Traumatic spinal cord injuries are increasing with the population, and incidence is higher in older individuals, according to a Vanderbilt study that was published in the June 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study, which analyzed data from 63,109 patients with acute traumatic spinal cord injury from 1993 to 2012, will help target specific populations for preventive measures, said lead author Nitin B. Jain, M.D., M.S.P.H, associate professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. "We find that spinal cord injury as a result of falls is ...

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (7/9/2015) -- Draining tropical peatlands for oil palm plantations may result in nearly twice as much carbon loss as official estimates, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment and the Union of Concerned Scientists in the journal Environmental Research Letters. Peatlands -- waterlogged, organic soils -- have developed over thousands of years as carbon storage systems. In Southeast Asia, peat swamp forests cover about 250,000 square kilometers, a land area about the size of Michigan. In ...

Scientists at the University of East Anglia in collaboration with the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona have found a way to separate the medical benefits of cannabis from its unwanted side effects. The research comes from the team that discovered how the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, known as THC, reduces tumour growth in cancer patients. Their latest findings, published today in the journal PLOS Biology, reveal how the cognitive effects of THC are triggered by a pathway which is separate from some of its other effects. That pathway involves both a ...

Neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) are immune proteins that recognize, bind to, and trigger the elimination of virus before it can establish a chronic infection. How to elicit a potent Nab response capable of protecting against different HIV subtypes and against different modes of infection is critical to the development of an AIDS vaccine. Two studies published on July 9th in PLOS Pathogens provide results on Nabs that could help guide vaccine design. One shows what type of Nab "repertoire" can be generated following superinfection, and the second one examines the efficacy ...

SALT LAKE CITY, July 9, 2015 - More than a quarter of the rain and snow that falls on continents reaches the oceans as runoff. Now a new study helps show where the rest goes: two-thirds of the remaining water is released by plants, more than a quarter lands on leaves and evaporates and what's left evaporates from soil and from lakes, rivers and streams. "The question is, when rain falls on the landscape, where does it go?" says University of Utah geochemist Gabe Bowen, senior author of the study published today in the journal Science. "The water on the continents sustains ...

Global warming is putting the squeeze on bumblebees. In the most comprehensive study ever conducted of the impacts of climate change on critical pollinators, scientists have discovered that global warming is rapidly shrinking the area where these bees are found in both North America and Europe. Researchers examined more than 420,000 historical and current records of many species of bumblebees--and confirm that bumblebees are in steep decline at a continental scale because of climate change. The new research is reported in the journal Science. ECONOMIC THREATS This ...

The discovery of a fiber-reinforced, concrete-like rock formed in the depths of a dormant supervolcano could help explain the unusual ground swelling that led to the evacuation of an Italian port city and inspire durable building materials in the future, Stanford scientists say. The "natural concrete" at the Campi Flegrei volcano is similar to Roman concrete, a legendary compound invented by the Romans and used to construct the Pantheon, the Coliseum, and ancient shipping ports throughout the Mediterranean. "This implies the existence of a natural process in the subsurface ...

Researchers from the University of Calgary and University of Ottawa have made an astonishing find when it comes to the habitat range of bumble bees, and the results are troubling. Findings to be published in the Journal Science, demonstrate that climate change is having a significant impact on bumblebee species in North America and Europe. Bumblebees are losing vital habitat in the southern regions of North America and Europe, which is cause for concern but another pressing issue is that bumblebee species generally haven't expanded north," explains Paul Galpern, Assistant ...

TORONTO, July 9, 2015 - Bumblebees are rapidly declining in both North America and Europe, and a new study points to climate change as the major factor. The study, a comprehensive analysis of how climate change impacts these critical pollinators, was published in Science today. The research shows that bumblebees are losing large amounts of the southern portion of their ranges, but unlike other species which are compensating by moving further north as the climate warms, bumblebees are not heading north. Their range areas are compressing with rapid warming and this is causing ...

This news release is available in Japanese. A suite of energy-saving traits, including underactive thyroid glands, allows giant panda bears to survive almost exclusively on bamboo, according to a new study. Yonggang Nie and colleagues report the first measurements of daily energy expenditure (DEE) in these bears, which do not have stomachs designed for such low-nutrient, high-cellulose plants. The researchers studied five captive pandas and three wild ones, discovering that the animal's DEE was just about 38% of the average for a terrestrial mammal with ...

This news release is available in Japanese. How does the Campi Flegrei caldera, or subsurface rock, near Naples, Italy, withstand more uplift than other calderas without erupting? A new study shows that the caprock underlying this particular caldera closely resembles ancient Roman concrete -- and that the rock's microstructures, characterized by intertwining fibrous minerals, lead to its exceptionally high strength. The findings help to explain how the caldera has been able to withstand tremendous deformation, such as the large uplift episode that began in 1982 and raised ...

This news release is available in Japanese. While the geographic ranges of many animals are expanding northward in response to climate change, those of North American and European bumblebee species are shrinking, a new study shows. These insects are failing to migrate northward, the study reveals, and in their southern territories, their ranges are compressing -- with range losses up to 300 kilometers in both North America and Europe. The findings reveal the vulnerability of these pollinators, which play key roles in agriculture, to a warming world, hinting that they ...

This news release is available in Japanese. Researchers have designed a more efficient jumping robot with three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques and a combination of hard and soft materials. Inspired by designs in nature, such as snakes or insect larvae, soft-bodied robots are safer, more adaptable, and more resilient than their traditionally rigid counterparts, but molding and powering them has proved challenging. Now, Nicholas Bartlett and colleagues report a technique for designing and manufacturing untethered, frog-like jumping machines with ...

Traditional industrial robots are rigid -- mostly metal -- and are fast, precise and powerful. Their speed and precision comes at the cost of complexity and can often pose a danger to humans who get too close. Soft robots are adaptable and resilient but slow, difficult to fabricate, and challenging to make autonomous because most motors, pumps, batteries, sensors, and microcontrollers are rigid. But what if you could combine the autonomy and speed of a rigid robot with the adaptability and resiliency of a soft robot -- and do it relatively cheap and fast? Harvard engineers ...

Monterey, CA - Thousands of feet below the ocean's surface lies a hidden world of undiscovered species and unique seabed habitats--as well as a vast untapped store of natural resources including valuable metals and rare-earth minerals. Technology and infrastructure development worldwide is dramatically increasing demand for these resources, which are key components in everything from cars and modern buildings to computers and smartphones. This demand has catalyzed interest in mining huge areas of the deep-sea floor. In a paper published this week in Science, researchers ...

Engineers at Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego, have created the first robot with a 3D-printed body that transitions from a rigid core to a soft exterior. The robot is capable of more than 30 untethered jumps and is powered by a mix of butane and oxygen. Researchers describe the robot's design, manufacturing and testing in the July 10 issue of Science magazine. "We believe that bringing together soft and rigid materials will help create a new generation of fast, agile robots that are more robust and adaptable than their predecessors and can ...

New York, 9 July - Investing up to 3.5% of a nation's GDP in science, technology and innovation - including basic science and education - is a key benchmark for advancing sustainable development effectively, leading experts say. In papers released July 9 in New York, international scientists advising UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon say closing the gap between developed and developing countries depends on first closing international science, technology and innovation (STI) investment gaps. According to the UN SG's 26-member Scientific Advisory Board: "While a target ...

Black holes can be found at the centres of most galaxies. Most have little mass compared with their host galaxy. ETH researchers, however, have discovered a particularly massive black hole, which clearly grew so quickly that the host galaxy was not able to keep pace. This calls into question previous thinking on the co-evolution of galaxies and their central black holes. Benny Trakhtenbrot, a researcher at ETH Zurich's Institute for Astronomy, together with an international team of astrophysicists, was hunting for ancient massive black holes using the 10 meter Keck telescope ...

Many areas of fundamental research are interested in graphene owing to its exceptional characteristics. It is made of one layer of carbon atoms, which makes it light and sturdy, and it is an excellent thermal and electrical conductor. Despite its apparently limitless potential, however, few applications have been demonstrated to date. Scientists at EPFL's Bionanophotonic Systems Laboratory (BIOS) together with researchers from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO, Spain) have now added another one. They have harnessed graphene's unique optical and electronic properties ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. - A new review analyzing three decades of research on the historic effects of melting polar ice sheets found that global sea levels have risen at least six meters, or about 20 feet, above present levels on multiple occasions over the past three million years. What is most concerning, scientists say, is that amount of melting was caused by an increase of only 1-2 degrees (Celsius) in global mean temperatures. Results of the study are being published this week in the journal Science. "Studies have shown that both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets ...

Scientists at the University of East Anglia, University of Barcelona, University Pompeu Fabra and several other European institutions have found a way to separate the medical benefits of cannabis from some of its unwanted side effects. The research comes from the team that had previously discovered how the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, known as tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, reduces tumour growth in cancer patients. Their latest findings, publishing on July 9th in the Open Access journal PLOS Biology, reveal how some detrimental cognitive effects of THC are ...

Many animals actively touch objects in their environment and respond to them by appropriate movement sequences. Jan Ache and Volker Dürr from Bielefeld University in Germany present a model in PLOS Computational Biology that captures key properties of a wide variety of descending neurons that are part of an "active touch system". Goal-directed actions require neurons that descend from the brain to lower parts of the nervous system, for example: to distribute sensory information to local modules of movement control. Stick insects actively explore the near-range environment ...

In a genome-sequencing study of pancreatic cancers and blood in 101 patients, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists say they found at least one-third of the patients' tumors have genetic mutations that may someday help guide precision therapy of their disease. Results of blood tests to detect DNA shed from tumors, they say, also predicted cancer recurrence more than half a year earlier than standard imaging methods. "Pancreatic cancer has one of the highest death rates among cancer types. Many people think there are no treatment options, but our study shows that ...

Washington, DC--People who have diabetes and experience high rates of complications are more likely to develop dementia as they age than people who have fewer diabetic complications, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. An individual develops diabetes when the pancreas doesn't produce enough of the hormone insulin or the body can't use insulin properly to process sugar. When blood sugar levels remain high due to uncontrolled diabetes, serious complications can develop, including blindness, kidney ...

Washington, DC--Men who have ejaculatory disorders and low testosterone levels did not experience improved sexual function after undergoing testosterone replacement therapy, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Estimates indicate between 10 percent and 18 percent of men have problems with inability to ejaculate, decreased volume of ejaculation, decreased force of ejaculation and delayed time to ejaculation. This is a separate neurobiological problem from erectile dysfunction, and there is no FDA-approved ...