26.08.2014: Antarctic glaciers respond sensitively to changes in the Atmosphere/Ocean System. Assessing and projecting the dynamic response of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula to changed atmospheric and oceanic forcing requires high-resolution ice thickness data as an essential geometric constraint for ice flow models. Therefore, a Swiss-German team of scientists developed a complete bedrock data set for the Antarctic Peninsula on a 100 m grid. They calculated the spatial distribution of ice thickness based on surface topography and ice dynamic modelling. Daniel Farinotti, ...

Decades of experiments have verified the quirky laws of quantum theory again and again. So when scientists in Germany announced in 2012 an apparent violation of a fundamental law of quantum mechanics, a physicist at the University of Rochester was determined to find an explanation. "You don't destroy the laws of quantum mechanics that easily," said Robert Boyd, professor of optics and of physics at Rochester and the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Nonlinear Optics at the University of Ottawa. In their 2012 version of the famous Young two-split experiment, ...

For the 2.2 million Americans battling glaucoma, the main course of action for staving off blindness involves weekly visits to eye specialists who monitor – and control – increasing pressure within the eye. Now, a tiny eye implant developed at Stanford could enable patients to take more frequent readings from the comfort of home. Daily or hourly measurements of eye pressure could help doctors tailor more effective treatment plans. Internal optic pressure (IOP) is the main risk factor associated with glaucoma, which is characterized by a continuous loss of specific retina ...

Scientists from the University of Liverpool have demonstrated the effectiveness of a fibre-based dietary ingredient that makes people feel less hungry and consume less food. Hunger is a major barrier to successful weight control and consumers need healthy foods that will help them control their appetite. Although fibres have the potential to modulate appetite without adding additional calories, they can make foods less appealing. Moreover, most studies employing fibres have failed to demonstrate positive effects on either appetite or food intake, and certainly no effects ...

A study from the University of Liverpool has recommended investing in dog owner education and facilities as a strategy to target physical inactivity and problems such as obesity in both people and their pets. In a review of scientific papers published since 1990, the researchers found that access to dog-friendly walking environments and better education about dogs' physical needs, could all motivate people to get out and take more exercise with their pets. It is estimated that 40% of dog owners don't take their dogs for a walk. In the UK, almost a quarter of households ...

The risk of eating disorders has been shown to be increased in some somatic illnesses. Many of these illnesses, such as type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel diseases, present autoimmune etiology. In addition, a prior autoimmune disease has recently been shown to increase the risk of mood disorders and schizophrenia. Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Helsinki University Central Hospital and National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland, aimed to address the prevalence and incidence of autoimmune diseases in a large Finnish patient cohort with anorexia ...

A series of experiments conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) researchers is shedding new light on the photosynthetic process. The work also illustrates how light sources and supercomputing facilities can be linked via a "photon science speedway" as a solution to emerging challenges in massive data analysis. Last year, Berkeley Lab and SLAC researchers led a protein crystallography experiment at SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) to look at the different photoexcited states of photosystem ...

HAMILTON, ON (Aug. 26, 2014) – Treatment for opioid addiction tampers with the testosterone levels of male but not female opioid users, McMaster University research has shown. In a paper published today by the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers say addiction treatment may need to change to address the side-effect. The study found men using methadone, which is used for opioid addiction treatment, have significantly suppressed testosterone levels of about a quarter of the testosterone of men not using opioids. In women using methadone for addiction treatment, ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – A balance board accessory for a popular video game console can help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) reduce their risk of accidental falls, according to new research published online in the journal Radiology. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed that use of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board system appears to induce favorable changes in brain connections associated with balance and movement. Balance impairment is one of the most common and disabling symptoms of MS, a disease of the central nervous system in which the body's immune system attacks ...

A new study reveals that the US has experienced widespread adoption of robot-assisted prostate removal surgery to treat prostate cancer in recent years. The BJU International study also found that while such surgeries are more expensive than traditional surgeries, their costs are decreasing over time. In 2001, surgeons began using robotic technologies in operations to remove the prostate. To examine trends in the use of such robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) procedures for prostate cancer patients, Steven Chang, MD, MS, of Harvard Medical School, the Dana-Farber ...

The predominant strain of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infecting people in Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa derived from a single sub-Saharan ancestor, a team of international researchers reported this week in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. CA-MRSA refers to MRSA infections occurring in healthy people with no recent hospitalizations. The infections, which are typically skin infections, can be transmitted through close person-to-person contact or contact with a contaminated ...

PULLMAN, Wash.—Five years ago this month, one of the first U.S. outbreaks of the H1N1 virus swept through the Washington State University campus, striking some 2,000 people. A university math and biology professor has used a trove of data gathered at the time to gain insight into how only a few infected people could launch the virus's rapid spread across the university community. The fall 2009 semester hadn't even started when the first cases came in to the university's Health and Wellness Services clinic—11 one day, and just two days later, 47. Not two weeks later, doctors ...

Regardless of their stage or type, cancers appear to share a telltale signature of widespread changes to the so-called epigenome, according to a team of researchers. In a study published online in Genome Medicine on Aug. 26, the investigators say they have found widespread and distinctive changes in a broad variety of cancers to chemical marks known as methyl groups attached to DNA, which help govern whether genes are turned "on" or "off," and ultimately how the cell behaves. Such reversible chemical marks on DNA are known as epigenetic, and together they make up the epigenome. "Regardless ...

Sequencing RNA, not just DNA, could help doctors predict how prostate cancer tumors will respond to treatment, according to research published in the open access journal Genome Biology. Because a tumor's RNA shows the real time changes a treatment is causing, the authors think this could be a useful tool to aid diagnosis and predict which treatment will most benefit individual cancer patients. Colin Collins and Alexander Wyatt, and other researchers from the Vancouver Prostate Centre at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, matched 25 patients' treatment outcomes ...

New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) shows that children exposed to gestational diabetes in the wombs of their mothers are themselves around six times more likely to develop diabetes or prediabetes than children not exposed. The research is by Dr Sonia Caprio, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA, and colleagues. With the increase in gestational diabetes (GDM), there is a growing need to understand the effects of glucose exposure on the newborn in the womb, at birth and later in life. ...

1. Task Force recommends intensive behavioral counseling for overweight and obese patients with cardio risk factors Free content The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that overweight or obese adults with at least one additional risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) be offered or referred to intensive behavioral counseling interventions to promote a healthful diet and physical activity for CVD prevention. The recommendation is being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in ...

Aspirin may be a promising alternative for those who can't take long-term anticoagulant drugs that prevent clots from reoccurring in the veins, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. In a combined analysis of two similar independent studies, 1,224 patients who received 100 mg of aspirin a day to treat blood clots were monitored for at least two years. In the International Collaboration of Aspirin Trials for Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism or INSPIRE analysis, researchers found that aspirin reduced the risk of recurring blood clots ...

MINNEAPOLIS – A study is shining new light on a sleep disorder called "sleep drunkenness." The disorder may be as prevalent as affecting one in every seven people. The research is published in the August 26, 2014, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Sleep drunkenness disorder involves confusion or inappropriate behavior, such as answering the phone instead of turning off the alarm, during or following arousals from sleep, either during the first part of the night or in the morning. An episode, often triggered by a forced ...

In states where it is legal to use medical marijuana to manage chronic pain and other conditions, the annual number of deaths from prescription drug overdose is 25 percent lower than in states where medical marijuana remains illegal, new research suggests. The findings of the study, led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, suggest that while medical marijuana laws can be controversial and opponents have raised concerns that they may promote cannabis use among children, they may have ...

Low dose aspirin lowers the occurrence of new venous blood clots – and represents a reasonable treatment option for patients who are not candidates for long-term anticoagulant drugs, such as warfarin, according to a new study published in today's issue of Circulation. "The study provides clear, consistent evidence that low-dose aspirin can help to prevent new venous blood clots and other cardiovascular events among people who are at risk because they have already suffered a blood clot," says the study's lead author, University of Sydney Professor, John Simes. "The treatment ...

DURHAM, N.C. – Implantating deep brain stimulation devices poses no greater risk of complications to older patients than it does to younger patients with Parkinson's disease, researchers at Duke Medicine report. The findings, published Aug. 25, 2014, in the journal JAMA Neurology, ease concerns that patients older than age 75 are poorer candidates for deep brain stimulation (DBS) because they may be prone to bleeding, infections or other complications that can arise after surgeries. "Parkinson's disease is one of the most common movement disorders and it primarily ...

Bottom Line: States that implemented medical marijuana laws appear to have lower annual opioid analgesic overdoses death rates (both from prescription pain killers and illicit drugs such as heroin) than states without such laws although the reason why is not clear. Author: Marcus A. Bachhuber, M.D., of the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and colleagues. Background: Prescriptions for opioid painkillers for chronic pain have increased in the United States and so have overdose deaths. However, less attention has been focused on how the availability of alternative ...

Bottom Line: Weekend admission to the hospital for pediatric patients newly diagnosed with leukemia was associated with a longer length of stay, slightly longer wait to start chemotherapy and higher risk for respiratory failure but weekend admissions were not linked to an increased risk for death. Author: Elizabeth K. Goodman, B.A., of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues. Background: Leukemia is a common childhood cancer that accounts for about 30 percent of all pediatric cancer diagnoses. Previous research has indicated an increased risk of death ...

Bottom Line: Older patients with Parkinson disease (PD) who undergo deep brain stimulation (DBS) appear to have a 90-day complication risk similar to younger patients, suggesting that age alone should not be a primary factor for excluding patients as DBS candidates. Author: Michael R. DeLong, B.A., of the Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., and colleagues. Background: For patients with advanced PD who have involuntary movements, DBS has been found to be an effective treatment for reducing motor disability and improving quality of life. Recent studies suggest ...

Bottom Line: Two female patients achieved clinical remission from the rare, debilitating neurological disease called stiff person syndrome (SPS, which can be marked by a "tin soldier" gait) after an autologous (from your own body) stem cell transplant that eventually allowed them to return to work and regain their previous functioning. Author: Sheilagh Sanders, M.D., of the University of Ottawa, Canada, and colleagues. Background: SPS is a disease characterized by stiffness of the skeletal muscles, painful muscle spasms and, in severe cases, the disease can prevent ...