MENLO PARK, Calif.—May 7, 2014—Neuroscientists at SRI International have found that a form of baclofen, a drug used to treat muscle spasticity, works better at treating narcolepsy than the best drug currently available when tested in mice. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), narcolepsy, a chronic neurologic disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, is not a rare condition, but is under-recognized and under-diagnosed. It is estimated to impact 1 in 2,000 people worldwide. In back-to-back papers published in ...

A team of scientists from the Universidad de La República, Uruguay discovered three native to northern Argentina new species of the engaging spider group of the tarantulas. The study describing the newly found tarantulas was published in the open access journal ZooKeys. The often hairy and very large spiders known as tarantulas are one of the most famous arachnid groups. Despite their ill fame as vicious killers most tarantulas are harmless to humans. Most tarantulas long lifespans, females can live between 15 and 30 years, which makes them a preferred pet for spider ...

HOUSTON – (May 7, 2014) – Rice University bioengineers have created a hydrogel that instantly turns from liquid to semisolid at close to body temperature – and then degrades at precisely the right pace. The gel shows potential as a bioscaffold to support the regrowth of bone and other three-dimensional tissues in a patient's body using the patient's own cells to seed the process. The hydrogel created in the lab of Rice bioengineer Antonios Mikos is a liquid at room temperature but, when injected into a patient, becomes a gel that would fill and stabilize a space while ...

A tropical low was affecting southern India and Sri Lanka on May 6 at 0809 UTC when the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite called TRMM flew above it. By May 7, System 91B moved over southwestern India and became less organized. TRMM's Precipitation Radar revealed that rain was falling at a rate of 66 mm (2.6 inches) per hour in the stormy area south of India (5.2 north latitude and 77.1 east longitude). TRMM PR saw the tallest thunderstorm towers over Sri Lanka where heights were pushing to altitudes above 13 km (8 miles). On May 7 at 12:30 UTC/8:30 a.m. ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Perceived age and weight discrimination, more than perceived race and sex discrimination, are linked to worse health in older adults, according to new research from the Florida State University College of Medicine. The findings are part of a study measuring changes in health over a four-year period and published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. "Our previous research showed that perceived discrimination based on body weight was associated with risk of obesity. We wanted to see whether this association extended to other health indicators ...

Sea surface temperature is expected to increase 2 ºC on average globally by 2080-2100. Some of the consequences of this increase include changes in ocean circulation and higher water column stratification, thus affecting the nutrient availability for the growth of marine phytoplankton. The research team led by Azti-Tecnalia points out the effects to primary production (phytoplankton mass produced annually by photosynthetic single-celled organisms that are suspended in the ocean), and to secondary production (zooplankton biomass, made up of small animal organisms that ...

WASHINGTON -- Convergent research – which crosses disciplinary boundaries, integrating tools and knowledge from the life sciences, physical sciences, engineering, and other fields -- could spur innovation and help tackle societal challenges, but greater national coordination is needed, says a new report from the National Research Council. Convergent science still faces hurdles and requires a culture shift for research institutions, which have traditionally organized research around separate disciplines. Convergent science also relies on forming a web of partnerships ...

The intervals between geyser eruptions depend on a delicate balance of underground factors, such as heat and water supply, and interactions with surrounding geysers. Some geysers are highly predictable, with intervals between eruptions (IBEs) varying only slightly. The predictability of these geysers offer earth scientists a unique opportunity to investigate what may influence their eruptive activity, and to apply that information to rare and unpredictable types of eruptions, such as those from volcanoes. Dr. Shaul Hurwitz took advantage of a decade of eruption data—spanning ...

DETROIT — A major new pediatric research study led by a Wayne State University researcher, funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), has "major implications" for the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in millions of American children. The largest study of its kind in the world, it provides convincing evidence that children with a common urinary-tract abnormality known as "vesicoureteral reflux" (or "VUR") experience ...

The world first review explored interpersonal racism perpetrated by healthcare providers, a key driver of racial disparities in health. Interpersonal racism refers to racist interactions between individuals, rather than internalised or systemic or institutional racism. Researchers Ms Mandy Truong and Dr Naomi Priest from the University of Melbourne and Professor Yin Paradies from Deakin University, reviewed 37 studies published between 1995 and 2012 of racism among healthcare providers. The review assessed attitudes towards race held by physicians, nurses and allied ...

From jasmine to sandalwood, the alluring scents of the most luxurious perfumes might seem more art than science, but a new way to analyze them breaks from the tradition of relying only on experts' sense of smell to blend fragrances. Scientists report that they have developed a model that can help perfumers predict how various combinations of chemicals will smell. The study appears in the ACS journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. Miguel A. Teixeira and colleagues from LSRE laboratory in Portugal explain that the design of new fragrances for the perfume industry ...

Scientists have been linking an increasing range of behaviors and inclinations from monogamy to addiction to animals', including humans', underlying biology. To that growing list, they're adding division of labor — at least in killer bees. A report published in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research presents new data that link the amounts of certain neuropeptides in these notorious bees' brains with their jobs inside and outside the hive. Mario Sergio Palma and colleagues explain that dividing tasks among individuals in a group is a key development in social behavior among ...

While flexible gadgets such as "electronic skin" and roll-up touch screens are moving ever closer to reality, their would-be power sources are either too wimpy or too stiff. But that's changing fast. Scientists have developed a new device that's far thinner than paper, can flex and bend, and store enough energy to provide critical back-up power for portable electronics. Their report appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. In their paper, James Tour and colleagues point out that many materials that have been investigated for energy storage potential are ...

BETHESDA, MD – May 7, 2014 – The power of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to detect genetic influences on human disease can be substantially increased using a statistical testing framework reported in the May issue of the journal GENETICS. Despite the proliferation of GWAS, the associations found so far have largely failed to account for the known effects of genes on complex disease — the problem of "missing heritability." Standard approaches also struggle to find combinations of multiple genes that affect disease risk in complex ways (known as genetic interactions). The ...

Earlier this year, bloggers scored a high-profile victory in their campaign against a common bread ingredient — also used in yoga mats and other plastics — when Subway announced it was dropping the substance from its dough recipe. The case highlights the powerful influence of online campaigns, and how they are changing the food industry, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society. Melody M. Bomgardner, senior editor at C&EN, notes that consumers' curiosity and outrage about what's in their ...

This news release is available in French. Children who wheeze are at risk of developing damage that will affect their lung function by the age of 6 years, according to researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital and the University of Montreal. These appear to be persistent, even if asthma symptoms seem to disappear at least temporarily by school age in several cases. Children with recurrent symptoms that are severe enough to warrant a visit to the emergency department are particularly at risk of seeing their lung function affected. This may persist in adulthood and into ...

Swiss scientists have discovered a new species of aculeate wasp, not hidden somewhere in a jungle on a remote continent, but in Central Europe, in a swampy area just a few kilometers from Zurich. The new species named "Polistes helveticus", or the Swiss paper wasp, was described in the open access journal ZooKeys. Paradoxically, this species has been long known in Central Europe but was confused for decades with a closely related species native to southern Europe. Only after the latter expanded its range to northern Switzerland, possibly following climate change, was ...

A recent study reported by Haigang Chang and co-workers from the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University in China verified the effects of transient axonal glycoprotein-1 (TAG-1) on cell viability and p53, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and amyloid precursor protein (APP) intracellular C-terminal domain (AICD) expression in U251 glioma cells. Their pilot study showed that the signaling pathways induced by TAG-1, TAG-1/APP/AICD/p53 and TAG-1/APP/AICD/EGFR, did not inhibit glioma development by inhibiting cell proliferation or by inducing apoptosis. ...

Shuganjieyu capsule has been approved for clinical treatment by the State Food and Drug Administration of China since 2008. In the clinic, Shuganjieyu capsule is often used to treat mild to moderate depression. Prof. Jingping Zhao and team from the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University in China conducted a study to examine the effect of Shuganjieyu capsule on behavioral changes in a rat model of depression. They focused on the underlying mechanisms of Shuganjieyu capsule by examining brain-derived neurotrophic factor and phosphorylated cyclic adenosine monophosphate ...

Emotions like fear, anger, sadness, and joy enable people to adjust to their environment and react flexibly to stress and strain and are vital for cognitive processes, physiological reactions, and social behaviour. The processing of emotions is closely linked to structures in the brain, i.e. to what is known as the limbic system. Within this system the amygdala plays a central role – above all it processes negative emotions like anxiety and fear. If the activity of the amygdala becomes unbalanced, depression and anxiety disorders may develop. Researchers at the Psychiatric ...

The effects of Amyloid beta (Aβ)-Aβ-binding alcohol dehydrogenase (ABAD) may exacerbate Alzheimer's disease pathology. Therefore, blocking Aβ-ABAD-mediate effects with ABAD decoy peptide (ABAD-DP) may be a potential therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Jiang Wu and team from the First Hospital of Jilin University in China successfully constructed a recombinant adenovirus constitutively secreting and expressing Aβ-ABAD decoy peptide (rAAV/ABAD-DP-6His). Their results showed that rAAV/ABAD-DP-6His increased superoxide dismutase activity in ...

In human cells, DNA occurs only in the cell nucleus as the carrier of genetic information. In order to protect it, specialized proteins regularly scan the individual strands for defects, and repair them. One example of this is the protein Rad50, a DNA sensor that binds to DNA and detects defective sites. A team of scientists headed by Prof. Jürgen Ruland of the TUM together with colleagues from the LMU have now discovered another important task performed by Rad50. There is normally no DNA in the cytoplasm surrounding the cell nucleus. However, if any does turn up there, ...

Amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are the main pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, as well as the loss of neurons and synapses. recent reports have shown that estrogen exerts neuroprotective effects. However, large clinical trials in postmenopausal women indicated adverse side-effects of estrogens, such as increased incidence of breast cancer and metrocarcinoma, thereby preventing clinical use of estrogen. Tongluojiunao (TLJN) is an herbal medicine consisting of two main components, geniposide and ginsenoside Rg1. Prof. Qian Hua and ...

University of Houston physicists have discovered a new thermoelectric material offering high performance at temperatures ranging from room temperature up to 300 degrees Celsius, or about 573 degrees Fahrenheit. "This new material is better than the traditional material, Bismuth telluride, and can be used for waste heat conversion into electricity much more efficiently," said Zhifeng Ren, M.D. Anderson Chair professor of physics at UH and the lead author of a paper describing the discovery, published online by Nano Energy. Ren, who is also principal investigator at the ...

LA JOLLA—By carefully controlling the levels of two proteins, researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered how to keep mammary stem cells—those that can form breast tissue—alive and functioning in the lab. The new ability to propagate mammary stem cells is allowing them to study both breast development and the formation of breast cancers. "What we've shown is that we can take these cells out of a mouse and study them and regulate them in the laboratory by providing them with a specific factor," says Peter C. Gray, a staff scientist in Salk's Clayton Foundation ...