How does the Arctic tern (a sea bird) fly more than 80,000 miles in its roundtrip North Pole-to-South Pole migration? How does the Emperor penguin incubate eggs for months during the Antarctic winter without eating? How does the Rufous hummingbird, which weighs less than a nickel, migrate from British Columbia to Mexico? These physiological gymnastics would usually be influenced by leptin, the hormone that regulates body fat storage, metabolism and appetite. However, leptin has gone missing in birds - until now. University of Akron researchers have discovered leptin ...

Research from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation reveals a new complexity to nerve cells in the brain that could affect future therapies aimed at altering mood and memory in humans. OMRF scientist Kenneth Miller, Ph.D., studied the function of a common protein (known as CaM Kinase II) in tiny roundworms called C. elegans. His research appears in the latest issue of the journal Genetics. "CaM Kinase II is very abundant in the brain, so it has been heavily studied," Miller said. "But this is the first time anybody has seen results like this." Using a method ...

VIDEO: Using spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) techniques developed by Gabriel Popescu, director of the Quantitative Light Imaging Laboratory at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois, researchers were able... Click here for more information. A new technique, developed by researchers in the Quantitative Light Imaging Laboratory at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois, provides a method to noninvasively measure human neural networks in ...

AMES, Iowa – Children who repeatedly play violent video games are learning thought patterns that will stick with them and influence behaviors as they grow older, according to a new study by Iowa State University researchers. The effect is the same regardless of age, gender or culture. Douglas Gentile, an associate professor of psychology and lead author of the study published in JAMA Pediatrics, says it is really no different than learning math or to play the piano. "If you practice over and over, you have that knowledge in your head. The fact that you haven't played ...

The week before open enrollment closes for new health care exchanges, a study by researchers at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics and the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research shows that those who might potentially benefit the most from the Affordable Care Act — including those earning near the Federal Poverty Level — are also the most clueless about health care policies. The opening of health care exchanges last year was roiled in controversy over technical glitches. Obamacare has since enrolled more than 5 million people, according ...

March 24, 2014 -- Online sexual hook-ups present a unique opportunity to explore many factors of decision-making that inform sexual health. A study conducted by Eric Schrimshaw, PhD, at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Martin J. Downing, Jr., PhD, of the National Development and Research Institutes, found evidence that men having sex with men use the Internet to find sexual partners who do not identify as gay, either to fulfill a fantasy or because it allows anonymous sexual encounters without discovery. The findings are online in the journal, ...

Family caregivers show an increase in the beneficial stress hormone DHEA-S on days when they use an adult day care service for their relatives with dementia, according to researchers at Penn State and the University of Texas at Austin. DHEA-S controls the harmful effects of cortisol and is associated with better long-term health. "This is one of the first studies to show that DHEA-S can be modified by an intervention, which in our case, was the use of an adult day care service," said Steven Zarit, Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Penn ...

Computer chips have stopped getting faster: The regular performance improvements we've come to expect are now the result of chipmakers' adding more cores, or processing units, to their chips, rather than increasing their clock speed. In theory, doubling the number of cores doubles the chip's efficiency, but splitting up computations so that they run efficiently in parallel isn't easy. On the other hand, say a trio of computer scientists from MIT, Israel's Technion, and Microsoft Research, neither is it as hard as had been feared. Commercial software developers writing ...

You must use a microscope to spot the new helpers that can assist in biological soil clean-up (bioremediation). They are small, mobile microorganisms, such as the unicellular slipper-shaped ciliates that can be found in stale water in a flower vase, where they feed on bacteria. New results from Aarhus University indicate that such mobile microorganisms can play a surprising key role in bioremediation of soil which is contaminated with so-called PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons). PAH are toxic tar substances formed during incomplete combustion in, for example, car ...

An international team led by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a new technique for identifying gene enhancers - sequences of DNA that act to amplify the expression of a specific gene – in the genomes of humans and other mammals. Called SIF-seq, for site-specific integration fluorescence-activated cell sorting followed by sequencing, this new technique complements existing genomic tools, such as ChIP-seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing), and offers some additional benefits. "While ChIP-seq is very ...

Smokers and those who have quit cannot fully appreciate the full flavor of a cup of coffee, because many cannot taste the bitterness of their regular caffeine kick. This is the finding of a study led by Nelly Jacob of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital APHP in France, published in Springer's journal Chemosensory Perception. It is already known that smoking, and especially the toxic chemicals in tobacco, causes a loss of taste among smokers. It also causes structural changes to the fungiform papillae of the tongue where the taste buds are located. However, it is not yet known ...

This news release is available in Spanish. A research study, participated in by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), has discovered that nanometric-size foam structures follow the same universal laws as does soap lather: small bubbles disappear in favor of the larger ones. The scientific team, made up of researchers from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spanish National Research Council) - CSIC, the Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid- UPCO, and UC3M, reached this conclusion after producing and characterizing nanofoam formed by ion ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Recently physicists have been poking holes again in Stephen Hawking's black hole theory – including Hawking himself. For decades physicists across the globe have been trying to figure out the mysteries of black holes – those fascinating monstrous entities that have such intense gravitational pull that nothing – not even light – can escape from them. Now Professor Chris Adami, Michigan State University, has jumped into the fray. The debate about the behavior of black holes, which has been ongoing since 1975, was reignited when Hawking posted a ...

Many physicians are adopting patient portals in response to governmental incentives for meaningful use (MU), but the stage 2 requirements for portal use may be particularly challenging for newer electronic health record (EHR) users. This study examines enrollment, use based on MU requirements, and satisfaction in a recently-adopting fee-for-service multispecialty system. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) financial incentives for meaningful use (MU)1 likely will persuade many reluctant doctors to adopt electronic health records (EHRs). However, there are ...

ATLANTA--Counties that change their delivery of public assistance benefits from paper checks to an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system – using debit cards – see their street crimes drop significantly, according to a study published today by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Titled "Less Cash, Less Crime: Evidence from the Electronic Benefit Transfer Program," the study is the first to empirically examine whether the introduction of an EBT system, which reduces the amount of cash circulated on the streets, will disrupt criminal activities that rely on the ...

The female breast contains a unique population of microbes relative to the rest of the body, according to the first-ever study of the breast microbiome. That study sought to lay the groundwork for understanding how this bacterial community contributes to health and disease, says first author Camilla Urbaniak, a PhD student at the University of Western Ontario. The research was published ahead of print in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. "Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum in healthy breast tissue," says Urbaniak, noting that it is found only in small proportions ...

SAN DIEGO (March 24, 2014)—Shrinking the prostate without surgery can provide long-term relief to men with this common condition that causes annoying symptoms, such as frequent trips to the bathroom, suggests a study of nearly 500 men. According to research being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 39th Annual Scientific Meeting, 72 percent of men experienced symptom improvement three years after having a new, minimally invasive, image-guided treatment performed by interventional radiologists called prostate artery embolization (PAE). "The results of ...

SAN DIEGO (March 24, 2014)—Individuals suffering from spinal fractures—caused by osteoporosis or weakened bones—now have another option to reduce pain, restore function and improve quality of life, according to a study of 300 patients treated with a new type of vertebral augmentation. Results of a randomized, controlled multicenter trial on a new implant treatment for vertebral compression fractures are being reported for the first time at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 39th Annual Scientific Meeting. Made of medical polymer, the implant is designed to treat ...

SAN DIEGO (March 24, 2014)—Music may soothe the soul, but it takes video to calm a patient undergoing medical treatment, notes a study in which individuals watched television shows or movies through special video glasses while having a biopsy or other minimally invasive treatment. The research is being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 39th Annual Scientific Meeting. Although interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery, patients nonetheless may be anxious about them and their outcomes. ...

SAN DIEGO (March 24, 2014)—A minimally invasive treatment that delivers cancer-killing radiation directly to tumors shows promise in treating breast cancer that has spread to the liver when no other treatment options remain, according to research being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 39th Annual Scientific Meeting. In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers reviewed treatment outcomes of 75 women (ages 26-82) with chemotherapy-resistant breast cancer liver metastases, which were too large or too numerous to treat with other therapies. The ...

The gap between private health insurance premiums and payouts in Canada has widened markedly over the past 20 years, with a gap of $6.8 billion in 2011. In an analysis in CMAJ, Michael Law and coauthors examine why this has happened and how the private insurance industry might be better regulated for the benefit of those insured. "Around 60% of Canadians have private health insurance coverage, and it's important they realize that the gap between what insurers collect in premiums and what they pay out in benefits is essentially their money," states Michael Law, assistant ...

A clinical trial to determine if nurses in the emergency department could reduce "pulled elbows" in children at a rate similar to that of physicians found that althiough nurses were able to treat this common injury 85% of the time, physicians were more effective, with a 97% success rate. The trial is published Mar. 24 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Pulled elbow, or radial-head subluxation, is a common arm injury in young children, often resulting in a visit to the emergency department. The injury is easy to diagnose and quick to fix, but children usually ...

Spending by Canadians on private health insurance has more than doubled over the past 20 years, but insurers paid out a rapidly decreasing proportion as benefits, according to a study published today in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The study, by University of British Columbia and University of Toronto researchers, shows that overall Canadians paid $6.8 billion more in premiums than they received in benefits in 2011. Approximately 60 per cent of Canadians have private health insurance. Typically obtained as a benefit of employment or purchased by ...

Bethesda, MD (March 24, 2014) — Patients want physicians to provide high-quality care and the health system requires good value for physician work. To help gastroenterologists achieve these goals, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has developed a colonoscopy bundled payment model, which has been published in Gastroenterology1, the official journal of the AGA. By developing a framework and educating gastroenterologists about value-based reimbursement, the AGA hopes to inform physicians who wish to consider contracting with payors, purchasers and risk-bearing ...

(Lebanon, NH, 03/24/2014)- Dartmouth researchers at its Norris Cotton Cancer Center have compiled a review of the role that information gathered through genetic testing plays in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The paper entitled "Personalized Therapy for Breast Cancer" was accepted on March 17, 2014, for publication in Clinical Genetics. The paper discusses targeted therapies, new biomarkers, and the quality of commercially available testing methods. Genomic testing is changing the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated. By examining a woman's genes ...