You just cannot ignore your symptoms any longer. You find yourself getting up many times every night with the urgency to urinate. Saw palmetto, even high doses of the highest-quality type, didn't work. A trip to the urologist results in bad news: a recommendation for surgery to treat your enlarged prostate (technically known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH). A bit of Internet research on the proposed "transurethral resection of the prostate" makes you even more concerned – this surgery can result in sexual dysfunction and even impotence. Aren't there non-invasive ...

(Lebanon, NH, 6/23/14) Dartmouth researchers have found that early exposure to the ultraviolet radiation lamps used for indoor tanning is related to an increased risk of developing basal cell carcinomas (BCC) at a young age. Their findings are reported in "Early-Onset Basal Cell Carcinoma and Indoor Tanning: A Population-Based Study," a study that will be published in the July 2014 issue of Pediatrics. Since indoor tanning has become increasingly popular among adolescents and young adults, this research calls attention to the importance of counseling young people about ...

CHICAGO, IL — People with Type 2 diabetes or obesity have changes in the composition of their intestinal micro-organisms—called the gut microbiota—that healthy people do not have, researchers from Turkey have found. They presented the results Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. The study lends support to other recent reports that have found an association between specific bacterial species in the human digestive system and obesity and diabetes, according to lead investigator Yalcin ...

The molecular building blocks that make up DNA absorb ultraviolet light so strongly that sunlight should deactivate them – yet it does not. Now scientists have made detailed observations of a "relaxation response" that protects these molecules, and the genetic information they encode, from UV damage. The experiment at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory focused on thymine, one of four DNA building blocks. Researchers hit thymine with a short pulse of ultraviolet light and used a powerful X-ray laser to watch the molecule's response: A single ...

A new study suggests that lifestyle factors can help predict whether people will adhere to statin therapy for high cholesterol. Among people without heart disease and diabetes, those who are overweight, obese or former smokers are more likely to adhere to statin therapy, according to an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Almost 1 in 10 cardiovascular events can be linked to nonadherence to prescribed medication. Studies indicate that nonadherence with statin therapy can be as high as 46%. To determine whether lifestyle influences statin adherence, ...

Research from the University of Melbourne, Australia, could make it easier for public health investigators to determine if a case of food poisoning is an isolated incident or part of a larger outbreak. The findings are published ahead of print in the Journal of Bacteriology. The study focuses on a test called multi-locus variable number tandem repeats variable analysis (MLVA). The test, which is increasingly used in the detection and investigation of foodborne outbreaks, analyzes specific sequences of DNA (called loci) that change rapidly enough over time to distinguish ...

ATHENS, GA – The recent surge in organic farming has created a need for enhanced research efforts to inform the agricultural sector. George Boyhan from the Department of Horticulture at the University of Georgia says that "variety evaluations"--studies that evaluate and develop crop varieties specifically suited for organic production--can be particularly useful to organic producers. "There continues to be need for variety evaluation trials, as many of the available varieties are locally adapted or only regionally available," he noted. Boyhan said few trials have been performed ...

ST. LOUIS – In a recently published study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Saint Louis University professor of pharmacological and physiological sciences Daniela Salvemini, Ph.D. describes two discoveries: a molecular pathway by which a painful chemotherapy side effect happens and a drug that may be able to stop it. "The chemotherapy drug paclitaxel is widely used to treat many forms of cancer, including breast, ovarian and lung cancers," said Salvemini. "Though it is highly effective, the medication, like many other chemotherapy drugs, frequently is accompanied ...

Physicists from India have shed new light on a long-unanswered question related to superconductivity in so-called transition metal binary alloys. The team revealed that the local magnetic fluctuations, or spin fluctuations, an intrinsic property of Titanium-Vanadium (Ti-V) alloys, influence superconductivity in a way that is more widespread than previously thought. They found that it is the competition between these local magnetic fluctuations and the interaction between electrons and collective excitations, referred to as phonons, which determine the superconductivity. ...

A team of astronomers has identified possibly the coldest, faintest white dwarf star ever detected. This ancient stellar remnant is so cool that its carbon has crystallized, forming -- in effect -- an Earth-size diamond in space. "It's a really remarkable object," said David Kaplan, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "These things should be out there, but because they are so dim they are very hard to find." Kaplan and his colleagues found this stellar gem using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's (NRAO) Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and Very ...

CHICAGO, IL — African American women respond differently to the anti-inflammatory effect of aspirin than do white American women, new research finds. The results were presented Monday, June 23 at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago. "African American women appear to be more resistant than white American women to the anti-inflammatory benefits of aspirin in reducing cardiovascular disease and its risk factors," said lead study author Nora Alghothani, MD, MPH, endocrinology fellow in the Division ...

CHICAGO, IL — Obese and overweight Americans who have tried losing weight report far greater overall satisfaction with weight loss surgery and prescription weight loss medications than with diet, exercise and other self-modification methods, an Internet survey finds. The results were presented Saturday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. "This finding may mean that diet and exercise alone just don't work for a lot of people," said Z. Jason Wang, PhD, the study's principal investigator ...

LAS CRUCES, NM – High-profile marketing campaigns for nuts such as pistachios and almonds have become familiar to consumers throughout the United States. Shining a spotlight on these products has increased public awareness and boosted sales. For example, domestic per-capita almond consumption has increased five-fold since 1976, thanks in part to savvy marketing efforts. In contrast, the pecan industry been successful in focusing their efforts on expanding pecan export markets, but pecan consumption in the U.S. has remained relatively flat over the past 35 years. A new survey ...

CHICAGO, IL — Adults with Type 2 diabetes who improve their physical fitness lower their chances of getting chronic kidney disease (CKD), and if they already have kidney damage, they can improve their kidney function. These findings come from a new study presented Monday at the joint meeting in Chicago of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014. Health care providers have long known that exercise has a beneficial impact on overall health and wellness in both the general public and people with Type 2 diabetes. This study, though, ...

QUEBEC – In Canada, where outdoor growing seasons are limited, sales from greenhouse fruit and vegetable production operations still surpass $1.1 billion annually. Finding more efficient methods for providing lighting in greenhouse production is a key component to support these high levels of production and increase revenues. "Light irradiance is the limiting factor for increasing production in greenhouses, when all other factors (temperature, nutrient levels, and water availability) are adequately maintained," said the authors of a new study. McGill University researchers ...

Supercomputer simulations have shown that clusters of a protein linked to cancer warp cell membranes, according to scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School. This research on these protein clusters, or aggregates as scientists call them, could help guide design of new anticancer drugs. "The aggregate is a large substructure that imposes some kind of curvature on the membrane — that's really the major observation," said Alemayehu Gorfe, assistant professor of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology at the UTHealth Medical ...

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Substantial proportions of parents chose urgent care or emergency department visits when their sick children were excluded from attending child care, according to a new study by University of Michigan researchers. The study, published today in Pediatrics, also found that use of the emergency department or urgent care was significantly higher among parents who are single or divorced, African American, have job concerns or needed a doctor's note for the child to return. Previous studies have shown children in child care are frequently ill with mild ...

GAINESVILLE, FL – The popularity of ornamental plants imported to the United States from China is accompanied by concerns about the potential to introduce pathogens into the market. Dracaena, a genus consisting of approximately 40 different species, including the widely recognized "lucky bamboo," is among the most frequently imported group of ornamentals to enter the U.S. for domestic sale and eventual export to Canada. The authors of a new research study say it is crucial to be vigilant about potential pests and pathogens on imported cuttings of Dracaena. "Pests and pathogens ...

Rochester, Minn. — Facial hair and home oxygen therapy can prove a dangerously combustible combination, a Mayo Clinic report published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings finds. To reach that conclusion, researchers reviewed home oxygen therapy-related burn cases and experimented with a mustachioed mannequin, a facial hair-free mannequin, nasal oxygen tubes and sparks. They found that facial hair raises the risk of home oxygen therapy-related burns, and encourage health care providers to counsel patients about the risk. MULTIMEDIA ALERT: Video ...

VIDEO: A five-year study led by Robert Pringle (above), a Princeton University assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, suggests that certain wild African animals, particularly elephants, could be a boon... Click here for more information. While African wildlife often run afoul of ranchers and pastoralists securing food and water resources for their animals, the interests of fauna and farmer might finally be unified by the "Sodom apple," a toxic invasive plant ...

In our long struggle for survival, we humans learned that something approaching us is far more of a threat than something that is moving away. This makes sense, since a tiger bounding toward a person is certainly more of a threat than one that is walking away. Though we modern humans don't really consider such fear, it turns out that it still plays a big part in our day-to-day lives. According to University of Chicago Booth School of Business Professor Christopher K. Hsee, we still have negative feelings about things that approach us — even if they objectively are not ...

Several years ago, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers created a technology-enhanced glove that can teach beginners how to play piano melodies in 45 minutes. Now they've advanced the same wearable computing technology to help people learn how to read and write Braille. The twist is that people wearing the glove don't have to pay attention. They learn while doing something else. "The process is based on passive haptic learning (PHL)," said Thad Starner, a Georgia Tech professor and wearable computer pioneer. "We've learned that people can acquire motor skills ...

Many creatures in nature, including butterflies, newts and mole rats, use the Earth's inherent magnetic field lines and field intensity variations to determine their geographical position. A research team at the University of Minnesota has shown that the inherent magnetic fields of ferromagnetic objects can be similarly exploited for accurate position measurements of these objects. Such position measurement is enabled in this research by showing that the spatial variation of magnetic field around an object can be modeled using just the geometry of the object under consideration. ...

Scars — in particular keloid scars that result from overgrowth of skin tissue after injuries or surgeries — are unsightly and can even lead to disfigurement and psychological problems of affected patients. Individuals with darker pigmentation — in particular people with African, Hispanic or South-Asian genetic background — are more likely to develop this skin tissue disorder. Current therapy options, including surgery and injections of corticosteroids into scar tissues, are often ineffective, require clinical supervision and can be costly. A new invention by researchers ...

The D-Wave computer is currently the latest link of a long chain of computers designed for the solution of optimization problems. In what sense does it realize quantum computation? We describe the evolution of such computers and confront the different views concerning the quantum properties of the D-wave computer. Quantum algorithms show several benefits over classical ones. One strong example suggested by Shor in 1994 is the ability to factor numbers which can be effectively done on a quantum computer but is very hard on a classical computer. However, the actual model ...