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Medicine6 Nov 2014

Golden approach to high-speed DNA reading

High-speed reading of the genetic code should get a boost with the creation of the world's first graphene nanopores - pores measuring approximately 2 nanometers in diameter - that feature a "built-in" optical antenna. Researchers with Berkeley Lab and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have invented a simple, one-step process for producing these nanopores in a graphene membrane using the photothermal properties of gold nanorods. "With our integrated graphene nanopore with plasmonic optical antenna, we can obtain direct optical DNA sequence detection," says Luke ...

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Medicine6 Nov 2014

Allergy sufferers are allergic to treatment more often than you'd think

ATLANTA, GA (November 6, 2014) – Whether allergy sufferers have symptoms that are mild or severe, they really only want one thing: relief. So it's particularly distressing that the very medication they hope will ease symptoms can cause different, sometimes more severe, allergic responses. According to a presentation at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, an allergic response to a medication for allergies can often go undiagnosed. The presentation sheds light on adverse responses to topical skin preparations; ...

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Environment6 Nov 2014

Exquisite ancient horse fossil preserves uterus with unborn foal

Berlin, Germany (November, 2014) – A specimen of the ancient horse Eurohippus messelensis has been discovered in Germany that preserves a fetus as well as parts of the uterus and associated tissues. It demonstrates that reproduction in early horses was very similar to that of modern horses, despite great differences in size and structure. Eurohippus messelensis had four toes on each forefoot and three toes on each the hind foot, and it was about the size of a modern fox terrier. The new find was unveiled at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology ...

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Science6 Nov 2014

Blight-resistant American chestnut trees take root at SUNY-ESF

VIDEO: Scientists at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) are growing the first American chestnut trees that can withstand the blight that virtually eliminated the once-dominant tree from... Click here for more information. SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Scientists at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) are growing the first American chestnut trees that can withstand the blight that virtually eliminated the once-dominant tree from the eastern ...

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Social Science6 Nov 2014

Study shows why cliques thrive in some schools more than in others

WASHINGTON, DC, November 6, 2014 -- Go to almost any American high school and the elements of teen social networks become quickly apparent: the cliques, the pecking orders, and the varying degrees of self-segregation by race, age, gender, and social status. For years, sociologists have identified seemingly universal human instincts that spur this kind of sorting. These include the desires for familiarity and certainty; for control and dominance; and for security and support. But as ubiquitous as those instincts are, students in some schools form more cliquish, hierarchical, ...

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Science6 Nov 2014

Cockroach cyborgs use microphones to detect, trace sounds

North Carolina State University researchers have developed technology that allows cyborg cockroaches, or biobots, to pick up sounds with small microphones and seek out the source of the sound. The technology is designed to help emergency personnel find and rescue survivors in the aftermath of a disaster. The researchers have also developed technology that can be used as an "invisible fence" to keep the biobots in the disaster area. "In a collapsed building, sound is the best way to find survivors," says Dr. Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer ...

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Science6 Nov 2014

Tricky take-off kept pterodactyls grounded

Berlin, Germany (November, 2014) – A new study, which teamed cutting-edge engineering techniques with paleontology, has found that take-off capacity may have determined body size limits in extinct flying reptiles. The research simulated pterodactyl flight using computer modeling, and will be presented at the upcoming Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting in Berlin. Findings suggest that a pterodactyl with a wingspan of 12m or more would simply not be able to get off the ground. Pterosaurs (commonly known as pterodactyls) were truly giants of the sky. With ...

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Space6 Nov 2014

Revolutionary ALMA image reveals planetary genesis

For ALMA's first observations in its new and most powerful mode, researchers pointed the antennas at HL Tauri — a young star, about 450 light-years away, which is surrounded by a dusty disc [1]. The resulting image exceeds all expectations and reveals unexpectedly fine detail in the disc of material left over from star birth. It shows a series of concentric bright rings, separated by gaps [2]. "These features are almost certainly the result of young planet-like bodies that are being formed in the disc. This is surprising since such young stars are not expected to ...

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Space6 Nov 2014

Birth of planets revealed in astonishing detail in ALMA's 'best image ever'

Astronomers have captured the best image ever of planet formation around an infant star as part of the testing and verification process for the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array's (ALMA) new high-resolution capabilities. This revolutionary new image reveals in astonishing detail the planet-forming disk surrounding HL Tau, a Sun-like star located approximately 450 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. ALMA uncovered never-before-seen features in this system, including multiple concentric rings separated by clearly defined gaps. These structures ...

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Medicine6 Nov 2014

Cellular extensions with a large effect

Tiny extensions on cells, cilia, play an important role in insulin release, according to a new study, which is published in Nature Communications. The researchers report that the cilia of beta cells in the pancreas are covered with insulin receptors and that changed ciliary function can be associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. Cilia are tiny extensions on cells and they are credited with many important functions, including transduction of signals in cells. Defects in cilia have been implied in several diseases and pathological conditions. Thus, scientists ...

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Science6 Nov 2014

Zebrafish stripped of stripes

VIDEO: A 10-day-old zebrafish gets its stripes over the next 30 days, one image taken a day. Click here for more information. Within weeks of publishing surprising new insights about how zebrafish get their stripes, the same University of Washington group is now able to explain how to "erase" them. The findings – the first published Aug. 28 in Science and the latest in the Nov. 6 issue of Nature Communications – give new understanding about genes and cell behaviors ...

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Science6 Nov 2014

Rabbit-proof hoof: Ungulates suppressed lagomorph evolution

Berlin, Germany (November, 2014) – Closely related groups can differ dramatically in their diversity, but why this happens is a fundamental question in evolutionary biology, dating back to Darwin's observation that a few hyper-diverse groups dominate the modern biota. One of the most extreme examples of this observation is found in the comparison of rodents (Rodentia) and rabbits (Lagomorpha). These two mammalian orders are sister groups, but while rodents have diversified to over 2000 living species and an enormous range of body sizes, lagomorphs (rabbits, hares, ...

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Science6 Nov 2014

Orange is not the new black: Just highly allergenic for one toddler

ATLANTA, GA (November 7, 2014) – Many people don't realize allergies and asthma go hand-in-hand, and about 90 percent of kids with asthma also have allergies. Even more important, when asthma is undiagnosed or poorly controlled, children are at risk for suffering difficult-to-treat allergic reactions to food. According to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, a two and-a-half year-old girl in Pennsylvania suffered a life-threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to eating an orange – ...

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Medicine6 Nov 2014

US preterm birth rate hits healthy people 2020 goal 7 years early

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Nov. 6, 2014 – The national preterm birth rate fell to 11.4 percent in 2013 – the lowest in 17 years -- meeting the federal Healthy People 2020 goal seven years early. Despite this progress, the U.S. still received a "C" on the 7th annual March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card because it fell short of the more-challenging 9.6 percent target set by the March of Dimes, the group said today. "Achieving the Healthy People 2020 goal is reason for celebration, but the U.S. still has one of the highest rates of preterm birth of any high ...

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Technology6 Nov 2014

New airport security screening method more than 20 times as successful at detecting deception

WASHINGTON - Airport security agents using a new conversation-based screening method caught mock airline passengers with deceptive cover stories more than 20 times as often as agents who used the traditional method of examining body language for suspicious signs, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. In experiments spanning eight months, security agents at eight international airports in Europe detected dishonesty in 66 percent of the deceptive mock passengers using the new screening method, compared to just 3 percent for agents ...

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Medicine6 Nov 2014

Biodiversity of plant cell culture collections offers valuable source of natural insecticidal and fungicidal products

New Rochelle, NY, November 6, 2014—Screening large cell culture collections containing plant samples obtained from diverse geographic regions, climates, and soil and growing conditions for biological activity can reveal a wealth of natural compounds with potential applications for crop improvement and protection. The capability to do reproducible screening and genomic analysis of the more than 2,000 plant cell lines maintained in culture at the Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, in Kiev, Ukraine is describe in an article in Industrial Biotechnology, ...

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Space6 Nov 2014

European satellite could discover thousands of planets in Earth's galaxy

A recently launched European satellite could reveal tens of thousands of new planets within the next few years, and provide scientists with a far better understanding of the number, variety and distribution of planets in our galaxy, according to research published today. Researchers from Princeton University and Lund University in Sweden calculated that the observational satellite Gaia could detect as many as 21,000 exoplanets, or planets outside of Earth's solar system, during its five-year mission. If extended to 10 years, Gaia could detect as many as 70,000 exoplanets, ...

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Science6 Nov 2014

Secure genetic data moves into the fast lane of discovery

November 5, 2014, Hong Kong, China –Today, the international open-access open-data journal GigaScience (a BGI and BioMed Central journal) announced publication of an article that presents GWATCH1, a new web-based platform that provides visualization tools for identifying disease-associated genetic markers from privacy-protected human data without risk to patient privacy. This dynamic online tool, developed by an international team of researchers from Russia, Australia, Canada, and the US, allows and facilitates disease gene discovery via automation and presentation ...

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Medicine6 Nov 2014

Antibiotics: On-the-spot tests reduce unnecessary prescriptions

Fast, on-the-spot tests for bacterial infections may help to reduce excessive antibiotic use. A systematic review published in The Cochrane Library, found that when doctors tested for the presence of bacterial infections they prescribed fewer antibiotics. Antibiotics treat infections caused by bacteria but not those caused by viruses. Most patients who visit their doctors with acute respiratory infections are suffering from viral infections like the common cold. However, because doctors usually have no immediate way of knowing whether an infection is bacterial or viral, ...

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Science6 Nov 2014

Teens close to high number of tobacco shops more likely to smoke

Teenagers are much more likely to take up smoking if they live in neighbourhoods with a large number of shops that sell tobacco products, a study suggests. Adolescents with the most tobacco outlets in their neighbourhood are almost 50% more likely to smoke than those with no outlets nearby, researchers say. The study also found that teenagers living in areas with the highest density of retailers are 53 per cent more likely to try smoking at least once. Based on their findings, researchers argue that anti-smoking strategies among teenagers should include reducing ...

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Science6 Nov 2014

Does life satisfaction increase with age? Only in some places, new study finds

PRINCETON, N.J.—Life satisfaction dips around middle age and rises in older age in high-income, English-speaking countries, but that is not a universal pattern, according to a new report published in The Lancet as part of a special series on ageing. In contrast, residents of other regions — such as the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa — grow increasingly less satisfied as they age. The study — conducted by researchers from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, ...

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Science6 Nov 2014

The Lancet: 'Ageing well' must be a global priority

A major new Series on health and ageing, published in The Lancet, warns that unless health systems find effective strategies to address the problems faced by an ageing world population, the growing burden of chronic disease will greatly affect the quality of life of older people. As people across the world live longer, soaring levels of chronic illness and diminished wellbeing are poised to become a major global public health challenge. Worldwide, life expectancy of older people continues to rise. By 2020, for the first time in history, the number of people aged 60 years ...

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Medicine6 Nov 2014

Multicenter study: Hospital medical errors reduced 30 percent with improved patient handoffs

Multicenter patient-safety study reduces injuries from hospital medical errors by 30% with improved handoff communications I-PASS bundle improves safety, quality of care at nine medical centers BOSTON (Nov. 6, 2014) – Improvements in verbal and written communication between health care providers during patient handoffs can reduce injuries due to medical errors by 30 percent, according to a multicenter study led by researchers from Boston Children's Hospital. Reported Nov. 6 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), study results show that I-PASS—an ...

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Science6 Nov 2014

CT lung screening appears cost-effective

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A new statistical analysis of results from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) concludes that performing low-dose computerized tomography screening can be cost-effective compared to doing no screening for lung cancer in aging smokers. "This provides evidence, given the assumptions we used, that it is cost-effective," said Ilana Gareen, assistant professor (research) of epidemiology in Brown University's School of Public Health and second author on the new study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Four years ago, the ...

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Medicine5 Nov 2014

More evidence arthritis/pain relieving drugs may contribute to stroke death

MINNEAPOLIS – Commonly prescribed, older drugs for arthritis and pain may increase the risk of death from stroke, according to a study published in the November 5, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The drugs examined in the study, called COX-2 inhibitors, include older drugs diclofenac, etodolac, nabumeton and meloxicam, as well as newer drugs called coxibs, including celecoxib ...

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