The press release
archive.

Space9 Apr 2014

NASA satellite sees Tropical Depression Peipah crawling toward Philippines

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the remnants of Tropical Depression Peipah on April 9 as the storm slowly approached the Philippines from the east. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Peipah is now not expected to make landfall in eastern Visayas until April 12. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite or VIIRS instrument aboard Suomi NPP captured a visible, high-resolution image of the storm as it continued moving through the Philippine Sea. The storm appeared disorganized in the image, and the center was difficult to pinpoint on the visible ...

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Medicine9 Apr 2014

Promising agents burst through 'superbug' defenses to fight antibiotic resistance

In the fight against "superbugs," scientists have discovered a class of agents that can make some of the most notorious strains vulnerable to the same antibiotics that they once handily shrugged off. The report on the promising agents called metallopolymers appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Chuanbing Tang and colleagues note that the antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is responsible for a significant fraction of the infections that patients acquire in hospitals. According to the Centers for ...

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Medicine9 Apr 2014

Pharma firms turn attention to hearing loss

Hearing loss affects 36 million Americans to some degree, often leaving them feeling isolated, but it has received little attention from the pharmaceutical industry — until now. Small firms have brought a handful of potential therapies to the development pipeline, and pharmaceutical heavyweights are taking notice, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly magazine of the American Chemical Society. The story states that the most common cause of hearing loss is loud noise, either from a single event like the bang of a firecracker or from ...

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Medicine9 Apr 2014

Europeans and biomedical research

This news release is available in French. The French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) is currently the leading biomedical research organisation in Europe, and plays a key role in developing European research. To mark its 50th anniversary, Inserm wanted to assess the perceptions of Europeans regarding biomedical research. To create this European panorama, Ipsos carried out an Internet survey of over 4,000 Europeans (with 1,001 French, 1,004 German, 1,001 Italians and 1,005 British respondents) from 10 to 23 January 2014. Representative samples ...

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Science9 Apr 2014

No compromises: JILA's short, flexible, reusable AFM probe

JILA researchers have engineered a short, flexible, reusable probe for the atomic force microscope (AFM) that enables state-of-the-art precision and stability in picoscale force measurements. Shorter, softer and more agile than standard and recently enhanced AFM probes, the JILA tips will benefit nanotechnology and studies of folding and stretching in biomolecules such as proteins and DNA. An AFM probe is a cantilever, shaped like a tiny diving board with a small, atomic-scale point on the free end. To measure forces at the molecular scale in a liquid, the probe attaches ...

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Environment9 Apr 2014

Green is good

As unlikely as it sounds, green tomatoes may hold the answer to bigger, stronger muscles. Using a screening method that previously identified a compound in apple peel as a muscle-boosting agent, a team of University of Iowa scientists has now discovered that tomatidine, a compound from green tomatoes, is even more potent for building muscle and protecting against muscle atrophy. Muscle atrophy, or wasting, is caused by aging and a variety of illnesses and injuries, including cancer, heart failure, and orthopedic injuries, to name a few. It makes people weak and fatigued, ...

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Medicine9 Apr 2014

The surgical treatment of bilateral benign nodular goiter

About 100.000 thyroid operations are performed in Germany each year, a large percentage of them for the treatment of benign thyroid disease (euthyroid nodular goiter). In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2014; 111 (10): 161-8), Nada Rayes and colleagues suggest a paradigm shift in the treatment of such lesions. The article is accompanied by an editorial by Roland Gärtner. Radical surgery has become much more common in the past few years and has been motivated by a desire to prevent recurrences. From 2006 to 2008, the percentage ...

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Science9 Apr 2014

One of the last strongholds for Western chimpanzees

This news release is available in German. When Liberia enters the news it is usually in the context of civil war, economic crisis, poverty or a disease outbreak such as the recent emergence of Ebola in West Africa. Liberia's status as a biodiversity hotspot and the fact that it is home to some of the last viable and threatened wildlife populations in West Africa has received little media attention in the past. This is partly because the many years of violent conflict in Liberia, from 1989 to 1997 and from 2002 to 2003, thwarted efforts of biologists to conduct biological ...

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Medicine9 Apr 2014

The Lancet: Small cash incentives dramatically improve hepatitis B vaccination rates among injecting drug users

Small financial incentives, totalling as little as £30, can dramatically increase the likelihood of people who inject drugs completing a course of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination, according to new research published in The Lancet. Researchers in the UK found that people undergoing treatment for heroin addiction who received a maximum total of £30 supermarket vouchers in equal or graduated instalments in return for full compliance with a regimen of three HBV vaccine injections were at least 12 times as likely to complete the course within 28 days compared to those ...

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Science9 Apr 2014

Processing new information during sleep compromises memory

Washington, DC — New research appearing in the April 9 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience highlights the important role sleep plays in strengthening and maintaining the accuracy of a memory and hints at why the brain shuts out sensory information during periods of deep sleep. The study found that introducing new odor information to an animal while it sleeps compromises its ability to remember the difference between new and previously encountered smells while awake. During sleep, the brain performs a number of important repair and maintenance duties that are necessary ...

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Science9 Apr 2014

Language structure ... you're born with it

Humans are unique in their ability to acquire language. But how? A new study published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences shows that we are in fact born with the basic fundamental knowledge of language, thus shedding light on the age-old linguistic "nature vs. nurture" debate. THE STUDY While languages differ from each other in many ways, certain aspects appear to be shared across languages. These aspects might stem from linguistic principles that are active in all human brains. A natural question then arises: are infants born with knowledge of how ...

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Science9 Apr 2014

Lead continues to be a serious threat to California condor populations

The California condor was one of the first species to be listed under the Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1966 when the population was reduced to a handful of birds. Through a massive collaborative effort that included fieldwork and breeding in zoos, the condor population has grown to more than 400 birds, more than half of which are now free-flying in the wild. Unfortunately, there is overwhelming evidence that lead poisoning from accidental ingestion of spent ammunition is the leading cause of death in the wild population, and this may prevent the establishment ...

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Science9 Apr 2014

Identified a new possible target to combat muscle wasting

In the study published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI), one of the journals with highest impact in experimental medicine, the researchers associate the activity of the DOR protein with muscle atrophy and point to DOR as a plausible target against which to develop a drug to prevent muscle deterioration in certain diseases. DOR (Diabetes- and Obesity-regulated gene), also known as TP53INP2, is a protein involved in autophagy, a quality control process that ensures cells stay healthy. The researchers have found that increased DOR expression in the muscle ...

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Medicine9 Apr 2014

UNC researchers show how cancer cells may respond to mechanical force

April 9, 2014 The push and pull of physical force can cause profound changes in the behavior of a cell. Two studies from researchers working at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center reveal how cells respond to mechanical manipulation, a key factor in addressing the underlying causes of cancer and other diseases. The studies, published in Nature Cell Biology and the Journal of Immunology, have their roots in a longtime partnership between the labs of Keith Burridge, PhD, Kenan Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology in the UNC School of Medicine, and Richard ...

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Medicine9 Apr 2014

Study examines mental health toll exacted on civilians working with military in war zones

WASHINGTON, DC, April 9, 2014 — The punishing psychological toll endured by military personnel in war zones has been extensively documented for years by researchers, perhaps more than ever in the wake of recent military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. But there has been a troubling dearth of research examining the mental health toll exacted on the large numbers of civilians who work with the military in war zones. Sociologists Alex Bierman, an assistant professor at the University of Calgary, and Ryan Kelty, an associate professor at Washington College in Maryland, ...

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Energy9 Apr 2014

Scientists in Singapore develop novel ultra-fast electrical circuits using light-generated tunneling

Singapore, 9 April 2014 – Assistant Professor Christian A. Nijhuis of the Department of Chemistry at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Faculty of Science, in collaboration with researchers from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), namely Dr Bai Ping of the Institute of High Performance Computing and Dr Michel Bosman of the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering has successfully designed and fabricated electrical circuits that can operate at hundreds of terahertz frequencies, which is tens of thousands times faster than today's state-of-the-art ...

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Space9 Apr 2014

Physical function and sense of autonomy determine life-space mobility in older people

Physical function and sense of autonomy are independent determinants of life-space mobility in older people. This was found in a study conducted at the Gerontology Research Center of the University of Jyväskylä. In this project, 848 older men and women that lived independently in the Jyväskylä region in Central Finland were interviewed at their own home. Life-space mobility reflects a person's mobility with or without the use of a vehicle. Life-space mobility reflects an individual's opportunities to participate in the society. An individual's life-space may be restricted ...

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Environment9 Apr 2014

Technical tests of biodiversity

What happens when physicists play (using mathematical instruments) with the genetics of populations? They may discover unexpected connections between migration and biodiversity, for example, as recently done by a group of researchers from the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste and the Polytechnic University in Turin in a study published in the journal Physical Review Letters. The effect of migration on biodiversity (intended as the coexistence of different genetic traits) is an open question: does migration increase or decrease the genetic variability ...

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Medicine9 Apr 2014

Brain size influences development of individual cranial bones

VIDEO: This shows skull and skeletal development of a 25-year-old musk shrew embryo. Click here for more information. Embryonic development in animals – except mice and rats – remains largely unexplored. For a research project at the University of Zurich, the embryos of 134 species of animal were studied non-invasively for the first time using microcomputer imaging, thus yielding globally unique data. The embryos studied came from museum collections all over the world. The international ...

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Science9 Apr 2014

USA top in the world for entrepreneurship

The USA is the most entrepreneurial economy in the world, according to the 2014 Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI). (See Notes to Editors for the complete rankings.) The GEDI index combines data on entrepreneurial activities and aspirations with data describing how well the country supports entrepreneurial activity in the US and 119 other countries across the world. The USA came top, followed by Australia and Sweden in second and third place, respectively. The researchers found that the USA is a world leader when it comes to financing new businesses ...

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Science9 Apr 2014

Researchers say Neanderthals were no strangers to good parenting

Archaeologists at the University of York are challenging the traditional view that Neanderthal childhood was difficult, short and dangerous. A research team from PALAEO (Centre for Human Palaeoecology and Evolutionary Origins) and the Department of Archaeology at York offer a new and distinctive perspective which suggests that Neanderthal children experienced strong emotional attachments with their immediate social group, used play to develop skills and played a significant role in their society. The traditional perception of the toughness of Neanderthal childhood is ...

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Medicine9 Apr 2014

Polysaccharides from Angelica sinensis alleviate oxidative damage to neurons

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the roles of Angelica sinensis correlate with tonifying the blood and promoting its circulation. Recent studies have shown that extracts of Angelica sinensis have antioxidative and neuroprotective effects. However, the anti-oxidative function of Angelica sinensis polysaccharide has rarely been addressed. In a preliminary experiment from Dr. Tao Lei and colleagues from Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in China, Angelica sinensis polysaccharides not only protected PC12 neuronal cells from H2O2-induced cytotoxicity, but also ...

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Environment9 Apr 2014

Stressful environments genetically affect African American boys

PRINCETON, N.J.—Stressful upbringings can leave imprints on the genes of children as young as age 9, according to a study led by Princeton University and Pennsylvania State University researchers. Such chronic stress during youth leads to physiological weathering similar to aging. A study of 40 9-year-old black boys, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that those who grow up in disadvantaged environments have shorter telomeres — DNA sequences that generally shrink with age — than their advantaged peers. The researchers also report ...

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Science9 Apr 2014

Unity is strength in the marketing of smallholder farm produce

Smallholder farmers often face the challenge of accessing markets and selling their produce at competitive prices because they produce in small quantities that may not be commercially viable. The farmers are now being advised to adopt market interventions such as 'collective action' where they can come together as a group to pool their harvests and sell it in bulk. A study conducted by the World Agroforesty Centre (ICRAF) in Cameroon has shown that effective implementation of collective action improves market access for smallholder producers of agroforestry products ...

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Science9 Apr 2014

Is the increased risk of death due to alcohol intake greater for women or men?

New Rochelle, NY, April 9, 2014—The increased risk of death associated with alcohol intake is not the same for men and women. A study that compared the amount of alcohol consumed and death from all causes among nearly 2.5 million women and men showed that the differences between the sexes became greater as alcohol intake increased, as described in an article in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jwh. In the article ...

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