Lightning strikes causing rocks to explode have for the first time been shown to play a huge role in shaping mountain landscapes in southern Africa, debunking previous assumptions that angular rock formations were necessarily caused by cold temperatures, and proving that mountains are a lot less stable than we think. In a world where mountains are crucial to food security and water supply, this has vast implications, especially in the context of climate change. Professors Jasper Knight and Stefan Grab from the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies ...

Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2013 – Some people grow out of their childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and some don't. In fact, around 50% of individuals diagnosed as children continue to suffer from ADHD as adults. Researchers are trying to understand the reasons why, and relatedly, whether there are any differences that distinguish the two groups. Gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, and symptom severity have already been ruled out as potentials. So, perhaps there is a distinguishing variable in the brain? Dr. Philip Shaw at the National Human ...

Have you ever wondered why young children can eat bags of Halloween candy and feel fine the next day – compared to adults who experience all sorts of agony following the same junk food binge? Evolution and a gene called Foxo may be to blame. Working in fruit flies, scientists at the Buck Institute have identified a mechanism that helps the flies adapt to changes in diet when they're young; they've discovered that same mechanism gets misregulated as the flies age, disrupting metabolic homeostasis, or balance. In a study appearing in Cell Reports, researchers focus on ...

DALLAS – Oct. 15, 2013 – A new type of antibiotic called a PPMO, which works by blocking genes essential for bacterial reproduction, successfully killed a multidrug-resistant germ common to health care settings, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report. The technology and new approach offer potential promise against the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, the researchers said. The pathogen (germ) – called Acinetobacter – can cause infections from pneumonia to serious blood or wound infections, posing greater risk to people with weakened immune systems, ...

An international team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen have successfully developed an innovative 3D method to grow miniature pancreas from progenitor cells. The future goal is to use this model to help in the fight against diabetes. The research results has just been published in the scientific journal Development. Professor Anne Grapin-Botton and her team at the Danish Stem Cell Centre have developed a three-dimensional culture method which enables the efficient expansion of pancreatic cells. The new method allows the cell material from mice to grow ...

The explosion in music consumption over the last century has made 'what you listen to' an important personality construct – as well as the root of many social and cultural tribes – and, for many people, their self-perception is closely associated with musical preference. We would perhaps be reluctant to admit that our taste in music alters - softens even - as we get older. Now, a new study suggests that - while our engagement with it may decline - music stays important to us as we get older, but the music we like adapts to the particular 'life challenges' we face at different ...

STANFORD, Calif. — A brain region activated when people are asked to perform mathematical calculations in an experimental setting is similarly activated when they use numbers — or even imprecise quantitative terms, such as "more than"— in everyday conversation, according to a study by Stanford University School of Medicine scientists. Using a novel method, the researchers collected the first solid evidence that the pattern of brain activity seen in someone performing a mathematical exercise under experimentally controlled conditions is very similar to that observed when ...

Scientists at Rice University are enhancing the natural antioxidant properties of an element found in a car's catalytic converter to make it useful for medical applications. Rice chemist Vicki Colvin led a team that created small, uniform spheres of cerium oxide and gave them a thin coating of fatty oleic acid to make them biocompatible. The researchers say their discovery has the potential to help treat traumatic brain injury, cardiac arrest and Alzheimer's patients and can guard against radiation-induced side effects suffered by cancer patients. Their nanoparticles ...

Parvoviruses cause no harm in humans, but they can attack and kill cancer cells. Since 1992, scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have been studying these viruses with the aim of developing a viral therapy to treat glioblastomas, a type of aggressively growing brain cancer. A clinical trial has been conducted since 2011 at the Heidelberg University Neurosurgery Hospital to test the safety of treating cancer patients with the parvovirus H-1. "We obtained impressive results in preclinical trials with parvovirus H-1 in ...

VIDEO: This is a view from above of the growing and spiraling wave field emitted by a geophysical vortex due to the radiative instability. The black circle represents a boundary of... Click here for more information. WASHINGTON, D.C. Oct. 15, 2013 -- What do smoke rings, tornadoes and the Great Red Spot of Jupiter have in common? They are all examples of vortices, regions within a fluid (liquid, gas or plasma) where the flow spins around an imaginary straight or curved axis. ...

A recent study led by researchers of the ICFO (Institute of Photonic Sciences) demonstrates that a single nano-diamond can be operated as an ultrafast single-emitter optical switch operating at room temperature. The scientific results of this study have been published in Nature Physics. Electronic transistors have become a key component to modern electronics, drastically improving the speed of information processing of current technologies. An electronic transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals. The much sought after optical ...

VIDEO: Dean Snow, emeritus professor of anthropology, Penn State, discusses handprints on cave walls and the methods he used to determine if they were male or femaile. Click here for more information. Plaster handprints from kindergarten, handprint turkeys, handprints outside Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood -- are all part of modern life, but ancient people also left their handprints on rocks and cave walls. Now, a Penn State anthropologist can determine the sex of ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Many American diets fall short of meeting nutritional guidelines resulting in burgeoning obesity rates and health problems across the nation. Statistics show that most Americans consume only half of the daily recommended amount of dietary fiber. Now, a research team at the University of Missouri is addressing the fiber deficit by including citrus fiber in ground beef while retaining the quality and taste of the meat. Ayca Gedikoglu, a doctoral student studying food science in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, and Andrew Clarke, ...

Shoppers are more likely to buy a product from a different location when a pleasant sound coming from a particular direction draws attention to the item, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Suppose that you are standing in a supermarket aisle, choosing between two packets of cookies, one placed nearer your right side and the other nearer your left. While you are deciding, you hear an in-store announcement from your left, about store closing hours," write authors Hao Shen (Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Jaideep Sengupta (Hong Kong University ...

Consumers like to reap the benefits of discounts immediately (not later), according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Consumers enjoy discounted products much less if they have to wait for them. "Price promotions are common in the marketplace. For consumers, these promotions translate into real economic savings, guide buying decisions, encourage trial of new products, and make consumers feel smart and good about themselves," write authors Leonard Lee (Columbia University) and Claire I. Tsai (University of Toronto). But sometimes discounts backfire, especially ...

Consumers appreciate being able to share their perks with others, and will sacrifice exclusivity to do so, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Companies spend billions of dollars each year on customer loyalty or VIP programs in an effort to reward loyal customers and make them feel both special and a sense of status," write authors Brent McFerran (University of Michigan) and Jennifer J. Argo (University of Alberta). Many loyalty programs, like airline lounges, luxury boxes, and hotel rooms extend benefits to guests of the VIP, or "an entourage." ...

You're only as old as you feel, or so the saying goes. Now, research suggests that a simple memory test can have a noticeable impact on just how old some older adults feel, aging them about five years in the span of five minutes. The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. "Previous work shows that how old one feels — one's subjective age — predicts significant health outcomes, even better than one's chronological age predicts these outcomes," says senior researcher Lisa Geraci of Texas A&M University. "These ...

When a shop is authentic and the workers are friendly, it can feel like a second home for consumers, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "People often feel strongly attached to particular places. Such places typically include their homes, but can also include commercial places such as stores and restaurants," write authors Alain Debenedetti (Université Paris Est – IRG), Harmen Oppewal (Monash University), and Zeynep Arsel (Concordia University). "How do people develop and experience place attachment when the place concerns a commercial setting, ...

The bottomless pit of insect biodiversity has yielded a treasure trove of new species of jewel-like clown beetles. In a paper published today in the journal ZooKeys, Michael Caterino and Alexey Tishechkin of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History describe 85 new species in the genus Baconia, renowned for their brilliant coloration and bizarrely flattened body forms. The new species bring the genus up to 116 total species. The new species, mainly from North and South America, were discovered through studies of numerous museum collections, as well as the authors' own ...

Ottawa (October 15th, 2013) A new expert panel report, entitled The Health Effects of Conducted Energy Weapons, was released today by the Council of Canadian Academies in collaboration with the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. The assessment was conducted by a 14-member panel of distinguished multidisciplinary experts and chaired by the Honourable Justice Stephen T. Goudge from the Court of Appeal for Ontario. The Expert Panel was asked to consider the state of knowledge about the medical and physiological impacts of conducted energy weapons (CEWs). Based ...

Contrary to public perception, "glassing" incidents, particularly at licensed venues, constitute a relatively small proportion of all alcohol-related violence. This Early View paper is written by paramedic student Anthony Laing, Dr Marguerite Sendall who is a lecturer in health promotion and qualitative research at the Queensland University of Technology, and emergency paediatrician Dr Ruth Barker from the Mater Children's Hospital in Brisbane and director of the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit. The researchers studied the characteristics of patients presenting ...

Montréal, October 15, 2013 – A team of researchers led by Dr. Michel Cayouette at the IRCM made an important discovery, published online yesterday by the scientific journal Developmental Cell, that could better explain some inherited forms of hearing loss in humans. The Montréal scientists identified a group of proteins crucial for shaping the cellular organ responsible for detecting sounds. For a human to hear, sound-induced vibrations in the inner ear must first be transformed into electrical impulses before they can be relayed to the brain. This transformation is ...

"There are three components to motivation. The first is our conscious objectives and desires – for example, the aspiration for a highly paid role in a company in order to achieve a certain standard of living. We are also driven by unconscious, implicit motives. These are deeply rooted in our emotions and can include the desire to do things well, have an impact on and control over others, and engage in interpersonal relationships," explains Prof. Hugo Kehr from the Chair of Psychology at Technische Universität München (TUM). "The third motivational component builds on the ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University and other institutions today announced the successful use of a new type of antibacterial agent called a PPMO, which appears to function as well or better than an antibiotic, but may be more precise and also solve problems with antibiotic resistance. In animal studies, one form of PPMO showed significant control of two strains of Acinetobacter, a group of bacteria of global concern that has caused significant mortality among military personnel serving in Middle East combat. The new PPMOs offer a fundamentally different ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Adolescence can be an impressionable time for girls as they begin forming ideas about dating and sexuality. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found that sisters often take on key roles of confidants, sources of support and mentors during conversations about romantic relationships. Sisters may be helpful in health education efforts to promote safe-sex practices and healthy romantic relationships. "Our findings indicate that sisters play important roles as adolescent girls form ideas about romantic relationships and sexuality," said Sarah Killoren, ...