Various manual tasks in everyday life require the use of the right hand or are optimized for right-handers. Around 90 percent of the general population is right-handed, only about 10 percent is left-handed. The study of Ulrich Tran, Stefan Stieger, and Martin Voracek comprised two large and independent samples of nearly 13000 adults from Austria and Germany. As in modern genetic studies, where a discovery-and-replication-sample design is standard, the use of two samples allowed testing the replicability and robustness of findings within one-and-the-same study. Overall, ...

Let us imagine, for a moment, the arm of a robot that lifts a cup of coffee to its "lips" over and over again. The joint of this robotic arm needs a certain flexibility plus an electric motor to drive the upward and downward movements. So orders have to be sent to the motor so that the joint can perform the corresponding movements. "The motors need to receive orders constantly. In fact, the motor has to know at all times what angle its axis has to be at. However, current digital controllers only issue orders at specific moments (in discrete time); they can be described ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A tool to help brain surgeons test and more precisely remove cancerous tissue was successfully used during surgery, according to a Purdue University and Brigham and Women's Hospital study. The Purdue-designed tool sprays a microscopic stream of charged solvent onto the tissue surface to gather information about its molecular makeup and produces a color-coded image that reveals the location, nature and concentration of tumor cells. "In a matter of seconds this technique offers molecular information that can detect residual tumor that otherwise ...

In a cluster of articles released today in the peer reviewed European Journal of Psychotraumatology, researchers provide new insights into the treatment of children and youth exposed to acts of terror. The work is drawn from studies examining the mass shooting at Utoya, Norway in 2011, and two school shootings in Finland – Jokela in 2007 and Kauhajoki in 2008. A lead researcher in the cluster is noted Norwegian child psychiatrist and terror expert Dr. Grete Dyb of the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Center for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies. "Terror ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study is the first to identify specific coping behaviors through which stress exposure leads to the development of insomnia. Results show that coping with a stressful event through behavioral disengagement – giving up on dealing with the stress – or by using alcohol or drugs each significantly mediated the relationship between stress exposure and insomnia development. Surprisingly, the coping technique of self-distraction – such as going to the movies or watching TV – also was a significant mediator between stress and incident insomnia. Furthermore, ...

Angiogenesis, the sprouting of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, is essential to the body's development. As organs grow, vascular networks must grow with them to feed new cells and remove their waste. The same process, however, also plays a critical role in the onset and progression of many cancers, as it allows the rapid growth of tumors. With lifesaving applications possible in both inhibiting and accelerating the creation of new blood vessels, a more fundamental understanding of what regulates angiogenesis is needed. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, ...

Adults who have dyslexia are much more likely to report they were physically abused before they turned 18 than their peers without dyslexia, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. Thirty-five per cent of adults with dyslexia report they were physically abused before they turned 18. In contrast, seven per cent of those without dyslexia reported that they had experienced childhood physical abuse. "Even after accounting for age, race, sex and other early adversities ...

3 JULY 2014 | ROME, ITALY - The World Health Organization (WHO) today, together with the European Respiratory Society (ERS), presented a new framework to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) in countries with low levels of the disease. Today there are 33* countries and territories where there are fewer than 100 TB cases per million population. The framework outlines an initial "pre-elimination" phase, aiming to have fewer than 10 new TB cases per million people per year by 2035 in these countries. The goal is to then achieve full elimination of TB by 2050, defined as less than ...

New research shows that our brain displays a similar pattern of activity during dreams as it does during a mind-expanding drug trip. Psychedelic drugs such as LSD and magic mushrooms can profoundly alter the way we experience the world but little is known about what physically happens in the brain. New research, published in Human Brain Mapping, has examined the brain effects of the psychedelic chemical in magic mushrooms, called 'psilocybin,' using data from brain scans of volunteers who had been injected with the drug. The study found that under psilocybin, activity ...

THURSDAY, July 3, 2014, Las Vegas: Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health have conducted the first-ever analysis of clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease (AD), revealing an urgent need to increase the number of agents entering the AD drug development pipeline and progressing successfully towards new therapy treatments. The paper, "Alzheimer's Disease Drug Development Pipeline: Few Candidates, Frequent Failures," was published today in the journal Alzheimer's Research & Therapy. A comprehensive look at all clinical trials underway shows: There ...

As older adults typically have one or more chronic health conditions that can affect dietary intake, malnutrition has been identified as a serious problem in older adults. This has given rise to the recommendation that nutrition screenings be a mandatory part of the comprehensive geriatric analysis (CGA). The CGA, first developed in the 1930s, is a multidimensional diagnostic process that looks at a frail elderly person's medical, psychosocial, and functional capabilities in order to develop an overall plan for treatment and follow-up. While it has been used across health ...

Pediatric patients with intestinal failure often need gastrostomy tubes, or feeding tubes inserted into an opening created in the stomach, for long-term nutrition. The use of such tubes can lead to persistent gastrocutaneous fistulae, or the failure of the opening to close on its own, resulting in a need for surgical closure. The causes of gastrocutaneous fistulae in pediatric patients are largely unknown, but researchers at Boston Children's Hospital looked at possible risk factors, including nutrition. Their finds are published today in the OnlineFirst version of the ...

A new study gives hospitals overall good marks for conducting nutrition screenings within 24 hours of a patient's admission, but finds that many need to improve other practices to be more effective. The study, conducted by the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.) and published today in A.S.P.E.N's Nutrition in Clinical Practice journal, found that while most respondents said that screening patients for malnutrition was being done in compliance with The Joint Commission mandate of 1995, fewer than half were familiar with the 2012 Consensus ...

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen and the Copenhagen University Hospital have identified a particular genetic mutation that may cause parkinsonism in young people. The mutation interferes with the brain's transport of the important signal substance dopamine and may also plays a role in mental diseases, e.g. ADHD. The findings have just been published in the scientific Journal of Clinical Investigation. Being one of the most important signal substances in the brain, dopamine is particularly important for the control of movements and reward mechanisms in the brain. ...

Bottom Line: Women with long-term high blood pressure (hypertension) appear to be at an increased risk for the skin condition psoriasis, and long-term use of beta (β)-blocker medication to treat hypertension may also increase the risk of psoriasis. Author: Shaowei Wu, M.D., Ph.D., of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues. Background: Psoriasis is an immune-related chronic disease that affects about 3 percent of the U.S. population. The authors suggest prospective data on the risk of psoriasis associated with hypertension is lacking. Antihypertensive ...

Bottom Line: Full implementation of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) national health insurance expansion could result in many more discretionary surgical procedures in the next few years based on how utilization changed after an earlier insurance reform in Massachusetts. Author: Chandy Ellimoottil, M.D., of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues. Background: The potential effect of the ACA on surgical care is not well known. The authors examined its possible effect by analyzing the Massachusetts insurance expansion and utilization of discretionary and ...

Bottom Line: A clinical trial found a reduction in seizures and improvement in related symptoms, including depression and anxiety, in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) who were treated with cognitive behavioral therapy informed psychotherapy (CBT-ip) with and without the medication sertraline. Authors: W. Curt LaFrance, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., of Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, R.I., and colleagues. Background: PNES is not responsive to standard treatment and can be made worse by antiepileptic medications. Up to 20 percent of civilians ...

A team including researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research has developed a novel methodology that for the first time combines 3D and advanced range estimator technologies to provide highly detailed data on the range and movements of terrestrial, aquatic, and avian wildlife species. A paper detailing the project, called 'Movement-based Estimation and Visualization of Space Use in 3D for Wildlife Ecology and Conservation', was published July 2 in the PLOS ONE online science journal. A video of the project ...

PHOENIX, Ariz. — July 2, 2014 — Lung cancer patients could receive more precise treatment, and their progress could be better tracked, using a new high-tech method of non-invasive medical imaging analysis, according to a study published today by the journal PLOS ONE. Genetic changes increasingly are recognized as driving cancer development. But obtaining evidence of these changes usually requires a biopsy, which can be problematic for sensitive regions of the body such as the lungs. Based on a review of 48 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the study ...

Researchers at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have created a new nonlinear metasurface, or meta mirror, that could one day enable the miniaturization of laser systems. The invention, called a "nonlinear mirror" by the researchers, could help advance nonlinear laser systems that are used for chemical sensing, explosives detection, biomedical research and potentially many other applications. The researchers' study will be published in the July 3 issue of Nature. The metamaterials were created with nonlinear optical response ...

This news release is available in German. Lasers have a fixed place in many fields of application. Yet, there are still wavelengths for which either no systems exist, or at best only large and expensive ones. On the other hand remote sensing and medical applications call for compact laser systems, for example with wavelengths from the near infrared to the Terahertz region. A team of researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (Germany) and the University of Texas Austin (USA) has now developed a 400 nanometer thick nonlinear mirror that reflects frequency-doubled ...

A Boston-based scientific collaborative, led by Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers, has discovered a way to collect the best cell type for regenerating a damaged cornea—the clear membrane that covers the pupil and directs light into the back of the eye. The investigators report in the journal Nature that purified human stem cells can be used to improve long-term vision in mice. The team is now pursuing FDA-approval for the technique before moving on to patient clinical trials. The study, lead by co-senior investigators Natasha Frank, MD, and Markus Frank, ...

A new pathogen has been discovered by scientists investigating major die-offs of pigeons native to North America, according to studies led by the University of California, Davis, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Scientists were able to implicate this new parasite, along with the ancient parasite Trichomonas gallinae, in the recent deaths of thousands of Pacific Coast band-tailed pigeons. The die-offs occurred during multiple epidemics in California's Central Coast and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. Scientists named the new pathogen Trichomonas stableri. Avian ...

PHILADELPHIA - Using computer-automated, time‐lapse photography of embryos in the laboratory during in-vitro fertilization may improve embryo selection, potentially increasing the chances of pregnancy among women undergoing the procedure, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and five other fertility centers. Results of the study were presented this week at the 30th annual European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) meeting in Munich, Germany. The researchers at Penn and their collaborators ...

A novel intravaginal ring implanted with anti-retroviral drug tablets, or pods, demonstrated sustained and controlled drug release and safety over 28 days, according to a paper published ahead of print in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. The ring, designed to prevent transmission of HIV, was tested in pig-tailed macaque monkeys, and is engineered to be inexpensive, all the better for use in developing countries, says corresponding author Marc Baum. One of the two drug combinations tested in the ring had been shown in three clinical trials to prevent HIV—some of ...