You must use a microscope to spot the new helpers that can assist in biological soil clean-up (bioremediation). They are small, mobile microorganisms, such as the unicellular slipper-shaped ciliates that can be found in stale water in a flower vase, where they feed on bacteria. New results from Aarhus University indicate that such mobile microorganisms can play a surprising key role in bioremediation of soil which is contaminated with so-called PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons). PAH are toxic tar substances formed during incomplete combustion in, for example, car ...

An international team led by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a new technique for identifying gene enhancers - sequences of DNA that act to amplify the expression of a specific gene – in the genomes of humans and other mammals. Called SIF-seq, for site-specific integration fluorescence-activated cell sorting followed by sequencing, this new technique complements existing genomic tools, such as ChIP-seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing), and offers some additional benefits. "While ChIP-seq is very ...

Smokers and those who have quit cannot fully appreciate the full flavor of a cup of coffee, because many cannot taste the bitterness of their regular caffeine kick. This is the finding of a study led by Nelly Jacob of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital APHP in France, published in Springer's journal Chemosensory Perception. It is already known that smoking, and especially the toxic chemicals in tobacco, causes a loss of taste among smokers. It also causes structural changes to the fungiform papillae of the tongue where the taste buds are located. However, it is not yet known ...

This news release is available in Spanish. A research study, participated in by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), has discovered that nanometric-size foam structures follow the same universal laws as does soap lather: small bubbles disappear in favor of the larger ones. The scientific team, made up of researchers from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spanish National Research Council) - CSIC, the Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid- UPCO, and UC3M, reached this conclusion after producing and characterizing nanofoam formed by ion ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Recently physicists have been poking holes again in Stephen Hawking's black hole theory – including Hawking himself. For decades physicists across the globe have been trying to figure out the mysteries of black holes – those fascinating monstrous entities that have such intense gravitational pull that nothing – not even light – can escape from them. Now Professor Chris Adami, Michigan State University, has jumped into the fray. The debate about the behavior of black holes, which has been ongoing since 1975, was reignited when Hawking posted a ...

Many physicians are adopting patient portals in response to governmental incentives for meaningful use (MU), but the stage 2 requirements for portal use may be particularly challenging for newer electronic health record (EHR) users. This study examines enrollment, use based on MU requirements, and satisfaction in a recently-adopting fee-for-service multispecialty system. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) financial incentives for meaningful use (MU)1 likely will persuade many reluctant doctors to adopt electronic health records (EHRs). However, there are ...

ATLANTA--Counties that change their delivery of public assistance benefits from paper checks to an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system – using debit cards – see their street crimes drop significantly, according to a study published today by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Titled "Less Cash, Less Crime: Evidence from the Electronic Benefit Transfer Program," the study is the first to empirically examine whether the introduction of an EBT system, which reduces the amount of cash circulated on the streets, will disrupt criminal activities that rely on the ...

The female breast contains a unique population of microbes relative to the rest of the body, according to the first-ever study of the breast microbiome. That study sought to lay the groundwork for understanding how this bacterial community contributes to health and disease, says first author Camilla Urbaniak, a PhD student at the University of Western Ontario. The research was published ahead of print in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. "Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum in healthy breast tissue," says Urbaniak, noting that it is found only in small proportions ...

SAN DIEGO (March 24, 2014)—Shrinking the prostate without surgery can provide long-term relief to men with this common condition that causes annoying symptoms, such as frequent trips to the bathroom, suggests a study of nearly 500 men. According to research being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 39th Annual Scientific Meeting, 72 percent of men experienced symptom improvement three years after having a new, minimally invasive, image-guided treatment performed by interventional radiologists called prostate artery embolization (PAE). "The results of ...

SAN DIEGO (March 24, 2014)—Individuals suffering from spinal fractures—caused by osteoporosis or weakened bones—now have another option to reduce pain, restore function and improve quality of life, according to a study of 300 patients treated with a new type of vertebral augmentation. Results of a randomized, controlled multicenter trial on a new implant treatment for vertebral compression fractures are being reported for the first time at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 39th Annual Scientific Meeting. Made of medical polymer, the implant is designed to treat ...

SAN DIEGO (March 24, 2014)—Music may soothe the soul, but it takes video to calm a patient undergoing medical treatment, notes a study in which individuals watched television shows or movies through special video glasses while having a biopsy or other minimally invasive treatment. The research is being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 39th Annual Scientific Meeting. Although interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery, patients nonetheless may be anxious about them and their outcomes. ...

SAN DIEGO (March 24, 2014)—A minimally invasive treatment that delivers cancer-killing radiation directly to tumors shows promise in treating breast cancer that has spread to the liver when no other treatment options remain, according to research being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 39th Annual Scientific Meeting. In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers reviewed treatment outcomes of 75 women (ages 26-82) with chemotherapy-resistant breast cancer liver metastases, which were too large or too numerous to treat with other therapies. The ...

The gap between private health insurance premiums and payouts in Canada has widened markedly over the past 20 years, with a gap of $6.8 billion in 2011. In an analysis in CMAJ, Michael Law and coauthors examine why this has happened and how the private insurance industry might be better regulated for the benefit of those insured. "Around 60% of Canadians have private health insurance coverage, and it's important they realize that the gap between what insurers collect in premiums and what they pay out in benefits is essentially their money," states Michael Law, assistant ...

A clinical trial to determine if nurses in the emergency department could reduce "pulled elbows" in children at a rate similar to that of physicians found that althiough nurses were able to treat this common injury 85% of the time, physicians were more effective, with a 97% success rate. The trial is published Mar. 24 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Pulled elbow, or radial-head subluxation, is a common arm injury in young children, often resulting in a visit to the emergency department. The injury is easy to diagnose and quick to fix, but children usually ...

Spending by Canadians on private health insurance has more than doubled over the past 20 years, but insurers paid out a rapidly decreasing proportion as benefits, according to a study published today in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The study, by University of British Columbia and University of Toronto researchers, shows that overall Canadians paid $6.8 billion more in premiums than they received in benefits in 2011. Approximately 60 per cent of Canadians have private health insurance. Typically obtained as a benefit of employment or purchased by ...

Bethesda, MD (March 24, 2014) — Patients want physicians to provide high-quality care and the health system requires good value for physician work. To help gastroenterologists achieve these goals, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has developed a colonoscopy bundled payment model, which has been published in Gastroenterology1, the official journal of the AGA. By developing a framework and educating gastroenterologists about value-based reimbursement, the AGA hopes to inform physicians who wish to consider contracting with payors, purchasers and risk-bearing ...

(Lebanon, NH, 03/24/2014)- Dartmouth researchers at its Norris Cotton Cancer Center have compiled a review of the role that information gathered through genetic testing plays in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The paper entitled "Personalized Therapy for Breast Cancer" was accepted on March 17, 2014, for publication in Clinical Genetics. The paper discusses targeted therapies, new biomarkers, and the quality of commercially available testing methods. Genomic testing is changing the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated. By examining a woman's genes ...

PHILADELPHIA (March 24, 2014)— The low cost of parking in many American cities may contribute to urban development that relies on automobile use and undercuts planners' efforts to increase public transport, according to a new baseline study of comprehensive public parking costs led by the Drexel University School of Public Health. The article, "Public parking fees and fines: a survey of US cities," is now published online ahead of print in the journal Public Works Management and Policy. It reports on downtown public parking costs after surveying public parking agencies ...

Tropical Cyclone Gillian's eye was starting to "close" or become cloud-filled when NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean on March 23. On March 23, Gillian's maximum sustained winds peaked near 140 knots/161.1 mph/259.3 kph making it a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Fortunately, Gillian pulled away from Indonesia, so all of the regional warnings were canceled on March 23. At 06:45 UTC on March 23, NASA's Aqua satellite flew overhead and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument captured a visible image ...

An international team of scientists that included USC's Meghan Miller used computer modeling to reveal, for the first time, how giant swirls form during the collision of tectonic plates – with subduction zones stuttering and recovering after continental fragments slam into them. The team's 3D models suggest a likely answer to a question that has long plagued geologists: why do long, curving mountain chains form along some subduction zones – where two tectonic plates collide, pushing one down into the mantle? Based on the models, the researchers found that parts of the ...

Neurologists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have studied the role of the vestibular system, which controls balance, in optimizing how we direct our gaze. The results could lead to more effective rehabilitation of patients with vestibular or cerebellar dysfunction. When we shift the direction of our gaze, head and eye movements are normally highly coordinated with each other. Indeed, from the many possible combinations of speed and duration for such movements, the brain chooses the one that minimizes the error in reaching the intended line of sight. ...

If you are looking for a relaxing and stress-free way to celebrate Passover with your loved ones without spending the whole day in the kitchen, consider what has become a tradition for Passover at the popular New York City Glatt Kosher restaurant, Talia's Steakhouse & Bar, located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, NYC. For over eleven years, Talia's Steakhouse & Bar has been serving the kosher community of the NY Metro area. As the premier Glatt kosher establishment in Manhattan, Talia's is proud to announce that, once again, it will conduct four prepaid ...

Researchers have found that people born with a rare abnormality of their chromosomes have a 2,700-fold increased risk of a rare childhood leukaemia. In this abnormality, two specific chromosomes are fused together but become prone to catastrophic shattering. Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, or ALL, is the most common childhood cancer. Scientists previously found that a small subset of ALL patients have repeated sections of chromosome 21 in the genomes of their leukaemia cells. This form of ALL – iAMP21 ALL – requires more intensive treatment than many other types of ALL. ...

SEATTLE — Nationally, smoking rates have decreased since 1996, but the declines have been driven by a relatively small share of counties across the US, according to new research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. The study, "Cigarette smoking prevalence in US counties: 1996-2012," was published March 24 in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal Population Health Metrics. Total cigarette smoking prevalence – the percentage of the population that smokes – has not decreased significantly in all counties but, because ...

DETROIT – More awareness about skin cancer is needed for minorities because they believe they are at low risk of developing it, says Henry Ford Hospital dermatologist Diane Jackson-Richards, M.D. Research has shown that minorities are diagnosed at a more advanced stage of skin cancer and have lower chances of survival than Caucasians. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer among African Americans and Asian Indians, and the second most common skin cancer in Hispanics, East Asians and Caucasians, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. "We need to intensify ...