New Haven, Conn. -- Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have successfully treated patients with moderate to severe eczema using a rheumatoid arthritis drug recently shown to reverse two other disfiguring skin conditions, vitiligo and alopecia areata. The study is evidence of a potential new era in eczema treatment, they report. The research findings are published early online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Eczema (atopic dermatitis) is a chronic condition that causes severe itching and leaves the skin red and thickened. It can adversely affect ...

A slow-down in global warming is not a sign that climate change is ending, but a natural blip in an otherwise long-term upwards trend, research shows. In a detailed study of more than 200 years' worth of temperature data, results backed previous findings that short-term pauses in climate change are simply the result of natural variation. The findings support the likelihood that a current hiatus in the world's year-on-year temperature increases - which have stalled since 1998 - is temporary. Scientists from the University of Edinburgh analysed real-world historic ...

Research findings obtained over the past decades increasingly indicate that stored memories are coded as permanent changes of neuronal communciation and the strength of neuronalinterconnections. The learning process evokes a specific pattern of electrical activity in these cells, which influences the response behavior to incoming signals, the expression of genes and the cellular morphology beyond the learning process itself. "You might say that these changes define the cellular correlate of the memory engram" says Friedrich Johenning, researcher at the Neuroscience Research ...

Researchers from the Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, (Brazil); the Imperial College of London, (UK); the University of Western Australia (Australia) and the University of Toronto (Canada) have just published a study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggesting that what had been clustered as anxiety disorders is not homogenous in terms of functioning of the serotonergic system. The researchers reanalyzed the results of six other studies that had evaluated the effects of the acute reduction of tryptophan, the ...

Microbial ecosystems such as biological wastewater treatment plants and the human gastrointestinal tract are home to a vast diversity of bacterial species. Scientists of the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) and the Life Science Research Unit (LSRU) of the University of Luxembourg, in collaboration with US researchers, have now succeeded for the first time in determining key functional genes and the organisms encoding these in such ecological systems, working from extensive data of bacterial genetics and bacterial metabolism. Keystone species are species ...

The term intellectual disability covers a large number of clinical entities, some with known cause and others of uncertain origin. For example Down syndrome is due to an extra copy of chromosome 21 and Rett syndrome is in part caused by a mutation in the control switch gene called MeCP2. In other cases the mechanisms by which they are produced are not clearly identified. It is the case of most of those disorders classified under the large umbrella of autism. An study published in the journal Genetics in Medicine, by Manel Esteller, director of the Program Epigenetics ...

Barbara Hinney and her colleagues from the Institute for Parasitology at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, screened 298 faecal samples taken from cats across Austria for single-cell intestinal parasites, so called enteric protozoa. The samples came from private households, catteries and animal shelters. Of the 298 cats sampled, 56 tested positive with at least one intestinal parasite. Multi-cat households often affected A significantly higher rate of positive samples was registered in households with more than one cat. Households with kittens are also ...

This study has developed a unique bioinformatics approach for identifying associations between molecules from a range of vast data sources. Applied to studies with the aim to measure metabolism in tissues under variating conditions e.g. genetics, diets and environment. Opposed to current methods that apply statistical analysis to data sets as a whole, the proposed workflow breaks the initial data into smaller groups determined by known molecular interactions. Statistical methods can then be applied to these groups resulting in more accurate results than if the analysis ...

Galaxies in a cluster roughly 300 million light years from Earth could contain as much as 100 times more dark matter than visible matter, according to an Australian study. The research, published today, used powerful computer simulations to study galaxies that have fallen into the Coma Cluster, one of the largest structures in the Universe in which thousands of galaxies are bound together by gravity. "It found the galaxies could have fallen into the cluster as early as seven billion years ago, which, if our current theories of galaxies evolution are correct, suggests ...

A new drug acts as a roadblock for malaria, curing mice of established infection, according to a study in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Treatment was not associated with obvious side effects, suggesting that the drug may also be safe and effective in humans. Nearly 200 million cases of malaria occur worldwide each year, and roughly 500,000 people (mostly African children) die of the disease. Malaria is caused by infection with the parasite Plasmodium falciparum (Pf), and although the disease can be treated with anti-malarial drugs, the drugs are harsh and resistance ...

PORTLAND, Ore., July 20, 2015 -- More than half of chronic pain patients in a managed care setting reported using chiropractic care or acupuncture or both, but many of these patients didn't discuss this care with their primary care providers. These study results, published today in the American Journal of Managed Care, suggest that better care coordination is needed among patients and physicians. Researchers surveyed more than 6,000 patients in Oregon and Washington who were Kaiser Permanente members from 2009 - 2011 and had three or more outpatient visits for chronic ...

Berkeley -- It might not be long before consumers can just hit "print" to create an electronic circuit or wireless sensor in the comfort of their homes. Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with colleagues at Taiwan's National Chiao Tung University, are expanding the already impressive portfolio of 3D printing technology to include electrical components, such as resistors, inductors, capacitors and integrated wireless electrical sensing systems. They have put the new technology to the test by printing a wireless "smart cap" for a milk ...

Anyone who's ever noticed a water puddle drying in the sun has seen an environment that may have driven the type of chemical reactions that scientists believe were critical to the formation of life on the early Earth. Research reported July 15 in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition demonstrates that important molecules of contemporary life, known as polypeptides, can be formed simply by mixing amino and hydroxy acids - which are believed to have existed together on the early Earth - then subjecting them to cycles of wet and dry conditions. This simple ...

The first worldwide study of animals and the seeds they eat has overturned a long-held assumption - that large animals mainly eat large seeds. The finding by UNSW Australia scientists has implications for conservation showing that a wider variety of plants than is often thought could be at risk if large animals go extinct and do not disperse their seeds. In a comprehensive study, UNSW's Si-Chong Chen and Professor Angela Moles compiled and analysed data on more than 13,000 animal-seed interactions, based on previously published reports. "It is the first broad-scale study ...

Scientists studying thin layers of phosphorus have found surprising properties that could open the door to ultrathin and ultralight solar cells and LEDs. The team used sticky tape to create single-atom thick layers, termed phosphorene, in the same simple way as the Nobel-prize winning discovery of graphene. Unlike graphene, phosphorene is a semiconductor, like silicon, which is the basis of current electronics technology. "Because phosphorene is so thin and light, it creates possibilities for making lots of interesting devices, such as LEDs or solar cells," said lead ...

The manipulation of light has led to many applications that have revolutionized society through communications, medicine and entertainment. Devices consuming the energy of electromagnetic radiation, such as absorbers and sensors, play an essential role in the using and controlling of light. The researchers at the Aalto University Department of Radio Science and Engineering have demonstrated the first realization of absorbers that do not reflect light over a wide range of frequencies. All previous absorbers at other frequencies were either fully reflective, as mirrors, ...

Marine species that already have large ranges are extending their territories fastest in response to climate change, according to new research from University of British Columbia biodiversity experts. The study is one of the first comprehensive looks at how traits--other than thermal niche--impact marine animals' ability to respond to climate change. It could help improve global predictions of how different species redistribute as the oceans warm, and identify species in greatest jeopardy. "We have a bit of a mystery as to why some animals are moving quickly into cooler ...

Wood and its response to stress or strain has been less known at a fundamental level - until now. The structural properties of brittle materials like rock or ceramic, such as cracking under stress, have long been studied in detail, providing insight into avalanches, earthquakes and landslides. Wood and its response to stress or strain has been less known at a fundamental level - until now. Scientists, from the Department of Applied Physics at Aalto University in Finland, have applied well-established methods for studying all kinds of materials to wood, namely through ...

Philadelphia, PA, July 20, 2015 - Exposure therapy is a commonly used and effective treatment for anxiety disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias. The goal of such therapy is to extinguish fear, which is accomplished by presenting cues that are known to predict a negative experience in the absence of that experience. Over time, learning that the 'danger cue' is no longer dangerous produces extinction of the fearful response. However, fears and the associated defensive behaviors resulting from that fear often return ...

FLORENCE - There are almost 275,000 acres of corn planted in South Carolina, with an economic impact of approximately $130 million. Though this is dwarfed by Midwest states such as Iowa (13.7 million acres, $8.75 billion), it's still a lot of corn - enough, at least, to make a person think S.C. would be a utopia for the insects that like to feast on tasty yellow kernels. But instead of being a slice of paradise, a cornfield can often be a far-from-optimal host for pests such as the corn earworm. Francis Reay-Jones, an associate professor and research scientist for Clemson ...

A new study from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio found that mothers with chemical intolerances are two to three times more likely than other women to have a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The medical study was published in the July-August 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. People who are chemically intolerant often have serious reactions to common chemicals and some become too sick to carry out routine functions. Chemical intolerance affects about ...

New research reveals that the more people think they know about a topic in general, the more likely they are to allege knowledge of completely made-up information and false facts, a phenomenon known as "overclaiming." The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. "Our work suggests that the seemingly straightforward task of judging one's knowledge may not be so simple, particularly for individuals who believe they have a relatively high level of knowledge to begin with," says psychological scientist Stav Atir ...

(New York, July 18, 2015) Researchers from the NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine will present new findings at the 2015 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Washington, D.C., July 18-23-2015. The NYU Langone Alzheimer's Disease Center is comprised of the Center for Cognitive Neurology, Center for Brain Health and the Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Center. It is one of thirty Alzheimer's disease research centers in the United States supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). As an NIA-supported research facility, the center's ...

HER2 membrane proteins play a special role in certain types of breast cancer: amplified levels of HER2 drive unrestricted cell growth. HER2-tailored antibody-based therapeutics aim to prevent cancer cell growth. However, two-thirds of HER2 positive breast cancer patients develop resistance against HER2-targeting drugs. The reason for this is not yet understood. Researchers now found out, that HER2 dimers appeared to be absent from a small sub-population of resting SKBR3 breast cancer cells. This small subpopulation may have self-renewing properties that are resistant to ...

SAN ANTONIO (July 17, 2015) -- Researchers from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have found evidence that directly links disrupted metabolism (energy production in cells) to a common and often fatal type of lymphoma. The finding was announced Thursday (July 16) in Nature Communications. "The link between metabolism and cancer has been proposed or inferred to exist for a long time, but what is more scarce is evidence for a direct connection -- genetic mutations in metabolic enzymes," said senior author Ricardo C.T. ...