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Space9 Jul 2015

A precocious black hole

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 ...

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Technology9 Jul 2015

A graphene-based sensor that is tunable and highly sensitive

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 ...

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Science9 Jul 2015

Global sea levels have risen 6 meters or more with just slight global warming

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 ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

European scientists separate medical benefits of cannabis from some unwanted side effects

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 ...

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Social Science9 Jul 2015

Modeling a nervous pathway involved in touch-induced behavior

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 ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

Study advances potential of tumor genome sequencing and DNA-based blood tests in precision treatment

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 ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

Diabetes complications linked to rising risk of dementia

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 ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

Testosterone therapy fails to treat ejaculatory dysfunction

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 ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

Early HIV treatment improves survival in some patients with newly diagnosed TB

PITTSBURGH, July 9, 2015 - Starting anti-HIV treatment within two weeks of the diagnosis of tuberculosis, or TB, improved survival among patients with both infections who had very low immune-cell counts, according to an analysis by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Health. Those with strong immune systems, however, might benefit from waiting until after the end of the six-month TB treatment before initiating anti-HIV therapy, they found. In a study published in the current issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, the team recommended updating ...

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Science9 Jul 2015

With acoustic reflector, carnivorous pitcher plants advertise themselves to bats

In Borneo, some insectivorous bats have developed a rather intriguing relationship with carnivorous pitcher plants. The plants offer the bats a relatively cool place to roost, free of parasites and competition from other bats. In return, the bats keep the plants well fertilized with their droppings. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on July 9 show that the plants rely on special structures to reflect the bats' ultrasonic calls back to them. That adaptation of the plants makes it easier for bats to find their plant partners in the cluttered ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

New technique for precise light-activated chemotherapy drugs

A new technique that uses light to activate chemotherapy drugs in specific cells shows promise as a way to improve the effectiveness of cancer therapies while preventing severe side effects, according to a study published July 9 in Cell. The so-called photopharmacology approach could be used to treat a broad range of tumors with unprecedented precision simply by making existing cancer drugs sensitive to light--an approach that requires less time and effort compared with traditional drug discovery programs. "We hope that our compounds will one day be used in medicine to ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

Researchers develop basic computing elements for bacteria

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- The "friendly" bacteria inside our digestive systems are being given an upgrade, which may one day allow them to be programmed to detect and ultimately treat diseases such as colon cancer and immune disorders. In a paper published today in the journal Cell Systems, researchers at MIT unveil a series of sensors, memory switches, and circuits that can be encoded in the common human gut bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. These basic computing elements will allow the bacteria to sense, memorize, and respond to signals in the gut, with future applications ...

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Environment9 Jul 2015

Human activities, shifts in local species reshaping coastal biodiversity

While human activities have caused extinctions across the globe, your favourite beach or diving site may actually be home to as many, or more, species then it was a few decades ago. That's the conclusion of a synthesis of 50 years of marine biodiversity data conducted by University of British Columbia (UBC) researchers. But there is a catch. Like other studies of its kind, the synthesis relies on species population time series from sites that haven't been subject to intense human development. "Much as you'd expect, our study shows human impacts like pollution and ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

Study finds link between inherited DNA sequences and heart disease

A study to examine recessively inherited genome-wide DNA sequences has for the first time discovered a potential link with Britain's biggest killer - Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). The research led by a team from the University of Leicester was the first time that recessively inherited DNA sequences in the whole genome called Runs of homozygosity (ROHs) were examined for a connection to the disease. The study appears in the American Journal of Human Genetics. CAD is a terminal clinical manifestation of cardiovascular disease and is the leading cause of death worldwide ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

New research: Coffee not associated with lifestyle diseases

Danish researchers are the first in the world to have used our genes to investigate the impact of coffee on the body. The new study shows that coffee neither increases nor decreases the risk of lifestyle diseases. We love coffee - and we drink a lot of it. New research from the University of Copenhagen and Herlev and Gentofte Hospital shows that coffee neither increases nor decreases the risk of developing lifestyle diseases such as obesity and diabetes. The researchers have based their study on genes, as our genes play a role in how much coffee we drink in the course ...

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Science9 Jul 2015

Researcher finds men strip for self-esteem boost

DENVER (July 9, 2015) - A new study from the University of Colorado Denver finds that male exotic dancers, or strippers, remain committed to stripping because it enhances their self-concept. The study by Maren Scull, an instructor of Sociology in the CU Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was published online this month in Deviant Behavior, the only scientific journal that specifically addresses behaviors that violate social norms. Scull's research focuses on how exotic dancing influences the way male strippers view themselves. "Because stripping is a stigmatizing ...

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Science9 Jul 2015

Researcher detects traces of HIV in the city

This news release is available in French. Since the treatment has become available, HIV is often described as "undetectable" and the risk of transmission has been drastically reduced. However, the epidemic is still quite present in the lives of many gay and bisexual men... and in public spaces. This often overlooked dimension of the disease has been brought to light by Gabriel Girard of the University of Montreal's Public Health Research Institute (IRSPUM) - HIV is still alive in the city, especially in the Village, Montreal's gay district. "Urban traces are significant ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

Study finds vitamin A directs immune cells to the intestines

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A key set of immune cells that protect the body from infection would be lost without directions provided by vitamin A, according to a recent study. A team of researchers from Purdue University found retinoic acid, a metabolite that comes from digested vitamin A, is necessary for two of the three types of innate immune cells that reside in the intestine to find their proper place. "It is known that vitamin A deficiencies lead to increased susceptibility to disease and low concentrations of immune cells in the mucosal barrier that lines the intestines," ...

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Science9 Jul 2015

Study finds violent video games provide quick stress relief, but at a price

MADISON, Wis. -- A study authored by two University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate students indicates that while playing video games can improve mood, violent games may increase aggressive outcomes. The study, authored by James Alex Bonus and Alanna Peebles, graduate students in Communication Arts, and Karyn Riddle, assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, was published in June in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. The researchers looked at how video games may be used to manage emotions -- specifically, whether playing the games can ...

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Science9 Jul 2015

Hearing test pinpoints middle-ear problems in newborns

(Edmonton) Screening newborn babies who are in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) using a testing process called high-frequency tympanometry can help identify middle-ear problems earlier, according to newly published research from a local team of researchers. "If people cannot hear, we need to know if the problem is with the middle ear, inner ear or hearing nerve. Obviously, a baby cannot tell you, so in the clinic it's hard to know when they have hearing loss," explained Ming Zhang, an associate professor at the U of A's Department of Communication Sciences and ...

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Physics9 Jul 2015

Researchers identify new spectrum disorder called ALPIM syndrome

The relationship between mental and physical health is well established. But when mental and physical illnesses co-occur, patients' accounts of physical illness are sometimes arbitrarily discredited or dismissed by physicians. Research by Jeremy D. Coplan, MD, professor of psychiatry at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and colleagues has documented a high rate of association between panic disorder and four domains of physical illness. The research could alter how physicians and psychiatrists view the boundaries within and between psychiatric and medical disorders. "Patients ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

Why not build houses the environmentally friendly way?

Green buildings are indeed healthy buildings. So says Dr. Joseph Allen and fellow researchers of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the US. They conducted the first comprehensive review of studies that focused on green buildings and summarized the health benefits for the people who work and live in them. The review is published in Springer's journal Current Environmental Health Reports. The green building movement has taken off in the past 10 years. According to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®), which certifies green building standards, ...

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Science9 Jul 2015

Researchers identify gene responsible for some cases of male infertility

In about one-sixth of the cases of male infertility, men do not make any measurable levels of sperm, a condition called azoospermia. New research led by University of Pennsylvania scientists suggests that mutations in an X chromosome gene called TEX11 are responsible for about 1 percent of azoospermia cases. The investigators also found that in mice bred to lack the gene, reintroducing the gene restores their fertility. Additional studies in mice revealed that a certain amount of the TEX11 protein expressed from the gene is needed for sperm to form. The protein plays ...

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Medicine9 Jul 2015

New recommendations addresses the diagnosis and management of testosterone deficiency

An expert panel convened by the International Society for Sexual Medicine has developed a detailed "Process of Care" for the diagnosis and management of testosterone deficiency in men. After an extensive literature review and in-depth consultations, the panel of 18 experts from a wide range of medical disciplines recommended that testosterone deficiency be defined as a clinical and biochemical syndrome characterized by both a deficiency of testosterone or testosterone action, and relevant symptoms. The panel stressed that the condition may affect multiple organ systems ...

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Environment9 Jul 2015

Society has been discussing climate change's impacts long before we knew it existed

For the first time, a new analysis shows an impact of climate change on human society long before we knew the climate was actually changing. Exploring Google's scanned book collection, the analysis finds that society in general increasingly discussed some of the predicted effects of climate change--such as heat waves, drought, and flooding--long before current global weather alterations were widely known about. The authors note that while the science of climate change and climate action has come under sustained political attack, buttressing the physical record with ...

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