A team of scientists has linked changes in the structure of a handful of central brain neurons to understanding how animals adjust to changing seasons. Its findings enhance our understanding of the mechanisms vital to the regulation of our circadian system, or internal clock. The work, which appears in the journal Cell, focuses on the regulation of "neuronal plasticity"--changes in neuronal structure--and its function in the brain. "Neuronal plasticity underpins learning and memory, but it is very challenging to tie changes in specific neurons to alterations in animal ...

Despite their remarkably similar appearance, the "golden jackals" of East Africa and Eurasia are actually two entirely different species. The discovery, based on DNA evidence and reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on July 30, increases the overall biodiversity of the Canidae--the group including dogs, wolves, foxes, and jackals--from 35 living species to 36. "This represents the first discovery of a 'new' canid species in Africa in over 150 years," says Klaus-Peter Koepfli of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, DC. The new study, ...

The desire to quit smoking--often considered a requirement for enrolling in treatment programs--is not always necessary to reduce cigarette cravings, argues a review of addiction research published July 30 in Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Early evidence suggests that exercises aimed at increasing self-control, such as mindfulness meditation, can decrease the unconscious influences that motivate a person to smoke. Scientists are looking to the brain to understand why setting a "quit day" isn't a surefire way to rid oneself of a cigarette habit. Recent neuroimaging studies ...

A study that took a novel approach to investigating factors affecting the emergence of symptoms of Huntington's disease (HD) has identified at least two genome sites that house variants that can hasten or delay symptom onset. In their report in the July 30 issue of Cell, the multi-institutional research team describes how genome-wide association analysis of samples from more than 4,000 HD patients found that particular variants on two chromosomes were more common in individuals who first exhibited HD-associated movement disorders either earlier or later than would otherwise ...

Not every mom and dad agree on how their offspring should behave. But in genetics as in life, parenting is about knowing when your voice needs to be heard, and the best ways of doing so. Typically, compromise reigns, and one copy of each gene is inherited from each parent so that the two contribute equally to the traits who make us who we are. Occasionally, a mechanism called genomic imprinting, first described 30 years ago, allows just one parent to be heard by completely silencing the other. Now, researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine report on a ...

A new imaging tool developed by Boston scientists could do for the brain what the telescope did for space exploration. In the first demonstration of how the technology works, published July 30 in the journal Cell, the researchers look inside the brain of an adult mouse at a scale previously unachievable, generating images at a nanoscale resolution. The inventors' long-term goal is to make the resource available to the scientific community in the form of a national brain observatory. "I'm a strong believer in bottom up-science, which is a way of saying that I would prefer ...

Oropharyngeal cancer patients who were found to have detectable traces of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) in their saliva following cancer treatment are at an increased risk for recurrence, a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found. The oropharynx is the area of the upper throat that includes the back of the tongue, the soft palate, the tonsils and the walls of the throat. Oropharyngeal cancer accounts for 2.8 percent of new cancers in the United States; it is often treated successfully with surgery. In a small ...

In the last two decades, prosthetic limb technology has grown by leaps and bounds. Today, the most advanced prostheses incorporate microprocessors that work with onboard gyroscopes, accelerometers, and hydraulics to enable a person to walk with a normal gait. Such top-of-the-line prosthetics can cost more than $50,000. Amos Winter is aiming to develop a passive, low-tech prosthetic knee that performs nearly as well as high-end prosthetics, at a fraction of the cost. "We're going after this disruptive opportunity," says Winter, an assistant professor of mechanical ...

NEW YORK, July 30, 2015 - Major achievements have been made in the domestic HIV/AIDS response as a result of increased realignment and coordination of efforts at the federal level. However, that level of consistent coordination and alignment has yet to take place in most states. In an effort to identify what needs to be done, amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, in collaboration with the National HIV/AIDS Initiative at the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law, has released a set of recommendations for how states across the U.S. can ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. - A little recognition for a job well done means a lot to children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - more so than it would for typically developing kids. That praise, or other possible reward, improves the performance of children with ADHD on certain cognitive tasks, but until a recent study led by researchers from the University at Buffalo, it wasn't clear if that result was due to heightened motivation inspired by positive reinforcement or because those with ADHD simply had greater room for improvement at certain tasks relative to ...

The presence of persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 DNA in oral rinses after treatment for HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer was rare but it appears to be associated with poor prognosis and therefore may have potential as a long-term tool for tumor surveillance, according to an article published online by JAMA Oncology. HPV infection is responsible for the majority of oropharyngeal carcinomas in the United States. In 10 percent to 25 percent of patients with HPV-positive tumors, the cancer will progress after treatment and earlier diagnoses of progressive or ...

(Boston)--New evidence highlights the importance of the liver in immunity against bacterial pneumonia. The study is the first of its kind to directly show such a link between liver-produced molecules and pneumonia susceptibility during sepsis. Led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), the study appears in the journal Infection and Immunity. Pneumonia, according to the World Health Organization, is the leading infectious cause of death in children worldwide, taking more than 900,000 lives of children under the age of 5 in 2013 alone. Pneumonia, ...

A new piece of research led by the University of Southampton has found that the behaviour of fruit flies, which are commonly used in laboratory experiments, is altered by electric fields. The research indicates that the wings of the insects are disturbed by static electric fields, leading to changes in avoidance behaviour and the neurochemical balance of their brains. The paper, published in the Proceeding of the Royal Society B, suggests that the plastic housing laboratory fruit flies are commonly kept in (which hold their own static electric charge) could agitate the ...

In a survey of hospital medical physicians across the United States, women made nearly $15,000 less than their male counterparts, with a portion of this disparity explained by female doctors' tendency to prioritize collegiality and control over personal time, rather than substantial pay. The figure was determined after controlling for a number of factors, including age, geography, specialty, and amount and type of clinical work. Optimal workload was the top priority for both male and female physicians, 776 of whom responded to survey questions on work priorities. Substantial ...

A new study led by a University of York scientist addresses an important question in climate science: how accurate are climate model projections? Climate models are used to estimate future global warming, and their accuracy can be checked against the actual global warming observed so far. Most comparisons suggest that the world is warming a little more slowly than the model projections indicate. Scientists have wondered whether this difference is meaningful, or just a chance fluctuation. Dr Kevin Cowtan, of the Department of Chemistry at York, led an international study ...

July 30, 2015 - Some women with breast cancer can now undergo a "one and done" approach combining nipple-sparing mastectomy with immediate single-stage implant (SSI) breast reconstruction in a single procedure, according to a report in the July issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). In the article, ASPS Member Surgeon Dr. Mark A. Codner of Emory University, Atlanta, shares his approach to single-stage implant (SSI) breast reconstruction after mastectomy for breast cancer. Coauthor ...

July 30, 2015 - More women are expressing interest in plastic surgery to restore a more youthful figure after having children. An update on combined procedures for postpartum body contouring--addressing the abdomen, breasts, and other problem areas--is presented in the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Sometimes called the "mommy makeover," postpartum body contouring combines a "tummy tuck"(abdominoplasty) with breast lift surgery (mastopexy) and other procedures to ...

Some 10-15 percent of combat veterans struggle with wounds invisible to the naked eye: post-traumatic stress. Their lives are ridden with debilitating symptoms: insomnia, flashbacks, depression, anxiety, guilt, and ever-present tension. While there is no cure-all for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cognitive behavioral therapy -- which actively reprocesses traumatic events to reduce symptoms -- has seen some success. A new study from researchers at Tel Aviv University, Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and the National Institute of Mental Health suggests ...

On July 30, 2015, researchers from Sichuan University, Sun Yat-sen University, University of California, BGI, etc, reported the latest study on congenitalcataracts. The finding, published on Nature, identifies lanosterol as a key molecule in the prevention of lens protein aggregation and points to a novel strategy for cataract prevention and treatment. Cataracts are the most common cause of blindness worldwide, accounting for over half of all cases of blindness worldwide. Currently the only treatment is surgical removal of cataractous lenses. High concentrations of crystallin ...

If you have hypertension, it pays to include a pharmacist in a medical care team. That's the upshot from research by the University of Iowa that found patients with uncontrolled hypertension had better blood pressure control when being cared for by pharmacists working in care teams (with a physician, for example) than patients who relied mostly on a doctor for medication guidance. The researchers showed pharmacist-included care teams delivered more hands-on and tailored medication regimens to patients, which yielded more effective blood-pressure control results than ...

A new automated data mining system researched and developed at the University of Kent could lead to a dramatic increase in the detection of potentially illegal online sales of elephant ivory through eBay. Law enforcement agencies and conservationist are expected to make use of the system - developed by researchers from the University's Centre for Cyber Security - in their ongoing battle against illegal ivory sales. At the moment, identifying illegal elephant ivory being sold online is a laborious, tedious and expensive task, even for experts. A search for items ...

Teenagers suffering from severe obesity generally feel worse than their peers, but after undergoing gastric bypass nearly all experience improved mental health. One in five, however, still suffers from symptoms of depression - some quite seriously. These are the results of a new study from Lund University in Sweden, published in Obesity. The study is the largest two-year follow-up in the world regarding mental health in adolescents who have undergone a form of weight-loss surgery known as gastric bypass. It includes 88 Swedish adolescents, 13-18 years old, with an average ...

Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2015 - Depressed people often find themselves preoccupied with guilty, shameful, or self-defeating thoughts for large parts of their day. These thoughts not only distract from other activities but also fail to resolve the underlying life issues. Further, the ideas that receive focused attention in these depressive ruminations are frequently quite distorted and lead to distress. The way that depressed people repetitively attend to these negative thoughts in an unproductive manner reflects the reasoning behind use of the term ruminations - because ...

Anyone who has ever watched a group of ants scurrying to carry a large crumb back to their nest has probably wondered how these tiny creatures manage the task. New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, which appeared today in Nature Communications, explains how a balance of individual direction and conformist behavior enables ants to work together to move their food to in the desired direction. To lug a large object, a number of ants surround it - the back ones lift, those on the leading edge pull. How do they stay on track, instead of simply pulling all around ...

That is the conclusion of a major new review, written by leading world experts and published in the medical journal, Addiction. The review examined a wide range of measures that healthcare systems in different countries can adopt to help smokers to stop. It reviewed how effective they are and how much they cost, and offers a new tool to help governments and healthcare administrators calculate the cost - and affordability1 - of stop smoking treatments. The main findings of the review were: "Cytisine", a medicine currently only found in a few mostly Eastern European ...