Tulsa, Ok. – The Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) announces an unusual paper in their journal PALAIOS that combines 'forensic' paleontology and archeology to identify origins of the millstones commonly used in the 1800's. While all millstones were used similarly, millstones quarried in France were more highly valued than similar stones quarried in Ohio, USA. Over four years the scientific team located millstones by visiting historical localities in Ohio, then studied them and identified unique characteristics between the coveted French buhr and the locally sourced ...

After their hectic experience of delivery, newborns are almost immediately stretched out on a measuring board to assess their length. Medical staff, reluctant to cause infants discomfort, are tasked with measuring their length, because it serves as an indispensable marker of growth, health and development. But the inaccuracy and unreliability of current measurement methods restrict their use, so routine measurements are often not performed. Now Tel Aviv University researchers have taken a 21st century approach to the problem, using new software that harnesses computer ...

Irvine, Calif., June 23, 2014 — When learning, practice doesn't always make perfect. UC Irvine neurobiologists Zachariah Reagh and Michael Yassa have found that while repetition enhances the factual content of memories, it can reduce the amount of detail stored with those memories. This means that with repeated recall, nuanced aspects may fade away. In the study, which appears this month in Learning & Memory, student participants were asked to look at pictures either once or three times. They were then tested on their memories of those images. The researchers found ...

PASADENA, Calif., June 20, 2014 – Non-Hispanic white patients who underwent a gastric bypass procedure lost slightly more weight over a three-year period than Hispanic or black patients, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases. The study also examined two types of bariatric surgery and found that patients who underwent the now common gastric bypass procedure lost more weight over the same period than patients who underwent the more recently developed vertical sleeve gastrectomy procedure. Researchers examined ...

Focal therapy for prostate cancer, in which only the tumor tissue is treated with cryoablation (freezing), can prolong life, result in less complications such as incontinence, and improve post-treatment quality of life. But the long-term effectiveness of focal treatments has not been well-studied. A new analysis that followed patients treated with optimized cryoablation of prostate cancer for an average of 10 years post-treatment is published in Journal of Men's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on ...

Antiviral Therapy Can Prevent Liver Cancer in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Bethesda, MD (June 23, 2014) — One of the most severe complications of hepatitis B is the development of liver cancer, which is responsible for approximately 745,000 deaths worldwide each year. Two new studies appearing in the June issue of Gastroenterology provide strong evidence that antiviral therapy can reduce the risk of liver cancer in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. Gastroenterology is the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. In the first paper,1 ...

Contrary to recent well-publicized research, habitat loss, not insecticide use, continues to be the best explanation for the declines in grassland bird populations in the U.S. since the 1980s, according to a new study by ecologists. Last year, a pair of researchers linked the drop in the populations of grassland bird species, such as the upland sandpiper and the Henslow's sparrow, to insecticide use, rather than to a rapid decline of grasslands, a more commonly accepted theory. However, after re-examining the data, Penn State and U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers ...

CHICAGO, IL — A new "smart pill" called Gelesis100 safely leads to greater weight loss in overweight and obese individuals compared with those who receive an active comparator/placebo capsule, while all subjects have similar diet and exercise instructions, an international multicenter study finds. The three-month results of the First Loss Of Weight (FLOW) study were presented Sunday June 22, 2014 at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. Gelesis100 (formerly Attiva) is an orally administered ...

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – June 23, 2014 – The June issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), features a study reporting that the annual incidence rate of esophageal cancer among patients with Barrett's esophagus with low-grade dysplasia is 0.54 percent; a study showing that metabolic syndrome and smoking heighten concerns regarding colorectal cancer screening in men with these risk factors; and a new ASGE guideline on endoscopy in patients with lower gastrointestinal ...

"Goodnight room, goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon..." A children's classic that already is a candidate for the all-time best feel-good book, "Goodnight Moon," has gotten a boost: A University of Colorado Boulder team printed the first 3D version of it, allowing visually impaired children and their families to touch objects in the story -- like the cow jumping over the moon -- as it is read aloud. The story by Margaret Wise Brown of a bunny in bed wishing good night to his surroundings, "Goodnight Moon" was a logical first choice for CU-Boulder's Tactile ...

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have unveiled the first glycosyltransferase clone collection specifically targeted for the study of the biosynthesis of plant cell walls. The idea behind what is being called "the JBEI GT Collection" is to provide a functional genomic resource for researchers seeking to extract the sugars in plant biomass and synthesize them into clean, green and renewable transportation fuels. Glycosyltransferases (GTs) are enzymes that catalyze the connection of simple monosaccharide sugars into the ...

CHICAGO, IL — Short, otherwise healthy children who are treated with growth hormone (GH) may become taller, but they may also become more depressed and withdrawn over time, compared to children the same age and height who are not treated with GH, a new study finds. The results were presented in a poster Monday, June 23 at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago. "Daily injections, frequent clinic visits and repeated discussions about height might exacerbate instead of improve psychosocial concerns ...

CHICAGO, IL — Adults with Type 2 diabetes achieve better blood glucose (sugar) control two years after undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy than do patients who receive standard medical diabetes care without this weight loss surgery, a new study finds. The results were presented Monday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. In addition, 76 percent of surgery patients were able to reduce their use of diabetes medications, compared with only 26 percent of patients in the nonsurgical group, ...

NEW YORK — It's a historic year for Major League Baseball, as the organization introduces its expanded use of instant replay, allowing umpires to review home run calls, forced plays, foul balls and more. But the one decision still left fully in the hands of umpires is the calling of the strike zone. Should the rules be expanded for review of those calls? A new study from Columbia Business School's professor Jerry Kim says reviewing strike zone calls may be the one call All-Stars pitchers would want reversed. "Instant replay will become public enemy no. 1 for All-Star ...

Cambridge, Mass. – June 23, 2014 – Individual electrons in graphene are massless, but when they move together, it's a different story. Graphene, a one-atom-thick carbon sheet, has taken the world of physics by storm—in part, because its electrons behave as massless particles. Yet these electrons seem to have dual personalities. Phenomena observed in the field of graphene plasmonics suggest that when the electrons move collectively, they must exhibit mass. After two years of effort, researchers led by Donhee Ham, Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied ...

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 ...