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Medicine19 Mar 2014

No-refrigeration, spray vaccine could curb diseases in remote areas

DALLAS, March 19, 2014 — A new kind of single-dose vaccine that comes in a nasal spray and doesn't require refrigeration could dramatically alter the public health landscape — get more people vaccinated around the world and address the looming threats of emerging and re-emerging diseases. Researchers presented the latest design and testing of these "nanovaccines" at the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. Their talk was one of more than 10,000 presentations at the meeting, being held here ...

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Medicine19 Mar 2014

Understanding binge eating and obesity

VIDEO: In this JoVE video article, a set of methods to measure food-related motivation and values are described in JoVE's peer-reviewed video article format. Click here for more information. March 19, 2014 —Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a novel method for evaluating the treatment of obesity-related food behavior. In an effort to further scientific understanding of the underlying problem, they have published the first peer-reviewed video of their technique ...

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Medicine19 Mar 2014

101 liver cancer drug candidates pave the way to personalized medicine

The heart disease drug perhexiline is one of 101 compounds predicted to prevent cancer growth in most patients suffering from our most common liver cancer, HCC. This is an outcome from a novel simulation-based approach using personal sets of proteins of six HCC patients. "This is the first time personalized models have been used to find and evaluate new potential drugs," says Professor Jens Nielsen at Chalmers University of Technology. -- Our most common liver cancer, Hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC, causes more than half a million deaths worldwide every year. If the ...

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Medicine19 Mar 2014

Gut bacteria can cause life-threatening infections in preterm babies

Babies born prematurely are surviving in increasing numbers. But many withstand complications of early birth only to suffer late-onset sepsis — life-threatening bloodstream infections that strike after infants reach 72 hours of age. While early-onset sepsis often is caused by pathogens acquired from the amniotic sac or birth canal, the causes of late-onset sepsis have been far less clear. But now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered that preterm babies' guts harbor infectious microbes that can cause late-onset sepsis. The ...

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Science19 Mar 2014

Drinking alcohol several times a week increases the risk of stroke mortality

Consuming alcohol more frequently than twice a week increases the risk of stroke mortality in men, according to a study carried out at the University of Eastern Finland. The results show that the effects of alcohol are not limited to the amount consumed, but also the frequency of drinking matters. The results were published in Acta Neurologica Scandinavica on 8 March. Excessive consumption of alcohol is associated with a variety of different diseases. The relationship between alcohol consumption and ischaemic stroke shows a J curve pattern, which means that in people ...

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Science19 Mar 2014

GPS also helps to analyze global water resources

This news release is available in German. FRANKFURT. WaterGAP (Water Global Assessment and Prognosis) is a hydrological model used to model water shortage, groundwater depletion, and floods and droughts (e.g. as impacted by climate change) over the land area of the globe. The Frankfurt hydrologist Prof. Petra Döll has examined how good a fit this model provides, using GPS observations and data from the GRACE satellite, which measures the gravitational field of the Earth. The study, published in the current issue of the scientific journal Surveys in Geophysics indicates ...

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Science19 Mar 2014

Rewrite the textbooks on water's surface tension

Researchers from the University of Melbourne and University of Sydney are confident their new reaserach results will make significant differences to the calculations of surface tension of water used by the next generation of atmospheric scientists, biophysicists and engineers of technology like inkjet printers. These latest investigations have clinched a long-standing controversy amongst the physical Chemistry community; the air-water interface is negatively charged by the adsorption of hydroxide ions. Prof Angus Gray-Weale from the Chemistry, Department of Chemistry ...

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Medicine19 Mar 2014

Ottawa researchers find new pathway connected to type 2 diabetes

Ottawa, ON, March 19, 2014 — Scientists at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute have discovered a cellular pathway that is responsible for keeping blood sugar levels low in obese or pre-diabetic people, and may prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes. The discovery published this month in a leading journal Nature Cell Biology. Following a meal, beta cells found in islets of the pancreas secrete insulin that helps to store food energy for future use. The inability of islet beta cells to produce enough insulin leads to diabetes. Unlike other ...

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Social Science19 Mar 2014

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction

Older persons, in particular, tend to suffer from memory lapses and other types of cognitive impairment after undergoing surgical procedures (postoperative cognitive dysfunction, POCD). Surgery has been performed on older patients much more commonly in recent years than ever before, and their pre- and postoperative care has become an important matter. Ingrid Rundshagen, an anesthesiologist, has surveyed the available literature to find out what kinds of patients are more likely to have cognitive impairment after surgery, and how the clinical manifestations should best be ...

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Technology19 Mar 2014

Diversity in UK gardens aiding fight to save threatened bumblebees, study suggests

The global diversity of plants being cultivated by Britain's gardeners is playing a key role in the fight to save the nation's threatened bumblebees, new research has revealed. Ecologists at Plymouth University, in a study published this week, have shown the most common species of bumblebee are not fussy about a plant's origin when searching for nectar and pollen among the nation's urban gardens. But other species – and, in particular, long-tongued bees – do concentrate their feeding upon plants from the UK and Europe, for which they have developed a preference evolved ...

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Medicine19 Mar 2014

EU could afford to lead international climate action

Major emitting countries may have to join the EU's effort much earlier to avoid a temporary overshoot of the 2 degree target, but even if they joined only in 2030, the overshoot would be limited to roughly 0.2 to 0.4 degrees Celsius. The initial unilateral leadership could be achieved at little extra costs for the EU. Late-comers would have the benefit of lower costs while they delay action but would face higher transient costs once their turn to decarbonize comes. "The crisis-stricken EU is asking itself whether it can still afford climate leadership" says lead-author ...

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Science19 Mar 2014

Rush to prescribe: Study questions speed in giving antidepressants to grieving parents

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Some doctors are too quick to prescribe antidepressants to parents who have suffered the death of a child either during pregnancy or within the first month of life, according to a study conducted by Florida State University researcher Jeffrey R. Lacasse. In a study of 235 bereaved parents participating in an online support community, Lacasse found that 88 — or 37.4 percent — of them were prescribed a psychiatric medication to help them cope. Some women received prescriptions with a week of losing their children. "This is simply too soon after the ...

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Science19 Mar 2014

Global attack needed to catch credit thieves

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Stopping massive data breaches like the one that hit Target will require a more sophisticated, collaborative approach by law enforcement agencies around the world, a Michigan State University cyber security expert argues. In a new research report for the National Institute of Justice, Thomas Holt found many hackers and data thieves are operating in Russia or on websites where users communicate in Russian, making it easier to hide from U.S. and European authorities. All countries need to better work together to fight hacking and data theft campaigns, ...

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Medicine19 Mar 2014

Pocket diagnosis

A recently-developed mobile phone application could make monitoring conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, and urinary tract infections much clearer and easier for both patients and doctors, and could eventually be used to slow or limit the spread of pandemics in the developing world. The app, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, accurately measures colour-based, or colorimetric, tests for use in home, clinical or remote settings, and enables the transmission of medical data from patients directly to health professionals. Decentralisation ...

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Medicine19 Mar 2014

Comeback of an abandoned antibiotic

This news release is available in German. The common bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes is responsible not only for scarlet fever, a childhood disease presenting with characteristic skin rash, but also for many suppurative infections of the skin. The infection can be associated with serious consequences such as acute rheumatic fever and inflammation of the kidneys. In Germany, physicians usually prescribe penicillin, an antibiotic. In less-developed countries, penicillin is not always an option though. Firstly, penicillin is often not available and secondly, co-infections, ...

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Technology19 Mar 2014

A majority prefers letting computers decide

When individuals engage in risky business transactions with each other, they may end up being disappointed. This is why they'd rather leave the decision on how to divvy up jointly-owned monies to a computer than to their business partner. This subconscious strategy seems to help them avoid the negative emotions associated with any breaches of trust. This is the result of a study by scientists from the University of Bonn and US peers. They are presenting their findings in the scientific journal "Proceedings of the Royal Society B." Trust is an essential basis for business ...

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Science19 Mar 2014

Planting cotton early may mean less stink bug damage

Stink bugs have been consistently ranked among the most damaging insect pests of cotton in the southeastern United States for the past several years. Apart from the feeding damage, stink bugs are capable of transmitting cotton seed and boll-rotting bacteria such as Pantoea agglomerans. In order to find out whether cultural practices could be used to manage stink bugs -- such as adjusting the date of planting to mitigate peak pest pressure -- researchers from the University of Georgia compared cotton plots that were planted in May to other plots that were planted in June. The ...

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Medicine19 Mar 2014

Launching a botanical journal on the verge of WWI: the politics of the AJB

One hundred years ago on the brink of WWI, American botanists changed the course of plant science with the founding of a national publication, the American Journal of Botany. The journal not only endured through the Great War, it also continued to evolve through the wars that followed, the Great Depression, and the ever-changing arena of plant research. Today, the AJB remains at the forefront of essential botanical research as the flagship journal of the Botanical Society of America. In celebration of its centennial anniversary, science historian Betty Smocovitis takes ...

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Science19 Mar 2014

Football displays fractal dynamics

Football fascinates millions of fans, almost all of them unaware that the game is subject to the laws of physics. Despite their seemingly arbitrary decisions, players obey certain rules, as they constantly adjust their positions in relation to their teammates, opponents, the ball and the goal. A team of Japanese scientists has now analysed the time-dependent fluctuation of both the ball and all players' positions throughout an entire match. They discovered that a simple rule governs the complex dynamics of the ball and the team's front-line. These findings, published in ...

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Social Science19 Mar 2014

Rice grad student deciphers 1,800-year-old letter from Egyptian soldier

A newly deciphered 1,800-year-old letter from an Egyptian solider serving in a Roman legion in Europe to his family back home shows striking similarities to what some soldiers may be feeling here and now. Rice Religious Studies graduate student Grant Adamson took up the task in 2011 when he was assigned the papyrus to work on during a summer institute hosted at Brigham Young University (BYU). The private letter sent home by Roman military recruit Aurelius Polion was originally discovered in 1899 by the expedition team of Grenfell and Hunt in the ancient Egyptian city ...

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Physics19 Mar 2014

Physical activity and occasional drinking found to be associated with decrease in vision impairment

A physically active lifestyle and occasional drinking is associated with a reduced risk of developing visual impairment, according to a study published online this month in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Visual impairment – sight loss often caused by eye disease, trauma, or a congenital or degenerative condition that cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses – is associated with a poorer quality of life and, when severe, loss of independence. In 2020, the number of people in the United States with visual impairment is projected ...

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Medicine19 Mar 2014

Overdiagnosing cancer may lead to unnecessary, dangerous procedures

Overdiagnosing cancer may lead to unnecessary, dangerous procedures Article provided by Miracle Pruzan & Pruzan Visit us at http://www.miraclelaw.com When you go to the doctor, the last thing you want to hear is that your physician has found a lump. The threat of cancer is unnerving and generally leaves the patient hoping to eradicate the problem as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, a new study has revealed that aggressive treatment may not always be the optimal solution for those diagnosed with cancer. According to a recent study -- published in the journal ...

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Medicine19 Mar 2014

Collaborative divorce touted as cheaper alternative to standard divorce

Collaborative divorce touted as cheaper alternative to standard divorce Article provided by Law Office of Lori Watson Visit us at http://www.olivarezlaw.com/ The collaborative divorce option has gained popularity in Texas and across the United States in recent years, partly because of the claim that it costs less than a conventional divorce. While there is a lack of data to prove that assertion, lawyers and others familiar with the process agree that collaborative divorces normally result in financial savings. Texas billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens agrees ...

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Science19 Mar 2014

Utah adoption matter highlights the differences among state laws

Utah adoption matter highlights the differences among state laws Article provided by Brown Law LLC Visit us at http://www.utdivorceattorney.com This legislative session, there are a number of bills before the Utah Legislature, which could potentially amend the state's adoption statute to address issues raised in several different types of matters. For example, one bill would provide an unwed father more time to respond after he is given notice that an adoption concerning his child is pending in the state. In general, most of the proposed laws get to the issue ...

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Social Science19 Mar 2014

Recovering economy leading to rising divorce rate in US

Recovering economy leading to rising divorce rate in US Article provided by Law Offices of Victoria S. Linder Visit us at http://www.sacramentoattorneys.net According to recent research, the burgeoning economy may have more positive effects than those clearly visible to most Americans. Many people are likely appreciating increased job security and potentially even higher raises than they were accustomed to during the recession. These financial benefits are affecting people in their personal lives, as well, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. As people ...

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