After Mitt Romney was defeated by President Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election, some political pundits and even Romney himself tried to pin the loss in part on Hurricane Sandy. Observers, particularly conservatives, believed the storm was an "October surprise" that allowed Obama to use the trappings of his office to show sympathy and offer support for the victims. The devastating storm hit a week before Election Day, killing hundreds and causing more than $50 billion worth of damage. But a new study examining the psychological impact of Sandy on people's ...

BONN, Germany (June 05, 2014) – Programs and policies to reduce tropical deforestation, and the global warming emissions resulting from deforestation, are seeing broad success in 17 countries across four continents, according to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The report, "Deforestation Success Stories: Tropical Nations Where Forest Protection and Reforestation Policies Have Worked," highlights successes in reducing deforestation and restoring forests while supporting economic development in 17 cases across Africa, Latin America and South and ...

Habitat loss on breeding grounds in the United States – not on wintering grounds in Mexico – is the main cause of recent and projected population declines of migratory monarch butterflies in eastern North America, according to new research from the University of Guelph. The groundbreaking study was published today in the Journal of Animal Ecology. "Our work provides the first evidence that monarch butterfly numbers in eastern North America are most sensitive to changes in the availability of milkweed on breeding grounds, particularly in the Corn Belt region of the United ...

Young men who use cannabis may be putting their fertility at risk by inadvertently affecting the size and shape of their sperm according to research published today (Thursday 5 June 2014). In the world's largest study to investigate how common lifestyle factors influence the size and shape of sperm (referred to as sperm morphology), a research team from the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester also found that sperm size and shape was worse in samples ejaculated in the summer months but was better in men who had abstained from sexual activity for more than six days. However, ...

Boys may be especially prone to excess weight gain, the findings indicate. The researchers base their findings on a nationally representative sample of more than 3000 pupils attending 127 schools across Norway. All the children were part of the national 2010 Norwegian Child Growth Study. School nurses measured the height, weight, and waist circumference of the children whose average age was 8, to gauge general overweight, as defined by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), and (abdominal) obesity, as defined by a waist to height ratio of 0.5 or more. The results ...

But its impact on directly boosting the risk of heart attacks and stroke is rather less clear, the research indicates. The evidence suggests that high levels of certain air pollutants are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular problems, but exactly how this association works has not been clarified. The research team therefore set out to explore the short term biological impact of air pollution on cardiovascular disease, using data from three national collections in England and Wales for the period 2003-9. These were the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit ...

A 14-year-old boy's turnaround and quick recovery after mysteriously being stricken by brain-inflaming encephalitis -- which led to him being hospitalized for six weeks and put into a medically induced coma after falling critically ill -- shows that the newest generation of DNA analysis tools can be harnessed to reveal the cause of a life-threatening infection even when physicians have no suspects. The quick diagnosis and successful treatment of the adolescent just 48 hours after cerebrospinal spinal fluid and blood were received for analysis portends the broader application ...

If you're depressed, don't get enough exercise or have high blood pressure, you may find yourself complaining more about memory problems, even if you're a young adult, according to a new UCLA study. UCLA researchers and the Gallup organization polled more than 18,000 people about their memory and a variety of lifestyle and health factors previously shown to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. They found that many of these risk factors increased the likelihood of self-perceived memory complaints across all adult age groups. The findings, published ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Pain medicines often lead to constipation for patients seeking long-term pain relief, but an investigational once-daily drug may help, according to study led by the University of Michigan Health System. Globally, approximately 28 million to 35 million, or nearly half, of patients taking opioids for long-term pain develop constipation. Laxatives provide sub-optimal relief. The results of two pivotal Phase 3 studies – KODIAC-4 and KODIAC-5 of naloxegol, an investigational treatment for opioid-induced constipation (OIC) – were published online first ...

PITTSBURGH, June 4, 2014 – Even before conception, a son's vulnerability for alcohol use disorders could be shaped by a father who chronically drinks to excess, according to a new animal study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings, published online Wednesday in PLOS ONE, show male mice that were chronically exposed to alcohol before breeding had male offspring that were less likely to consume alcohol and were more sensitive to its effects, providing new insight into inheritance and development of drinking behaviors. Previous human studies ...

BOSTON (June 4) − A study published in today's New England Journal of Medicine reports that the antibiotic dalbavancin is as effective as vancomycin, the current standard-of-care antibiotic used to treat serious bacterial skin and skin-structure infections. The study results establish dalbavancin as a therapy for Staphylococcus aureus infections, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus, or MRSA. Acute bacterial skin and skin-structure infections are among the most common reasons for the hospitalization of adults in the United States today, and the associated medical ...

Researchers at VIB and Ghent University have unraveled the mechanism of necroptosis. This is a type of cell death that plays a crucial role in numerous diseases, from viral infections and loss of auditory nerve cells to multiple sclerosis, acute heart failure and organ transplantation. Having detailed knowledge of the cell death process enables a targeted search for new drugs. Peter Vandenabeele (VIB/UGent): "The molecular mechanism of necroptosis was a complete mystery for a long time. Cells explode. But exactly how they do this was unclear. Now we have found that cells ...

June 4, 2014 (Toronto) – Women nearing menopause have higher levels of a brain protein linked to depression than both younger and menopausal women, a new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows. This finding may explain the high rates of first-time depression seen among women in this transitional stage of life, known as perimenopause. "This is the first time that a biological change in the brain has been identified in perimenopause which is also associated with clinical depression," says Senior Scientist Dr. Jeffrey Meyer of CAMH's Campbell ...

Bottom Line: Modest differences exist between antidepressants with regard to weight gain among patients. Authors: Sarah R. Blumenthal, B.S., Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues. Background: Previous work has suggested an association between antidepressant use and weight gain. The potential health consequences could be significant because more than 10 percent of Americans are prescribed an antidepressant at any given time. Obesity is associated with a host of medical conditions, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. ...

Bottom Line: Major depressive disorder (MDD) with atypical features (including mood reactivity where people can feel better when positive things happen in life, increased appetite or weight gain) appears to be associated with obesity. Authors: Aurélie M. Lasserre, M.D., of Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland, and colleagues. Background: MDD has tremendous public health impact worldwide. Obesity is another burden for public health. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the association between MDD and obesity is important. How the Study Was Conducted: The ...

Bottom Line: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery resulted in the greatest average weight and appears to be the best treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) compared to gastric banding and lifestyle intervention in a clinical trial that also highlights the challenges to completing a larger trial with patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 to 40. Author: Anita P. Courcoulas, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and colleagues. Background: Questions remain unanswered about the role of bariatric surgery in the treatment of T2DM, including ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Just in the past two weeks, the incidence of sea star wasting syndrome has exploded along the Oregon Coast and created an epidemic of historic magnitude, one that threatens to decimate Oregon's entire population of purple ochre sea stars. Prior to this, Oregon had been the only part of the West Coast that had been largely spared this devastating disease. The ochre sea star, which is the species most heavily affected by the disease in the intertidal zone, may be headed toward localized extinction in Oregon, according to researchers at Oregon State University ...

VIDEO: As more people use smart phones or tablets to pay bills, make purchases, store personal information and even control access to their houses, the need for robust password security has... Click here for more information. As more people use smart phones or tablets to pay bills, make purchases, store personal information and even control access to their houses, the need for robust password security has become more critical than ever. A new Rutgers University study shows that ...

Thanks to the simple use of an alcohol-impregnated cap, Loyola University Medical Center achieved a 68 percent decrease in the overall number of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) over a 12-month period. A two-year study compared the use of disinfection caps to an intense scrub-the-hub intervention to standard care. Scrub-the-hub refers to cleaning catheter connector hubs and injection ports with alcohol for the recommended 15 seconds before accessing the central line, a catheter placed in a large vein to deliver medicine and liquids during hospitalization. ...

PHILADELPHIA — Advances in the understanding of the genetics of coronary artery disease, or CAD, will revitalize the field and lead to more therapeutic targets for new medicines to combat this common disease, suggests a genetics expert from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in a Perspective article in the new issue of Science Translational Medicine. Daniel J. Rader, MD, chair of the Department of Genetics and associate director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, asserts that the lagging search for new heart medicines ...

A team of UCLA researchers has identified a new gene involved in Parkinson's disease, a finding that may one day provide a target for a new drug to prevent and potentially even cure the debilitating neurological disorder. Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease, and there is no cure for the progressive and devastating illness. About 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each year. It is estimated that as many as 1 million Americans live with Parkinson's disease, which is more than the number ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — This growing season, crop researchers at the University of Illinois are experimenting with the use of drones – unmanned aerial vehicles – on the university's South Farms. Dennis Bowman, a crop sciences educator with U. of I. Extension, is using two drones to take aerial pictures of crops growing in research plots on the farms. He presented his findings to farmers and other researchers at the 2014 Ford / Iroquois County Agronomy Day meeting. Bowman intentionally made mistakes on one test plot – "areas where we didn't apply enough nitrogen fertilizer, ...

ROSEMONT, Ill.─The number of total knee replacement (TKR) surgeries more than tripled between 1993 and 2009, while the number of total hip replacements (THR) doubled during the same time period. A study appearing in the June Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) found that an increase in the prevalence of ovrweight and obesity in the U.S. accounted for 95 percent of the higher demand for knee replacements, with younger patients affected to a greater degree. "We observed that growth of knee replacement volumes was far outpacing that of hip replacements and were ...

A new study of supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies has found magnetic fields play an impressive role in the systems' dynamics. In fact, in dozens of black holes surveyed, the magnetic field strength matched the force produced by the black holes' powerful gravitational pull, says a team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn, Germany. The findings are published in this week's issue of Nature. "This paper for the first time systematically ...

Neutrinos are tiny, neutral elementary particles that, contrary to the standard model of physics, have been proven to have mass. One possible explanation for this mass could be that neutrinos are their own antiparticles, so-called Majorana particles. Though experimental evidence for this is still lacking, many theoretical extensions of the standard model of physics predict the Majorana nature of neutrinos. If this hypothesis proves to be true, many previously unanswered questions about the origin of our universe and the origin of matter could be answered. 650 meters ...