CAMBRIDGE, Mass--The process of wrinkle formation is familiar to anyone who has ever sat in a bathtub a little too long. But exactly why layered materials sometimes form one kind of wrinkly pattern or another -- or even other variations, such as creases, folds, or delaminated buckles -- has now been explained at a fundamental level by researchers at MIT. The underlying process is the same in all of these cases: Layers of material with slightly different properties -- whether skin tissue or multilayer materials created in the lab -- tend to form patterned surfaces when ...

March 9, 2015 -- Unhealthy weight gain in pregnancy has been linked with infant size and body composition but until now little was known about its long-term association with childhood obesity among low-income and multi-ethnic youth. For the first time, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health studied the effects of gestational weight gain on childhood obesity risk among a multi-ethnic urban population. The researchers determined that excessive pregnancy weight gain was associated with greater overall and abdominal body fat in children and obesity ...

EUGENE, Ore. -- March 9, 2015 -- University of Oregon geologist Qusheng Jin initially labeled his theory "A Wild Hypothesis." Now his study of arsenic cycling in a southern Willamette Valley aquifer is splashing with potential significance for arsenic-compromised aquifers around the world. In a paper online ahead of regular publication in the journal Nature Geoscience, Jin's five-member team reports on a bacterial process that turns toxic inorganic arsenic into organic forms that usually are considered to be less dangerous. Jin's conclusion now is that organic arsenic ...

SAN FRANCISCO (March 9, 2015) -- A team of Brazilian scientists--including Luiz Rocha, PhD, Associate Curator of Ichthyology at the California Academy of Sciences--is raising awareness about impending conservation setbacks for Brazil's aquatic animals, calling for immediate fisheries management collaboration between the nation's public and private sectors. The scientists say Brazil can transform this moment of political turmoil into positive action--and become a leader among developing countries facing widespread extinction of aquatic fauna. The call to protect the future ...

Vildagliptin (trade name Galvus or Jalra) has been approved since September 2007 for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus in whom diet and exercise do not provide adequate glycaemic control. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined in a new dossier assessment whether this drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy. Such an added benefit cannot be derived from the new dossier either, however, because the drug manufacturer did not submit any suitable data. Manufacturer itself applied for a new dossier assessment Neither ...

Atomic clocks are the most accurate clocks in the world. In an atomic clock, electrons jumping from one orbit to another decides the clock's frequency. To get the electrons to jump, researchers shine light on the atoms using stabilised laser light. However, the laser light has to have a very precise frequency to trigger very precise electron jumps. It is however challenging to get the laser light frequency ultra precise - there will always be a little 'noise'. Now researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute have developed a method that reduces the noise so that it is up to ...

The drug combination of ledipasvir and sofosbuvir (trade name Harvoni) has been available since November 2014 for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined in a dossier assessment whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy. IQWiG found a hint a non-quantifiable added benefit for two out of seven patient groups in total: in an infection with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) when previous therapies had been unsuccessful, and when previously ...

HEIDELBERG, 10 March 2015 - An international group of researchers has shown that a regulatory protein involved in controlling how cancer spreads through the body also influences the fate of stem cells in the intestine of mice. The results, which are published in The EMBO Journal, show that the Snai1 protein plays an important role in deciding the fate of intestinal stem cells and the different functions that these cells can adopt. "Our results show that Snai1 is a key regulator of crypt base columnar cells, a type of stem cell found in the invaginations or crypts that ...

New research conducted by The University of Manchester has found that GPs' patients can feel alienated by lack of trust, impersonal processes and that this presents problems to improving their safety. Most research into patient safety focuses on the systems operated by health services. This is particularly focused on hospitals. However, most encounters occur within GP services where relationships between doctor and patient can form a significant part of reaching successful diagnosis and treatment. The team from the NIHR Greater Manchester Primary Care Patient Safety ...

Study suggests that millions of modern Asian men are descended from 11 ancient leaders, including Genghis Khan Sample examined the Y chromosomes of 5,000 Asian men from 127 populations Historical nomadic and mobile populations allowed for Y chromosomes to be spread far and wide Geneticists from the University of Leicester have discovered that millions of modern Asian men are descended from 11 powerful dynastic leaders who lived up to 4,000 years ago - including Mongolian warlord Genghis Khan. The study, which is funded by the Wellcome Trust and published in ...

Males that mate more often are more insecure about their social status than those mating less, according to new research on the behaviour of burying beetles. The study, published in the journal Evolution, provides new evidence that the social sensitivity of male behaviour is linked to how often male beetles mate. Male burying beetles actively compete with each other for access to breeding resources such as dead mice, and when they find a suitable carcass will emit pheromones as a signal to attract females. But the emission of pheromones may also attract other males, ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Although some children emerge from cold and neglectful family environments as adults with high self-esteem, a new University at Buffalo study suggests these people may still be at a relative disadvantage in life, with a foggier sense of who they are. On the other hand, adults with low self-esteem who grew up in the same type of negative environment actually have relatively high self-clarity, according to the study's findings. "Our findings show that even those people who manage to get out of that relatively negative time and view themselves as good, worthwhile ...

Berkeley -- When University of California, Berkeley, bioengineers say they are holding their hearts in the palms of their hands, they are not talking about emotional vulnerability. Instead, the research team led by bioengineering professor Kevin Healy is presenting a network of pulsating cardiac muscle cells housed in an inch-long silicone device that effectively models human heart tissue, and they have demonstrated the viability of this system as a drug-screening tool by testing it with cardiovascular medications. This organ-on-a-chip, reported in a study to be published ...

Chestnut Hill, MA (March 9th, 2015): From "Got Milk?" to "What's in your wallet?" to "Are you a Mac or a PC?" promotional phrases consisting of a simple question have proven to be quite effective, but are they more effective than a simple statement? That depends. Henrik Hagtvedt, Ph.D., a Marketing professor at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, has just finished investigating what happens when you replace a period with a question mark, or vice versa, and how that affects whether a consumer makes a purchase. "I've long been interested in ambiguity and ...

This news release is available in Spanish. Working in a physically demanding job, having high blood pressure, and taking multiple medications are among health risks that may undermine a man's fertility, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Stanford University, Stanford, California. The study is the first to examine the relationships between workplace exertion, health, and semen quality as men are trying to conceive. The results were published online in Fertility and Sterility. "Nearly 15 percent of U.S. couples do not become ...

Having a family history of prostate cancer among first-degree relatives may increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results indicate that clinicians should take a complete family history of all cancers--even those in family members of the opposite sex--to help assess a patient's risk of developing cancer. Evidence suggests that the risk of developing breast and prostate cancer is increased among individuals with a family ...

San Diego, CA--In patients with advanced thyroid cancer, sunitinib, a drug approved for treatment of several other cancers, showed significant cancer-fighting activity t, a new phase 2 clinical trial has found. Results of the single-center study will be presented Sunday at the Endocrine Society's 97th annual meeting in San Diego. "Sunitinib can potentially be used as an effective adjunctive treatment in patients with advanced differentiated thyroid cancer," said Principal Investigator Kenneth Burman, MD, Chief of Endocrine at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, ...

San Diego, CA-- A new testosterone nasal gel raises men's low testosterone levels to normal, with few side effects, according to the results of a phase 3 clinical trial to be presented Saturday at the Endocrine Society's 97th annual meeting in San Diego. Last May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the medication, now called Natesto, making it the only FDA-approved nasal testosterone replacement therapy, according to the manufacturer, Trimel Pharmaceuticals. "The unique delivery system makes this a convenient and easy-to-use, self-administered form of testosterone ...

San Diego, CA-- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is prevalent in obese, pregnant Asian women with gestational diabetes, even when their diabetes is controlled by diet, a new study from Thailand finds. Study results, which also connect the severity of sleep disordered breathing with higher blood glucose (sugar) levels and greater daytime sleepiness, will be presented on Saturday at the Endocrine Society's 97th annual meeting in San Diego. In 25 women with diet-controlled gestational (pregnancy) diabetes, the researchers found a 56 percent prevalence of OSA, a sleep disorder ...

San Diego, CA-- Obesity guidelines recommend an initial weight loss goal of 5 to 10% of start weight to improve health. A recent study found that patients who received liraglutide 3.0 mg, combined with fewer calories and more physical activity, were more than twice as likely to achieve at least that level of weight loss, compared to patients on placebo who made similar lifestyle changes. Patients who achieved that weight loss showed improvements on a number of health markers, compared to those who lost less, and the patients on liraglutide showed greater improvement on ...

San Diego, CA-- A new study has confirmed that transgender youth often have mental health problems and that their depression and anxiety improve greatly with recognition and treatment of gender dysphoria. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 97th annual meeting in San Diego. "Youth with gender incongruence or dysphoria need a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to care," said principal investigator Maja Marinkovic, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist and Medical Director of the Gender Management Clinic at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, ...

San Diego, CA-- A fetus exposed to tobacco smoke may be at increased risk for diabetes in adulthood, a new study of adult daughters finds. The results will be presented in a poster Saturday, March 7, at ENDO 2015, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego. Women whose parents smoked during pregnancy had increased risk of diabetes mellitus independent of known risk factors, adding to the evidence that prenatal environmental chemical exposures can contribute to adult diabetes mellitus. "From a public health perspective, reduced fetal environmental tobacco ...

San Diego, CA--In older men, decreased sexual activity and desire, not erectile dysfunction, may cause serum testosterone to decline, a new study from Australia finds. The results will be presented Saturday March 7, at ENDO 2015, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, in San Diego. "We found that over two years, men with declining serum concentrations of testosterone were more likely to develop a significant decrease in their sexual activity and sexual desire. In older men, decreased sexual activity and desire may be a cause - not an effect - of low circulating ...

San Diego, CA--Why men have more heart disease than premenopausal women has been unclear, but a new study shows that the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen alter cardiovascular risk factors in a way that raises a man's risk of heart disease. Results of the study will be presented Saturday at the Endocrine Society's 97th annual meeting in San Diego. Men have higher testosterone and lower estrogen levels than premenopausal women. Therefore, doctors have suspected that testosterone may promote cardiovascular disease or that estrogen may protect against it, or both, according ...

San Diego, CA-- Breast cancer survivors are at increased risk of developing thyroid cancer, especially within five years of their breast cancer diagnosis, according to a new analysis of a large national database. The study results will be presented Thursday at the Endocrine Society's 97th annual meeting in San Diego. "Recognition of this association between breast and thyroid cancer should prompt vigilant screening for thyroid cancer among breast cancer survivors," said lead investigator Jennifer Hong Kuo, MD, assistant professor of surgery at Columbia University, New ...