June 1, 2015 CHAPEL HILL, NC - In the beginning, there were simple chemicals. And they produced amino acids that eventually became the proteins necessary to create single cells. And the single cells became plants and animals. Recent research is revealing how the primordial soup created the amino acid building blocks, and there is widespread scientific consensus on the evolution from the first cell into plants and animals. But it's still a mystery how the building blocks were first assembled into the proteins that formed the machinery of all cells. Now, two long-time University ...

Today's computer chips pack billions of tiny transistors onto a plate of silicon within the width of a fingernail. Each transistor, just tens of nanometers wide, acts as a switch that, in concert with others, carries out a computer's computations. As dense forests of transistors signal back and forth, they give off heat -- which can fry the electronics, if a chip gets too hot. Manufacturers commonly apply a classical diffusion theory to gauge a transistor's temperature rise in a computer chip. But now an experiment by MIT engineers suggests that this common theory doesn't ...

Bacteria and viruses have an obvious role in causing infectious diseases, but microbes have also been identified as the surprising cause of other illnesses, including cervical cancer (Human papilloma virus) and stomach ulcers (H. pylori bacteria). A new study by University of Iowa microbiologists now suggests that bacteria may even be a cause of one of the most prevalent diseases of our time - Type 2 diabetes. The research team led by Patrick Schlievert, PhD, professor and DEO of microbiology at the UI Carver College of Medicine, found that prolonged exposure to a toxin ...

As the world's population of older adults increases, so do conversations around successful aging -- including seniors' physical, mental and social well-being. A variety of factors can impact aging adults' quality of life. Two big ones, according to new research from the University of Arizona, are the health and cognitive functioning of a person's spouse. Analyzing data from more than 8,000 married couples -- with an average age in the early 60s -- researchers found that the physical health and cognitive functioning of a person's spouse can significantly affect a person's ...

A team of scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University has synthesized a powerful new magnetic material that could reduce the dependence of the United States and other nations on rare earth elements produced by China. "The discovery opens the pathway to systematically improving the new material to outperform the current permanent magnets," said Shiv Khanna, Ph.D., a commonwealth professor in the Department of Physics in the College of Humanities and Sciences. The new material consists of nanoparticles containing iron, cobalt and carbon atoms with a magnetic domain ...

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The introduction of Craigslist led to an increase in HIV-infection cases of 13.5 percent in Florida over a four-year period, according to a new study conducted at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. The estimated medical costs for those patients will amount to $710 million over the course of their lives. Online hookup sites have made it easier for people to have casual sex -- and also easier to transmit sexually transmitted diseases. The new study measured the magnitude of the effect of one platform on HIV infection rates ...

Selling one's body to provide another person with sexual pleasure and selling organs to restore another person's health are generally prohibited in North America on moral grounds, but two new University of Toronto Mississauga studies illustrate how additional information about the societal benefits of such transactions can have an impact on public approval. The research, conducted by Professor Nicola Lacetera of the University of Toronto (Institute for Management and Innovation, U of T Mississauga, with a cross-appointment to the Rotman School of Management) and his ...

Going into space might wreak havoc on our bodies, but a new set of microgravity experiments may help shed light on new approaches for treating cartilage diseases on Earth. In a new research report published in the June 2015 issue of The FASEB Journal, a team of European scientists suggests that our cartilage--tissue that serves as a cushion between bones--might be able to survive microgravity relatively unscathed. Specifically, when in a microgravity environment, chondrocytes (a main component of cartilage) were more stable and showed only moderate alterations in shape ...

There's an urgent demand for new antimicrobial compounds that are effective against constantly emerging drug-resistant bacteria. Two robotic chemical-synthesizing machines, named Symphony X and Overture, have joined the search. Their specialty is creating custom nanoscale structures that mimic nature's proven designs. They're also fast, able to assemble dozens of compounds at a time. The machines are located in a laboratory on the fifth floor of the Molecular Foundry, a DOE Office of Science User Facility at Berkeley Lab. They make peptoids, which are synthetic versions ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- If a picture is worth a thousand words, UF Health Type 1 diabetes researchers and their colleagues have tapped into an encyclopedia, revealing new insights into how young people cope with the disease. The sophisticated scientific instrument? A camera. More than 13,000 children and teens are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes each year. To find out more about their experiences as they live with this chronic disorder, a group of diabetes researchers from three universities, including the University of Florida, gave 40 adolescents disposable cameras and ...

People with achromatopsia, an inherited eye disorder, see the world literally in black and white. Worse yet, their extreme sensitivity to light makes them nearly blind in bright sunlight. Now, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health System have identified a previously unknown gene mutation that underlies this disorder. The study published online June 1 in the journal Nature Genetics. "There are whole families with this sort of vision problem all over the world," said Jonathan Lin, MD, ...

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have for the first time simulated the formation of structures called "plasmoids" during Coaxial Helicity Injection (CHI), a process that could simplify the design of fusion facilities known as tokamaks. The findings, reported in the journal Physical Review Letters, involve the formation of plasmoids in the hot, charged plasma gas that fuels fusion reactions. These round structures carry current that could eliminate the need for solenoids - large magnetic coils that wind down the center ...

There is a wealth of published information describing interactions between drugs used to treat cardiovascular disease and the genetic variations that can affect how patients respond to them. But few heart specialists make routine use of this potentially life-saving data. To help physicians make better-informed clinical decisions, researchers from the University of Chicago and Stanford University combed through scientific literature on the pharmacogenomics of 71 leading cardiovascular drugs and compiled summaries, published in the June issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. "Tens ...

Academic programs that provide alternatives to traditional remedial education help students succeed at community colleges, but different programs result in a range of outcomes for various sub-populations of students. Drew Allen, a New York University doctoral student and director of the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Program Support at the City University of New York (CUNY), devoted his doctoral research to the evaluation of three current programmatic approaches at CUNY community colleges. Entering community college students are often required to take remedial, ...

Some female members of a critically endangered species of sawfish are reproducing in the wild without sex. The discovery, reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on June 1, marks the first time living offspring from "virgin births" have been found in a normally sexually reproducing vertebrate in the wild, the researchers say. Earlier evidence that vertebrates might sometimes reproduce via a process called parthenogenesis had primarily come from isolated examples of captive animals--including birds, reptiles, and sharks. In those instances, the animals in question ...

Despite guideline recommendations to limit medical tests before low-risk surgeries, electrocardiograms (ECGs) and chest x-rays are still performed frequently, found a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Evidence indicates that for patients undergoing low-risk surgery, routine testing does not improve outcomes and can actually lead to surgical delays, patient anxiety and other issues. The Choosing Wisely campaign, which started in the United States and spread to Canada and other countries, aims to raise awareness of unnecessary tests and procedures among ...

Radon gas is a silent health threat, and Canada needs to align its guidelines for acceptable radon levels with World Health Organization (WHO) limits, argues an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "We are left in an odd situation in Canada," writes Dr. Diane Kelsall, Deputy Editor, CMAJ. "Drivers and passengers are required to wear seat belts, which are estimated to save about 1000 lives per year. Smoke alarms are required in most jurisdictions, reducing the annual rate of fire-related deaths from 130 per million households by about two-thirds. Yet, ...

ROSEMONT, Ill.--Woman in general have a higher incidence of osteoporosis-related hip fractures yet, conversely, they have a lower rate of mortality than men with the same fracture, according to a study in the June 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS). In addition, doctors don't always recognize or treat osteoporosis in men as often as they do in women. "Male and Female Differences Matter in Musculoskeletal Disease" details the differences between how common musculoskeletal disorders manifest themselves in males versus females. ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Why are major surgical errors called "never events?" Because they shouldn't happen -- but do. Mayo Clinic researchers identified 69 never events among 1.5 million invasive procedures performed over five years and detailed why each occurred. Using a system created to investigate military plane crashes, they coded the human behaviors involved to identify any environmental, organizational, job and individual characteristics that led to the never events. Their discovery: 628 human factors contributed to the errors overall, roughly four to nine per event. ...

New research on kidney stone formation reveals that zinc levels may contribute to kidney stone formation, a common urinary condition that can cause excruciating pain. The research found that zinc may be the core by which stone formation starts. The study, led by UC San Francisco, opens a new perspective into the cause of urinary stones and related diseases and might ultimately lead to the identification of new preventive and therapeutic approaches. The article appears in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. "The ultimate goal of our research team is to prevent kidney ...

TORONTO, ON [1 June 2015] - By observing galaxies billions of light-years away, a team of astronomers has detected tube-like structures mere hundreds of kilometres above the Earth's surface. "For over 60 years, scientists believed these structures existed but by imaging them for the first time, we've provided visual evidence that they are really there," said Cleo Loi of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) at the University of Sydney and lead author of a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters last week. The astronomers--including ...

Breastfeeding for six months or longer was associated with a lower risk of childhood leukemia compared with children who were never breastfed or who were breastfed for a shorter time, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics. Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer and accounts for about 30 percent of all childhood cancers. Still, little is known about its cause. Breast milk is meant to exclusively supply all the nutritional needs of infants and current recommendations include exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months of life to optimize ...

A study of patients in Denmark suggests that type 2 diabetes may be associated with a reduced risk for the fatal neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to an article published online by JAMA Neurology. Recent reports have suggested a protective association between vascular risk factors, such as obesity or higher body mass index (BMI), higher cholesterol levels and hyperlipidemia with ALS incidence and survival. Patients with type 2 diabetes have, on average, higher BMI, elevated blood lipid levels and defective energy metabolism. However, ...

Policies passed by states to encourage organ donation have had virtually no effect on rates of organ donation and transplantation in the United States, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. The shortage of solid organs for transplant is a critical public health challenge in the United States. Since the late 1980s, states have enacted numerous policies to increase the organ supply. Researcher Erika G. Martin, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government and Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, University ...

A three-year study of a 'medical home' intervention that paid bonuses to physician practices based on financial savings has shown significant improvements in quality and use of some medical services relative to comparison practices, according to a new RAND Corporation study. The study is the first published evaluation of a multipayer medical home intervention that featured shared savings for primary care practices. The results appear in the June 1 edition of JAMA Internal Medicine. By paying bonuses to participating practices based on reaching quality and spending benchmarks, ...