Boston, MA—The microbiome is your body's set of microbial communities; microbial cells outnumber human cells roughly ten to one. Through studying the microbiome, scientists are learning more the relationship between these microbes and human health and disease. In looking at the effect of diet on the composition of the gut microbiome, Dr. Nanette Steinle of the University of Maryland's School of Medicine and Dr. Emmanuel Mongodin of the University of Maryland Institute of Genome Sciences wanted to determine if the Mediterranean diet would cause changes in an individual's ...

BOSTON — Use and abuse of "bath salts," a new group of designer drugs, have been increasing in recent years, particularly among teenagers. Poison control centers received over 2,000 calls last year for patients with delusions, hallucinations and paranoia following "bath salt" use. Although the synthetic compounds found in "bath salts" are routinely changing in order to circumvent laws on banned substances, federal legislation recently added MDPV, a common constituent in "bath salts," to the list of Schedule 1 drugs – a list that includes cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy ...

Washington, DC (April 18, 2013) – From the T-101 to Data from Star Trek, humans have been presented with the fictional dilemma of how we empathize with robots. Robots now infiltrate our lives, toys like Furbies or robot vacuum cleaners bring us closer, but how do we really feel about these non-sentient objects on a human level? A recent study by researchers at the University of Duisburg Essen in Germany found that humans have similar brain function when shown images of affection and violence being inflicted on robots and humans. Astrid Rosenthal-von der Pütten, Nicole ...

Scientists from King's College London have identified patterns of epigenetic changes involved in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by studying genetically identical twins who differ in autism traits. The study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, is the largest of its kind and may shed light on the biological mechanism by which environmental influences regulate the activity of certain genes and in turn contribute to the development of ASD and related behaviour traits. ASD affects approximately 1 in 100 people in the UK and involves a spectrum of disorders which manifest themselves ...

Ancient DNA recovered from a series of skeletons in central Germany up to 7500 years old has been used to reconstruct the first detailed genetic history of modern Europe. The study, published today in Nature Communications, reveals a dramatic series of events including major migrations from both Western Europe and Eurasia, and signs of an unexplained genetic turnover about 4000-5000 years ago. The research was performed at the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD). Researchers used DNA extracted from bone and teeth samples from prehistoric ...

Animal sanctuaries can play an important role in rehabilitating goats and other animals that have suffered from neglect, according to scientists at Queen Mary, University of London. In this first scientific study of rescued animals, the researchers examined moods in 18 goats, nine of which had endured poor welfare, such as inappropriate diet, and lack of space or shelter before arriving at a sanctuary. They created a spatial awareness test, which involved giving the animals an opportunity to look for food, to understand the link between poor welfare and the goats' mental ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Taking a specific form of a vitamin E supplement can accelerate the health benefits that occur when people quit smoking, new research suggests. In the small study, improvement in blood vessel function associated with the added vitamin E potentially translates into an estimated 19 percent greater drop in future risk for cardiovascular disease. Smokers were recruited to participate in a study to quit smoking for seven days, with blood markers of inflammation and blood vessel function measured before and after the trial. After seven days of not smoking, ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif. –) Researchers at University of California, Santa Barbara, in collaboration with colleagues at the École Polytechnique in France, have conclusively identified Auger recombination as the mechanism that causes light emitting diodes (LEDs) to be less efficient at high drive currents. Until now, scientists had only theorized the cause behind the phenomenon known as LED "droop"—a mysterious drop in the light produced when a higher current is applied. The cost per lumen of LEDs has held the technology back as a viable replacement for incandescent bulbs ...

In the face of unprecedented deforestation and biodiversity loss, policy makers are increasingly using financial incentives to encourage conservation. However, a research team led by the National University of Singapore (NUS) revealed that in the long run, conservation incentives may struggle to compete with future agricultural yields. Their findings were first published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on 15 April 2013. Financial incentives for conservation Incentives are being leveraged in dozens of tropical developing countries ...

A new study greatly expands knowledge of the wasp genus Oxyscelio. A total of 90 species are recognized from the Indo-Malayan and Palearctic realms of Asia, 71 of which are described here as new species. A total of 438 photographs are included to aid in specimen identification, all exported to and available for the public from EOL. Newly discovered species are described from a range of countries including Brunei, China, Christmas Island, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, The Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, while ...

In July 1994, the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) hit Jupiter and left visible scars on the Jovian disk for weeks. This spectacular event was the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision in the solar system, and it was followed worldwide by professional and amateur astronomers. SL9 was discovered orbiting Jupiter by astronomers David Levy and Carolyn and Eugene M. Shoemaker on March 24, 1993. It was the first comet observed orbiting a planet rather than the Sun. SL9 was found to be composed of 21 fragments. Soon after that, orbital studies showed that the ...

Tree iguanas (Liolaemus) are one of the most diverse genus of lizards in the world with 230 described species. Within these, Liolaemus nigromaculatus - the second described species of the genus Liolaemus - is usually mentioned in field guides, project baselines, scientific articles, reviews and even is the nominal species of the lizard group nigromaculatus... but always the same question is repeated: Which is this species and which is its type locality? After a long and comprehensive investigation, two Chilean biologists, Jaime Troncoso-Palacios, Universidad de Chile ...

The photo-sharing application Instagram is used by millions of people around the world daily. In the media, the social media phenomenon is sometimes dismissed as trivial pastime. However, according to a fresh study at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, a lot of effort often goes into a picture before it is shared. In study, which was conducted by three researchers from the University of Gothenburg, investigated how visitors at the Gothenburg Museum of Natural History used their cellphones during a visit. Through ethnographic field studies the researchers examined how ...

Heikki Remes, a researcher at the Aalto University in Finland, has developed a model making it possible to determine how fatigue sets in with various welded steel materials. The model allows for the development of lighter structures, and as a consequence, more energy-efficient ships. - By utilising modern manufacturing technology and new materials, it is possible to achieve more efficient structures than the ones that currently exist. In addition, better physical models are needed to ensure structural strength, Remes says. At present the fatigue measurements used by ...

We know the world through the sensory representations within our brain. Such "reconstruction" is performed through the electrical activation of neural cells, the code that contains the information that is constantly processed by the brain. If we wish to understand what are the rules followed by the representation of the world inside the brain we have to comprehend how electrical activation is linked to the sensory experience. For this reason, a team of researchers including Mathew Diamond, Houman Safaai and Moritz von Heimendahl of the International School for Advanced ...

In a related article, also published in Parasites & Vectors, Michael Leschnik and colleagues test the effectiveness of common anti-tick measures at preventing tick-borne infections in dogs. Their results suggest that owners should be much more careful to follow the manufacturers' instructions. Dog owners throughout central Europe secretly dread the arrival of spring. Of course it is more pleasant taking a pet for a walk when the sun is shining but having to search the animal's fur afterwards for ticks is hardly most people's idea of fun. Georg Duscher and colleagues ...

Traffic accidents involving wildlife are on the rise in Europe. The establishment of a time pattern for the accidents could be useful for increasing safety and preventing human and animal deaths. On the basis of this objective, a team of researchers have established at what time, on what day of the week and in which month accidents involving boar and roe deer are most likely to take place. Car accidents involving animals are a serious and growing problem in Europe. They pose a risk for human life and may result in mortal victims, damage to vehicles and the loss of wildlife. Specifically, ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have solved a long-standing materials science problem, making it possible to create new semiconductor devices using zinc oxide (ZnO) – including efficient ultraviolet (UV) lasers and LED devices for use in sensors and drinking water treatment, as well as new ferromagnetic devices. "The challenge of using ZnO to make these devices has stumped researchers for a long time, and we've developed a solution that uses some very common elements: nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen," says Dr. Lew Reynolds, co-author of a paper describing ...

Our gut is home to trillions of bacteria, numbering more than the cells in the rest of our body, and these bacteria help us to digest our food, absorb nutrients and strengthen our immune system. This complex bacterial ecosystem, called the gut microbiota, also helps to prevent bad bacteria from colonising our bodies and making us ill. As part of the symbiotic relationship between the gut microbiota and our bodies, the bacteria derive nutrition from our food and convert it into compounds that we can't make ourselves. Some of these compounds are part of the arsenal that ...

Researchers have discovered that participation in physical activity of at least moderate intensity is more critical to childhood cardiometabolic health than overall sedentary time. However, when evaluating the risk of cardiovascular disease, screen time appears to be worse than overall sedentary time. As members of TEAM PRODIGY, an inter-university research team that includes researchers from the University of Ottawa, University of Montreal, McGill University, and Laval University, researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute ...

An international team of scientists has shed new light on a fundamental area of physics which could have important implications for future electronic devices and the transfer of information at the quantum level. The electrical currents currently used to power electronic devices are generated by a flow of charges. However, emerging quantum technologies such as spin-electronics, make use of both charge and another intrinsic property of electrons – their spin – to transfer and process signals and information. The experimental and theoretical work, carried out by researchers ...

Jerusalem, April 23, 2013 -- Scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have discovered why Heteroxenia corals pulsate. Their work, which resolves an old scientific mystery, appears in the current issue of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the US). One of the most fascinating and spectacular sights in the coral reef of Eilat is the perpetual motion of the tentacles of a coral called Heteroxenia (Heteroxenia fuscescens). Heteroxenia is a soft coral from the family Xeniidae, which looks like ...

Lichens are symbiotic organisms consisting of a fungal partner and one or several algal partners. The association is so close that scientists until 1867 were not aware that lichens actually consist of two different partners. After the Swiss botanist Simon Schwendener discovered the dual nature of lichens, lichenologists were focusing on the fungal partner when studying lichens, since it was often believed that only few algae are involved in the symbiosis. Molecular studies have shown that it was a mistake to neglect the algal partner for a long time. The diversity of ...

For a long time, scientists have dreamt of converting undesirable white fat cells into brown fat cells and thus simply have excess pounds melt away. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now gotten a step closer to this goal: They decoded a "toggle switch" in mice which can significantly stimulate fat burning. The results are now being presented in the scientifc journal "Nature Communications". Many people not only in industrialized nations struggle with excess weight - but all fat is not alike. "Love handles" in particular contain troublesome white fat cells which ...

More carbon dioxide is released from residential lawns than corn fields according to a new study. And much of the difference can likely be attributed to soil temperature. The data, from researchers at Elizabethtown College, suggest that urban heat islands may be working at smaller scales than previously thought. These findings provide a better understanding of the changes that occur when agricultural lands undergo development and urbanization to support growing urban populations. David Bowne, assistant professor of biology, led the study to look at the amount of carbon ...