The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 1:48 p.m. EDT March 29, 2014, and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. To see how this event impacted Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's ...

VIDEO: New statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons show that since 2000, breast lift procedures have grown by 70 percent, twice the rate of breast implants. According to the... Click here for more information. ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., March 31, 2014 – New statistics released today by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) show that breast lift procedures are growing at twice the rate of breast implant surgeries. Since 2000, breast lifts have grown by ...

A comparison of the safety of biodegradable polymer biolimus-eluting stents vs durable polymer everolimus-eluting stents finds similar outcomes for measures including death and heart attack after two years, according to a JAMA study released online to coincide with presentation at the 2014 American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions. Recent studies have raised concerns about the safety of biodegradable polymer drug-eluting stents (BP-DES) compared with durable polymer everolimus-eluting stents (DP-EES). The NOBORI Biolimus-Eluting vs XIENCE/PROMUS Everolimus-Eluting ...

Six new species of Dracula ants from the Malagasy region have been discovered by scientists at the California Academy of Sciences. The discoveries, by postdoctoral fellow Masashi Yoshimura from Japan and curator of entomology Brian L. Fisher, represent a completely new twist in the typically rigid caste system of ants, where anatomy is typically destiny. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys. "The genus Mystrium is the most mysterious group within the bizarre Dracula ants," said Yoshimura. Mystrium species have unique features such as long, spatulate ...

(WASHINGTON, March 31, 2014) – New research further illuminates the heart-healthy benefits of the Mediterranean diet, tying the eating plan to lower levels of platelets and white blood cells, two markers of inflammation. Inflammation has an association with greater risk of heart attack and stroke. Study, results are published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). The Mediterranean diet, characterized by generous servings of foods such as greens, whole grains, fish, and olive oil, has long been hailed as a heart-healthy eating ...

A team of scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore and National University Cancer Institute Singapore (NCIS), and their collaborators from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, UCLA School of Medicine, demonstrated that a number of novel genetic defects are able to induce oesophageal cancer. The research group, led by Professor H. Phillip Koeffler, Senior Principal Investigator at CSI Singapore and Deputy Director of NCIS, has conducted a successful comprehensive genomic study of oesophageal squamous ...

Limiting climate change to 2°C means shutting down coal power plants - an unpopular proposition for coal power companies. But a new study shows that delaying climate policies could prove even worse for power plant owners. Coal power plants are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, and new plants are planned around the world, particularly in India and China. These new power plants are built to run for 30-50 years, paying off only after years of operation. But stringent climate policies could make the cost of emission so high that coal power generation is no longer ...

People seeking help or information online about cutting and other forms of self-injury are likely finding falsehoods and myths, according to new research from the University of Guelph. Only about 10 per cent of websites providing information about non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are endorsed by health or academic institutions, according to a study published recently in JAMA Pediatrics, a journal of the American Medical Association. It's a troubling finding, says lead author Stephen Lewis, a Guelph psychology professor. "This is a salient public health issue," he said. People ...

Tamiflu is one of the few available treatments for those who come down with the flu. But the virus quickly develops resistance; multiplying at a rate of several generations a day, these tiny pathogens rapidly accumulate genetic mutations. Because of this, they have a good chance of developing counterattacks to the antiviral. How can these infinitesimal variations be identified within the immensity of the virus' genetic code? EPFL researchers have created a computer tool that can shed light on the flu virus' formidable adaptability. They were able to find mutations that ...

Flowering plants attract pollinating insects with scent from their flowers and bright colours. If they have become infested with herbivores like caterpillars, they attract beneficial insects like parasitic wasps with the help of scent signals from their leaves. The wasps then lay their eggs in the caterpillars and kill the parasites. Floral and foliar scents can, however, mutually reduce their attractiveness. That's why flowering plants face a dilemma: should they use their resources to attract pollinating insects and, by extension, for reproduction or should they invest ...

Exploding stars, random impacts involving comets and meteorites, and even near misses between two bodies can create regions of great heat and high pressure. Researchers from Imperial College London have now developed a method for analysing the pressure experienced by tiny samples of organic material that may have been ejected from dying stars before making a long journey through the cosmos. The researchers have investigated a type of aromatic hydrocarbon called dimethylnaphthalene, which should enable them to identify violent events in the history of the universe. Samples ...

The researchers studied 400 individuals 80-98 years old over a six-year period. Every two years, the subjects were assessed in terms of physical and mental measures as well as personality aspects such as extraversion, which reflects the inclination to be outgoing, and emotional stability. The results show that even if the emotional stability remained constant over the period, the participants became less outgoing. Interestingly, the researchers were not able to connect the observed changes to physical and cognitive impairments or to age-related difficulties finding social ...

Mild hypothermia has been shown to exert apparent neuroprotective effects in animal models of diffuse axonal injury. However, the clinical efficacy of mild hypothermia is controversial. Thus, a noninvasive, accurate, and objective technique is urgently required to verify the effect of mild hypothermia in diffuse axonal injury and its prognosis. Fractional anisotropy values in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can quantitatively reflect the consistency of nerve fibers after brain damage, where higher values generally indicate less damage to nerve fibers. Therefore, Guojie Jing ...

In an experimental legal psychology study, two young actors (one girl and one boy) portrayed victims in a mock-police investigation. They were questioned by the police about how they had been harassed by older schoolmates. The police interviews were videotaped in two versions: In one version the children appeared in a neutral manner but in the other version, the children showed clear signs of distress, as they sobbed and hesitated before answering the police officers' questions. The films were later shown and assessed by law students that were familiar with the Supreme ...

Nanotechnology and Functional Materials, Uppsala University have developed a paper filter, which can remove virus particles with the efficiency matching that of the best industrial virus filters. The paper filter consists of 100 percent high purity cellulose nanofibers, directly derived from nature. The research was carried out in collaboration with virologists from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences/Swedish National Veterinary Institute and is published in the Advanced Healthcare Materials journal. Virus particles are very peculiar objects- tiny (about ...

(Toronto) March 31, 2014 – Researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have discovered two new genes linked to intellectual disability, according to two research studies published concurrently this month in the journals Human Genetics and Human Molecular Genetics. "Both studies give clues to the different pathways involved in normal neurodevelopment," says CAMH Senior Scientist Dr. John Vincent, who heads the MiND (Molecular Neuropsychiatry and Development) Laboratory in the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at CAMH. "We are building up a ...

Moxibustion may have protective effects on the stomach mucous membrane against stress gastric ulcer. The potential mechanism of moxibustion may be mediated by transforming growth factor-α, gastric mucosa cell proliferation, inhibition of apoptosis, and the expression of heat shock protein-70. Previous studies have shown that somatic sensation by acupuncture and visceral nociceptive stimulation can converge in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) where neurons integrate signals impacting on the function of organs. To explore the role of the NTS in the protective mechanism ...

In the first study of its kind, research undertaken at the University of Southampton has cast significant doubt over the use of biochar to alleviate climate change. Biochar is produced when wood is combusted at high temperatures to make bio-oil and has been proposed as a method of geoengineering. When buried in the soil, this carbon rich substance could potentially lock-up carbon and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The global potential of biochar is considered to be large, with up to 12 percent of emissions reduced by biochar soil application. Many previous reports ...

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have developed a new substance which could simplify the manufacture of cell therapy in the pioneering world of regenerative medicine. Cell therapy is an exciting and rapidly developing area of medicine in which stem cells have the potential to repair human tissue and maintain organ function in chronic disease and age-related illnesses. But a major problem with translating current successful research into actual products and treatments is how to mass-produce such a complex living material. There are two distinct phases in the ...

Ghrelin, a brain-gut peptide that induces anxiety and other abnormal emotions, contributes to the effects of insomnia on emotional behavior. In contrast, the traditional Chinese Medicine remedy Wen Dan Tang reduces insomnia-related anxiety, which may perhaps correspond to changes in the brain-gut axis. This suggests a possible relationship between Wen Dan Tang's pharmacological mechanism and the brain-gut axis. Based on this hypothesis, a research team from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine in China generated a sleep deprivation rat model, and orally administered Wen ...

Controlling and bending light around an object so it appears invisible to the naked eye is the theory behind fictional invisibility cloaks. It may seem easy in Hollywood movies, but is hard to create in real life because no material in nature has the properties necessary to bend light in such a way. Scientists have managed to create artificial nanostructures that can do the job, called metamaterials. But the challenge has been making enough of the material to turn science fiction into a practical reality. The work of Debashis Chanda at the University of Central Florida, ...

In children, primary spinal tumors comprise 4% of all tumors from the central nervous system. Spinal tumors can present with a variety of clinical signs and symptoms in children such as pain followed by motor regression, gait disturbance, sphincter dysfunction, sensory symptoms, torticollis, and kyphoscoliosis. Treatment of spinal tumors is based on tumor type, but surgical resection is the mainstay. Moreover, physical treatment and rehabilitation implementation are necessary in order to minimize the symptoms of the patients and develop present functions. Prof. Nezire Kose ...

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – March 29, 2014 – Researchers at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital have found that cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging may help doctors better identify which patients with mild heart disease are likely to develop more serious heart problems long term. CMR imaging provides supporting information to guide treatment decisions and help doctors provide targeted care for patients at highest risk. The research, led by Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation Research Fellow Naohiko Nemoto, MD, will be presented at the American ...

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – March 29, 2014 – A diet rich in fruits and vegetables for middle-aged adults has been associated with reduced rates of coronary heart disease (CHD), especially in women. Now, research supported by the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF) shows that for women, what you eat in your 20s may be just as important for your middle-aged heart. The results of the study, aimed at examining the extent to which young adults' diets are linked to cardiovascular health later in life, will be presented at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) meeting in Washington, ...

WASHINGTON (March 29, 2014) — Transcatheter aortic valve replacement with a self-expanding valve prosthesis for the first time has demonstrated significantly lower death rates at one year compared with conventional surgical valve replacement in high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session. Worldwide, an estimated 300,000 people have severe aortic stenosis – a faulty valve in the main artery carrying blood out of the heart – and roughly a third of them are deemed unable ...