Biologists at LMU have demonstrated that people can acquire the capacity for echolocation, although it does take time and work. As blind people can testify, we humans can hear more than one might think. The blind learn to navigate using as guides the echoes of sounds they themselves make. This enables them to sense the locations of walls and corners, for instance: by tapping the ground with a stick or making clicking sounds with the tongue, and analyzing the echoes reflected from nearby surfaces, a blind person can map the relative positions of objects in the vicinity. ...

Researchers at Lund University have unexpectedly discovered that an old cancer drug can be used to prevent rejection of transplanted tissue. The researchers now have high hopes that their discovery could lead to new treatments for both transplant patients and patients with autoimmune diseases. The researchers behind the study, which has been published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, work at the Rausing Laboratory, Lund University, where they have conducted research on brain tumours over many years. "Our group were studying the effects of the old tumour drug Zebularine, ...

Fossil fuel emissions are impacting corals through high temperatures which can cause their deaths and ocean acidification which makes it difficult for them to produce their skeletons. In a study published today in Global Change Biology, Dr Elena Couce, Professor Andy Ridgwell and Dr Erica Hendy used computer models to predict future shifts in the global distribution of coral reef ecosystems under these two stressors. The researchers found that warming impacts were dominant, with a significant decline in suitability for corals near the equator. Dr Couce said: "Just ...

The combined computing power of 200,000 private PCs helps astronomers take an inventory of the Milky Way. The Einstein@Home project connects home and office PCs of volunteers from around the world to a global supercomputer. Using this computer cloud, an international team lead by scientists from the Max Planck Institutes for Gravitational Physics and for Radio Astronomy analysed archival data from the CSIRO Parkes radio telescope in Australia. Using new search methods, the global computer network discovered 24 pulsars – extraordinary stellar remnants with extreme physical ...

Shenzhen, China -- The MetaHIT consortium, comprised of Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), University of Copenhagen, BGI, and other institutes, has investigated the gut microbial composition in a cohort of 123 non-obese and 169 obese Danish individuals. This study showed for the first time that 2 groups of individuals can be distinguished in the population by the richness of gut microbiota. The latest results were published online in Nature today. Obesity, known as "the modem civilized disease", is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide that ...

The new study by Prof. Sarah Kang from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), showed that the ozone depletion over the South Pole has affected the extreme daily precipitation in the austral summer, for December, January, and February (DJF). This work was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letter. (Title: "Modeling evidence that ozone depletion has impacted extreme precipitation in the austral summer", Vol. 40, 1-6, doi:10.1002/grl.50796, 2013) The ozone hole over the Antarctic has affected atmospheric circulation in the Southern Hemisphere ...

Bethesda, MD—No one likes clingy people, but "clingy" blood platelets may offer hope for millions of people with rheumatoid arthritis. According to new research findings published in The Journal of Leukocyte Biology, a sub population of immune cells (lymphocytes) known to play a significant role in rheumatoid arthritis has platelets attached to their surface. Those attached platelets reduced the ability of the immune cells to cause disease by reducing their activity levels and ability to spread. This opens the door to new investigations into treatments that ultimately bind ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Adults age 45 and older who engaged in moderate physical activity up to two and a half hours a week did not increase their risk of developing knee osteoarthritis over a 6-year follow-up period, a new study finds. Study participants who engaged in the highest levels of physical activity – up to 5 hours a week – did have a slightly higher risk of knee osteoarthritis, but the difference was not statistically significant. Those findings taken together are good news, said Joanne Jordan, MD, MPH, senior study author and director of the Thurston Arthritis ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- While some researchers have claimed that war between nations is in decline, a new analysis suggests we shouldn't be too quick to celebrate a more peaceful world. The study finds that there is no clear trend indicating that nations are less eager to wage war, said Bear Braumoeller, author of the study and associate professor of political science at The Ohio State University. Conflict does appear to be less common than it had been in the past, he said. But that's due more to an inability to fight than to an unwillingness to do so. "As empires fragment, ...

Young people who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual are twice as likely to have smoked than their heterosexual peers, according to new research published in BMJ Open. Lesbian and gay young people were also more likely to drink alcohol frequently and more hazardously. The interdisciplinary research team comprised researchers from five UK Universities (UCL, University of Cambridge, London Metropolitan University, De Montfort University Leicester and Brunel University), a doctor working in General Practice and a consultant from Public Health England. The researchers ...

Diabetic patients could benefit from a breakthrough that enables scientists to take cells from the pancreas and change their function to produce insulin. The research could reduce waiting times for patients with Type 1 Diabetes who need islet cell transplants. These transplants are carried out to prevent life-threatening complications resulting from diabetes, such as seizures resulting from low blood sugar levels. Islet cells -- which occur naturally in the pancreas -- produce insulin, which enables the body to store glucose. However, not enough of these cells can be ...

AUG. 29, 2013, Cleveland: The mutation occurs in the androgen-synthesizing enzyme 3βHSD1 in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), according to research published online today in Cell. This mutation enables the tumor to make its own supply of androgens, a hormone that fuels the growth of the prostate cancer. Prostate cancer requires a constant supply of androgens in order to sustain itself. The current standard of care for patients with metastatic prostate cancer is medical castration, the ability to interfere with the body's production of testosterone (androgens) ...

Slowly but surely, the Rim Fire in California is being contained. Currently it is 30% contained. The fire has burned over 192,000 acres. The use of aircraft and water/chemical dumping on the fire has been instrumental in slowing/stopping blazes. The update as of Aug. 29 from Inciweb.org is as follows: "Firefighters used aerial ignitions today to burnout Pilot Ridge on the southern portion of the fire. The burnout planned from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir south to Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park did not occur. Conditions were not conducive to lighting and containing ...

Portugal has been experiencing the worst drought in years. Drought and the dry conditions that follow lead to wildfires set by just a spark or a lightning strike. Portugal's north has been plagued with wildfires due to these such conditions. Spain and France have joined their firefight lending water-dumping aircraft in an effort to quell the raging fires. The dry conditions, heat, high winds, and difficult terrain in the area where the fires have been most active have produced what the firefighters over there have dubbed "the perfect storm." Portugal's Serra da Estrela ...

Infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins have found, in studies in mice, that a drug better known as a treatment for high blood pressure and headaches effectively speeds up treatment of TB when added to the standard, daily antibiotic regimen. Test animals were cured in four months instead of the usual six. Researchers say that if clinical trials starting later this year in India, a country heavily burdened by the highly contagious lung disease, prove successful, then the shortened treatment time with verapamil, a so-called calcium channel blocker, used in combination ...

CLEVELAND: Researchers from University Hospitals Case Medical Center have published findings that a new form of imaging -- PET/MRI -- is promising for several types of cancer. In an article titled "PET/MRI: Applications in Clinical Imaging," published in the September issue of Current Radiology Reports, the authors outline their initial clinical experience in diagnosing and staging cancer patients with this novel technology. Working in collaboration with researchers from Philips Healthcare, the team found that PET/MRI provided added value in the diagnosis, staging and ...

Bethesda, MD—A new weakness has been discovered in cancer cells that may make them more susceptible to chemotherapy and other treatments. In a research report appearing in the September 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists identify the HDAC5 protein as being essential for the maintenance of structures, called telomeres, within cancer cells that promote cancer cells longevity. Cancer cells with longer telomeres tend to be more resistant to therapies, while cancer cells with shorter telomeres tend to be more susceptible. By targeting the mechanism used by cancer cells ...

The tiny diamondback moth (scientific name: Plutella xylostella) gets its common name from the array of diamond shapes along the margin of its forewing. Despite their diminutive size, the caterpillars of the diamondback moth exert tremendous damage on many crops including cabbage, broccoli, and crucifers at large. More than $1 billion is spent globally each year in efforts to control damage by this moth, reflecting its amazing capacity to evolve resistance to both insecticides and biological control agents. A global study of DNA barcodes by two Canadian entomologists ...

Bethesda, MD—While there is never a bad time to address one's own obesity, if you're hoping to lose weight before conception for the sake of your child, here's some bad news: Some of the epigenetic damage might have already been done, even if you lose the weight just before conception. According to new research published in the September 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, not only is dieting before getting pregnant not enough to prevent diabetes risks, but it could actually present new risks as well. Knowing how maternal health and behavior affect how genes express themselves ...

In their search for molecules with certain characteristics, chemists have produced millions of new, increasingly complex synthetic materials by altering molecules' chemical structures. Taking cues from nature, Northwestern University researchers have recently tested a new method for achieving the molecular properties they seek: by changing the geometry of the surface to which molecules are bound. "For years chemists have been making molecules to solve problems — each one more synthetically complicated than the last — but we still haven't come close to achieving what ...

JUPITER, FL, August 29, 2013 – Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have shown that a well-known cancer-causing gene implicated in a number of malignancies plays a far more critical role in non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of the disease, than previously thought. These findings establish the gene as a critical regulator of lung cancer tumor growth. This new information could turn out to be vital for the design of potentially new therapeutic strategies for a group of patients who represent almost half of non-small ...

Bethesda, MD—A new report appearing in the September issue of The FASEB Journal challenges the long-held adage that significant muscle loss is unavoidable when losing weight through exercise and diet. In the report, scientists show that consuming twice the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein while adhering to a diet and exercise plan prevents the loss of muscle mass and promotes fat loss. Tripling the RDA of protein, however, failed to provide additional benefits. "It is our hope that the findings from this well-controlled study will be discussed and cited by ...

Bethesda, MD -- According to new research published in The FASEB Journal, a drop in blood zinc levels does not directly harm the blood vessel cells. Rather, zinc regulates the production of a small molecular compound, which then circulates in the blood and causes harmful blood vessel cell effects. Additionally, not only will having adequate amounts of zinc prevent the creation of this compound, but it can protect you when the compound is circulating in your blood. "Zinc deficiency afflicts two billion people worldwide and our study has revealed a zinc-regulated small ...

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Research by Clemson University conservation geneticists makes the case that landscape-level tiger and leopard conservation that includes protecting the corridors the big cats use for travel between habitat patches is the most effective conservation strategy for their long-term survival. Sandeep Sharma and Trishna Dutta, with colleagues from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, reveal their findings in articles in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences and Evolutionary Applications. Their articles say that forest corridors ...

Research from psychologists at the University of Kent suggests that being a perfectionist and highly motivated at work contributes directly to being a workaholic. Led by Dr Joachim Stoeber, Head of the University's School of Psychology, the research team set out to explore the previously under-researched reasons why some people feel the need to work both excessively and compulsively. Dr Stoeber and his team researched the links between workaholism and two forms of perfectionism: self-oriented perfectionism, whereby someone sets exceedingly high standards for themselves, ...