The Faroe Islands were colonised much earlier than previously believed, and it wasn't by the Vikings, according to new research. New archaeological evidence places human colonisation in the 4th to 6th centuries AD, at least 300-500 years earlier than previously demonstrated. The research, directed by Dr Mike J Church from Durham University and Símun V Arge from the National Museum of the Faroe Islands as part of the multidisciplinary project "Heart of the Atlantic", is published in the Quaternary Science Reviews. The research challenges the nature, scale and timing ...

WATERLOO, Ont. (Tuesday, August 20, 2013) — Emergency departments are not meeting the needs of senior citizens, according to a new international study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. The study, which looked at patients over the age of 75 in emergency departments in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Iceland, India and Sweden, found that seniors have very different needs than the general population— needs that are not being addressed well by current clinical practices or emergency department designs. "The majority of older patients attending emergency ...

A new publication in the top-ranked journal Neuron sheds new light onto the unknown processes on how the brain integrates the inputs from the different senses in the complex circuits formed by molecularly distinct types of nerve cells. The work was led by new Umeå University associate professor Paolo Medini. One of the biggest challenges in Neuroscience is to understand how the cerebral cortex of the brain processes and integrates the inputs from the different senses (like vision, hearing and touch) to control for example, that we can respond to an event in the environment ...

Asthma sufferers frequently exposed to heavy traffic pollution or smoke from wood fire heaters, experienced a significant worsening of symptoms, a new University of Melbourne led study has found. The study is the first of its kind to assess the impact of traffic pollution and wood smoke from heaters on middle-aged adults with asthma. The results revealed adults who suffer asthma and were exposed to heavy traffic pollution experienced an 80 per cent increase in symptoms and those exposed to wood smoke from wood fire heaters experienced an 11 per cent increase in symptoms. Asthma ...

University of Warwick scientists have shown how to tie knots in liquid crystals using a miniature Möbius strip made from silica particles. By tying substances like this in knots, the researchers hope to understand how their intricate configurations and unique properties can be harnessed in the next generation of advanced materials and photonic devices. Liquid crystal is an essential material in modern life – the flat panel displays on our computers, TVs and smartphones all make use of its light-modulating properties. It is composed of long, thin, rod-like molecules ...

This news release is available in Spanish. According to Izaskun Casado-Arzuaga, ecosystems provide more services than what many people believe. And their value is not in fact limited to the possibilities they offer in terms of landscape, aesthetic aspects or leisure. Casado is one of the members of the research group into Landscape, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and, in her opinion, it is important to remember the other services offered by ecosystems. Among them she refers to supply services, like food, water, energy and materials, as well as regulating services ...

It's not often that one treatment offers therapeutic potential for multiple conditions. However, after more than two decades of research, Gail Besner, MD, principal investigator for the Center for Perinatal Research and pediatric surgeon for the Department of Pediatric Surgery at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and her team have found that this may just be the case with HB-EGF, or heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor. Having discovered the growth factor in 1990, Dr. Besner most recently conducted two studies in mice published in June in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery ...

With lobster shell disease moving up the East Coast toward Maine — now observing Maine Lobster Month — a new video from the world's largest scientific society focuses on the disease, the chemistry of lobster shell color and why lobster shells turn red during cooking. The American Chemical Society (ACS) video, the latest episode in ACS' award-winning Bytesize Science series, is at http://www.BytesizeScience.com. In the video, Michael Tlusty, Ph.D., director of research at the New England Aquarium, describes how his lab grows different colored lobsters in an effort to understand ...

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- A new study about the common problem of preharvest sprouting, or PHS, in wheat is nipping the crop-killing issue in the bud. Researchers at Kansas State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, or USDA-ARS, found and cloned a gene in wheat named PHS that prevents the plant from preharvest sprouting. Preharvest sprouting happens when significant rain causes the wheat grain to germinate before harvest and results in significant crop losses. "This is great news because preharvest sprouting is a very difficult trait ...

While observing a newborn star, astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope discovered twin jets of matter blasting out into space at record-breaking speed. These surprisingly forceful molecular "winds" could help refine our understanding of how stars impact their cloudy nurseries and shape their emerging stellar systems. During their formative years, stars both take in and blast away tremendous amounts of matter. When this ejected material collides with the surrounding gas it glows, forming what is known as a Herbig-Haro (HH) object. ...

Consumers are more likely to toss a dented can or a chopped-up piece of paper into the trash than to recycle it, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research that examines recycling habits. "Although products that have changed shape are still recyclable, the likelihood of a consumer recycling a product or throwing it in the trash can be determined by the extent to which it has been distorted during the consumption process," write authors Remi Trudel (Boston University) and Jennifer J. Argo (University of Alberta). The authors looked at how consumers ...

Consumers may value a free gift more than a deeply discounted promotional item, especially if it comes from a prestigious brand, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Since consumers believe the value of a free product is likely to be consistent with the value of the purchased product, pairing a free product with a high-end product may very well increase perceptions of its value," write authors Mauricio M. Palmeira (Monash University) and Joydeep Srivastava (University of Maryland). These days, companies often offer bonus products for free or ...

Buying certain products can be embarrassing. But a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says shoppers should make more conscious choices about what to add to their shopping carts to alleviate the embarrassment. "Shopping basket composition can determine how consumers feel when purchasing embarrassing products. Contrary to conventional wisdom, additional purchases don't always reduce embarrassment but may worsen it instead," write authors Sean Blair and Neal J. Roese (both Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University). "And when additional products do ...

A little bit of controversy can be intriguing, but too much turns consumers off, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Controversial topics can make consumers uncomfortable (since they worry about offending others) and therefore less likely to discuss them. Whether or not consumers are willing to discuss a controversial topic depends on a combination of their level of interest and comfort (or discomfort)," write authors Zoey Chen (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Jonah Berger (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania). Conventional ...

MAYWOOD, Ill. – One night when she was trying to fall asleep, a 60-year-old woman suddenly began hearing music, as if a radio were playing at the back of her head. The songs were popular tunes her husband recognized when she sang or hummed them. But she herself could not identify them. This is the first known case of a patient hallucinating music that was familiar to people around her, but that she herself did not recognize, according to Dr. Danilo Vitorovic and Dr. José Biller of Loyola University Medical Center. The neurologists describe the unique case in the journal ...

Worried you won't meet your goal? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, you'll be more likely to succeed if you make specific plans to implement it. "Consumers believe that flexibility increases their chances of achieving a goal. While this is sometimes true, relatively rigid structures can simplify goal pursuit by eliminating the need to make demanding choices, ultimately making a goal less difficult to achieve," write authors Liyin Jin (Fudan University), Szu-Chi Huang, and Ying Zhang (both University of Texas, Austin). The authors looked at ...

Consumers who buy brands to stand out may actually be trying to fit in, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Our research suggests that seeking differentiation via brands may actually be another tactic to achieve belongingness," write authors Sara Loughran Dommer (Georgia Institute of Technology), Vanitha Swaminathan (University of Pittsburgh), and Rohini Ahluwalia (University of Minnesota). The authors explored how and why consumers use brands to stand out within a group. For example, certain brands can help consumers feel like they belong, ...

Bethesda, Md. (Aug. 20, 2013)—Obesity continues to plague the U.S. and now extends to much of the rest of the world. One probable reason for this growing health problem is more people worldwide eating the so-called Western diet, which contains high levels of saturated fat, omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (the type of fat found in vegetable oil), and added sugar. Researchers have long known that this pattern of consumption, as well as the weight gain it often causes, contributes to a wide range of other health problems including erectile dysfunction and heart disease. ...

Mothers who completed a mandatory community intimate-partner violence (IPV) program were less likely to be re-victimized and more likely to leave an abusive spouse or partner, say researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Changes in Intimate Partner Violence Among Women Mandated to Community Services" was published online recently in the journal Research and Social Work Practice. Rebecca Macy, L. Richardson Preyer Distinguished Chair for Strengthening Families and professor in UNC's School of Social Work, directed the five-year study. It is ...

In a laboratory, preclinical study recently published by the journal Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers combined structural features from anti-nausea drug thalidomide with common kitchen spice turmeric to create hybrid molecules that effectively kill multiple myeloma cells. Thalidomide was first introduced in the 1950s as an anti-nausea medication to help control morning sickness, but was later taken off the shelves in 1962 because it was found to cause birth defects. In the late 1990's the drug was re-introduced ...

An emphasis on harmony helps Vietnamese consumers navigate the perils of wedding planning to find ways to please everyone involved, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "When there are disagreements about wedding plans, rather than arguing, bickering, or bargaining, Vietnamese consumers find ways to achieve harmony," write authors Thuc-Doan T. Nguyen (California State University, Long Beach) and Russell W. Belk (York University). Planning a wedding is a complex task that involves cultural, family, and personal considerations. But according to ...

Alexandria, VA -- The world is buzzing with the hum of servers containing terabytes of the world's collective datasets. And the geosciences are no different. Geoscientists are awash in data like never before. The challenge now for the geoscience community is how to best integrate disparate datasets for communal use and establish uniform standards for data entry. Now, communities of computer scientists and geoscientists are coming together to tackle the challenge of how best to integrate the wealth of data describing the earth system and to encourage geoscientists to dust ...

A new report finds that there was a net loss of nearly 7,500 bank and building society branches in the period 1989 to 2012 or more than 40% of all branches. The report also finds that the least affluent third of the population has borne the brunt of two thirds of closures since 1995. The areas with above average rates of closure between 1995 and 2012 were Britain's least affluent inner city areas, multicultural metropolitan areas and traditional manufacturing areas. The two areas which have experienced the biggest decline of 39% (traditional manufacturing and inner ...

A new study led by Tel Aviv University researchers finds that the Holocaust education trips Israeli high school students take to Poland every year can trigger mental health problems. About a third of the psychiatric professionals surveyed in this pilot study said they had treated teenagers for psychological problems arising from the Holocaust education trips. While most of the teenagers were treated for less severe symptoms such as anxiety, adjustment, and mood disorders, reports also cited hospitalization, post-traumatic-stress disorder, and psychosis. In the majority ...

Researchers at McGill University have found that sodium – the main chemical component in table salt – is a unique "on/off" switch for a major neurotransmitter receptor in the brain. This receptor, known as the kainate receptor, is fundamental for normal brain function and is implicated in numerous diseases, such as epilepsy and neuropathic pain. Prof. Derek Bowie and his laboratory in McGill's Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, worked with University of Oxford researchers to make the discovery. By offering a different view of how the brain transmits information, ...