WASHINGTON D.C., June 28, 2013 -- The search for thermoelectrics, exotic materials that convert heat directly into electricity, has received a boost from researchers at the California Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo, who have found the best way to identify them. In the new open-access journal APL Materials, the team shows that a relatively simple technique called the "rigid band approximation" can predict a material's properties more accurately than a competing, more complicated method. "The rigid band approach still supplies the simple, predictive ...

Scientists have discovered a diverse multitude of microbes colonizing and thriving on flecks of plastic that have polluted the oceans—a vast new human-made flotilla of microbial communities that they have dubbed the "plastisphere." In a study recently published online in Environmental Science & Technology, the scientists say the plastisphere represents a novel ecological habitat in the ocean and raises a host of questions: How will it change environmental conditions for marine microbes, favoring some that compete with others? How will it change the overall ocean ecosystem ...

New Rochelle, NY, June 26, 2013—Everyone who climbs to high altitude will develop pulmonary hypertension, a temporary constriction of blood vessels that results in increasing strain on the right heart. It is a normal adaptive mechanism but if exaggerated can have serious consequences, resulting in life-threatening disorders and remodeling of the pulmonary circulation. Five mini-Review articles that comprise a Special Topic section in High Altitude Medicine & Biology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers provide an up-to-date overview of the clinical ...

PITTSBURGH—Lying awake in bed plagues everyone occasionally, but for those with seasonal affective disorder, sleeplessness is routine. University of Pittsburgh researchers report in the Journal of Affective Disorders that individuals with seasonal affective disorder (SAD)—a winter depression that leads to loss of motivation and interest in daily activities—have misconceptions about their sleep habits similar to those of insomniacs. These findings open the door for treating seasonal affective disorder similar to the way doctors treat insomnia. Kathryn Roecklein, primary ...

AMHERST, Mass. – Reporting this month in Molecular Microbiology, Peter Chien and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst describe using a combination of biochemistry and mass spectrometry to "trap" scores of new candidate substrates of the protease ClpXP to reveal how protein degradation is critical to cell cycle progression and bacterial development. The new understanding could lead to identifying new antibiotic targets. As Chien (pronounced Chen) explains, to carry out fundamental life processes such as growing and dividing, cells must orchestrate, in ...

In stunning color, new biodiversity research from North Carolina State University maps out priority areas worldwide that hold the key to protecting vulnerable species and focusing conservation efforts. The research, published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pinpoints the highest global concentrations of mammals, amphibians and birds on a scale that's 100 times finer than previous assessments. The findings can be used to make the most of available conservation resources, said Dr. Clinton Jenkins, lead author and research scholar at NC State ...

A protein secreted with insulin travels through the bloodstream and accumulates in the brains of individuals with type 2 diabetes and dementia, in the same manner as the amyloid beta Αβ plaques that are associated with Alzheimer's disease, a study by researchers with the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center has found. The study is the first to identify deposits of the protein, called amylin, in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease, as well as combined deposits of amylin and plaques, suggesting that amylin is a second amyloid as well as a new biomarker ...

When faced with the choice of sacrificing time and energy for a loved one or taking the self-centered route, people's first impulse is to think of others, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. "For decades psychologists have assumed that the first impulse is selfish and that it takes self-control to behave in a pro-social manner," says lead researcher Francesca Righetti of VU University Amsterdam in the Netherlands. "We did not believe that this was true in every context, and especially not ...

Today, on National HIV Testing Day, the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University launched its annual update of AIDSVu, including new interactive online maps that show the latest HIV prevalence data for 20 U.S. cities by ZIP code or census tract. AIDSVu also includes new city snapshots displaying HIV prevalence alongside various social determinants of health – such as poverty, lack of health insurance and educational attainment. AIDSVu -- the most detailed publicly available view of HIV prevalence in the United States -- is a compilation of interactive online ...

Understanding how the protein km23-1 enables in the spread of colon cancer may lead to new treatments for the disease, according to researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. Previous research shows that km23-1 is involved in the movement of cancer cells and in the control of specific proteins at the leading edge of moving cells. Kathleen Mulder, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, who discovered the protein, now says km23-1 is used in the cancer cell's ability to move out of a tumor in the early stages of invasion. "km23-1 may be able to help in this ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — In what researchers say is the first public health study of the aerial mosquito spraying method to prevent West Nile virus, a UC Davis study analyzed emergency department records from Sacramento area hospitals during and immediately after aerial sprayings in the summer of 2005. Physicians and scientists from the university and from the California Department of Public Health found no increase in specific diagnoses that are considered most likely to be associated with pesticide exposure, including respiratory, gastrointestinal, skin, eye and neurological ...

A single dose of a commonly-prescribed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug helps improve brain function in cocaine addiction, according to an imaging study conducted by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Methylphenidate (brand name Ritalin®) modified connectivity in certain brain circuits that underlie self-control and craving among cocaine-addicted individuals. The research is published in the current issue of JAMA Psychiatry, a JAMA network publication. Previous research has shown that oral methylphenidate improved brain function ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood may reduce the risk for hip fractures in postmenopausal women, recent research suggests. Scientists analyzed red blood cell samples from women with and without a history of having a broken hip. The study showed that higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids from both plant and fish sources in those blood cells were associated with a lower likelihood of having fractured a hip. In addition to omega-3s, the researchers looked at omega-6 fatty acids, which are generally plentiful in a Western diet. The study ...

KNOXVILLE—A mother's prolonged use of antibacterial soaps containing the chemical triclocarban may harm nursing babies, according to a recent study from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The study, which was conducted on rats, showed that exposure to the compound may reduce the survival rates of babies. Rebekah Kennedy, a UT graduate student pursuing a dual master's degree in public health and nutrition, and Jiangang Chen, an assistant professor in the UT Department of Public Health, presented the results this month at the Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting ...

WASHINGTON D.C., June 26, 2013 -- A new report by an independent task force commissioned by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), has found that people absorb less radiation from airport X-ray backscatter scanner than they do while standing in line waiting for the scan itself. Measurements made on two scanners in active use at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), as well as seven other scanners not in active use at the time of measurement, found that full-body scanners deliver a radiation dose equivalent to what a standard man receives every 1.8 ...

This news release is available in Spanish. Gemini Observatory's Planet-Finding Campaign finds that, around many types of stars, distant gas-giant planets are rare and prefer to cling close to their parent stars. The impact on theories of planetary formation could be significant. Finding extrasolar planets has become so commonplace that it seems astronomers merely have to look up and another world is discovered. However, results from Gemini Observatory's recently completed Planet-Finding Campaign – the deepest, most extensive direct imaging survey to date – show ...

Chicago (June 27, 2013): Recurrence of melanoma skin cancer 10 or more years after initial treatment is more common than previously thought, occurring in more than one in 20 patients. However, according to a new study, these patients tend to live longer after their cancer returns than patients whose melanoma recurs in the first three years. The study results appear in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. "For patients with melanoma, survival beyond 10 years without a recurrence has been considered nearly synonymous with a cure," said principal ...

Researchers from the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research in Tokyo have discovered that forced elongation of telomeres (extensions on the end of chromosomes) promotes the differentiation of cancer cells, probably reducing malignancy, which is strongly associated with a loss of cell differentiation. They report their findings in a manuscript published online ahead of print, in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology. "Cancer cells may maintain short telomeres to maintain their undifferentiated state," says Hiroyuki Seimiya, a researcher on the study. Telomeres ...

Cincinnati, OH, June 28, 2013 -- Iron deficiency is a worldwide problem, especially in developing countries and among infants and pregnant women. In infancy, iron deficiency is associated with poorer cognitive, motor, and social-emotional outcomes. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers report on a 25-year follow-up of infants studied in Costa Rica for iron deficiency. Betsy Lozoff, MD, and colleagues from the University of Michigan, Oakland University, and Instituto de Atención Pediátrica, Costa Rica, completed a 25-year ...

Philadelphia, PA, June 28, 2013 – For the first time, researchers investigated enteral nutrition and caloric requirements (CR) among critically ill children in a new report published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This study also showed the value of including registered dietitians in the medical team. Providing early nutritional support through the intestine, or enteral route, to critically ill adults has been an effective strategy to improve the healing process. Using a similar approach with critically ill children, however, may present challenges, ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- The comic-book hero Superman uses his X-ray vision to spot bad guys lurking behind walls and other objects. Now we could all have X-ray vision, thanks to researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Researchers have long attempted to build a device capable of seeing people through walls. However, previous efforts to develop such a system have involved the use of expensive and bulky radar technology that uses a part of the electromagnetic spectrum only available to the military. Now a system being developed by Dina Katabi, ...

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite captured the third named Eastern Pacific tropical cyclone as it grew to hurricane strength. Hurricane Cosme was bringing those winds to Clarion Island, Mexico on June 26 and its northernmost clouds extended over southern Baja California. On Sunday, June 23, the third tropical depression of the Eastern Pacific Ocean season formed about 500 miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico. Tropical Depression 3E was located near 11.8 north latitude and 103.8 west longitude. By 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 24, the depression strengthened ...

Thick smoke billows across the landscape in these digital photographs of the western United States. Both photographs were taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) on June 19, 2013. The images show a plume wafting from the West Fork Complex fire, which was burning explosively in southwestern Colorado near Pagosa Springs. To the northwest, a smaller plume from the Wild Rose fire is also visible (upper image). While the Wild Rose blaze was fully contained by June 25, 2013, the West Fork Complex was still raging through the San Juan and Rio Grande ...

Sumatran tigers, found exclusively on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, are on the brink of extinction. By optimistic estimates, perhaps 400 individuals survive. But the exact the number and locations of the island's dwindling tiger population has been up for debate. Virginia Tech and World Wildlife Fund researchers have found that tigers in central Sumatra live at very low densities, lower than previously believed, according to a study in the April 2013 issue of Oryx -- The International Journal of Conservation. The findings by Sunarto, who earned his doctorate from ...

On June 22, 2013, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured a false-color image of the East Peak fire burning in southern Colorado near Trinidad. Burned areas appear dark red, while actively burning areas look orange. Dark green areas are forests; light green areas are grasslands. Lightning ignited the blaze on June 19, 2013. By June 25, it had burned nearly 13,500 acres (5,500 hectares). INFORMATION: ...