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Science 2013-10-08

Study casts light on addressing domestic violence among female US veterans

A new study, published in Springer's Journal of Family Violence, casts light on how health care providers respond to the emotional, sexual and physical violence that female veterans sometimes experience at the hands of their intimate partners. According to the research group, this type of abuse can be common in the lives of women veterans and there is a need to understand how health care providers can best be responsive to this population's health care needs. The research was headed by Dr. Katherine Iverson and colleagues of the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress ...
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Science 2013-10-08

USC study: Unlocking biology with math

Scientists at USC have created a mathematical model that explains and predicts the biological process that creates antibody diversity – the phenomenon that keeps us healthy by generating robust immune systems through hypermutation. The work is a collaboration between Myron Goodman, professor of biological sciences and chemistry at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; and Chi Mak, professor of chemistry at USC Dornsife. "To me, it was the holy grail," Goodman said. "We can now predict the motion of a key enzyme that initiates hypermutations in immunoglobulin ...
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Science 2013-10-08

Pediatric atrial fibrillation, rare, but has serious complications risk & high recurrence rates

Philadelphia, PA, October 7, 2013 – Atrial fibrillation (AF), characterized by a rapid and irregular heartbeat, is the most common chronic arrhythmia in adults, but is rare in children. In one of the first studies of pediatric "lone AF" (AF without associated heart disease), researchers found a nearly 40% recurrence rate and that AF in the young is accompanied by substantial symptoms. Three patients had significant complications: one with a stroke and two with substantially impaired heart function. The researchers' findings are published in the October issue of the Canadian ...
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Science 2013-10-08

NJIT professor offers math-based projections for MLB postseason

Now that Major League Baseball's regular season has ended with the exciting one-game tiebreaker that got the Rays to the next round, and with the Rays and the Pirates winning the one game playoff for the wild card team, NJIT math professor Bruce Bukiet has once again begun analyzing the probability of each team advancing through each round of baseball's postseason. "The Los Angeles Dodgers, who many thought were out of contention early in the season after a poor start, have the best chance to win their series (63%) against the Braves while the Detroit Tigers have a 59% ...
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Medicine 2013-10-08

Research shows 'advergames' promote unhealthy foods for kids

Not only do some online video games promote a less-than-active lifestyle for children, the content of some of these games also may be contributing to unhealthy diets. A team of Michigan State University researchers took a closer look at what are called advergames and found they have a tendency to promote foods that are chock full of fat, sugar and sodium. An advergame is defined as an online video game that promotes a particular product, service or company by integrating it into the game, and is typically offered for free. The researchers located hundreds of advergames ...
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Space 2013-10-08

Microsatellites are repetitive, but the lab work doesn't have to be

Microsatellites are molecular markers with numerous applications in biological research. In studies of both plants and animals, they can be used to investigate speciation, gene flow among populations, mating systems, and parentage, as well as many other questions. A new protocol created by researchers at the University of Cincinnati and several other institutions improves the efficiency of current methods, allowing quicker and cheaper development of microsatellite markers for any species of interest. Microsatellites, which consist of repeating units of two to six base ...
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Science 2013-10-08

CWRU researchers test biofeedback device in lowering grandmothers' stress

In a pilot study by Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, 20 grandmothers were able to lower their stress levels with a biofeedback device that tracks breathing patterns. According to U. S. Census data, the number of children living with their grandparents has increased 64 percent in the past 20 years. Prior studies at the Case Western Reserve nursing school have found that many grandmothers suffer stress and depression from having to serve as full-time child-care givers at this stage in their lives. Looking at ways to reduce such ...
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Medicine 2013-10-08

Rhode Island Hospital uncovers pathway linking heartburn and esophageal cancer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Got heartburn? More than 60 million adults in the U.S. have acid reflux, or heartburn, and approximately 10 percent are at risk for developing esophageal cancer, due in part to complications from Barrett's esophagus. But researchers at Rhode Island Hospital discovered a pathway they believe links Barrett's esophagus to the development of esophageal cancer. Their data suggest that blocking this pathway, such as with a proton pump inhibitor (e.g. omeprazole), may prevent the development of esophageal cancer. The study is published online in advance of print ...
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Technology 2013-10-08

Better robot vision

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Object recognition is one of the most widely studied problems in computer vision. But a robot that manipulates objects in the world needs to do more than just recognize them; it also needs to understand their orientation. Is that mug right-side up or upside-down? And which direction is its handle facing? To improve robots' ability to gauge object orientation, Jared Glover, a graduate student in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, is exploiting a statistical construct called the Bingham distribution. In a paper they're presenting ...
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Medicine 2013-10-08

Study shows how neurons enable us to know smells we like and dislike, whether to approach or retreat

Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- Think of the smell of freshly baking bread. There is something in that smell, without any other cues – visual or tactile – that steers you toward the bakery. On the flip side, there may be a smell, for instance that of fresh fish, that may not appeal to you. If you haven't eaten a morsel of food in three days, of course, a fishy odor might seem a good deal more attractive. How, then, does this work? What underlying biological mechanisms account for our seemingly instant, almost unconscious ability to determine how attractive (or repulsive) ...
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Science 2013-10-08

Long-term care seniors at high risk of head injuries

A study by Simon Fraser University researchers has found seniors in long-term care facilities are at high risk of head injuries – nearly 40 per cent of those who fall experience head impact. The researchers studied video footage of 227 falls among 133 residents at a local long-term care facility. They found 37 per cent of falling residents struck their heads upon falling, and hit the ground – most often, linoleum or tile flooring – more than 60 per cent of the time. The researchers conclude: "By any measure, this is an alarmingly high prevalence." More should be done, ...
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Science 2013-10-08

Legislation may cause data deficit for researchers, small businesses

Small farms and businesses may be the unintended victims of legislation aimed at cutting the federal budget by eliminating certain sets of local and county-based economic data, according to a group of economists. "This local data is really what we use in our lab," said Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural economics and regional economics, Penn State, and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development. "And, at the end of the day, we're using this information to try to understand how our world is changing." The researchers, who report their findings ...
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Medicine 2013-10-08

Wedded bliss or blues? UC Berkeley scientists link DNA to marital satisfaction

What makes some people more prone to wedded bliss or sorrow than others? Researchers at UC Berkeley and Northwestern University have found a major clue in our DNA. A gene involved in the regulation of serotonin can predict how much our emotions affect our relationships, according to a new study that may be the first to link genetics, emotions, and marital satisfaction. The study was conducted at UC Berkeley. "An enduring mystery is, what makes one spouse so attuned to the emotional climate in a marriage, and another so oblivious?" said UC Berkeley psychologist Robert ...
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Science 2013-10-08

Making Martian clouds on Earth

CAMBRIDGE, Mass-- At first glance, Mars' clouds might easily be mistaken for those on Earth: Images of the Martian sky, taken by NASA's Opportunity rover, depict gauzy, high-altitude wisps, similar to our cirrus clouds. Given what scientists know about the Red Planet's atmosphere, these clouds likely consist of either carbon dioxide or water-based ice crystals. But it's difficult to know the precise conditions that give rise to such clouds without sampling directly from a Martian cloud. Researchers at MIT have now done the next-best thing: They've recreated Mars-like ...
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Science 2013-10-08

Meals for more seniors could save some states money

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Home-delivered meals bring not only food to seniors but also the opportunity to remain in their homes. A new study by Brown University public health researchers projects that if every U.S. state in the lower 48 expanded the number of seniors receiving meals by just 1 percent, 1,722 more Medicaid recipients avoid living in a nursing home and most states would experience a net annual savings from implementing the expansion. Pennsylvania would see the greatest net savings – $5.7 million – as Medicaid costs for nursing home care dropped ...
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Science 2013-10-08

Scientists invent a better way to make antibody-guided therapies

LA JOLLA, CA—October 7, 2013—Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have devised a new technique for connecting drug molecules to antibodies to make advanced therapies. Antibody-drug conjugates, as they're called, are the basis of new therapies on the market that use the target-recognizing ability of antibodies to deliver drug payloads to specific cell types—for example, to deliver toxic chemotherapy drugs to cancer cells while sparing most healthy cells. The new technique allows drug developers to forge more stable conjugates than are possible with current ...
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Medicine 2013-10-08

A new, clinically validated diagnostic test for detecting BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations

Philadelphia, PA, October 7, 2013 – The recognition of a causal link between mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer has intensified the demand for genetic testing. Identifying mutations in these large genes by conventional methods can be time consuming and costly. A report in the November issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics describes a new technique using second-generation sequencing technology that is as sensitive as the standard methodology but has the potential to improve the efficiency and productivity ...
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Engineering 2013-10-08

Building a better fish trap: WCS reduces fish bycatch with escape gaps in Africa

Scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Kenyan Marine and Fisheries Research Institute have achieved a milestone in Africa: they've helped build a better fish trap, one that keeps valuable fish in while letting undersized juvenile fish and non-target species out. By modifying conventional African basket traps with escape gaps, the marine researchers have proven that the new traps catch larger fish, allow more undersized and non-target fish to escape, increase profits, and—most importantly—minimize the impact of fishing on coastal reef systems. The findings, ...
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Engineering 2013-10-08

New microfluidic approach for the directed assembly of functional materials

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a new approach with applications in materials development for energy capture and storage and for optoelectronic materials. According to Charles Schroeder, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the results show that peptide precursor materials can be aligned and oriented during their assembly into polypeptides using tailored flows in microfluidic devices. The research was a collaboration between the labs of Schroeder and William Wilson, a research ...
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Science 2013-10-08

Unexpected genomic change through 400 years of French-Canadian history

This news release is available in French. Researchers at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center and University of Montreal have discovered that the genomic signature inherited by today's 6 million French Canadians from the first 8,500 French settlers who colonized New France some 400 years ago has gone through an unparalleled change in human history, in a remarkably short timescale. This unique signature could serve as an ideal model to study the effect of demographic processes on human genetic diversity, including the identification of possibly damaging mutations ...
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Medicine 2013-10-08

Leishmania parasites with greater infectivity associated with treatment failure

Relapses after treatment for Leishmania infection may be due to a greater infectivity of the parasite rather than drug resistance, as has been previously thought, according to a study published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Visceral leishmaniasis, also called kala-azar, is a parasitic disease that strikes 400,000 people every year and kills around 1 in 10 of its victims. The disease has proven difficult to treat, in part because a large percentage of patients who take the drug of choice, miltefosine, relapse after treatment, ...
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Science 2013-10-08

New study shows link between car crashes and adverse pregnancy outcomes

San Diego, CA, October 8, 2013 – A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine indicates that motor vehicle crashes can be hazardous for pregnant women, especially if they are not wearing a seat belt when the accident occurs. Trauma is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Blunt abdominal trauma is of particular concern to a pregnant woman and her fetus since it can directly and indirectly harm fetal organs as well as shared maternal and fetal organ systems. Car crashes are responsible for most injuries requiring hospitalization ...
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Social Science 2013-10-08

Evaluating mobile weight loss apps on use of evidence-based behavioral strategies

WORCESTER, MA -- In a new study published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, UMass Medical School behavioral psychologist and weight loss expert Sherry Pagoto, PhD, and colleagues find that mobile apps to help people lose weight are lacking when it comes to strategies for changing behaviors. "Apps do include evidence-based behavioral strategies, but only a narrow range," said Dr. Pagoto, associate professor of medicine at UMass Medical School. "Strategies that often were missing are ones that help patients with adherence and motivation." In the study "Evidence-based ...
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Medicine 2013-10-08

'Brain training' may boost working memory, but not intelligence

Brain training games, apps, and websites are popular and it's not hard to see why — who wouldn't want to give their mental abilities a boost? New research suggests that brain training programs might strengthen your ability to hold information in mind, but they won't bring any benefits to the kind of intelligence that helps you reason and solve problems. The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. "It is hard to spend any time on the web and not see an ad for a website that promises to train your brain, ...
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Science 2013-10-07

What evolved first -- a dexterous hand or an agile foot?

Resolving a long-standing mystery in human evolution, new research from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute indicates that early hominids developed finger dexterity and tool use ability before the development of bipedal locomotion. Combining monkey and human behavior, brain imaging, and fossil evidence, a research team led by neurobiologist Dr. Atsushi Iriki and including Dr. Gen Suwa, an anthropologist from the University of Tokyo Museum, have overturned the common assumption that manual dexterity evolved after the development of bipedal locomotion freed hominid hands ...
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