guide potentially life-saving interventions. The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health ...

Electronic cigarettes or "e-cigs" have been touted as a tool smokers can use to wean themselves off of traditional cigarettes, which many believe are more harmful than their "e" counterparts. But because e-cig liquid also contains nicotine and emits carcinogens, is that perception really true? One team now reports in the ACS journal Chemical Research in Toxicology that much of the nicotine in e-cigarettes is the addictive form of the compound. Although e-cigs don't burn tobacco, they heat and vaporize a liquid that contains nicotine, flavorings and other substances. ...

Stem cells hold great potential for addressing a variety of conditions from spinal cord injuries to cancer, but they can be difficult to control. Scientists are now reporting in the journal ACS Nano a new way to mimic the body's natural approach to programming these cells. Using this method, they successfully directed adult stem cells to turn specifically into muscle, which could potentially help treat patients with muscular dystrophy. In the 1990s, scientists first isolated human embryonic stem cells, which can turn into any kind of cell in the body, and the promise ...

A guideline--recommendations on diagnosing and treating a particular disorder--aims to present the best possible treatment for patients. However, when guidelines are compiled their authors often have conflicts of interest, for example as a result of funding or membership in specialist societies that are in close contact with industry. In a recent original article in Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2015; 112: 445-51), Gisela Schott et al. determine that most guideline authors do declare their conflicts of interest. However, this rarely has consequences ...

Automakers are looking for ways to improve their fleets' average fuel efficiency, and scientists may have a new way to help them. In a report in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, one team reports the development of a material that could convert engine heat that's otherwise wasted into electrical energy to help keep a car running -- and reduce the need for fuels. It could also have applications in aerospace, manufacturing and other sectors. In 2012, the Obama administration announced fuel-efficiency standards that would require U.S. vehicles to average 54.5 ...

Lithium-ion batteries remain the technology-of-choice for today's crop of electric cars, but challengers are revving up to try to upset the current order. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, takes a look at two of the top contenders vying to erode lithium-ion's dominance. Alex Scott, a senior editor at C&EN, reports on two developments from companies in England that seem poised to compete in the electric car battery market within the next two to four years. One is a sodium-ion version, produced by ...