The press release
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Physics26 Sep 2013

SU physicist develops model for studying tissue pattern formation during embryonic development

VIDEO: This video shows experimental and simulation data from Manning's experiment, in which two "droplets " of tissue join together, in a fluid-like manner, to form a single tissue. Click here for more information. A team of scientists, including M. Lisa Manning, assistant professor of physics in Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences, has developed a model for studying tissue—specifically how it organizes into organs and layers during embryonic development. Their ...

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Science26 Sep 2013

Why won't she leave him? Abused women often fear for pets left behind

URBANA, Ill. – Veterinarians and women's shelters can make it easier for abused women to decide to leave their homes, particularly when the abuser is using a beloved pet as part of a campaign to control his partner, reports a new University of Illinois study. He made me stand there and . . . watch [him kill my cat]. And he was like: That could happen to you, one woman in the study said. "These incidences are very symbolic of what the abuser is capable of doing. He's sending the message: I can do something just as severe to hurt you," said Jennifer Hardesty, a U of I ...

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Medicine26 Sep 2013

New NIH-funded resource focuses on use of genomic variants in medical care

Three grants totaling more than $25 million over four years will help three research groups to develop authoritative information on the millions of genomic variants relevant to human disease and the hundreds that are expected to be useful for clinical practice. The awards are from the National Institutes of Health. More and more medical and research centers are sequencing the DNA of whole genomes (the body's entire genetic blueprint) or exomes (the genome's protein-coding region) of patients. Each time, millions of DNA differences in genes and the regions between the genes ...

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Medicine26 Sep 2013

Pharmacy research can help raise health literacy standards, say experts

Philadelphia, PA, September 25, 2013 – Limited health literacy can lead to difficulties in patients' self-care activities such as taking prescribed medications. Since a considerable amount of health information changes hands in the pharmacy setting, research by pharmacists into evaluating which tools are effective in practice can make a valuable contribution to goals set by the 2010 US National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy and lead to improvements in communications and health care, say experts in this special themed issue on "Pharmacy, Medication Use, and the ...

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Medicine26 Sep 2013

Getting an expected award music to the brain's ears

BETHESDA, Md. (Sept. 25, 2013)—Several studies have shown that expecting a reward or punishment can affect brain activity in areas responsible for processing different senses, including sight or touch. For example, research shows that these brain regions light up on brain scans when humans are expecting a treat. However, researchers know less about what happens when the reward is actually received—or an expected reward is denied. Insight on these scenarios can help researchers better understand how we learn in general. To get a better grasp on how the brain behaves when ...

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Medicine26 Sep 2013

Drivers who test positive for drugs have triple the risk of a fatal car crash

Drugged driving has been a safety issue of increasing public concern in the United States and many other countries but its role in motor vehicle crashes had not been adequately examined. In a new study conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, researchers assessed the association of driver drug use, as well as the combination of drugs and alcohol, with the risk of fatal crash. They found that drug use is associated with a significantly increased risk of fatal crash involvement, particularly when used in combination with alcohol. The study provides ...

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Medicine26 Sep 2013

200,000-year environmental history of continental shelf based on a deep-sea core from Okinawa Trough

A new research paper shows that a great number of nearby terrigenous pollen and charcoal have been found from the deep-sea sediments of the last 200 kyrs in Okinawa Trough. It is tesitfied that the continental shelf of the East China Sea was exposed and covered with the huge wetland and grassland ecosystems during the the last two glacial periods. They discovered that the variation of terrestrial sources is concordent with global glacial volume and sea-level changes at orbital-scale since 200 kyrs before present. Their work, entitled "A ~200 ka pollen record from Okinawa ...

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Medicine26 Sep 2013

UTSW study unlocks origin of brown fat cells important in weight maintenance

DALLAS – Sept. 26, 2013 – In ongoing research aimed at battling obesity, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have deciphered how new fat cells are formed in energy-storing fat pads. In particular, researchers sought to find out the origin of "brown" fat cells and whether humans can make more of them in order to burn extra calories – a finding that could have significant impact in battling obesity and related diseases. "Much of the current excitement in the obesity field stems from recent observations highlighting that, even as adults, we have the ability to generate ...

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Energy25 Sep 2013

New genus of electric fish discovered in 'lost world' of South America

A previously unknown genus of electric fish has been identified in a remote region of South America by a team of international researchers including University of Toronto Scarborough professor Nathan Lovejoy. The Akawaio penak, a thin, eel-like electric fish, was discovered in the shallow, murky waters of the upper Mazaruni River is northern Guyana. Lovejoy's team at UTSC analyzed tissue samples collected during a recent expedition by a researchers led by Hernán López-Fernández at the Royal Ontario Museum. By sequencing its DNA and reconstructing an evolutionary tree, ...

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Medicine25 Sep 2013

Epigenetic changes observed in blood may point to early stages in Parkinson disease

Parkinson disease, a neurodegenerative disorder in which both genetic and environmental factors play important roles, has been associated with epigenetic changes (those molecular modifications that alter the behavior of genes without changing the DNA sequence). Because accurate diagnosis is not easy for this disease, scientists are continuously trying to identify early signs of the disease that enable treatment before major neurological damage occurs. In an article published in the October issue of Epigenetics, those epigenetic changes appear to be great candidates as early ...

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Environment25 Sep 2013

Deep sea ecosystem may take decades to recover from Deepwater Horizon spill

The deep-sea soft-sediment ecosystem in the immediate area of the 2010's Deepwater Horizon well head blowout and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will likely take decades to recover from the spill's impacts, according to a scientific paper reported in the online scientific journal PLoS One. The paper is the first to give comprehensive results of the spill's effect on deep-water communities at the base of the Gulf's food chain, in its soft-bottom muddy habitats, specifically looking at biological composition and chemicals at the same time at the same location. "This ...

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Science25 Sep 2013

Tweets reveal news readership patterns around the world

Los Angeles, CA (September 25, 2013) For many international news followers, having a cup of coffee while reading the morning newspaper has turned into scrolling a Twitter feed to catch up on important news as it happens throughout the day. In a new article published in SAGE Open, researchers used data collected from Twitter to study readers' news preferences across the globe and discovered that different countries have stronger preference towards different types of articles – American and British readers are more drawn to opinion and world news, Spaniards to local and ...

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Medicine25 Sep 2013

Flame retardants in blood drop after state ban

A class of flame retardants that has been linked to learning difficulties in children has rapidly declined in pregnant women’s blood since the chemicals were banned in California a decade ago, according to a study led by researchers at UC San Francisco. Blood levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), tested in patients at the UCSF-affiliated San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center fell by two-thirds since they were last tested three years ago and found to be the highest levels reported among pregnant women anywhere in the world. The findings were ...

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Environment25 Sep 2013

China's synthetic gas plants would be greenhouse giants

DURHAM, N.C. -- Coal-powered synthetic natural gas plants being planned in China would produce seven times more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional natural gas plants, and use up to 100 times the water as shale gas production, according to a new study by Duke University researchers. These environmental costs have been largely neglected in the drive to meet the nation's growing energy needs, the researchers say, and might lock China on an irreversible and unsustainable path for decades to come. "Using coal to make natural gas may be good for China's energy security, ...

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Medicine25 Sep 2013

Unstable chromosomes linked to less favorable response to RT and surgery in prostate cancer patients

Atlanta, September 25, 2013 -- Detailed evaluation of a prostate cancer tumor biopsy may predict treatment outcomes for image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) or surgery for prostate cancer, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting. The study results indicate that patients who have abnormal levels of breaks at common fragile sites (CFSs), sites within the chromosomes that are sensitive to DNA damage, are more likely to have their cancer to return -- treatment failure. These CFS break abnormalities ...

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Science25 Sep 2013

Tiny camera records details of scene without losing sight of the big picture

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2013—To capture all the details of a crime scene, you might take many photos at close range. To get the whole scene at once, you could use a wide-angle or fisheye lens; but without an especially large lens you would be sacrificing the fine resolution that would help you catch that partial footprint you might otherwise have missed. Now a new type of miniature camera system promises to give users a big picture view without sacrificing high-resolution. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego will describe their novel device at The Optical ...

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Engineering25 Sep 2013

When the going gets tough, the materialistic go shopping

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Materialistic people experience more stress from traumatic events such as terrorist attacks and are more likely to spend compulsively as a result, according to an international study led by a Michigan State University business professor. These possession-driven folks tend to have lower self-esteem than others, said Ayalla Ruvio, MSU assistant professor of marketing. "When the going gets tough, the materialistic go shopping," said Ruvio. "And this compulsive and impulsive spending is likely to produce even greater stress and lower well-being. Essentially, ...

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Environment25 Sep 2013

Wormlike hematite photoanode breaks the world-record for solar hydrogen production efficiency

Ulsan, South Korea – A research team of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea, developed a "wormlike" hematite photoanode that can convert sunlight and water to clean hydrogen energy with a record-breaking high efficiency of 5.3%. This research was published in Scientific Reports, a science journal published by the Nature Publishing Group. (Title: "Single-crystalline, wormlike hematite photoanodes for efficient solar water splitting") on 17 September 2013). The previous record of solar hydrogen efficiency among stable oxide semiconductor ...

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Science25 Sep 2013

'Science in Society: Caring for our Futures in Turbulent Times'

Issues of 'science in society' are not in themselves new, but this new report from the European Science Foundation, called "Science in Society: Caring for our Futures in Turbulent Times", is written at a critical time for science policy. Recent times have seen the world having to learn to deal with austerity, libel and new models of business. This all happens at a time when innovation is being promoted more vigorously than ever as a way out of crisis and as a foundation for future prosperity. As the report argues, increased governance of science and technology and the sense ...

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Medicine25 Sep 2013

Cocaine exposure in the womb: The brain structure is intact but development is off track

Philadelphia, PA, September 25, 2013 – Prenatal cocaine exposure affects both behavior and brain. Animal studies have shown that exposure to cocaine during in utero development causes numerous disruptions in normal brain development and negatively affects behavior from birth and into adulthood. For ethical reasons, similar studies in humans have been more limited but some research has shown that children exposed prenatally to cocaine have impairments in attention, control, stress, emotion regulation, and memory. Research also suggests that such children may be more predisposed ...

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Science25 Sep 2013

A day in the life of the mysterious odd-clawed spider Progradungula otwayensis

A recent paper published in the open access journal Zookeys provides a first-time glimpse in the natural history of the enigmatic spider species Progradungula otwayensis. Lurking in the hollows of old myrtle beech trees and thus hard to collect, this extraordinary spider is an endemic species confined strictly to the beautiful Great Otway National Park (Victoria, Australia). P. otwayensis belongs to the small spider family Gradungulidae which consists of seven genera with a total of 16 described species found exclusively in eastern Australia and New Zealand. The genus ...

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Medicine25 Sep 2013

New knowledge on molecular mechanisms behind breast cancer

Researchers at University of Copenhagen have gained more insight into the molecular mechanisms of importance for, for example, cancer cell growth and metastasis. The research objective is improved and more targeted drugs. The findings have just been published in the scientific journal Molecular Cell. Researchers are constantly trying to learn more about the body's advanced communication processes. Receptors serve as a kind of switchboard in the cell, which connects specific signaling proteins to specific cellular functions. Using state-of-the-art technology, researchers ...

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Science25 Sep 2013

Melatonin helps control weight gain as it stimulates the appearance of 'beige fat'

Melatonin is a natural hormone segregated by the body and melatonin levels generally increase in the dark at night. It is also found in fruit and vegetables like mustard, Goji berries, almonds, sunflower seeds, cardamom, fennel, coriander and cherries. Spanish scientists have discovered that melatonin consumption helps control weight gain because it stimulates the appearance of 'beige fat', a type of fat cell that burns calories in vivo instead of storing them. White adipose tissue stores calories leading to weight gain whereas 'beige fat' (also known as 'good or thinning ...

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Physics25 Sep 2013

New multifunctional topological insulator material with combined superconductivity

Most materials show one function, for example, a material can be a metal, a semiconductor, or an insulator. Metals such as copper are used as conducting wires with only low resistance and energy loss. Superconductors are metals which can conduct current even without any resistance, although only far below room temperature. Semiconductors, the foundation of current computer technology, show only low conduction of current, while insulators show no conductivity at all. Physicists have recently been excited about a new exotic type of materials, so-called topological insulators. ...

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Technology25 Sep 2013

With carbon nanotubes, a path to flexible, low-cost sensors

Researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) are showing the way toward low-cost, industrial-scale manufacturing of a new family of electronic devices. A leading example is a gas sensor that could be integrated into food packaging to gauge freshness, or into compact wireless air-quality monitors. New types of solar cells and flexible transistors are also in the works, as well as pressure and temperature sensors that could be built into electronic skin for robotic or bionic applications. All can be made with carbon nanotubes, sprayed like ink onto flexible plastic ...

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