The Ebola virus disease epidemic already devastating swaths of West Africa will likely get far worse in the coming weeks and months unless international commitments are significantly and immediately increased, new research led by Yale researchers predicts. The findings are published online first in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. A team of seven scientists from Yale's Schools of Public Health and Medicine and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Liberia developed a mathematical transmission model of the viral disease and applied it to Liberia's most populous ...

TORONTO, Oct. 24, 2014—Health care providers should recognize that any effective strategy to address homelessness needs to include both interventions to improve the health of homeless individuals as well as larger-scale policy changes, according to a paper published today. "It is essential to recognize that homelessness is equally the result of structural factors within a society, such as systematic inequities in educational and employment opportunities, a shortage of affordable housing, and social policies that are targeted against marginalized populations," said ...

Washington, DC (October 23, 2014) — People who develop kidney stones may be at increased risk of experiencing bone fractures, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). The findings suggest that preventive efforts may be needed to help protect stone formers' bone health. People who form stones in the kidneys and urinary tract—a condition called urolithiasis—may have reduced bone mineral density and an increased risk of bone fractures. To assess the link between urolithiasis ...

Costs to treat strokes caused by bleeding in the brain may increase significantly 10 years later, according to a study in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. The Australian study is the first to include 10 years of follow-up data on stroke cost estimates, which may also apply to the United States, researchers said. Generally, expenses associated with a stroke peak within the first year and decline over time. Previous estimates of lifetime costs in Australia were based on a five-year average and may have underestimated costs, specifically for hemorrhagic (bleeding) ...

Having age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in one eye was associated with an increased incidence of AMD and accelerated progression of the debilitating disease in the other eye, writes author Ronald E. Gangnon, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, and colleagues. AMD is thought to be a symmetric disease, although one eye may precede the other in progression. The authors examined the effect of severity of AMD in one eye on the incidence, progression and regression in the other eye. Data from 4,379 participants in the ...

Two new studies suggest that while individuals enrolling in the armed forces do not share the exact psychological profile as socio-demographically comparable civilians, they are more similar than previously thought. The first study found that new soldiers and matched civilians are equally likely to have experienced at least one major episode of mental illness in their lifetime (38.7 percent of new soldiers; 36.5 percent of civilians) but that some mental disorders (generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and conduct disorder) are more common among ...

NASA's Hurricane Severe Storms Sentinel or HS3 mission flew the unmanned Global Hawk aircraft on two missions between Sept. 11 and 15 into Hurricane Edouard and scored a bullseye by gathering information in the eye of the strengthening storm. Scientists saw how upper-level wind shear was affecting Edouard on the HS3's Global Hawk flight of the 2014 campaign over Sept. 11 and 12, and saw the hurricane strengthen during the sixth flight on Sept. 15 and 16. NASA's HS3 mission returned to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, in Wallops Island Virginia for the third year to investigate ...

Toronto – Countries with higher levels of compassion and openness score better when it comes to environmental sustainability, says research from the University of Toronto. A new study by Jacob Hirsh, an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behaviour & Human Resource Management at the University of Toronto Mississauga's Institute for Management & Innovation, who is cross-appointed to UofT's Rotman School of Management, demonstrates that a country's personality profile can predict its environmental sustainability records. While Prof. Hirsh's previous work has ...

Exposure to moderate amounts of sunshine may slow the development of obesity and diabetes, a study suggests. Scientists who looked at the effect of sunlight on mice say further research will be needed to confirm whether it has the same effect on people. The researchers showed that shining UV light at overfed mice slowed their weight gain. The mice displayed fewer of the warning signs linked to diabetes, such as abnormal glucose levels and resistance to insulin. The beneficial effects of UV treatment were linked to a compound called nitric oxide, which is released ...

OAKLAND, Calif., October 23, 2014 – Women who developed gestational diabetes and were overweight before pregnancy were at a higher risk of having daughters who were obese later in childhood, according to new research published today in Diabetes Care. Based on long-term research that included a multi-ethnic cohort of 421 girls and their mothers (all members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California), the study is among the first to directly link maternal hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) to offspring being overweight later. "Glucose levels during pregnancy, particularly ...

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – October 23, 2014 – An international multicenter study reports that over-the-scope clip (OTSC) placement is a safe and effective therapy for the closure of gastrointestinal (GI) defects, which includes anastomotic leaks, fistulae and perforations. Clinical success was best achieved in patients undergoing closure of perforations or leaks when OTSC placement was used for primary or rescue therapy. The overall clinical success for the closure of perforations and leaks ranged between 90 percent and 73 percent; however, successful closure of ...

An ocean's oxygen levels may play a role in the impact of marine predators on bodies when they are immersed in the sea, according to Simon Fraser University researchers in a new study published this week in the journal PLoS One. SFU criminologist Gail Anderson led the study, based on the deployment of a trio of pig carcasses into Saanich Inlet at a depth of 100 metres and studied over the past three years. Anderson assessed scavenger activity while co-author and SFU criminologist Lynne Bell continues her investigation of what happens to submerged bones. The work is ...

Subjective screening questions do not reliably identify teenagers who are at risk for hearing loss, according to researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. The results suggest that objective hearing tests should be refined for this age group to replace screening questions. The American Academy of Pediatrics, in partnership with the Bright Futures children's health organization, sets standards for pediatric preventive care. The AAP recommends screening adolescents with subjective questions and then following up with objective hearing tests for those found to be at ...

Just like those of humans, insect guts are full of microbes, and the microbiota can influence the insect's ability to transmit diseases. A study published on October 23rd in PLOS Pathogens reports that a bacterium isolated from the gut of an Aedes mosquito can reduce infection of mosquitoes by malaria parasites and dengue virus. The bacterium can also directly inhibit these pathogens in the test tube, and shorten the life span of the mosquitoes that transmit both diseases. George Dimopoulos and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University, USA, had previously isolated Csp_P, ...

Orono, Maine — In the southern Peruvian Andes, an archaeological team led by researchers at the University of Maine has documented the highest altitude ice age human occupation anywhere in the world — nearly 4,500 meters above sea level (masl). Their discoveries date high-altitude human habitation nearly a millennium earlier than previously documented. Despite cold temperatures, high solar radiation and low oxygen conditions at that altitude, hunter-gatherers colonized the remote, treeless landscapes about 12,000 years ago during the terminal Pleistocene ...

LA JOLLA, CA – October 23, 2014 - Breaking carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds to alter existing molecules to create new ones is an increasingly important avenue for drug development. Of particular interest is mirror-image or "one-handed" compounds, but C-H breaking methods for making pure batches of these molecules have worked with only a limited range of starting materials. Now a team from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has established a new C-H activation technique that opens the door to creating a broader range of pure molecules of one-handedness or "chirality" ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- When pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella or Staphylococcus invade a host, the host organism should respond by going into a state of high alert, altering its metabolism to defend against the attack. But if the host doesn't reverse course once the battle is won, its efforts will be wasted on defense rather than on repairing the damage done by bacterial invaders. Duke University researchers have uncovered the genes that are normally activated during recovery from bacterial infection. The finding could lead to ways to jumpstart this recovery process and ...

Over the last decade, powerful new microscopes have dramatically sharpened biologists' focus on the molecules that animate and propel life. Now, a new imaging platform developed by Eric Betzig and colleagues at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus offers another leap forward for light microscopy. The new technology collects high-resolution images rapidly and minimizes damage to cells, meaning it can image the three-dimensional activity of molecules, cells, and embryos in fine detail over longer periods than was previously possible. The developers ...

To protect our oceans from irreversible harm, governments, conservationists, and researchers around the world must address the enormous threat posed by unregulated and destructive fisheries, say top marine scientists. In an article published today in Science, Prof. Amanda Vincent of Project Seahorse at the University of British Columbia and Dr. Jean M. Harris of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife in South Africa call for bold new approaches to the pressing global issue of overfishing and habitat destruction, including networks of marine protected areas, co-ordinated governance, and ...

This news release is available in German. Viral infections always follow a similar course. The pathogen infiltrates the host cells and uses their replication and protein production machinery to multiply. The virus has to overcome the initial barrier by docking on the surface of the cell membrane. The cell engulfs the virus in a bubble and transports it towards the cell nucleus. During this journey, the solution inside the bubble becomes increasingly acidic. The acidic pH value is ultimately what causes the virus's outer shell to melt into the membrane of the bubble. Capsid ...

A DNA mutation that can lead to horses being genetically male, but female in appearance, may explain at least two cases of controversial sexual identity, according to research led by professors from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) and published in PLOS Genetics. This type of genetic abnormality is caused by a mutation called DNA copy number variation (CNV), in which there are deletions and duplications in the genome typically larger than 50 base pairs. These variations are one way that individuals of the same species are genetically ...

Kansas City, MO. — The development of a new organism from the joining of two single cells is a carefully orchestrated endeavor. But even before sperm meets egg, an equally elaborate set of choreographed steps must occur to ensure successful sexual reproduction. Those steps, known as reproductive cell division or meiosis, split the original number of chromosomes in half so that offspring will inherit half their genetic material from one parent and half from the other. During meiosis, each set of homologous chromosomes pair up in a kind of chromosomal square dance, ...

An international team of researchers from Japan and the UK has discovered how a single protein, called PP4, oversees the processing of DNA during sperm and egg generation for successful fertilization. This protein's activity becomes even more paramount during aging. The study, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, may one day help scientists to understand the mechanisms underlying age-related fertility declines in humans. While a typical adult human cell contains 46 DNA strands, or chromosomes, that carry our complete genetic information, reproductive cells such as ...

Research conducted at the highest-altitude Pleistocene archaeological sites yet identified in the world sheds new light on the capacity of humans to survive in extreme environments. The findings, to be published in the Oct. 24 edition of the academic journal Science – co-authored by a team of researchers including University of Calgary archaeologist Sonia Zarrillo – were taken from sites in the Pucuncho Basin, located in the Southern Peruvian Andes. The primary site, Cuncaicha is a rock shelter at 4,480 metres above sea level, with a stone-tool workshop ...

Scientists working on islands in Florida have documented the rapid evolution of a native lizard species — in as little as 15 years — as a result of pressure from an invading lizard species, introduced from Cuba. After contact with the invasive species, the native lizards began perching higher in trees, and, generation after generation, their feet evolved to become better at gripping the thinner, smoother branches found higher up. The change occurred at an astonishing pace: Within a few months, native lizards had begun shifting to higher perches, and over ...