HOUSTON -- (Sept. 9, 2013) -- The next experiment from Rice University's Multi-Robot Systems Laboratory (MRSL) could happen on your desktop. The lab's researchers are refining their control algorithms for robotic swarms based upon data from five free online games that anyone can play. "What we learn from the game and our lab experiments applies directly to real-world challenges," said Aaron Becker, a postdoctoral researcher at MRSL. "For example, if a doctor had a swarm of several thousand microscopic robots, each carrying a tiny payload of anti-cancer drugs, might it ...

WASHINGTON, DC—Smart as the Mars Curiosity mission has been about landing and finding its own way on a distant world, the rover is pretty brainless when it comes to doing the science that it was sent 567 million kilometers to carry out. That has to change if future rover missions are to make discoveries further out in the solar system, scientists say. The change has now begun with the development of a new camera that can do more than just take pictures of alien rocks – it also thinks about what the pictures signify so the rover can decide on its own whether to keep exploring ...

A new study has revealed that the stunning iridescent wings of the tropical blue Morpho butterfly could expand the range of innovative technologies. Scientific lessons learnt from these butterflies have already inspired designs of new displays, fabrics and cosmetics. Now research by the University of Exeter, in collaboration with General Electric (GE) Global Research Centre, University at Albany and Air Force Research Laboratory, and funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has discovered that the physical structure and surface chemistry of ...

TORONTO, Sept. 9, 2013 – Men were more likely to develop a physical illness than women during a 10-year period studied by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital. Having a mental illness increases the risk of developing a physical illness by 10 times in both men and women, the study found. However, women with mental illness tend to develop a physical illness a year earlier than men, according to the study by Dr. Flora Matheson, a scientist in hospital's Centre for Research on Inner City Health. Women were at a 14 per cent reduced risk, compared to men, of developing ...

Irvine, Calif., Sept. 5, 2013 – What can the U.S. military learn from a common squid? A lot about how to hide from enemies, according to researchers at UC Irvine's Henry Samueli School of Engineering. As detailed in a study published online in Advanced Materials, they have created a biomimetic infrared camouflage coating inspired by Loliginidae, also known as pencil squids or your everyday calamari. Led by Alon Gorodetsky, an assistant professor of chemical engineering & materials science, the team produced reflectin – a structural protein essential in the squid's ability ...

Studies of a therapy designed to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suggest that the treatment dramatically slows onset and progression of the deadly disease, one of the most common neuromuscular disorders in the world. The researchers, led by teams from The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Ludwig Institute at the University of California, San Diego, found a survival increase of up to 39 percent in animal models with a one-time treatment, a crucial step toward moving the therapy into human clinical trials. The therapy reduces expression ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — The degeneration of a small, wishbone-shaped structure deep inside the brain may provide the earliest clues to future cognitive decline, long before healthy older people exhibit clinical symptoms of memory loss or dementia, a study by researchers with the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center has found. The longitudinal study found that the only discernible brain differences between normal people who later developed cognitive impairment and those who did not were changes in their fornix, an organ that carries messages to and from the hippocampus, ...

Sept. 9, 2013 – Toronto, Canada – Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and University Health Network (UHN) have found a new link between early-onset Parkinson's disease and a piece of DNA missing from chromosome 22. The findings help shed new light on the molecular changes that lead to Parkinson's disease. The study appears online today in JAMA Neurology. Among people aged 35 to 64 who were missing DNA from a specific part of chromosome 22, the research team found a marked increase in the number of cases of Parkinson's disease, compared ...

Some symbiotic bacteria living inside Colorado potato beetles can trick plants into reacting to a microbial attack rather than that of a chewing herbivore, according to a team of Penn State researchers who found that the beetles with bacteria were healthier and grew better. "For the last couple of decades, my lab has focused on induced defenses in plants," said Gary W. Felton, professor and head of entomology. "We had some clues that oral secretions of beetles suppressed defenses, but no one had followed up on that research." Seung Ho Chung, graduate student in entomology ...

Scientists from UC San Francisco have identified a new way to manipulate the immune system that may keep it from attacking the body’s own molecules in autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. The researchers, led by immunologist Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, a professor with the UCSF Diabetes Center, have discovered a distinctive type of immune cell called an eTAC, which puts a damper on immune responses. Anderson’s research team found that eTACs reside in lymph nodes and spleen in both humans and mice, and determined ...

For American teenagers, most text messaging is as harmless as passing notes, but University of Texas at Dallas researchers have discovered that engaging in antisocial texting can actually predict deviant behavior. On Monday, in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, scientists reported a correlation between the frequency with which adolescents text about antisocial behaviors and the likelihood that they will engage in them. "We were interested in how adolescents use electronic communication, particularly text messaging," said Dr. Samuel Ehrenreich, post-doctoral ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Whole-body MRI may serve as a valuable noninvasive tool for assessing the risk of heart attack and stroke in diabetic patients, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. Diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized by an increased concentration of glucose in the blood. There are 347 million diabetic patients worldwide, and the World Health Organization projects that diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death by 2030. Patients with diabetes are known to develop atherosclerosis, or thickening of the arterial walls, ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – A team of California-based breast imagers and breast cancer risk specialists have developed a website to help navigate the new challenges posed by breast density notification laws, according to a special report published online in the journal Radiology. While mammography is considered the best single modality for population-based screening, its sensitivity is diminished by up to 20 percent in patients with dense breasts (breasts with a higher ratio of fibroglandular tissue to fat). This reduction in sensitivity is due for the most part to masking, a ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adding a mental health component to school-based lifestyle programs for teens could be key to lowering obesity, improving grades, alleviating severe depression and reducing substance use, a new study suggests. As a group, high-school students who participated in an intervention that emphasized cognitive behavioral skills building in addition to nutrition and physical activity had a lower average body mass index, better social behaviors and higher health class grades and drank less alcohol than did teenagers in a class with standard health lessons. Symptoms ...

San Diego, CA, September 10, 2013 – New cases of diabetes continue to increase as does the health burden for those with diabetes. Law is a critical tool for health improvement, yet assessments reported in a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine indicate that federal, state, and local laws give only partial support to guidelines and evidence-based interventions relevant to diabetes prevention and control. The authors explore the role that law can play in serving as an effective health tool. In 2010, diabetes was the seventh-leading cause of ...

Philadelphia, PA, September 10, 2013 – A new study has found that a novel avian-origin H7N9 influenza A virus, which has recently emerged in humans, attaches moderately or abundantly to the epithelium of both the upper and lower respiratory tracts. This pattern has not been observed before for avian influenza A viruses. The report, published in the October issue of The American Journal of Pathology, suggests that the emerging H7N9 virus has the potential to cause a pandemic, since it may transmit efficiently in humans and cause severe pneumonia. The first report of infections ...

Scientists have developed a strain of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) that could be used as a vaccine against the disease, according to a study to be published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The mutant MERS virus, rMERS-CoV-&#916E, has a mutation in its envelope protein that makes it capable of infecting a cell and replicating its genetic material, but deprives it of the ability to spread to other tissues and cause disease. The authors say once additional safe guards are engineered into the ...

A Simon Fraser University researcher studying hypertension rates in the U.S., Canada and England says each country needs to do more to prevent the condition, which is the leading risk factor for stroke and heart disease. "These data show that thousands of deaths could be prevented each year by improving blood pressure in Canada and other countries," says SFU Health Sciences professor Michel Joffres, the paper's lead author. "Hypertension is the number-one risk factor for mortality in the world, and small improvements in hypertension show important benefits in mortality, ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — If you've ever wondered how you learn to like a food you dislike, a new study conducted by UC Santa Barbara's Craig Montell, Duggan Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, may offer an answer. The work addresses a central question in neurobiology — how experience can alter animal behavior. The research, just published in Nature Neuroscience, was conducted by Montell's team, which includes lead author Yali Zhang, Rakesh Raghuwanshi, and Wei Shen. Among the most widely observed, but poorly ...

An international study led by a Johns Hopkins pulmonary expert finds that the drug tiotropium (marketed as the Spiriva brand), can be delivered safely and effectively to people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in both "mist" and traditional "dry powder" inhalers. The new Respimat inhaler, which delivers the drug in a mist form, is approved for use in Europe but not in the United States. The traditional inhaler, known as a HandiHaler, uses a dry powder form of the drug and is widely used in the U.S. The study comparing the two drug-delivery systems ...

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6042 Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society Indy 500 track continues to foster better technology for everyday driving INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 9, 2013 — The pavement recipe for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), home of the Indianapolis 500, could be used to improve the smoothness, durability and safety of some of the 2 million miles of paved roads and streets where ...

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6042 Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society The new allure of electric cars: Blazing-fast speeds INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 9, 2013 — Already noted for saving gasoline and having zero emissions, electric cars have quietly taken on an unlikely new dimension –– the ability to reach blazing speeds that rival the 0-to-60 performance of a typical Porsche or BMW, and compete on some ...

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6042 Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society New research provides early indications that recycled sewage water is safe for crop irrigation INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 9, 2013 — The first study under realistic field conditions has found reassuringly low levels of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in crops irrigated with recycled sewage water, scientists ...

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6042 Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society American Chemical Society presidential symposium: Career advancement opportunities INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 9, 2013 — Even though the Great Recession officially ended more than three years ago in the U.S., lingering effects continue to impact careers for thousands of scientists. Advancing those careers for chemists and other ...

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6042 Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society How bedbugs shrug off pesticides and simple measures to deal with it INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 9, 2013 — The bedbug's most closely guarded secrets — stashed away in protective armor that enables these blood-sucking little nasties to shrug off insecticides and thrive in homes and hotels — are on the agenda here today at a major ...