Birth control is used worldwide by more than 60 million women. Since its introduction, it has changed certain aspects of women's lives including family roles, gender roles and social life. New research in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found a link between birth control and women's preferences for psychophysical traits in a sexual mate. The researchers utilized a PMI (Partner's Masculinity Index) to determine the male traits that women found attractive during the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle. The participants were from Central Italy and divided into two groups ...

New research in Criminal Behavior and Mental Health aimed to find the relationship between participation in organized sports and an increase in hazardous drinking. Unlike previous research, the study focused on an underrepresented group – young offenders – adolescents who were either excluded from school or involved with the justice system. 93 British male young offenders from a local Youth Offending Team participated in the study, as well as 53 non-offenders from local schools. Both groups had similarly low socioeconomic status. Participants were asked to partake in ...

Flyways used by migratory birds as they travel across America have long been a topic of fascination for ornithologists. For larger species like waterfowl that are easily visible during their migratory flights, these flyways have been described, but until now the flyways for smaller-bodied birds have been largely based on conjecture. New research in the Journal of Biogeography has used analyses of information from the eBird citizen-science database to describe week by week the distributions of 93 North American land birds. By determining the level of similarity in the ...

Lake Baikal, which is usually still frozen over at this time of year, can clearly be seen in the image. At this time, though, the lake has lost all of its ice coverage already even though snow still surrounds it. Temperatures in this region have skyrocketed in the past few weeks to the 70s prompting outbreaks of fires. Temperatures are usually cooler until late July/early August when the bulk of the wildfires in this area normally erupt. Careless handling with fire and withered dry grass fires on the croplands reportedly were the main reasons for the fires. The Voice ...

PARMA, ID – 'Fuji' apples have become increasingly popular among consumers, but the apple variety faces some challenges on its path to full consumer appreciation. Research has determined that "consumer acceptance" of apples depends largely on fruit color, size, eating quality, and texture. Consumers are very discerning: poor color can drastically reduce the value of red apples, even if their size is acceptable. The poor and inconsistent peel color of 'Fuji' apple strains has limited the apple's marketability. The authors of a new study say that the introduction of new 'Fuji' ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Soon, making and improving medical drugs could be as easy for chemists as stacking blocks is for a child. University of Illinois chemist Martin Burke, a pioneer of a technique that constructs complex molecules from simple chemical "building blocks," led a group that found that thousands of compounds in a class of molecules called polyenes – many of which have great potential as drugs – can be built simply and economically from a scant one dozen different building blocks. The researchers published their findings in the journal Nature Chemistry. "We ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have developed a novel nanometer scale ruthenium oxide anchored nanocarbon graphene foam architecture that improves the performance of supercapacitors, a development that could mean faster acceleration in electric vehicles and longer battery life in portable electronics. The researchers found that supercapacitors, an energy storage device like batteries and fuel cells, based on transition metal oxide modified nanocarbon graphene foam electrode could work safely in aqueous electrolyte and deliver ...

New Rochelle, NY, May 19, 2014—Two studies of the anti-depressive drug duloxetine, a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), compared its effectiveness and safety to either fluoxetine or placebo in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD). The results of these first controlled trials of duloxetine in pediatric patients with MDD are published in Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The articles are available free on the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Graham ...

URBANA, Ill. – Maybe the numbers on the scale aren't alarming, but that doesn't mean that healthy-weight children get a pass on exercising, according to a new University of Illinois study published in Pediatrics. "The FITKids study demonstrates the extent to which physical activity can improve body composition, and that's important because it matters to your health where fat is stored. But the study is also interesting for what happened in the control group to the kids who didn't exercise," said Naiman Khan, a postdoctoral researcher in the U of I's Division of Nutritional ...

ANN ARBOR—A device that essentially listens for light waves could help open up the last frontier of the electromagnetic spectrum—the terahertz range. So-called T-rays, which are light waves too long for human eyes to see, could help airport security guards find chemical and other weapons. They might let doctors image body tissues with less damage to healthy areas. And they could give astronomers new tools to study planets in other solar systems. Those are just a few possible applications. But because terahertz frequencies fall between the capabilities of the specialized ...

Philadelphia, PA, May 19, 2014 – While dementia patients can often suffer from depression and declining physical and mental ability, exercise has been shown to help improve both their physical and psychological wellbeing. Researchers at Teesside University in the U.K. investigated how combining cognitive activities and elements of yoga, tai chi, qigong and meditation with routine physical exercise affected dementia patients. They found that a holistic exercise program focusing on both mind and body can help improve quality of life for dementia patients. Their findings are ...

Scientists have advanced a brain-scanning technology that tracks what the brain is doing by shining dozens of tiny LED lights on the head. This new generation of neuroimaging compares favorably to other approaches but avoids the radiation exposure and bulky magnets the others require, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The new optical approach to brain scanning is ideally suited for children and for patients with electronic implants, such as pacemakers, cochlear implants and deep brain stimulators (used to treat Parkinson's ...

The Skunk Fire continues to burn on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in southeastern Arizona and NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of the smoke on May 17 at 20:15 UTC (4:15 p.m. EDT/1:15 p.m. MST). A Fire Weather Watch has been posted for the region for May 20. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this photograph of the smoke. The extent of the fire (the heat) is outlined in red in this image). According to Inciweb, the multi-U.S. agency Incident Information System website that ...

Bethesda, MD (May 19, 2014) — The editors of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, are pleased to announce the publication of this year's highly anticipated special 13th issue on the intestinal microbiome, which is considered one of the hottest areas of science today. "We are beginning to understand the ways by which the microbial environment of the gut may play a role in both the maintance of human health and the development of certain diseases. Data in this special issue of Gastroenterology may lead ...

Imagine a future in which our electrical gadgets are no longer limited by plugs and external power sources. This intriguing prospect is one of the reasons for the current interest in building the capacity to store electrical energy directly into a wide range of products, such as a laptop whose casing serves as its battery, or an electric car powered by energy stored in its chassis, or a home where the dry wall and siding store the electricity that runs the lights and appliances. It also makes the small, dull grey wafers that graduate student Andrew Westover and Assistant ...

Observations made over the past 29 years in Kenya as part of one of the world's longest-running studies of a wild primate show how having offspring influences the health of female baboons. These observations highlight that females are mostly injured on days when they are likely to conceive. In addition, injuries heal the slowest when they are suckling their young. The study, published in Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, is led by Elizabeth Archie of the University of Notre Dame in the US and the National Museums of Kenya. Reproduction can be dangerous ...

A team from the Renewable Energy and Vehicular Technology Laboratory(REVT) at UT Dallas was one of a few research groups selected for advanced participation in a Department of Energy conference aimed at presenting the next generation of energy technologies. The DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program hosts an annual summit in Washington, D.C., for researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, corporate executives and government officials to share transformational research funded through the program. Dr. Babak Fahimi, professor of electrical engineering ...

Premature babies' risk of brain injury is influenced by their genes, a new study suggests. Researchers have identified a link between injury to the developing brain and common variation in genes associated with schizophrenia and the metabolism of fat. The study builds on previous research, which has shown that being born prematurely – before 37 weeks – is a leading cause of learning and behavioural difficulties in childhood. Around half of infants weighing less than 1500g at birth go on to experience difficulties in learning and attention at school age. Scientists ...

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed new modifications for technology that helps pilots of small aircraft avoid midair collisions. The modified tools significantly improved pilot response times in making decisions to avert crashes. At issue are "cockpit displays of traffic information" (CDTIs). These are GPS displays used by private pilots to track other aircraft in their vicinity. However, pilots often focus on the closest aircraft on the display – a habit that can pose a significant hazard. If the pilot of Plane A sees two planes on the CDTI, ...

An octopus's arms are covered in hundreds of suckers that will stick to just about anything, with one important exception: those suckers generally won't grab onto the octopus itself, otherwise the impressively flexible animals would quickly find themselves all tangled up. Now, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem report that they discovered how octopuses manage this feat, even as the creatures' brains are unaware of what their arms are doing. A chemical produced by octopus skin temporarily prevents their suckers from sucking. "We were surprised that ...

Smithsonian scientists describe a colorful new species of small coral reef sea bass from depths of 182–241 m off Curaçao, southern Caribbean. With predominantly yellow body and fins, the new species, Liopropoma santi, closely resembles the other two "golden basses" found together with it at Curaçao: L. aberrans and L. olneyi. The scientists originally thought there was a single species of golden bass on deep reefs off Curaçao, but DNA data, distinct color patterns, and morphology revealed three. The study describing one of those, L. santi—the deepest known species of ...

Scientists have used small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and neutron spin-echo (NSE) techniques for the first time to understand how monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), a class of targeted biopharmaceuticals used to treat autoimmune disorders and cancer, dynamically cluster and move in high concentration solutions. Certain mAb cluster arrangements can thicken pharmaceutical solutions; they could thus limit the feasible concentration of injectables administered to patients around the world. The insights provided by a team of neutron scientists from the National Center of Neutron ...

The San Diego County fires that began on Wednesday May 14 as a single fire that erupted into nine fires that burned out of control for days. According to News Channel 8, the ABC affiliate in San Diego, the following summarizes what the current conditions are for the fires still left burning: "Cocos Fire - San Marcos: This fire has burned 1,995 acres and is 87 percent contained Monday morning. All evacuation orders and road closures were lifted as of 11 a.m. Sunday, according to the City of San Marcos. San Mateo Fire - Camp Pendleton: The San Mateo Fire that was reported ...

Results of a 10-year long multinational research project on Technologies for Anal Sphincter analysis and Incontinence (TASI) are available in: Corrado Cescon, Diego Riva , Vita Začesta, Kristina Drusany-Starič, Konstantinos Martsidis, Olexander Protsepko, Kaven Baessler, Roberto Merletti Effect of vaginal delivery on the external anal sphincter muscle innervation pattern evaluated by multichannel surface EMG: results of the multicentre study TASI-2 International Urogynecology Journal, DOI 10.1007/s00192-014-2375-0. Episiotomy is a controversial surgical ...

LOS ANGELES (May 18, 2014) – Researchers in separate clinical trials found two drugs slow the progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a fatal lung disease with no effective treatment or cure, and for which there is currently no therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Paul W. Noble, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai and director of the Women's Guild Lung Institute, is the senior author of the multicenter study that found that the investigational drug pirfenidone significantly slowed the loss of lung function and reduced the ...