People with asthma often have a hard time dealing with respiratory viruses such as the flu or the common cold, and researchers have struggled to explain why. In a new study that compared people with and without asthma, the answer is becoming clearer. The researchers found no difference in the key immune response to viruses in the lungs and breathing passages. The work, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, suggests that a fundamental antiviral defense mechanism is intact in asthma. This means that another aspect of the immune system must explain the ...

A new study has revealed a weak spot in the complex life cycle of malaria, which could be exploited to prevent the spread of the deadly disease. It found female malaria parasites put on fat differently to male ones. "The study opens potential new ways to combat malaria," said Associate Professor Alexander Maier, from The Australian National University Research School of Biology. "Malaria parasites show resistance to all current anti-malarial drugs. We are losing our weapons against this very important disease. But by studying lipid molecules – fats – rather than ...

People can become addicted to eating for its own sake but not to consuming specific foods such as those high in sugar or fat, research suggests. An international team of scientists has found no strong evidence for people being addicted to the chemical substances in certain foods. The brain does not respond to nutrients in the same way as it does to addictive drugs such as heroin or cocaine, the researchers say. Instead, people can develop a psychological compulsion to eat, driven by the positive feelings that the brain associates with eating. This is a behavioural ...

New methods that enhance the quality of myocardial perfusion imaging were developed in a recent study completed at the University of Eastern Finland. In her PhD study, Tuija Kangasmaa, Lic. Phil., invented a method which makes it possible to reduce the imaging time by up to 50%, making the scan session easier for the patient. Furthermore, the study also created two additional methods which correct errors resulting from patient movement during the scan. The methods were validated and they have already been taken into use in hospitals all over the world. Coronary artery ...

Far-red shifted fluorescent tissue markers make it possible to visualize structures and processes with advanced bio-imaging. This permits new insights into organisms and creates the potential for a wide range of applications – from more exact delineation of tumor and metastasis through to tracking drug responses within whole-body imaging. The team of scientists headed by Dr. Ulrike Schoetz, Dr. Nikolas Deliolanis, Dr. Wolfgang Beisker, Professor Horst Zitzelsberger und Randolph Caldwell from the Helmholtz Zentrum München have succeeded in developing novel fluorescent ...

Treatment with xenon gas after a head injury reduces the extent of brain damage, according to a study in mice. Head injury is the leading cause of death and disability in people aged under 45 in developed countries, mostly resulting from falls and road accidents. The primary injury caused by the initial mechanical force is followed by a secondary injury which develops in the hours and days afterwards. This secondary injury is largely responsible for patients' mental and physical disabilities, but there are currently no drug treatments that can be given after the accident ...

Britain hit by extremely unsettled winter weather Three all-time high and two all-time low NAO values recorded in the last decade showing huge contrast in conditions Month of December shows biggest variation in weather. British winters are becoming increasingly volatile due to extreme variations in pressure over the North Atlantic according to scientists from the University of Sheffield. The new research, published today (9 September 2014) in the International Journal of Climatology, shows that weather patterns over the UK have become distinctly more unstable, resulting ...

In the domain of electronics, the continuous quest for miniaturisation is pushing us towards the creation of devices which are continuously becoming smaller and more efficient. However, silicon - the basic component for most of these devices which caused a true revolution in electronics - , begins to disclose its physical limits. The smaller the silicon system, the harder it gets to control its return. The point has been reached where scientists have started looking for alternative materials, better fit for the miniaturised formats. One of the alternatives to provide ...

A positive outlook and support from people around them help patients with diabetes cope with psychosocial challenges of the disease, according to an international study that included researchers from Penn State College of Medicine. A better understanding of the emotional, psychological and social challenges people with diabetes face could improve health outcomes. The Second Diabetes Attitudes, Wishes and Needs (DAWN2) study is the largest analysis yet undertaken of personal accounts of people living with diabetes. The original DAWN study in 2001 found that 41 percent ...

September 9, 2014 – Poverty—rather than biased reporting—seems to account for the higher rates of child abuse and neglect among black children, reports a study in the September Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. States with a higher proportion of minority children living in poverty also have greater racial/ethnic disparities in child abuse and neglect, according to the new research ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — If you want to learn more about the people in urban communities – from their health habits to what their neighborhood needs – save a stamp on mailing a survey. Just text them. A new pilot study among low-income African-Americans in Detroit suggests that there is a clear preference on how residents choose to communicate – whether it's by researchers asking questions for a health study or community advocates gauging resource needs. They want you to talk to them through their phones. "Our study shows great potential to connect with a population that's ...

WASHINGTON - People living in more liberal countries are happier on average than those in less liberal countries, but individually, conservatives are happier than liberals no matter where they live, according to a study of people in 16 Western European countries. "Liberal governments tend to do more to shield citizens against certain hardships, such as unemployment and poverty, which can make people feel happier overall," said the study's lead author, Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn, PhD, of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. "On the other hand, conservatives rate their ...

Another mystery of the human body has been solved by scientists who have identified how a molecular motor essential for human development works. They have also pinpointed why mutations in genes linked to this motor can lead to a range of human diseases. Researchers at the University of Bristol have defined the composition of the human version of a molecular motor, called 'cytoplasmic dynein-2', that is essential for normal human development. Dynein 2 directs molecules into cilia as well as controlling their movement along cilia. Cilia are slender protrusions that act ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed artificial intelligence (AI) software that is significantly better than any previous technology at predicting what goal a player is trying to achieve in a video game. The advance holds promise for helping game developers design new ways of improving the gameplay experience for players. "We developed this software for use in educational gaming, but it has applications for all video game developers," says Dr. James Lester, a professor of computer science at NC State and senior author of a paper on the work. ...

The sharp X-ray vision of DESY's research light source PETRA III paves the way for a new technique to produce cheap, flexible and versatile double solar cells. The method developed by scientists from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in Roskilde can reliably produce efficient tandem plastic solar cells of many metres in length, as a team around senior researcher Jens W. Andreasen reports in the journal Advanced Energy Materials. The scientists used a production process, where the different layers of a polymer (plastic) solar cell are coated from various solutions ...

Although conceptually they could be equivalent, a biosimilar drug is not a generic drug. The latter are exact copies of relatively simple molecules (paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid), obtained by means of chemical synthesis methods. Biosimilars, by contrast, are copies of highly complex molecules of a protein nature, the production of which involves biological processes and materials, like cell culture or the extraction of products using living organisms, which is why there is no product that is exactly the same as the other. As they are comparable but not exact copies ...

PITTSBURGH—A smart headlight developed at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute enables drivers to take full advantage of their high beams without fear of blinding oncoming drivers or suffering from the glare that can occur when driving in snow or rain at night. The programmable headlight senses and tracks virtually any number of oncoming drivers, blacking out only the small parts of the headlight beam that would otherwise shine into their eyes. During snow or rain showers, the headlight improves driver vision by tracking individual flakes and drops in the immediate ...

As Alzheimer's disease progresses, it kills brain cells mainly in the hippocampus and cortex, leading to impairments in "neuroplasticity," the mechanism that affects learning, memory, and thinking. Targeting these areas of the brain, scientists hope to stop or slow the decline in brain plasticity, providing a novel way to treat Alzheimer's. Groundbreaking new research has discovered a new way to preserve the flexibility and resilience of the brain. The study, led by Tel Aviv University's Prof. Illana Gozes and published in Molecular Psychiatry, reveals a nerve cell protective ...

VIDEO: A smooth dogfish shark attacks an odor cue at at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Click here for more information. The increasing acidification of ocean waters caused by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could rob sharks of their ability to sense the smell of food, a new study suggests. Elevated carbon dioxide levels impaired the odor-tracking behavior of the smooth dogfish, a shark whose range includes the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern United States. Adult ...

What doesn't kill us may make us stronger as a group, according to findings from new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The research suggests that, despite its unpleasantness, pain may actually have positive social consequences, acting as a sort of "social glue" that fosters cohesion and solidarity within groups: "Our findings show that pain is a particularly powerful ingredient in producing bonding and cooperation between those who share painful experiences," says psychological scientist and lead researcher ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Paying attention all day in school as a kid isn't easy, especially for those who are at a higher risk of ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A new study from Michigan State University and University of Vermont researchers shows that offering daily, before-school, aerobic activities to younger, at-risk children could help in reducing the symptoms of ADHD in the classroom and at home. Signs can include inattentiveness, moodiness and difficulty getting along with others. The study can be found in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. "Early ...

Tiny single-cell organisms discovered living underground could help with the problem of nuclear waste disposal, say researchers involved in a study at The University of Manchester. Although bacteria with waste-eating properties have been discovered in relatively pristine soils before, this is the first time that microbes that can survive in the very harsh conditions expected in radioactive waste disposal sites have been found. The findings are published in the ISME (Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology) Journal. The disposal of our nuclear waste is very challenging, ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The same sex hormone that helps protect females from stroke may also reduce their risk of autism, scientists say. In the first look at a potential role of the female sex hormone in autism, researchers at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University have found expression of estrogen receptor beta – which enables estrogen's potent brain protection – is significantly decreased in autistic brains. The receptor also plays a role in locomotion as well as behavior, including anxiety, depression, memory, and learning. "If you ask any psychiatrist ...

Defects damage the ideal properties of many two-dimensional materials, like carbon-based graphene. Phosphorus just shrugs. That makes it a promising candidate for nano-electronic applications that require stable properties, according to new research by Rice University theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and his colleagues. In a paper in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters, the Rice team analyzed the properties of elemental bonds between semiconducting phosphorus atoms in 2-D sheets. Two-dimensional phosphorus is not theoretical; it was recently created ...

Malware is a type of malicious program whose general aim is to profit economically by carrying out actions without the user's consent, such as stealing personal information or committing economic fraud. We can find it "in any type of device ranging from traditional cell phones to today's smartphones, and even in our washing machine," explained one of the researchers, Guillermo Suarez de Tangil, from the Computer Science Department at UC3M. With the massive sales of smartphones in recent years (more than personal computers in all of their history), malware developers ...