A large study of child growth patterns in 36 developing countries published in The Lancet Global Health journal has found that, contrary to widely held beliefs, economic growth is at best associated with very small, and in some cases no declines in levels of stunting, underweight, and wasting. This suggests that investment in interventions that directly impact health and nutrition are needed to tackle child undernutrition. Worldwide, malnutrition contributes to 2.6 million child deaths each year, or more than one in three of all child deaths. In 2011, an estimated 165 ...

Boston, MA —A large study of child growth patterns in 36 developing countries finds that, contrary to widely held beliefs, economic growth has little to no effect on the nutritional status of the world's poorest children. The study, from researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), the University of Göttingen, Germany, ETH Zürich, Switzerland, and the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, found that economic growth was associated with small or no declines in stunting, underweight, and wasting—all signs of undernutrition. "These findings represent a potentially ...

By reptile standards, alligators are positively chatty. They are the most vocal of the non-avian reptiles and are known to be able to pinpoint the source of sounds with accuracy. But it wasn't clear exactly how they did it because they lack external auditory structures. In a new study, an international team of biologists shows that the alligator's ear is strongly directional because of large, air-filled channels connecting the two middle ears. This configuration is similar in birds, which have an interaural canal that increases directionality. "Mammals usually have ...

Scientists monitored Cuvier's beaked whales' record-breaking dives to depths of nearly two miles below the ocean surface and some dives lasted for over two hours, according to results published March 26, 2014, in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Gregory Schorr from Cascadia Research Collective and colleagues. Distributed throughout the world's oceans, the Cuvier's beaked whales' frequent dives deep into the ocean make them difficult for researchers to study. Previous studies using short-term tags (~ 215 hours of data) have indicated that this deep-diving species might ...

VIDEO: This video shows example trials for each of the six experiments. Click here for more information. New Caledonian crows may understand how to displace water to receive a reward, with the causal understanding level of a 5-7 year-old child, according to results published March 26, 2014, in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Sarah Jelbert from University of Auckland and colleagues. Understanding causal relationships between actions is a key feature of human cognition. However, ...

Humpback whales share a simplistic skin bacterial community across populations, according to results published March 26, 2014, in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Amy Apprill from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and colleagues. The overall bacterial communities differ by geographic area and by metabolic state, such as feeding versus starving during migration and breeding. Bacterial communities living on mammal skin may play a role in their health; for humans, there is a relationship between skin bacteria and allergic or inflammatory conditions. While skin ...

Although the targeted cancer treatment drug crizotinib is very effective in causing rapid regression of a particular form of lung cancer, patients' tumors inevitably become resistant to the drug. Now a new drug called ceritinib appears to be effective against advanced ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), both in tumors that have become resistant to crizotinib and in those never treated with the older drug. The results of a phase 1 clinical trial conducted at centers in 11 countries are reported in the March 27 New England Journal of Medicine. "Crizotinib ...

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Allen Institute for Brain Science have published a study that gives clear and direct new evidence that autism begins during pregnancy. The study will be published in the March 27 online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers – Eric Courchesne, PhD, professor of neurosciences and director of the Autism Center of Excellence at UC San Diego, Ed S. Lein, PhD, of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, and first author Rich Stoner, PhD, of the UC San Diego ...

PHILADELPHIA (March 26, 2014) – Despite the popular conception of giant pandas as continually chomping on bamboo to fulfill a voracious appetite for this reedy grass, new research from the Monell Center reveals that this highly endangered species also has a sweet tooth. A combination of behavioral and molecular genetic studies demonstrated that the giant panda both possesses functional sweet taste receptors and also shows a strong preference for some natural sweeteners, including fructose and sucrose. "Examining an animal's taste DNA can give us clues to their past diet, ...

Infectious disease specialists at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center have identified a protein that regulates the body's immune response to cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common pathogen that causes lifelong infections and can lead to devastating illness in newborns and those with weakened immune systems. The protein — a cell receptor called NOD2 found in several types of immune cells — has long been known for its role in fighting off bacterial invaders by sensing their presence and alerting immune cells to release chemicals that weaken or destroy the harmful bacteria. That ...

RICHARDSON, Texas (March 26, 2014) — The legalization of medical marijuana has sparked debate across the nation for decades. Some opponents have argued that medical marijuana's legalization will lead to higher crime rates, but according to a new study at UT Dallas, legalization of medical cannabis is not an indicator of increased crime. It actually may be related to reductions in certain types of crime, said Dr. Robert Morris, associate professor of criminology and lead author of the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE. "We're cautious about saying, 'Medical ...

The architecture of the autistic brain is speckled with patches of abnormal neurons, according to research partially funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine on March 27, 2014, this study suggests that brain irregularities in children with autism can be traced back to prenatal development. "While autism is generally considered a developmental brain disorder, research has not identified a consistent or causative lesion," said Thomas R. Insel, M.D., director of NIMH. ...

Bacteria are invisible to the naked eye, but they reside on nearly every surface humans encounter—including the skin. Uncovering the role these microorganisms play in human health is a major focus of research in skin microbiology, but little is known about the identity or function of skin bacteria in other mammals. In a paper published in the open access journal PLOS ONE, researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and colleagues identified a core skin bacterial community that humpback whales share across populations, which could point to a way to assess ...

A smartphone application appears to help patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) reduce risky drinking days compared to patients who received usual care after leaving treatment in a residential program. Alcohol dependence is a lifetime psychiatric diagnosis with relapse rates similar to other chronic illnesses. Continuing care for AUDs has been associated with better outcomes, but patients leaving treatment for AUDs typically are not offered aftercare. The authors randomized 349 patients with alcohol dependence leaving three residential programs to treatment as ...

NEW YORK (March 26, 2014) – Migraine sufferers who experienced reduced stress from one day to the next are at significantly increased risk of migraine onset on the subsequent day, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the Montefiore Headache Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University. Stress has long been believed to be a common headache trigger. In this study, researchers found that relaxation following heightened stress was an even more significant trigger for migraine attacks. Findings may aid in recommending preventive treatments ...

Athens, Ga. – Developmental biologists at the University of Georgia are discovering new roles for a specific gene known as Max's Giant Associated protein, or MGA. A little studied protein, MGA appears to control a number of developmental processes, and also may be connected to cancer development. The researchers detail their findings in a paper published recently in the journal Developmental Cell. "The same genes that are involved in building a person during embryonic development can mutate and cause cancer later in life," said Scott Dougan the study's principal investigator ...

DALLAS – March 26, 2014 – "Today, we're going to make history," said 18-year-old Eric Ramos on the day UT Southwestern Medical Center doctors operated on his ailing heart. Eric, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, is one of only three patients in the United States with the condition to receive a battery-operated left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to keep his weakening heart pumping blood through his body. He is the first patient in the country to be given a specific, smaller LVAD, which means doctors would not need to manipulate his diaphragm, which could compromise ...

Scientists seeking a more efficient way of protecting the heart of Africa's wildlife—the Greater Virunga Landscape—have developed a method to make the most of limited enforcement resources, according to a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the University of Queensland, Imperial College London, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority. By channeling data on wildlife sightings and park guard patrolling routes into spatial planning software, conservationists have devised a cost-effective method for maximizing the deterrence effect of patrolling to protect Africa's ...

ORONO, ME--Researchers have released a new Capsicum annuum pepper germplasm that contains high concentrations of capsinoids. The release was announced in the January 2014 issue of HortScience by researchers Robert L. Jarret from the USDA/Agricultural Research Service in Griffin, Georgia, in collaboration with Jason Bolton and L. Brian Perkins from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Maine. According to the report, the germplasm called "509-45-1" is a small-fruited Capsicum annuum L. pepper. Fruit of 509-45-1 contain high concentrations ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Six massive glaciers in West Antarctica are moving faster than they did 40 years ago, causing more ice to discharge into the ocean and global sea level to rise, according to new research. The amount of ice draining collectively from those half-dozen glaciers increased by 77 percent from 1973 to 2013, scientists report this month in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. Pine Island Glacier, the most active of the studied glaciers, has accelerated by 75 percent in 40 years, according to the paper. Thwaites Glacier, ...

LAKE ALFRED, FL--Citrus Huanglongbing (citrus greening disease) is highly destructive and fast-spreading, contributing to a reduction in crop yields in Florida and threatening the future of the citrus industry worldwide. Once infected, trees never fully recover and there currently is no cure, although proper nutrient and water management appear to slow tree decline in some situations. A bacterium called Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), vectored by the Asian citrus psyllid, is the presumed causal agent of the disease. Citrus trees affected by HLB exhibit a progressive ...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is marked by a cascade of cellular and inflammatory events that weakens and kills vital motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. The process is complex, involving cells that ordinarily protect the neurons from harm. Now, a new study by scientists in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital points to a potential culprit in this good-cell-gone-bad scenario, a key step toward the ultimate goal of developing a treatment. Motor neurons, or nerve cells, in the brain and spinal cord control ...

Beverly, MA, March 26, 2014 – Surgical aortic valve replacement generally improves patients' symptoms and prolongs survival. However, the perceived risk of surgical aortic valve replacement in patients over 80 may result in surgery being denied or a recommendation for alternative therapy. Investigators at the Mayo Clinic challenge the way these patients have been managed. They report that repeat sternotomy in patients over 80 who have previously had coronary bypass graft surgery can be done with low risk. Their findings are published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular ...

EAST LANSING, MI--Since the introduction of 'Honeycrisp' apples in 1991, the variety has become a consumer favorite for its unusual texture and delicious flavor. Honeycrisp has increased in popularity with growers as well; Michigan, New York, and Washington boast significant numbers of 'Honeycrisp' orchards. As the growing area dedicated to the variety has grown, the need to find better methods for improving storage performance has become more important to growers. Because 'Honeycrisp' is very sensitive to low temperatures and can be damaged by controlled-atmosphere conditions, ...

TAIPEI, TAIWAN--The Phalaenopsis orchid, also known as the moth orchid, is the most important pot flower in terms of market value in the world's major floriculture markets. Because nitrogen significantly affects the growth and flowering of Phalaenopsis, nitrogen needs during flowering are of particular interest to growers. Researchers Hadi Susilo, Ying-Chun Peng, and Yao-Chien Alex Chang from the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at National Taiwan University published a study in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science that determined ...