FRESNO, CA – New research presented this week at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology conference in Orlando, Florida suggests that regular grape consumption may play a role in eye health by protecting the retina from deterioration. Specifically, a grape-enriched diet resulted in a protective effect on retinal structure and function. The retina is the part of the eye that contains the cells that respond to light, known as photoreceptors. There are two types of photoreceptors: rods and cones. Retinal degenerative diseases affect over 5 million people ...

Grabbing chocolate milk after a hard swim could give swimmers a performance edge, according to new research presented at one of the nation's top sports medicine conferences – the American College of Sports Medicine's annual conference.1 In a sport where seconds and even tenths of a second can make a big difference and intense practice routines are the norm, Indiana University researchers found that when collegiate, trained swimmers recovered with chocolate milk after an exhaustive swim, they swam faster in time trials later that same day. On average, they shaved off 2.1 ...

A new eyeless cavefish is described from Indiana and named after the Indiana Hoosiers. It is the first new cavefish species described from the U.S. in 40 years. Notably, it has an anus right behind its head, and the females brood their young in their gill chamber. The new species was described in the open access journal ZooKeys. The new species, Amblyopsis hoosieri, is the closest relative of a species (A. spelaea) from the longest cave system in the world, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. These two species are separated by the Ohio River, which also separates the states of ...

One of the reasons we don't yet have self-driving cars and mini-helicopters delivering online purchases is that autonomous vehicles tend not to perform well under pressure. A system that can flawlessly parallel park at 5 mph may have trouble avoiding obstacles at 35 mph. Part of the problem is the time it takes to produce and interpret camera data. An autonomous vehicle using a standard camera to monitor its surroundings might take about a fifth of a second to update its location. That's good enough for normal operating conditions but not nearly fast enough to handle ...

A disheartening new study from researchers at Utah State University, BYU and Rutgers University reveals that discrimination is still tainting the American Dream for minorities. The three-part research article, which appears online in the Journal of Consumer Research, finds that minorities seeking small business loans are treated differently than their white counterparts, despite having identical qualifications on paper. While discrimination in housing, employment and education is well documented, the study shows that minorities also face discrimination in the marketplace. ...

(Edmonton) It looks like just another rock, but what Jesse Reimink holds in his hands is a four-billion-year-old chunk of an ancient protocontinent that holds clues about how the Earth's first continents formed. The University of Alberta geochemistry student spent the better part of three years collecting and studying ancient rock samples from the Acasta Gneiss Complex in the Northwest Territories, part of his PhD research to understand the environment in which they formed. "The timing and mode of continental crust formation throughout Earth's history is a controversial ...

Electric school buses that feed the power grid could save school districts millions of dollars — and reduce children's exposure to diesel fumes — based on recent research by the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE). A new study examines the cost-effectiveness of electric school buses that discharge their batteries into the electrical grid when not in use and get paid for the service. The technology, called vehicle-to-grid (V2G), was pioneered at UD and is being tested with electric cars in a pilot project. Adapting the system for ...

Psychological stress is harmful to sperm and semen quality, affecting its concentration, appearance, and ability to fertilize an egg, according to a study led by researchers Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Rutgers School of Public Health. Results are published online in the journal Fertility and Sterility. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, infertility affects men and women equally, and semen quality is a key indicator of male fertility. "Men who feel stressed are more likely to have lower concentrations of sperm ...

A rare type of melanoma that disproportionately attacks the palms and soles and under the nails of Asians, African-Americans, and Hispanics, who all generally have darker skins, and is not caused by sun exposure, is almost twice as likely to recur than other similar types of skin cancer, according to results of a study in 244 patients. The finding about acral lentiginous melanoma, as the potentially deadly cancer is known, is part of a study to be presented May 31 by researchers at the Perlmutter Cancer Center of NYU Langone at the annual meeting of the American Society ...

Being ignored at work is worse for physical and mental well-being than harassment or bullying, says a new study from the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business. Researchers found that while most consider ostracism less harmful than bullying, feeling excluded is significantly more likely to lead job dissatisfaction, quitting and health problems. "We've been taught that ignoring someone is socially preferable--if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all," says Sauder Professor Sandra Robinson, who co-authored the study. "But ...

"Cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide and for the foreseeable future...." This Special Issue titled "The role of diet, body composition, and physical activity on cancer prevention, treatment, and survivorship" comprises both invited reviews and original papers investigating various themes such as the role of omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids, cancer cachexia, muscle health, exercise training, adiposity and body composition. The Special Editors were David Ma, Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, College of Biological Science, University of ...

A fungus that infects bats as they hibernate is killing them by the millions, placing three species in the East perilously close to being declared endangered — or perhaps beyond, towards extinction. How to know the actual condition of the populations of different bat species is challenging. Now a team of researchers from Virginia Tech, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Army Installation Command, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined the most efficient ways to improve and modify a sampling technique that is already available. Acoustic monitoring — ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study suggests that people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who are single or have unsupportive family relationships may be less likely to adhere to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. Results show that individuals who were married or living with a partner had better CPAP adherence after the first three months of treatment than individuals who were single. Higher ratings of family relationship quality also were associated with better adherence. Results were adjusted for potential confounding factors including age, gender and body ...

Congested freeways crawling with cars and trucks are notorious for causing smog in Los Angeles, but a new study finds that heavy airplane traffic can contribute even more pollution, and the effect continues for up to 10 miles away from the airport. The report, published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology, has serious implications for the health of residents near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and other airports around the world. Scott Fruin, D.Env. P.E., Neelakshi Hudda and colleagues note that past research has measured pollution from air ...

People affected by binge eating, substance abuse and obsessive compulsive disorder all share a common pattern of decision making and similarities in brain structure, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. In a study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry and primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust, researchers show that people who are affected by disorders of compulsivity have lower grey matter volumes (in other words, fewer nerve cells) in the brain regions involved in keeping track of goals and rewards. In our daily lives, we make decisions ...

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2014—A new twist on 3-D imaging technology could one day enable your self-driving car to spot a child in the street half a block away, let you answer your Smartphone from across the room with a wave of your hand, or play "virtual tennis" on your driveway. The new system, developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, can remotely sense objects across distances as long as 30 feet, 10 times farther than what could be done with comparable current low-power laser systems. With further development, the technology could be used to make ...

Female insects have one goal in life: to find the best place to lay their eggs. For fig wasps, that is the developing fruit of the luscious fig plant. However, when one particular parasitic fig wasp (Apocryta westwoodi grandi) descends onto a recently fertilised fruit, she has to bore her way through the tough unripe fig to find the larvae of other insects that are already developing within, which she will then parasitize to give her own eggs the best start. Fortunately, the insect's immensely long (7–8mm) and slender (~15 μm) ovipositor – which injects eggs into the ...

Boulder, Colo., USA - Two articles recently published online for the journal LITHOSPHERE investigate the influence of climate, erosion, and tectonics on the lay of the land in the Bolivian Andes. Nicole Gasparini of Tulane University and Kelin Whipple of Arizona State University tackle rainfall patterns, rock uplift, and the distribution of crustal deformation caused by tectonics. In both studies, they conclude that tectonics win out over rainfall when it comes to shaping Earth' surface in the area. Other new articles cover (1) isotopic dating of volcanic rocks in the ...

As a nursing professor assigned to one of UT Arlington's first online master's degree courses, Ronda Mintz-Binder had a stake in learning to motivate students online. Now, she's building on her experience with a research project that will help other professors. Mintz-Binder, who holds a master's degree in psychiatric/mental health nursing and a doctorate in nursing educational leadership, received two grants from the Dallas-based education company Academic Partnerships to initiate a multi-year study comparing the experiences of on-campus and online master's degree students. ...

The Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Neiker-Tecnalia, the public body that reports to the Sub-Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Policy of the Government of the Basque Autonomous Community, has confirmed the capacity of Chlamydomonas acidophila microalgae to absorb ammoniacal nitrogen present in the effluent generated in the digestion of organic waste coming from the agri-food sector. These algae can grow in these liquids and assimilate the ammonium, which prevents this gas from being volatilised in the form of ammonia (NH3) and contaminating ...

What: A survey of dentists in Massachusetts suggests that their confidence in treating patients with scleroderma may be related to their familiarity with the autoimmune disease. Dentists who reported feeling knowledgeable about scleroderma felt more prepared to provide care to patients with scleroderma, when compared to peers who did not feel as knowledgeable. Providing education to dentists may improve patient satisfaction and access to care, while simultaneously increasing dentists' knowledge and comfort. Background: Scleroderma, derived from the Greek words for "hard ...

Female mice deprived of dietary zinc for a relatively short time before conception experienced fertility and pregnancy problems and had smaller, less-developed fetuses than mice that ingested zinc during the same times, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. The findings have implications for human reproduction, scientists suggest. Going without zinc prior to ovulation had marked effects on the mice's reproductive functions. Zinc deficiency caused a high incidence of pregnancy loss, and embryos from the zinc-deficient diet group were ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass-- Celebrated portrait photographers like Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, and Martin Schoeller made their reputations with distinctive visual styles that sometimes required the careful control of lighting possible only in the studio. Now MIT researchers, and their colleagues at Adobe Systems and the University of Virginia, have developed an algorithm that could allow you to transfer those distinctive styles to your own cellphone photos. They'll present their findings in August at Siggraph, the premier graphics conference. "Style transfer" is a thriving area ...

WASHINGTON, DC, May 22, 2014 — A new study suggests that having children is contagious among female high school friends during early adulthood. "The study shows the contagion is particularly strong within a short window of time: it increases immediately after a high school friend gives birth, reaches a peak about two years later, and then decreases, becoming negligible in the long-run," said co-author Nicoletta Balbo, a postdoctoral fellow at the Carlo F. Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics at Bocconi University in Italy. "Overall, this research demonstrates ...

WASHINGTON, DC, May 27, 2014 — A new study suggests that how one compares weight-wise with others in his or her community plays a key role in determining how satisfied the person is with his or her life. "The most interesting finding for us was that, in U.S. counties where obesity is particularly prevalent, being obese has very little negative effect on one's life satisfaction," said study co-author Philip M. Pendergast, a doctoral student in sociology at the University of Colorado-Boulder. "In addition, we found that being 'normal weight' has little benefit in counties ...