The press release
archive.

Medicine21 Jul 2014

ROS1 gene fusions are found in 2.4 percent of Asian patients with lung adenocarcinoma

DENVER -- ROS1 fusion genes were successfully detected independent of gender or smoking history in young East Asian patients with lung adenocarcinoma, a histological subgroup in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), using multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) diagnostic tests. In NSCLC treatment algorithms, a personalized therapy approach is now being taken based on the genetic characteristics of the cancer. Patients with specific oncogenic molecular aberrations, for example EGFR mutations and ALK gene fusions, ...

Read the release

Medicine21 Jul 2014

New accurate epigenetic test could eliminate unnecessary repeat biopsies for prostate cancer

New York, NY -- More than one million prostate biopsies are performed each year in the U.S. alone, including many repeat biopsies for fear of cancer missed. Therefore there is a need to develop diagnostic tests that will help avoid unnecessary repeat biopsies. Two independent trials have now validated the performance of an epigenetic test that could provide physicians with a better tool to help eliminate unnecessary repeat prostate biopsies, report investigators in The Journal of Urology®. In the previously reported independent MATLOC (Methylation Analysis To Locate Occult ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Oregon chemists eye improved thin films with metal substitution

EUGENE, Ore. – (July 21, 2014) – The yield so far is small, but chemists at the University of Oregon have developed a low-energy, solution-based mineral substitution process to make a precursor to transparent thin films that could find use in electronics and alternative energy devices. A paper describing the approach is highlighted on the cover of the July 21 issue of the journal Inorganic Chemistry, which draws the most citations of research in the inorganic and nuclear chemistry fields. The paper was chosen by the American Chemical Society journal as an ACS Editor's ...

Read the release

Physics21 Jul 2014

Overcoming barriers to physical activity for African-American women

AURORA, Colo. (July 21, 2014) - According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately four out of five black women are overweight or obese and 36 percent meet physical activity objectives as determined by the CDC. That's compared to 50 percent of white women meeting the same objectives. A study conducted by the Center for African American Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine's Center for Women's Health Research finds that African American women whose hairstyle is affected by perspiration may avoid physical activity altogether. Prior studies ...

Read the release

Medicine21 Jul 2014

Study offers new clues about the source of racial health disparities

A first-of-its-kind study by researchers at USC and Loyola Marymount University (LMU) has found evidence that the persistent health disparities across race may, in part, be related to anxiety about being confronted by negative racial stereotypes while receiving healthcare. Stereotype threat, which is the threat of being judged by or confirming a negative stereotype about a group you belong to, has already been shown to influence the outcome of standardized testing, such as performance on the SAT (the most widely used college admissions exam). For example, when confronted ...

Read the release

Social Science21 Jul 2014

The economic territory of Upper Palaeolithic groups is specified by flint

This news release is available in Spanish. Never before had the mobility patterns and management of lithic resources in the Upper Palaeolithic been determined so precisely. The study of flint remains found in the open-air Ametzagaina site in Donostia-San Sebastian has determined the economic territory of the human groups that lived there for about 2,000 years. The paper, Where to and What for? Mobility Patterns and the Management of Lithic Resources by Gravettian Hunter-Gatherers in the Western Pyrenees, has been published in the Journal of Anthropological Research. The ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Cost of World Cup may be too high for Brazil

Brazil's World Cup has been estimated to be the priciest of any yet, with a projected cost of $11.5 billion. Some predictions even claim that the Brazilian government will have spent up to $14 billion on building and renovating 12 stadiums; upgrading federal, state and city infrastructure; and ensuring security. In a country with many economic and social issues that need to be addressed, such amounts of spending—more than three times the amount spent on the last World Cup—seem irresponsible to Brazilian citizens who are eager to understand the benefits of such spending, ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Filter bed substrates, plant types recommended for rain gardens

RALEIGH, NC – Urban stormwater runoff is causing problems for the world's water sources. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency found stormwater runoff to be one of the top 10 causes of compromised environments in rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, bays, and estuaries. The pollutants from urban stormwater runoff can harm fish and wildlife populations, foul drinking water, and make recreational areas unsafe. Researchers from North Carolina State University are looking to rain gardens as one way to remediate the water quality concerns caused by ...

Read the release

Environment21 Jul 2014

Organic apple orchards benefit from green compost applications

FAYETTEVILLE, AR – In traditional apple orchards, effective management practices rely on two interrelated components: finding ways to manage competitive vegetation under the trees, and supplying important supplemental nutrition to trees. These factors are further complicated in organic management systems where limited tools are available, and producers need to meet the stringent soil fertility and crop nutrient management standards of the National Organic Program. University of Arkansas scientists published a study that includes recommendations for the use of various groundcover ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

LEDs shine in bedding plant production study

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – Growers of annual bedding plant seedlings or plugs work to produce compact, fully rooted transplants with a large stem diameter and high root dry mass--qualities that make seedlings less susceptible to damage during shipping and transplant. To achieve these desirable qualities, greenhouse growers in northern latitudes must rely on supplemental lighting from high-pressure sodium lamps during winter months. A new study shows that light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can give greenhouse growers other lighting options that produce favorable results. Previously, ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Typhoon Rammasun made final landfall near China and Vietnam border

Typhoon Rammasun made landfall in southern China on July 19 bringing heavy rain and typhoon-strength winds to the south China/Vietnam border. NASA and NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured an infrared image the typhoon that showed strong thunderstorms with heavy rain potential. Rammasun made landfall in southern China just north of the Vietnam border on July 18 at 8 p.m. EDT (July 19 at 0000 UTC). The Joint Typhoon Warning Center placed Rammasun's center near 21.9 north and 108.1 east, about 134 nautical miles (154.2 miles/248.2 km) east-northeast of Hanoi, Vietnam. Maximum ...

Read the release

Medicine21 Jul 2014

New research from Africa on pharmacomicrobiomics

New Rochelle, NY -- The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) is a global initiative to identify and characterize the microorganisms present at multiple sites in the human body. An international team of researchers reports on new ways to harness the results of the HMP and discusses how changes in the microbiome might affect human health, disease, immunity, and importantly, the safety and effectiveness of drug treatment in a Review article that is part of the special issue "OMICS in Africa: Moving 21st Century Integrative Biology from Lab to Village to Innovation Ecosystems," of ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Fires in Indonesia, July 2014

Terra and Aqua satellites detected 154 hotspots in areas across Riau province on Sunday, July 20, indicating forest and land fires had increased again following a decline in rainfall. The number of detected hotspots in Sunday's report was far higher than what had been reported one day prior, which had reached only 75 spots. The hotspots were scattered in six regencies and municipalities, most of which were in northern Riau coastal areas. Smoke and the related haze it creates could potentially spread via winds to Malaysia and Singapore as it seems to be doing in this ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Tropical Storm Wali no more, but remnants soaked Hawaii

On July 19, NOAA's Central Pacific Hurricane Center noted that Wali didn't even make it to the Big Island, but moisture associated with the storm did. NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured an image of the remnant low southwest of the Big Island, and a moisture stream that extended over it. That remnant moisture was enough to cause the local National Weather Service office to issue an early morning flash flood watch on July 19. An infrared image from NOAA's GOES-West satellite showed the moisture stream as a diagonal line of clouds extending from what was the center of the ...

Read the release

Medicine21 Jul 2014

Parents want info about circumcision, not directives from health-care providers

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Most parents expect healthcare providers to answer their questions about circumcision, but they don't want a specific recommendation on the procedure, according to a new University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. More than half of male infants born in the United States are circumcised, but the rates of circumcision continue to decline. "Both pro- and anti-circumcision advocates feel strongly about their views, which can create anxiety for new or expectant parents who are trying to find objective information ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Another advancement in imaging from INRS professor François Légaré's team

François Légaré's team at the INRS Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre successfully imaged a chemical reaction with a spatial and temporal resolution greatly exceeding that obtained to date using microscopes. The team used a femtosecond laser source to shoot a molecular movie of how an acetylene molecule turns into vinylidene. An article presenting the advancement was recently published in the scientific journal Nature Communications. "The approach we developed combines multiphoton ionization and Coulomb explosion imaging. With the significantly improved ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

NRL reveals new meteorological insight into mid-level clouds

WASHINGTON -- Research meteorologists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Marine Meteorology Division (MMD) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, employing the Navy's Mid-Course Doppler Radar (MCR) at Cape Canaveral, were able to characterize mid-level, mixed-phase altocumulus clouds. In altocumulus clouds, at medium altitudes ranging from 6,000 feet to 20,000 feet above mean sea level, water droplets can remain in a supercooled liquid phase at temperatures below zero degrees Celsius, the freezing point of water. The supercooled liquid water found at temperatures ...

Read the release

Medicine21 Jul 2014

Mental health issues in children with relatives who participated in manhunt after Boston Marathon

Children with relatives who were called upon to participate in the interagency manhunt following the Boston Marathon attack carried a particularly heavy mental health burden, according to a Depression and Anxiety study that included surveys of Boston-area parents and other caretakers. Researchers found that the proportion of youth with likely PTSD was 5.7 times higher among youth with relatives in the manhunt than among youth without. Children with relatives in the manhunt also experienced more emotional symptoms and hyperactivity or inattention. "Beyond informing our ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Researchers simplify process to purify water using seed extracts

Researchers have streamlined and simplified a process that uses extracts from seeds of Moringa oleifa trees to purify water, reducing levels of harmful bacteria by 90% to 99%. The hardy trees that are drought resistant are cultivated widely throughout many countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The protocol, which is outlined in a Current Protocols in Microbiology review, is low-cost and efficient, making it especially useful for people living in extreme poverty in developing countries who are presently drinking highly turbid and contaminated water. Of these, some ...

Read the release

Energy21 Jul 2014

Replacing coal and oil with natural gas will not help fight global warming

Both shale gas and conventional natural gas have a larger greenhouse gas footprint than do coal or oil, especially for the primary uses of residential and commercial heating. Dr. Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and environmental biology, came to this conclusion after assessing the best available data and analyzing greenhouse gas footprints for both methane (including shale gas and conventional gas) and carbon dioxide over a timescale of 20-years following emissions. The findings are published in Energy Science & Engineering. "While emissions of carbon dioxide ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Mothers of children with autism benefit from peer-led intervention

Peer-led interventions that target parental well-being can significantly reduce stress, depression and anxiety in mothers of children with disabilities, according to new findings released today in the journal Pediatrics. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers from Vanderbilt University examined two treatment programs in a large number of primary caregivers of a child with a disability. Participants in both groups experienced improvements in mental health, sleep and overall life satisfaction and showed less dysfunctional parent-child interactions. "The well-being ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Carbyne morphs when stretched

Applying just the right amount of tension to a chain of carbon atoms can turn it from a metallic conductor to an insulator, according to Rice University scientists. Stretching the material known as carbyne -- a hard-to-make, one-dimensional chain of carbon atoms -- by just 3 percent can begin to change its properties in ways that engineers might find useful for mechanically activated nanoscale electronics and optics. The finding by Rice theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and his colleagues appears in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters. Until recently, ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Philosopher uses game theory to understand how words, actions acquire meaning

MANHATTAN, KANSAS -- Why does the word "dog" have meaning? If you say "dog" to a friend, why does your friend understand you? Kansas State University philosopher Elliott Wagner aims to address these types of questions in his latest research, which focuses on long-standing philosophical questions about semantic meaning. Wagner, assistant professor of philosophy, and two other philosophers and a mathematician are collaborating to use game theory to analyze communication and how it acquires meaning. "If I order a cappuccino at a coffee shop, I usually don't think about ...

Read the release

Medicine21 Jul 2014

New technique uses 'simulated' human heart to screen drugs

A Coventry University scientist has developed a pioneering new way – using samples of beating heart tissue – to test the effect of drugs on the heart without using human or animal trials. The breakthrough is the work of Dr Helen Maddock – an expert in cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology from the University's Centre for Applied Biological and Exercise Sciences – and could lead to the lives of hundreds of future patients being saved and the quality of their treatments improved. Adverse effects of drugs on the cardiovascular system are a major cause of many medical ...

Read the release

Science21 Jul 2014

Age-related macular degeneration occurs much earlier than previously assumed

It is widely accepted that age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of visual impairment and blindness in industrialized countries. However, it is questionable whether it can continue to be defined as a disease in people in their 50s and beyond. Investigations to determine the incidence of age-related macular degeneration undertaken as part of the Gutenberg Health Study of the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have shown that even persons under the age of 50 years may be affected by an early form of the eye disease. ...

Read the release