Scientists believe some tropical species may be able to evolve and adapt to the effects of climate change. The new findings published in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggests some sensitive rainforest-restricted species may survive climate change and avoid extinction. But only if the change is not too abrupt and dramatically beyond the conditions that a species currently experiences. Previous research offered a bleak prospect for tropical species' adaptation to climate change, now researchers from Monash University believe the situation may not be ...

Giving parents access to a dedicated website on the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is the most cost-effective way to increase uptake, say experts. The study published in the British Journal of General Practice, recommends that a dedicated website be developed as part of guidelines on the MMR vaccine. Led by Dr Swati Shourie from Monash University and Dr Sandy Tubeuf from the University of Leeds in the UK, the research is the first to look at the economics of providing information about the MMR vaccine. As well as reducing parents' concern about immunising ...

Many different types of cell, including sperm, bacteria and algae, propel themselves using whip-like appendages known as flagella. These protrusions, about one-hundredth of a millimetre long, function like tiny oars, helping cells move through fluid. Similar, shorter structures called cilia are found on the surfaces of many cells, where they perform roles such as moving liquids over the cell. Flagella and cilia are remarkably versatile: they transport mucus and expel pathogens from our airways, they establish the left-right asymmetry in developing vertebrate embryos, ...

Denmark attracted international attention in 2012 when archaeological excavations revealed the bones of an entire army, whose warriors had been thrown into the bogs near the Alken Enge wetlands in East Jutland after losing a major engagement in the era around the birth of Christ. Work has continued in the area since then and archaeologists and experts from Aarhus University, Skanderborg Museum and Moesgaard Museum have now made sensational new findings. "We have found a wooden stick bearing the pelvic bones of four different men. In addition, we have unearthed bundles ...

Aarhus University researchers have developed an easier method to create DNA–protein conjugates. The method can potentially strengthen the work involved in diagnosing diseases. DNA linked to proteins – including antibodies – provides a strong partnership that can be used in diagnostic techniques, nanotechnology and other disciplines. DNA–protein conjugates – which tag proteins with DNA – can be used for purposes such as the sensitive detection and visualisation of biological material. The method also provides easier access to handling proteins in nanotechnology, where ...

People who are blind can now read more than just words, such as graphs and graphics, following the development of an affordable digital reading system by Curtin University researchers. Opening up new career paths and educational opportunities for people with vision impairment, the system combines a number of pattern recognition technologies into a single platform and, for the first time, allows mathematics and graphical material to be extracted and described without sighted intervention. Senior Lecturer Dr Iain Murray and PhD student Azadeh Nazemi of Curtin's Department ...

LOS ANGELES (July 28, 2014) – A new technique for repairing the most common cardiac birth defect in newborns, commonly referred to as "a hole in the heart," has been used successfully to mend the condition in six premature infants without subjecting the tiny patients to open-heart surgery. The technique for repairing the condition, patent ductus arteriosus, also called PDA, was published online by the peer-reviewed medical journal Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, the official journal of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. The ...

New research from scientists at the University of Kent has shown for the first time how the structures inside cells are regulated – a breakthrough that could have a major impact on cancer therapy development. A team from Kent's School of Biosciences uncovered the mechanism whereby the physical properties of the internal structures within cells – known as actin filaments – are 'fine-tuned' to undertake different functions. While some of these actin filaments appear to completely stable, providing a framework for the cell, others are more dynamic, allowing the cell to ...

The Conjoint Analysis (CA) method is in principle suitable to find out which preferences patients have regarding treatment goals. However, to widely use it in health economic evaluations, some (primarily methodological) issues still need to be clarified. This is the result of a pilot project by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG). Following the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), CA is the second method tested by the Institute together with external experts. Summarize outcome-specific results to an overall value In its health economic ...

A new study from UC San Francisco is the first to show that while the impact of life's stressors accumulate overtime and accelerate cellular aging, these negative effects may be reduced by maintaining a healthy diet, exercising and sleeping well. "The study participants who exercised, slept well and ate well had less telomere shortening than the ones who didn't maintain healthy lifestyles, even when they had similar levels of stress," said lead author Eli Puterman, PhD, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at UCSF. "It's very important that we promote ...

About 100 drugs already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for other purposes can also prevent the growth of certain bacterial pathogens inside human cells, including those that cause Legionnaires' disease, brucellosis, and Mediterranean spotted fever. The findings, published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, demonstrate a new way of identifying non-antibiotic drugs that could one day help curb bacterial infections. A handful of drugs on the list inhibit the growth of at least three of the four bacterial ...

Two beneficial variants of a gene controlling red blood cell development have spread from Africa into nearly all human populations across the globe, according to a new study led by King's College London. The international team studied the genomes of world populations to look for the origin of changes in a key regulator gene which stimulate fetal haemoglobin production into adulthood. Fetal haemoglobin is normally found in fetuses and infants, but some patients with inherited blood disorders who are able to keep making it as adults experience milder symptoms of their condition. Sickle ...

Cancer cells are gluttons. We have long known that they monopolize large amounts of sugar. More recently, it became clear that some tumor cells are also characterized by a series of features such as mobility or unlikeliness to join in an ordered set. Researchers are calling this behavior "mesenchymal," and they suspect it promotes metastasis. At EPFL, Etienne Meylan's research team was able to demonstrate that the two observations – appetite for sugar and mesenchymal behavior – result from the same mechanism, at least in "non-small cell lung cancer." They also showed ...

New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) suggests that both higher levels of physical activity and lower levels of sitting in leisure time may be required to substantially reduce the risk of obesity. The research is by Joshua Bell and colleagues, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL (University College London), UK. Physical activity and sitting time (or 'sedentariness') are two common lifestyle-related behaviours associated with obesity and metabolic health, as well as with chronic diseases ...

Deerfield, Ill. (July 28, 2014) – An international research team today reports the first-ever clinical trial demonstrating controlled malaria infection in an African nation in the modern era. The study, published online in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (AJTMH) represents a significant milestone in the search for new malaria drugs and vaccines. The study establishes that in controlled laboratory conditions in Africa, a new product containing frozen, preserved whole sporozoites, an infectious stage of the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum, ...

1. Early menopausal hormone therapy shows no effect on atherosclerosis progression Early initiation of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) improves some markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) but does not affect the progression of atherosclerosis, according to a study being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. CVD is the leading cause of death in women and incidence increases after menopause. Research suggests that cardiovascular benefits of MHT may be limited to women who begin treatment at a younger age, closer to menopause, or both. Researchers conducted a randomized ...

NEW YORK (Monday, July 28 – 5 p.m. ET): Surgical patients who are placed in contact isolation after their operations are at a particularly high risk for developing life-threatening blood clots, but ensuring they move around has helped curb the occurrence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in one hospital. This case study on how one surgical team prevented VTEs in their patients placed in isolation was presented today by researchers from the department of surgery at Carilion Clinic Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Roanoke, VA at the American College of Surgeons National Surgical ...

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole in 1911, but new research shows that industrial air pollution arrived long before any human. Using data from 16 ice cores collected from widely spaced locations around the Antarctic continent, including the South Pole, a group led by Joe McConnell of the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Reno, Nevada, created the most accurate and precise reconstruction to date of lead pollution over Earth's southernmost continent. The new record, described in an article published today in the online edition of the Nature Publishing ...

An international team of researchers led by the University of Arizona has sequenced the complete genome of African rice. The genetic information will enhance scientists' and agriculturalists' understanding of the growing patterns of African rice, as well as enable the development of new rice varieties that are better able to cope with increasing environmental stressors to help solve global hunger challenges. The paper, "The genome sequence of African rice (Oryza glaberrima) and evidence for independent domestication," was published online in Nature Genetics on Sunday. The ...

Dr. Nicole R. Fowler and her fellow reserachers have found that patients with dementia were more likely to receive a pacemaker then patients without cognitive impairment. Older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia can have co-existing cardiac illnesses and that makes them eligible for therapy with devices to correct rhythm abnormalities. But the risks and benefits need to be weighed carefully with patients, families and clinicians. The authors examined data from the National Alzheimer Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set gathered from 33 Alzheimer ...

Bottom Line: An electronic screening tool that starts with a single question to assess the frequency of substance misuse appears to be an easy way to screen teenagers who visited a physician for routine medical care. Author: Sharon Levy, M.D., M.P.H., of Boston Children's Hospital, and colleagues. Background: Substance use can cause illness and death in adolescents. Screening adolescents and intervening if there is substance use can reduce the burden of addiction. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other professional organizations recommend that primary care physicians ...

PITTSBURGH, July 28, 2014 -- People with dementia are more likely to get implanted pacemakers for heart rhythm irregularities, such as atrial fibrillation, than people who don't have cognitive difficulties, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In a research letter published online today in JAMA Internal Medicine, the researchers noted the finding runs counter to expectations that less aggressive interventions are the norm for patients with the incurable and disabling illness. To look at the relationships between cognitive status ...

A revised version of a surgical procedure to treat severe chronic migraine headaches led to significant symptom relief more than 90 percent of the time in patients treated at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Physicians from the MGH Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery report that more than half of 35 patients treated with the non-endoscopic procedure – all of whom had headaches associated with compression of craniofacial nerves – reported complete symptom relief a year later. The team's paper has received advance online publication in the journal Plastic ...

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, investigated the extent to which improvements in living conditions and educational opportunities over a person's life affect cognitive abilities and their implications for men and women. "Our results show that there is no reason to expect all cognitive gender differences will diminish," says Daniela Weber, IIASA researcher and lead author of the study. "However, the findings from this study suggest that if women and men had equal levels of education, then we should expect a female advantage in ...

Running for only a few minutes a day or at slow speeds may significantly reduce a person's risk of death from cardiovascular disease compared to someone who does not run, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Exercise is well-established as way to prevent heart disease and it is component of an overall healthy life, but it is unclear whether there are health benefits below the level of 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity activity, such as running, recommended by the U.S. government and World Health Organization. Researchers ...