Researchers have identified a genetic association with facial asymmetry in an ancient cavefish, a natural trait that may solve mysteries surrounding facial asymmetries in humans – conditions such as cleft palate or hemifacial microsomia. This exciting discovery by Joshua Gross, a University of Cincinnati assistant professor for the Department of Biological Sciences; and doctoral students Amanda Krutzler and Brian Carlson, is published in the research journal, Genetics. The researchers are studying the craniofacial features of the eyeless, cave-dwelling fish, Astyanax ...

A study presented during the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases in Seville shows that high levels of protein intake (HProt) enhance the positive impact of high physical activity (HPA) on bone structure and strength in healthy pre-pubertal boys. Researchers from the University of Geneva in Switzerland and Eindhoven University in the Netherlands tracked 176 healthy pre-pubertal boys (average age 7.4 years) to mid-adolescence (average age 15.2 years). Compared to moderate protein intake, HProt in combination with HPA was associated ...

Twenty percent of adults who have tonsillectomies will have a complication, which is significantly higher than previously shown, according to a team of researchers. The team also found that these complications substantially increase health care expenditures. "Since 1973, John Wenneberg and his colleagues at Dartmouth have been examining variation in the rates of tonsillectomy performed across regions, trying to explain why such wide variation is observed," said Dennis Scanlon, professor of health policy and administration, Penn State. "In other words, why are some patients ...

San Francisco, CA, April 2, 2014 – Eyedrops administered to infants as part of routine outpatient retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening can have life-threatening consequences. A case report published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) describes cardiopulmonary arrest in a 27-week-old infant following administration of three sets of cyclopentolate 0.2%/phenylephrine 1% (Cyclomydril) eyedrops. "Cardiopulmonary arrest can occur from just instillation of eyedrops in a premature infant seen ...

Is a picture worth only a thousand words? According to Dr. Carmit Katz of Tel Aviv University's Bob Shapell School of Social Work, illustrations by children can be a critical tool in forensic investigations of child abuse. Dr. Katz's study, published in Child Abuse and Neglect, compared the results when child abuse victims were offered the opportunity to draw during questioning with victims not offered this opportunity. Her findings saw a significant difference, suggesting a therapeutic value and indicating that children empowered to draw pictures about their abuse provided ...

Radium-223 dichloride (radium-223 for short, trade name: Xofigo) has been approved since November 2013 for men with advanced prostate cancer, in whom hormone blockade is no longer effective, and symptomatic bone metastases, but without visceral metastases. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy specified by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA). No ...

Using magnetically controlled nanoparticles to force tumour cells to 'self-destruct' sounds like science fiction, but could be a future part of cancer treatment, according to research from Lund University in Sweden. Watch video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vos0QW2Yclk&feature=youtu.be "The clever thing about the technique is that we can target selected cells without harming surrounding tissue. There are many ways to kill cells, but this method is contained and remote-controlled", said Professor Erik Renström. The point of the new technique is that it is much more ...

Saliva-powered micro-sized microbial fuel cells can produce minute amounts of energy sufficient to run on-chip applications, according to an international team of engineers. Bruce E. Logan, Evan Pugh Professor and Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering, Penn State, credited the idea to fellow researcher Justine E. Mink. "The idea was Justine's because she was thinking about sensors for such things as glucose monitoring for diabetics and she wondered if a mini microbial fuel cell could be used," Logan said. "There is a lot of organic stuff in saliva." Microbial ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Investing in habitat that attracts and supports wild bees in farms is not only an effective approach to helping enhance crop pollination, but it can also pay for itself in four years or less, according to Michigan State University research. The paper, published in the current issue of the Journal of Applied Ecology, gives farmers of pollination-dependent crops tangible results to convert marginal acreage to fields of wildflowers, said Rufus Isaacs, MSU entomologist and co-author of the paper. "Other studies have demonstrated that creating flowering ...

Deaths from pulmonary hypertension have increased over the past decade, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the study, published online in CHEST, researchers analyzed death rates from the National Vital Statistics System and data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey between 2001 and 2010 to analyze trends in hospitalizations and death rates related to pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension is characterized by increased blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries, causing the right side of the heart to work ...

A new type of biomolecular tweezers could help researchers study how mechanical forces affect the biochemical activity of cells and proteins. The devices — too small to see without a microscope — use opposing magnetic and electrophoretic forces to precisely stretch the cells and molecules, holding them in position so that the activity of receptors and other biochemical activity can be studied. Arrays of the tweezers could be combined to study multiple molecules and cells simultaneously, providing a high throughput capability for assessing the effects of mechanical forces ...

The great success of vaccines over the past two centuries as a preventive medicine has led to a significant reduction in morbidity and death caused by controllable infectious diseases. The effectiveness of vaccines is dependent on their ability to induce a protective immune response in recipients. Adjuvants, such as aluminum salts, have been integrated into vaccines for more than 70 years to augment the body's immune response to patho-gens. Adjuvants are especially necessary to boost the immune response for subunit vac-cines. However, conventional adjuvants are limited ...

A team of researchers from the Center for Imaging Science at the Johns Hopkins University and the CMLA of the École Normale Supérieure Cachan have demonstrated new algorithmic technologies for the parametric representation of human shape and form. Coupled with advanced imaging technologies, this presents opportunities for tracking soft-tissue deformations associated with cardiovascular studies, radiation treatment planning in Oncology, and neurodegenerative brain illnesses. The software algorithms provide tools for basic science and pre-clinical investigations for synchronizing ...

Researchers at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute (VTCRI) are using new nanoscale imaging approaches to shed light on the dynamic activities of rotaviruses, important pathogens that cause life-threatening diarrhea in young children. Once a rotavirus enters a host cell, it sheds its outermost protein layer, leaving behind a double-layered particle (DLP). These DLPs are the form of the virus that produces messenger RNA molecules, which are critical for launching the infection. Researchers, Deborah Kelly, Ph.D. and Sarah McDonald, Ph.D., both Assistant Professors ...

Inhalation is an increasingly important route for non-invasive drug delivery for both systemic and local applications. Control of particle size and output plays a critical role in the efficient and effective delivery of oft en expensive medications to the lung. Drugs designed to treat pulmonary diseases or for systemic absorption through the alveolar capillary bed require optimum particle sizes (1 to 6 μm) for effective delivery. A team of researchers from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine has realized ...

WASHINGTON – NASA should use an ethics framework when deciding whether, and under what conditions, spaceflights that venture outside low Earth orbit or extend beyond 30 days are acceptable if they do not meet current health standards, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences. Exceptions to existing health standards should be granted by NASA on a mission-by-mission basis, and any exceptions should be rare and occur only in extenuating circumstances. The report provides an ethics framework based on six principles ...

LOS ANGELES (April 3, 2014) – In a series of research studies, Cedars-Sinai spinal surgeons show that a new method of computer-guided spine surgery is beneficial for spinal reconstruction and for treating complex tumors and degenerative spine problems, resulting in fewer complications and better outcomes for patients. The Cedars-Sinai surgeons highlight the advantages of a "spinal navigation" technique that uses high-speed computerized tomography (CT) imaging to navigate in and around the spinal column from different angles. They present their findings in six articles ...

Child abuse is a leading cause of fatality in children 0-4 years of age. Roughly 1,500 children are fatally injured each year in association with child abuse and 150,000 are permanently disabled. Many serious injuries and fatalities could be prevented if it was possible to distinguish between injuries associated with abuse and those caused by accidents. Clinicians, child protective services and law enforcement personnel should be equipped with improved knowledge related to the types of injuries that are possible from common household accidents that are often falsely reported ...

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Overreliance on genetic-centered approaches in predicting, diagnosing and treating disease will lead to few future scientific breakthroughs, cautioned a University of Alabama researcher who co-authored an article in an early online issue of Genetics that advocates for a greater emphasis on the body's metabolites in understanding illnesses. "To augment the value of genetic data, the scientific community needs to add additional information from things like metabolomics – the analysis of metabolites within an organism," said Dr. Laura Reed, a University ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass-- The electrochemical reactions inside the porous electrodes of batteries and fuel cells have been described by theorists, but never measured directly. Now, a team at MIT has figured out a way to measure the fundamental charge transfer rate — finding some significant surprises. The study found that the Butler-Volmer (BV) equation, usually used to describe reaction rates in electrodes, is inaccurate, especially at higher voltage levels. Instead, a different approach, called Marcus-Hush-Chidsey charge-transfer theory, provides more realistic results — revealing ...

A novel ultrathin collagen matrix assembly allows for the unprecedented maintenance of liver cell morphology and function in a microscale "organ-on-a-chip" device that is one example of 3D microtissue engineering. A team of researchers from the Center for Engineering in Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital have demonstrated a new nanoscale matrix biomaterial assembly that can maintain liver cell morphology and function in microfluidic devices for longer times than has been previously been reported in microfluidic devices. This technology allows researchers to ...

The patented work, published in Nature today, provides a deeper understanding of our first line of defence, and what happens when it goes wrong. It will lead to new ways of diagnosing and treating inflammatory bowel disease, peptic ulcers and even TB. It could also lead to novel protective vaccines. The discovery is the result of national and international collaboration between the universities of Melbourne, Monash, Queensland and Cork. It also depended on access to major facilities including the Australian Synchrotron and the Bio21 Institute. One of the leads in the ...

Women who start new businesses with men have limited opportunities to move into leadership roles, according to sociologists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and when they co-found a business with their husbands, they have even fewer chances to be in charge. The study, published in the April issue of the American Sociological Review, comes on the heels of a recent debate about businesses with all-male boards of directors and adds to a growing body of knowledge that documents women's limited access to leadership roles in the business world. "This work ...

This news release is available in German. "We don't have many women in management roles because we get so few good applicants." Companies can be heard lamenting this state of affairs with increasing frequency. Just an excuse? Scientists from the TUM have discovered something that actually does deter women from applying for a job, even if they are qualified: the wording of the job ads. The scientists showed some 260 test subjects fictional employment ads. These included, for example, a place in a training program for potential management positions. If the advertisement ...

A new report from the European Science Foundation, 'Media in Europe: New Questions for Research and Policy', examines the field of media studies and proposes an agenda for research for the next decade From newspapers and radio to internet, mobile telephony and digital communications, the media have in recent decades become ever more central to people's activities in personal, professional and social life. In this period of rapid social and technological change, it can be difficult to separate what we really know about the media from our assumptions and feelings about ...