New research shows that growing up in areas where air pollution is increased raises the risk of insulin resistance (the prescursor to diabetes) in children. The research is published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), and is by Elisabeth Thiering and Joachim Heinrich, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany, and colleagues. Previous studies have identified links between air pollution and other chronic conditions such as atherosclerosis and heart disease. However to date, epidemiological studies that have ...

A large scale, five year study of mosquitoes from different ecological regions in Kenya, including savannah grassland, semi-arid Acacia thorn bushes, and mangrove swamps, found a reservoir of viruses carried by mosquitoes (arboviruses) that are responsible for human and animal diseases. This research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Virology Journal, highlights the need for continued surveillance in order to monitor the risk of disease outbreaks. Over 450,000 mosquitoes from 11 sites across Kenya were screened by researchers from the United States Army ...

A novel gene associated with canine atopic dermatitis has been identified by a team of researchers led by professors Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Uppsala university and Åke Hedhammar, SLU, Sweden. The gene encodes a protein called plakophilin 2, which is crucial for the formation and proper functioning of the skin structure, suggesting an aberrant skin barrier as a potential risk factor for atopic dermatitis. Details appear today in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. Atopic dermatitis (or eczema) is an inflammatory, relapsing non-contagious skin disease affecting about ...

VIDEO: A computer-generated movie showing a collapsing soap bubble cluster where macroscopic gas dynamics are coupled to microscopic fluid flow inside the thin-film membranes, leading to membrane rearrangement, drainage, and rupture.... Click here for more information. Bubble baths and soapy dishwater, the refreshing head on a beer and the luscious froth on a cappuccino. All are foams, beautiful yet ephemeral as the bubbles pop one by one. Two University of California, Berkeley, ...

Death in hospital remains very common for cancer patients in developed countries. Although hospital surveys show that death was highly expected, patients dying in hospital have a high probability of unrelieved and poorly treated physical suffering, and emotional, spiritual and social distress. Quality improvement programmes in the United States and United Kingdom suggest that aspects of the 'excellent practice' of palliative care can be transferred to other settings. The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) for the dying patient is one pathway that seeks to achieve this. It offers ...

The water found on the moon, like that on Earth, came from small meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites in the first 100 million years or so after the solar system formed, researchers from Brown and Case Western Reserve universities and Carnegie Institution of Washington have found. Evidence discovered within samples of moon dust returned by lunar crews of Apollo 15 and 17 dispels the theory that comets delivered the molecules. The research is published online in Science Express today. The discovery's telltale sign is found in the ratio of an isotopic form of hydrogen, ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- At any given time, cirrus clouds — the thin wisps of vapor that trail across the sky — cover nearly one-third of the globe. These clouds coalesce in the upper layers of the troposphere, often more than 10 miles above the Earth's surface. Cirrus clouds influence global climate, cooling the planet by reflecting incoming solar radiation and warming it by trapping outgoing heat. Understanding the mechanisms by which these clouds form may help scientists better predict future climate patterns. Now an interdisciplinary team from MIT, the National Oceanic ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Mosquitoes are deadly efficient disease transmitters. Research conducted at Michigan State University, however, demonstrates that they also can be equally adept in curing diseases such as malaria. A study in the current issue of Science shows that the transmission of malaria via mosquitoes to humans can be interrupted by using a strain of the bacteria Wolbachia in the insects. In a sense, Wolbachia would act as a vaccine of sorts for mosquitoes that would protect them from malaria parasites. Treating mosquitoes would prevent them from transmitting ...

An article published recently in Tumor Microenvironment and Therapy - an open access journal by Versita, defines a novel mechanism of tumor hypoxia induced by the longitudinal gradient of residual oxygen along tumor vessels as they transverse the tumor. Growing evidence from experimental studies and clinical trials suggests a fundamental role of hypoxia in solid tumors. The mechanisms leading to hypoxia include the rapid rate of tumor growth, poor tumor perfusion or transiently disrupted tumor blood flow. Now, scientists from the University of Pennsylvania, led by Professor ...

EUGENE, Ore. -- A surprisingly large number of women 18 or older choose to delay or skip monthly menstruation by deviating from the instructions of birth-control pills and other hormonal contraceptives, a team of University of Oregon researchers and others found in a study of female students at the university. Most women who alter bleeding cycles do so for convenience rather than to avoid menstrual symptoms, and many learn about the option from nonmedical sources, according to research by the university's Department of Human Physiology, Portland-based Oregon Health and ...

By monitoring the behavior of a class of cells in the brains of living mice, neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins discovered that these cells remain highly dynamic in the adult brain, where they transform into cells that insulate nerve fibers and help form scars that aid in tissue repair. Published online April 28 in the journal Nature Neuroscience, their work sheds light on how these multipurpose cells communicate with each other to maintain a highly regular, grid-like distribution throughout the brain and spinal cord. The disappearance of one of these so-called progenitor ...

With simple and innovative measures, public agencies at state and local levels can play a significant role in promoting healthier eating habits—steps that could make a difference in curbing the nation's obesity epidemic. One effective option, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is requiring restaurants to include calorie counts on menus, along with the physical activity equivalents required to burn off a meal. The researchers, who examined studies on calorie labeling and regulatory options available to local governments, offer ...

Women who engage in "fat talk" — the self-disparaging remarks girls and women make in relation to eating, exercise or their bodies — are less liked by their peers, a new study from the University of Notre Dame finds. Led by Alexandra Corning, research associate professor of psychology and director of Notre Dame's Body Image and Eating Disorder Lab, the study was presented recently at the Midwestern Psychological Association annual conference. In the study, college-age women were presented with a series of photos of either noticeably thin or noticeably overweight women ...

The era is long gone when a romantic breakup meant ripped-up photos and burned love letters. Today, digital photos and emails can be quickly deleted but the proliferation of social media has made forgetting a bigger chore. What about the ubiquitous digital records of a once beloved that lurk on Facebook, tumblr, and flicker? "People are keeping huge collections of digital possessions," says Steve Whittaker, a psychology professor at UC Santa Cruz who specializes in human-computer interaction. "There has been little exploration of the negative role of digital possessions ...

Purdue has applied for a patent on the technique. INFORMATION: Writer: Emil Venere, 765-494-4709, venere@purdue.edu Sources: Douglas E. Adams, 765-449-4249, deadams@purdue.edu James Caruthers, 756-494-6625, caruthers@purdue.edu Related websites: Douglas Adams: https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/People/ptProfile?id=12366 James Caruthers: https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE/People/ptProfile?id=24829 IMAGE CAPTION: This thermal image was recorded using a new tool developed at Purdue that detects flaws in lithium-ion batteries as they are being manufactured, a ...

Researchers have made a significant first step with newly engineered biomaterials for cell transplantation that could help lead to a possible cure for Type 1 diabetes, which affects about 3 million Americans. Georgia Tech engineers and Emory University clinicians have successfully engrafted insulin-producing cells into a diabetic mouse model, reversing diabetic symptoms in the animal in as little as 10 days. The research team engineered a biomaterial to protect the cluster of insulin-producing cells – donor pancreatic islets – during injection. The material also contains ...

VIDEO: Researchers have unlocked a new door to developing drugs to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. They have discovered the 3-D structure of the protein Parkin. Mutations in Parkin cause... Click here for more information. McGill University researchers have unlocked a new door to developing drugs to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. Collaborating teams led by Dr. Edward A. Fon at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital -The Neuro, and Dr. ...

The Arctic was very warm during a period roughly 3.5 to 2 million years ago--a time when research suggests that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was roughly comparable to today's--leading to the conclusion that relatively small fluctuations in carbon dioxide levels can have a major influence on Arctic climate, according to a new analysis of the longest terrestrial sediment core ever collected in the Arctic. "One of our major findings is that the Arctic was very warm in the middle Pliocene and Early Pleistocene--roughly 3.6 to 2.2 million years ago--when ...

Scientists have identified many benefits for restoring oyster reefs to Chesapeake Bay and other coastal ecosystems. Oysters filter and clean the water, provide habitat for their own young and for other species, and sustain both watermen and seafood lovers. A new study co-authored by Professor Roger Mann of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science adds another item to this list of benefits—the ability of oyster reefs to buffer the increasing acidity of ocean waters. The study, "Ecosystem effects of shell aggregations and cycling in coastal waters: An example of Chesapeake ...

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has found the building blocks for Earth-sized planets in an unlikely place-- the atmospheres of a pair of burned-out stars called white dwarfs. These dead stars are located 150 light-years from Earth in a relatively young star cluster, Hyades, in the constellation Taurus. The star cluster is only 625 million years old. The white dwarfs are being polluted by asteroid-like debris falling onto them. Hubble's Cosmic Origins Spectrograph observed silicon and only low levels of carbon in the white dwarfs' atmospheres. Silicon is a major ingredient ...

The large-scale expansion of agriculture in the Amazon through deforestation will be a no-win scenario, according to a new study. Published today, 10 May, in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, it shows that deforestation will not only reduce the capacity of the Amazon's natural carbon sink, but will also inflict climate feedbacks that will decrease the productivity of pasture and soybeans. The researchers used model simulations to assess how the agricultural yield of the Amazon would be affected under two different land-use scenarios: a business-as-usual ...

WASHINGTON — Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have used tiny doses of a leukemia drug to halt accumulation of toxic proteins linked to Parkinson's disease in the brains of mice. This finding provides the basis to plan a clinical trial in humans to study the effects. They say their study, published online May 10 in Human Molecular Genetics, offers a unique and exciting strategy to treat neurodegenerative diseases that feature abnormal buildup of proteins in Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia, ...

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who also have allergic disease have higher levels of respiratory symptoms and are at higher risk for COPD exacerbations, according to a new study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. "Although allergic sensitization and allergen exposure are known to be associated with impairments in lung function, the effects of allergic disease on respiratory symptoms in COPD patients has only recently been studied," said researcher Nadia N. Hansel, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine at the Johns ...

Having trouble falling or staying asleep? According to a new study led by a team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, insomnia may be an important indicator of future hospitalization among middle-aged and older adults. They examined the association between insomnia and use of home healthcare services, nursing homes and hospitalization and found that insomnia symptoms experienced by middle-aged and older adults were associated with greater future use of costly health services. The results are featured online in the Journal of Gerontology: ...

LA JOLLA, Calif., May 10, 2013 – Children born with rare, inherited conditions known as Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation, or CDG, have mutations in one of the many enzymes the body uses to decorate its proteins and cells with sugars. Properly diagnosing a child with CDG and pinpointing the exact sugar gene that's mutated can be a huge relief for parents—they better understand what they're dealing with and doctors can sometimes use that information to develop a therapeutic approach. Whole-exome sequencing, an abbreviated form of whole-genome sequencing, is increasingly ...