STANFORD, Calif. — New research could soon make it easier for people with type-1 diabetes to get a safe night's sleep, says a Stanford University School of Medicine scientist who led the study. In a large trial conducted in patients' homes in the United States and Canada, scientists demonstrated that they could predict and prevent dangerously low overnight blood sugars in adolescents and adults with type-1 diabetes. Very low blood-sugar levels can cause seizures or even, in rare cases, death. People with type-1 diabetes often sense warning signs of low blood sugar when ...

EDMONTON—The discovery of an ancient ring-like structure in southern Alberta suggests the area was struck by a meteorite large enough to leave an eight-kilometre-wide crater, producing an explosion strong enough to destroy present-day Calgary, say researchers from the Alberta Geological Survey and University of Alberta. The first hints about the impact site near the southern Alberta hamlet of Bow City were discovered by a geologist with the Alberta Geological Survey and studied by a U of A team led by Doug Schmitt, Canada Research Chair in Rock Physics. Time and glaciers ...

The fact that the eight-legged creepy spider in some ways resembles humans is one of the surprising conclusions after researchers at Aarhus University and the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) succeeded in sequencing its genome. However, it is more a discovery on an awesome scale. The sequencing has far greater significance for our future understanding of the spider's special properties. "In brief, we've acquired a tool for everyone interested in spiders," say Kristian W. Sanggaard and Jesper S. Bechsgaard, Aarhus University. Together with Xiaodong Fang, BGI, they are ...

Theta-band activity in hippocampus after an event seems to be crucial for learning. A study at the University of Jyväskylä also proved that the absence of theta facilitated learning a simple task while training during theta had no effect on learning. Hippocampus is a brain structure that has a critical role in mammalian learning. The identification of different hippocampal states is based on the oscillatory properties of electrophysiological activity. Traditionally, rhythmic slow activity, theta, has been linked to attention, whereas transient bursts of synchronised neuronal ...

The US Global Change Research Program released its Third National Climate Assessment (NCA) of the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystems this Tuesday, May 6. The NCA is the most comprehensive peer-reviewed analysis of climate change's impacts in the United States, informing Americans about the effects of climate change in their backyards. "As an ecologist, you can't escape the effects of climate change on natural resources. We're observing climate impacts in nearly all natural and managed ecosystems," said Ecological Society of America President Jill ...

A number of studies have shown that breastfed babies grow slightly slower and are slightly slimmer than children who are fed with infant formula. Children who are breastfed also have a slightly lower incidence of obesity, allergies, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease later in life. According to a new study by the National Food Institute and the University of Copenhagen this may be due to the fact that breastfeeding promotes the development of beneficial bacteria in the baby's gut. "We have become increasingly aware of how crucially important a healthy gut microbial ...

Physicists are now designing novel materials with physical properties tailored to meet specific energy consumption needs. Before these so-called materials-by-design can be applied, it is essential to understand their characteristics, such as heat flow. Now, a team of Italian physicists has developed a predictive theoretical model for heat flux in these materials, using atom-scale calculations. The research, carried out by Claudio Melis and colleagues from the University of Cagliary, Italy, is published in EPJ B. Their findings could have implications for optimising the ...

Bioengineers at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and the University of Montreal have used DNA to develop a tool that detects and reacts to chemical changes caused by cancer cells and that may one day be used to deliver drugs to tumor cells. The researchers' nanosensor measures pH variations at the nanoscale – how acidic (a higher pH level) or alkaline (a lower pH level) it is. Many biomolecules, such as enzymes and proteins, are strongly regulated by small pH changes. These changes affect in turn biological activities such as enzyme catalysis, protein assembly, membrane ...

MENLO PARK, Calif.—May 7, 2014—Neuroscientists at SRI International have found that a form of baclofen, a drug used to treat muscle spasticity, works better at treating narcolepsy than the best drug currently available when tested in mice. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), narcolepsy, a chronic neurologic disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, is not a rare condition, but is under-recognized and under-diagnosed. It is estimated to impact 1 in 2,000 people worldwide. In back-to-back papers published in ...

A team of scientists from the Universidad de La República, Uruguay discovered three native to northern Argentina new species of the engaging spider group of the tarantulas. The study describing the newly found tarantulas was published in the open access journal ZooKeys. The often hairy and very large spiders known as tarantulas are one of the most famous arachnid groups. Despite their ill fame as vicious killers most tarantulas are harmless to humans. Most tarantulas long lifespans, females can live between 15 and 30 years, which makes them a preferred pet for spider ...

HOUSTON – (May 7, 2014) – Rice University bioengineers have created a hydrogel that instantly turns from liquid to semisolid at close to body temperature – and then degrades at precisely the right pace. The gel shows potential as a bioscaffold to support the regrowth of bone and other three-dimensional tissues in a patient's body using the patient's own cells to seed the process. The hydrogel created in the lab of Rice bioengineer Antonios Mikos is a liquid at room temperature but, when injected into a patient, becomes a gel that would fill and stabilize a space while ...

A tropical low was affecting southern India and Sri Lanka on May 6 at 0809 UTC when the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite called TRMM flew above it. By May 7, System 91B moved over southwestern India and became less organized. TRMM's Precipitation Radar revealed that rain was falling at a rate of 66 mm (2.6 inches) per hour in the stormy area south of India (5.2 north latitude and 77.1 east longitude). TRMM PR saw the tallest thunderstorm towers over Sri Lanka where heights were pushing to altitudes above 13 km (8 miles). On May 7 at 12:30 UTC/8:30 a.m. ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Perceived age and weight discrimination, more than perceived race and sex discrimination, are linked to worse health in older adults, according to new research from the Florida State University College of Medicine. The findings are part of a study measuring changes in health over a four-year period and published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. "Our previous research showed that perceived discrimination based on body weight was associated with risk of obesity. We wanted to see whether this association extended to other health indicators ...

Sea surface temperature is expected to increase 2 ºC on average globally by 2080-2100. Some of the consequences of this increase include changes in ocean circulation and higher water column stratification, thus affecting the nutrient availability for the growth of marine phytoplankton. The research team led by Azti-Tecnalia points out the effects to primary production (phytoplankton mass produced annually by photosynthetic single-celled organisms that are suspended in the ocean), and to secondary production (zooplankton biomass, made up of small animal organisms that ...

WASHINGTON -- Convergent research – which crosses disciplinary boundaries, integrating tools and knowledge from the life sciences, physical sciences, engineering, and other fields -- could spur innovation and help tackle societal challenges, but greater national coordination is needed, says a new report from the National Research Council. Convergent science still faces hurdles and requires a culture shift for research institutions, which have traditionally organized research around separate disciplines. Convergent science also relies on forming a web of partnerships ...

The intervals between geyser eruptions depend on a delicate balance of underground factors, such as heat and water supply, and interactions with surrounding geysers. Some geysers are highly predictable, with intervals between eruptions (IBEs) varying only slightly. The predictability of these geysers offer earth scientists a unique opportunity to investigate what may influence their eruptive activity, and to apply that information to rare and unpredictable types of eruptions, such as those from volcanoes. Dr. Shaul Hurwitz took advantage of a decade of eruption data—spanning ...

DETROIT — A major new pediatric research study led by a Wayne State University researcher, funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), has "major implications" for the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in millions of American children. The largest study of its kind in the world, it provides convincing evidence that children with a common urinary-tract abnormality known as "vesicoureteral reflux" (or "VUR") experience ...

The world first review explored interpersonal racism perpetrated by healthcare providers, a key driver of racial disparities in health. Interpersonal racism refers to racist interactions between individuals, rather than internalised or systemic or institutional racism. Researchers Ms Mandy Truong and Dr Naomi Priest from the University of Melbourne and Professor Yin Paradies from Deakin University, reviewed 37 studies published between 1995 and 2012 of racism among healthcare providers. The review assessed attitudes towards race held by physicians, nurses and allied ...

From jasmine to sandalwood, the alluring scents of the most luxurious perfumes might seem more art than science, but a new way to analyze them breaks from the tradition of relying only on experts' sense of smell to blend fragrances. Scientists report that they have developed a model that can help perfumers predict how various combinations of chemicals will smell. The study appears in the ACS journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. Miguel A. Teixeira and colleagues from LSRE laboratory in Portugal explain that the design of new fragrances for the perfume industry ...

Scientists have been linking an increasing range of behaviors and inclinations from monogamy to addiction to animals', including humans', underlying biology. To that growing list, they're adding division of labor — at least in killer bees. A report published in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research presents new data that link the amounts of certain neuropeptides in these notorious bees' brains with their jobs inside and outside the hive. Mario Sergio Palma and colleagues explain that dividing tasks among individuals in a group is a key development in social behavior among ...

While flexible gadgets such as "electronic skin" and roll-up touch screens are moving ever closer to reality, their would-be power sources are either too wimpy or too stiff. But that's changing fast. Scientists have developed a new device that's far thinner than paper, can flex and bend, and store enough energy to provide critical back-up power for portable electronics. Their report appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. In their paper, James Tour and colleagues point out that many materials that have been investigated for energy storage potential are ...

BETHESDA, MD – May 7, 2014 – The power of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to detect genetic influences on human disease can be substantially increased using a statistical testing framework reported in the May issue of the journal GENETICS. Despite the proliferation of GWAS, the associations found so far have largely failed to account for the known effects of genes on complex disease — the problem of "missing heritability." Standard approaches also struggle to find combinations of multiple genes that affect disease risk in complex ways (known as genetic interactions). The ...

Earlier this year, bloggers scored a high-profile victory in their campaign against a common bread ingredient — also used in yoga mats and other plastics — when Subway announced it was dropping the substance from its dough recipe. The case highlights the powerful influence of online campaigns, and how they are changing the food industry, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society. Melody M. Bomgardner, senior editor at C&EN, notes that consumers' curiosity and outrage about what's in their ...

This news release is available in French. Children who wheeze are at risk of developing damage that will affect their lung function by the age of 6 years, according to researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital and the University of Montreal. These appear to be persistent, even if asthma symptoms seem to disappear at least temporarily by school age in several cases. Children with recurrent symptoms that are severe enough to warrant a visit to the emergency department are particularly at risk of seeing their lung function affected. This may persist in adulthood and into ...

Swiss scientists have discovered a new species of aculeate wasp, not hidden somewhere in a jungle on a remote continent, but in Central Europe, in a swampy area just a few kilometers from Zurich. The new species named "Polistes helveticus", or the Swiss paper wasp, was described in the open access journal ZooKeys. Paradoxically, this species has been long known in Central Europe but was confused for decades with a closely related species native to southern Europe. Only after the latter expanded its range to northern Switzerland, possibly following climate change, was ...