SAN DIEGO – When the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published its policy statement in 1999 discouraging electronic media use by children under 2, the focus was on television programs, videos and DVDs. Over the past 15 years, the technology landscape has changed dramatically. Toddlers now have access to a dizzying array of touchscreen devices that are available anywhere and everywhere. Although the AAP has revised its media use policy over the years based on the latest research, the message regarding toddlers' exposure to screens is the same. Given the ...

WASHINGTON (Oct. 13, 2014) — Men and women have different cardiovascular and psychological reactions to mental stress, according to a study of men and women who were already being treated for heart disease. The study, published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, looked at 56 women and 254 men diagnosed with heart disease enrolled in a larger REMIT study of the impact of the medication escitalopram on heart disease induced by mental stress. After undergoing baseline testing, participants carried out three mentally stressful tasks — ...

Five of the most high-risk freshwater invaders from the Ponto-Caspian region around Turkey and Ukraine are now in Britain - including the quagga mussel, confirmed just two weeks ago on 1 October in the Wraysbury River near Heathrow airport. Researchers say that, with at least ten more of these high-risk species established just across the channel in Dutch ports, Britain could be on the brink of what they describe as an 'invasional meltdown': as positive interactions between invading species cause booming populations that colonise ecosystems - with devastating consequences ...

SAN DIEGO – Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will discuss the role that pediatricians and parents can play in promoting young children's early learning during her remarks on Sunday Oct. 12 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition in San Diego. Secretary Clinton will announce the launch of the Academy's updated early literacy toolkit for pediatricians and parents, Books Build Connections, which will be shared with its 62,000 pediatrician members immediately following Secretary Clinton's remarks. In June 2014, the ...

Spintronics is an emerging field of technology where devices work by manipulating the spin of electrons rather than their charge. The field can bring significant advantages to computer technology, combining higher speeds with lower energy consumption. Spintronic circuits need ways to control electron spin without interference from electron charge. Scientists at EPFL, working with Université Paris-Sud and Paul Scherrer Institut, have discovered that a common insulating material behaves as a perfect spintronic conductor because it is not affected by background electron ...

An innovative laboratory culture system has succeeded, for the first time, in reproducing the full course of events underlying the development of Alzheimer's disease. Using the system they developed, investigators from the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) now provide the first clear evidence supporting the hypothesis that deposition of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain is the first step in a cascade leading to the devastating neurodegenerative disease. They also identify the essential role in that process of an enzyme, inhibition ...

AMHERST, Mass. – Using a first-of-its-kind, high-resolution numerical model to describe ocean circulation during the last ice age about 21,000 year ago, oceanographer Alan Condron of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has shown that icebergs and meltwater from the North American ice sheet would have regularly reached South Carolina and even southern Florida. The models are supported by the discovery of iceberg scour marks on the sea floor along the entire continental shelf. Such a view of past meltwater and iceberg movement implies that the mechanisms of abrupt ...

VIDEO: Researchers have developed a technique to jump-start the body's systems for creating blood vessels, opening the door for potential new treatments for diseases whose impacts include amputation and blindness.... Click here for more information. INDIANAPOLIS -- Researchers have developed a technique to jump-start the body's systems for creating blood vessels, opening the door for potential new treatments for diseases whose impacts include amputation and blindness. The ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University researchers have made fluorescent molecules emit photons of light 1,000 times faster than normal -- setting a speed record and making an important step toward realizing superfast light emitting diodes (LEDs) and quantum cryptography. This year's Nobel Prize in physics was awarded for the discovery of how to make blue LEDs, allowing everything from more efficient light bulbs to video screens. While the discovery has had an enormous impact on lighting and displays, the slow speed with which LEDs can be turned on and off has limited their ...

From joint replacements to cardiac implants and dialysis machines, medical devices enhance or save lives on a daily basis. However, any device implanted in the body or in contact with flowing blood faces two critical challenges that can threaten the life of the patient the device is meant to help: blood clotting and bacterial infection. A team of Harvard scientists and engineers may have a solution. They developed a new surface coating for medical devices using materials already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The coating repelled blood from more ...

In spite of its dangerous reputation, cholesterol is in fact an essential component of human cells. Manufactured by the cells themselves, it serves to stiffen the cell's membrane, helping to shape the cell and protect it. By mapping the structure of a key enzyme involved in cholesterol production, Rockefeller University researchers and a colleague in Italy have gained new insight into this complex molecular process. "This is the first report to pinpoint the location of every atom — in this case nearly 3,000 of them — in one of the membrane-embedded enzymes ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass--A surprising phenomenon has been found in metal nanoparticles: They appear, from the outside, to be liquid droplets, wobbling and readily changing shape, while their interiors retain a perfectly stable crystal configuration. The research team behind the finding, led by MIT professor Ju Li, says the work could have important implications for the design of components in nanotechnology, such as metal contacts for molecular electronic circuits. The results, published in the journal Nature Materials, come from a combination of laboratory analysis and computer ...

Two research teams working in the same laboratories at UNSW Australia have found distinct solutions to a critical challenge that has held back the realisation of super powerful quantum computers. The teams created two types of quantum bits, or "qubits" – the building blocks for quantum computers – that each process quantum data with an accuracy above 99%. The two findings have been published simultaneously today in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. "For quantum computing to become a reality we need to operate the bits with very low error rates," says Scientia ...

Concerns over human-insecticide exposure has stimulated the development of alternative bed bug control materials, and many essential oil-based pesticides and detergent insecticides have been developed in recent years. But how well do they work? To find out, researchers from Rutgers University evaluated the efficacy of nine essential oil-based products and two detergents that are labeled and marketed for bed bug control. The results are published in an article in the Journal of Economic Entomology. The non-synthetic bed bug pesticides — which contain ingredients ...

A noninvasive method of delivering a promising therapy for persistent Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection appears to be as effective as treatment via colonoscopy or through a nasogastric tube. In their JAMA report, receiving early online release to coincide with a presentation at the Infectious Diseases Society of America's ID Week conference, investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) report that oral administration of the therapy called fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) in acid-resistant capsules was as successful as more invasive methods in eliminating ...

A preliminary study has shown the potential of treating recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (a bacterium that is one of the most common causes of infection of the colon) with oral administration of frozen encapsulated fecal material from unrelated donors, which resulted in an overall rate of resolution of diarrhea of 90 percent, according to a study published in JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at IDWeek 2014. Recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a major cause of illness and death, with a recent increase ...

DETROIT – Patients who have plastic surgery to reshape their bodies after bariatric procedures are able to maintain "significantly greater" weight loss than those who do not have surgery, according to a new study by Henry Ford Hospital researchers. "As plastic and reconstructive surgeons, we are encouraged by the idea that improved body image can translate into better long-term maintenance of a healthier weight, and possibly a better quality of life for our patients," says Donna Tepper, M.D., a Henry Ford plastic surgeon and senior author of the study. Study results ...

SAN DIEGO, CA, October 11, 2014 – Cough is among the most common complaints for which patients seek medical attention. Leading cough researcher Peter V. Dicpinigaitis, M.D., Professor of Clinical Medicine at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine, recently conducted a new cough challenge study among adults, whose results were first presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in September 2014. The study was conducted using 22 adults with acute URI (common cold) who underwent cough reflex sensitivity measurement employing capsaicin ...

A major complication associated with diabetes is delayed cell replication in epithelium and skin. Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania have reported the presence and function of the opioid growth factor (OGF) and its nuclear-associated receptor (OGFr) in skin. OGF, an inhibitory growth factor, chemically termed [Met5]-enkephalin, can be upregulated in diabetes leading to depressed cell proliferation. Topical naltrexone, a general opioid antagonist, stimulates cell replication but the specific ligand - opioid receptor ...

Proteins regulating cell division determine tumour growth. Ongoing clinical trials are currently studying inhibitors for two of these proteins, Cdk4 and Cdk6, targeting several types of cancer, such as breast cancer, lung cancer and leukaemia. The Cell Division and Cancer Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), led by Marcos Malumbres, has discovered the molecular mechanism behind the interaction of these proteins. Researchers also demonstrated in mice that the simultaneous inhibition of both molecules is more effective than the individual inhibition. ...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that at least 2 million Americans are sickened by antibiotic resistant infections each year and survive. (Twenty-three thousand die.) These experiences leave deep impressions not just on the patients but on their family and friends. Michael Kinch, PhD, associate vice chancellor and director of the Center for Research Innovation in Business, is among that number. A few years ago his 12-year-old son suddenly became ill, so ill Kinch had to carry him into a nearby clinic in his arms. Because his son had a fever, the ...

SAN DIEGO – While the typical preteen or adolescent can be found playing sports or video games after school, more than 1.3 million spend their free time caring for a family member who suffers from a physical or mental illness, or substance misuse. These "caregiving youth" are a hidden population who are at risk of school failure and poor health due to the chronic physical and emotional stress of their responsibilities at home, said Julia Belkowitz, MD, FAAP, author of an abstract titled "Caregiving Youth Project: A School-Based Intervention to Support a Hidden Population ...

SAN DIEGO – Nearly all parents unknowingly put their newborn infants at risk as soon as they drive away from the hospital due to mistakes made with car safety seats, according to research to be presented Monday, Oct. 13 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition in San Diego. A study of 267 families at Oregon Health and Science University Hospital showed that 93 percent made at least one critical error in positioning their infant in a car safety seat or when installing the safety seat in the vehicle. The National Highway Traffic ...

SAN DIEGO – Youth baseball has morphed into a year-round sport, with some athletes playing on multiple teams in the same season. One result: an increasing number of pitchers sidelined with overuse injuries or needing surgery. Guidelines on how many pitches young athletes should throw have been developed to stem the tide of injuries, but many coaches are not following the recommendations consistently, according to a study to be presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition in San Diego. "Our results show that youth baseball ...

SAN DIEGO – When a child goes to the emergency room with a possible broken bone, a splint often is used to stabilize the injured limb and reduce pain until the patient is seen by an orthopedic specialist. However, many splints are put on incorrectly, leading to swelling, skin irritation and poor healing, according to a study to be presented Saturday, Oct. 11 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition in San Diego. "Splints are effective for immobilization of fractured extremities in children and adolescents when placed appropriately," ...