There are supermassive black holes -- with masses up to several billion solar masses -- at the hearts of almost all galaxies in the Universe, including our own galaxy, the Milky Way. In the remote past, these bizarre objects were very active, swallowing enormous quantities of matter from their surroundings, shining with dazzling brilliance, and expelling tiny fractions of this matter through extremely powerful jets. In the current Universe, most supermassive black holes are much less active than they were in their youth, but the interplay between jets and their surroundings ...

WASHINGTON, DC and NEW YORK (Oct. 16, 2013)— A new report by the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) examines the impact of health reform on community health centers (CHCs) and their patients. "Assessing the Potential Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Uninsured Community Health Center Patients: A Nationwide and State-by-State Analysis," estimates that more than 5 million health center patients would have gained coverage had all states participated ...

Working with mice genetically engineered to display symptoms of schizophrenia, neuroscientists at the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT have uncovered a faulty brain mechanism that may underlie schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders in humans. The study, to appear in the Oct. 16 issue of Neuron, is the first to tie a specific brain network abnormality to schizophrenia, whose symptoms range from disorganized thinking, hallucinations and paranoia to an inability to plan for the future. "Our study ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Schizophrenia patients usually suffer from a breakdown of organized thought, often accompanied by delusions or hallucinations. For the first time, MIT neuroscientists have observed the neural activity that appears to produce this disordered thinking. The researchers found that mice lacking the brain protein calcineurin have hyperactive brain-wave oscillations in the hippocampus while resting, and are unable to mentally replay a route they have just run, as normal mice do. Mutations in the gene for calcineurin have previously been found in some schizophrenia ...

Scientists have created a heat-resistant thermal emitter that could significantly improve the efficiency of solar cells. The novel component is designed to convert heat from the sun into infrared light, which can than be absorbed by solar cells to make electricity – a technology known as thermophotovoltaics. Unlike earlier prototypes that fell apart at temperatures below 2200 degrees Fahrenheit (1200 degrees Celsius), the new thermal emitter remains stable at temperatures as high as 2500 F (1400 C). "This is a record performance in terms of thermal stability and a major ...

For a long time, it was thought impossible to isolate a pearl's genetic material. Now, a Swiss research team has achieved this elusive goal. Scientists Joana Meyer, from the ETH Institute of Integrative Biology group headed by Prof. Bruce McDonald, and Laurent Cartier of the Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF), under the direction of Michael Krzemnicki, succeeded for the first time in extracting trace amounts of DNA from a variety of cultured pearls in an almost non-destructive way. Using the genetic code, they were able to differentiate pearls from three different species ...

Men with low-pitched voices have an advantage in attracting women, even though women know they're not likely to stick around for long. Researchers at McMaster University have found that women were more attracted to men with masculine voices, at least for short-term relationships. Those men were also seen as more likely to cheat and unsuitable for a longer relationship, such as marriage. The study, published online in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, offers insight into the evolution of the human voice and how we choose our mates. "The sound ...

With 30 million indwelling bladder catheters placed annually nationwide, patients face an increased risk of developing catheter-associated bacteriuria (bacteria in the urine). Many patients with indwelling urinary catheters acquire bacteria in the urinary tract while they are catheterized. Most previous studies assessing morbidity and mortality associated with catheter use have not separated urinary tract infection from asymptomatic bacteriuria. This has made it difficult to determine if bacteria in the urine puts patients at higher risk for bloodstream infection or death. ...

October 16, 2013, Shenzhen, China---A Chinese research team composed of Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, BGI and other institutes reports their latest study on bladder cancer genomics that was published online in Nature Genetics. The discoveries were made using whole-genome and exome sequencing technologies and provide evidence that genetic alterations affecting the sister chromatid cohesion and segregation (SCCS) process may be involved in bladder tumorigenesis and open a new way for the treatment of bladder cancer. Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) is the most common ...

The actual aim of the study was to find out whether cats are more stressed when they live in large groups together or, whether the strict hierarchy of larger groups reduces stress. Neither could be confirmed in the present study, which was published in the journal Physiology & Behavior. The number of cats per household had no influence on the stress of the animals. Rather, stress in domestic cats depends more on the socialization of the animals, on the relationship with humans, on the space available to them or on the access to food. Every cat feels and reacts differently The ...

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich researchers have uncovered a novel effect that, in principle, offers a means of stabilizing quantum systems against decoherence. The discovery could represent a major step forward for quantum information processing. The laws of classical physics provide an adequate description of how our Universe behaves on the macroscopic scales that are accessible to our everyday experience. In the world of classical mechanics, the state of a physical system and its future evolution is fully determined by the instantaneous locations and ...

Philadelphia, PA, October 16, 2013 – There is a swirling controversy regarding the suspicion that medications prescribed for the treatment of ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) primarily act to control disruptive behavior as opposed to having primary effects on the ability to attend to the environment. Thus, there is a continued need to better understand the neural basis of ADHD medication effects. A new study in Biological Psychiatry now provides evidence that methylphenidate and atomoxetine, two FDA-approved medications for the treatment of ADHD, both ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Human fingertips have several types of sensory neurons that are responsible for relaying touch signals to the central nervous system. Scientists have long believed these neurons followed a linear path to the brain with a "labeled-lines" structure. But new research on mouse whiskers from Duke University reveals a surprise -- at the fine scale, the sensory system's wiring diagram doesn't have a set pattern. And it's probably the case that no two people's touch sensory systems are wired exactly the same at the detailed level, according to Fan Wang, Ph.D., ...

Oxford, October 16, 2013 - There has been an intense research interest in all two-dimensional (2D) forms of carbon since Geim and Novoselov's discovery of graphene in 2004. But as the number of such publications rise, so does the level of inconsistency in naming the material of interest. The isolated, single-atom-thick sheet universally referred to as "graphene" may have a clear definition, but when referring to related 2D sheet-like or flake-like carbon forms, many authors have simply defined their own terms to describe their product. This has led to confusion within ...

New research shows that cuckoos have striped or "barred" feathers that resemble local birds of prey, such as sparrowhawks, that may be used to frighten birds into briefly fleeing their nest in order to lay their parasitic eggs. By using the latest digital image analysis techniques, and accounting for "bird vision" - by converting images to the spectral sensitivity of birds - researchers have been able to show for the first time that the barred patterns on a cuckoo's breast may allow it to impersonate dangerous birds of prey. This might enable cuckoos to frighten other ...

An archaeologist at the University of Sheffield has found evidence that, contrary to a widely held theory, ancient Syrians made their stone tools locally instead of importing finished tools from Turkey. The discovery, newly published online in Journal of Archaeological Science, has implications for our understanding of how early cities developed in these regions and how the geographic origins of raw materials affect developing states. During the Early Bronze Age, around 5300 to 3100 years ago, blades made of chert and obsidian remained important despite the advent ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed software that allows them to map unknown environments – such as collapsed buildings – based on the movement of a swarm of insect cyborgs, or "biobots." "We focused on how to map areas where you have little or no precise information on where each biobot is, such as a collapsed building where you can't use GPS technology," says Dr. Edgar Lobaton, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State and senior author of a paper on the research. "One characteristic of biobots is that their ...

Detecting dangerous blood clots, which can cause life-threatening conditions such as strokes and heart attacks, leading causes of death for men and women in the U.S., has been a coveted and elusive goal. But scientists are now reporting progress in the form of a simple urine test. Their study, in which they demonstrated that the test works using laboratory mice, appears in the journal ACS Nano. Sangeeta N. Bhatia and colleagues, including lead author and Ph.D. candidate Kevin Lin and postdoctoral fellow Gabriel Kwong, point out that blood clots — clumps of platelets ...

Researchers at Cardiff University have created a peptide (a small piece of protein), linked to a light-responsive dye, capable of switching 'on' death pathways in cancer cells. The peptide remains inactive until exposed to external light pulses which convert it into a cell death signal. Complex mechanisms in healthy cells normally protect us from developing cancer. However, when the finely balanced networks of interactions between proteins that control such mechanisms are disturbed, uncontrolled cell growth can occur. The Cardiff team has developed a peptide-switch ...

An engine design appearing under the hoods of many new cars and light trucks today is close to meeting the latest pollution standards that will require vehicles to emit fewer harmful particles over their lifetimes, scientists are reporting. The new study on emissions from gasoline direct injection (GDI) technology appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology. Matti Maricq and colleagues explain that to meet new regulations, vehicle manufacturers need to make cars both more fuel-efficient and less polluting, which can be a difficult engineering challenge. ...

Spraying a plant hormone on broccoli — already one of the planet's most nutritious foods — boosts its cancer-fighting potential, and researchers say they have new insights on how that works. They published their findings, which could help scientists build an even better, more healthful broccoli, in ACS' Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry. John Juvik and colleagues explain that diet is one of the most important factors influencing a person's chances of developing cancer. One of the most helpful food families includes cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, kale ...

TORONTO, ON – Plans to provide high-speed Internet access in vehicles, announced last month by Canadian telecommunications company Rogers Communications and American provider Sprint Corporation, could do with some sobering second-thought, says a researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. "Because of the potential for driver distraction, safety should be of great concern," said Professor Ian Spence, author of a new study on the impact of auditory distractions on visual attention. "Many people assume that talking to a voice-operated device ...

Toronto – We like to think we'd stick to our ethical principles no matter what. But when people feel financially deprived -- as many did from losses suffered thanks to the last market and banking meltdown -- they are more likely to relax their moral standards and transgress to improve their financial situation. They are also more likely to judge other deprived moral offenders who do the same more leniently, says a new paper to be published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. "We found that most respondents did not think financial deprivation would ...

Concern over the safety of everyday household products, such as baby bottles and soaps, has spurred a wide-ranging research effort into predicting the health risks of tens of thousands of chemicals. That's the topic of the cover story in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society. Britt E. Erickson, C&EN senior editor, points out that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with overseeing the safety of chemicals in consumer products. It's a monumental task — an estimated 80,000 chemicals are on the market ...

Patients with bladder cancer are two times more likely to have complications after a radical cystectomy procedure if they have a biomarker for poor nutritional status before the operation, according to study findings presented last week at the 2013 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. Surgeons from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center identified a potentially modifiable risk factor for such postsurgical problems: a low preoperative level of albumin, a marker of the protein level ...