When animals like dogs or rats sniff one another, there might be more going on than you'd think. Research reported in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, on March 7th finds in rats that those sniffing behaviors communicate information about an individual's social status. In those encounters, more dominant rats act as primary sniffers, while subordinate sniffees actually slow their breath. "We know that rats and other animals can communicate through vocalizations, physical contact, odors, and also visual displays," says Daniel Wesson of Case Western Reserve University. ...

A new study explains how young brains are protected when nutrition is poor. The findings, published on March 7th in Cell Reports, a Cell Press publication, reveal a coping strategy for producing a fully functional, if smaller, brain. The discovery, which was made in larval flies, shows the brain as an incredibly adaptable organ and may have implications for understanding the developing human brain as well, the researchers say. The key is a carefully timed developmental system that ultimately ensures neural diversity at the expense of neural numbers. "In essence, this ...

VIDEO: What happens when human brain cells that surround and support neurons are implanted into the brains of newborn mice? Researchers reporting in the March 7th issue of the Cell Press... Click here for more information. What happens when human brain cells that surround and support neurons are implanted into the brains of newborn mice? Researchers reporting in the March 7th issue of the Cell Press journal Cell Stem Cell recently found that such mice had enhanced learning and ...

An Australian researcher has found the third and final missing piece in the genetic puzzle of an unusual form of hemophilia, more than 20 year after he discovered the first two pieces. Professor Merlin Crossley, of the University of New South Wales, and his international team studied the blood-clotting disorder, hemophilia B Leyden, which is unusual because symptoms improve after puberty. The results, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, explain how more than half of the cases of this rare, hereditary bleeding disorder occur, and could help improve understanding ...

What do cancer cells, weeds, and pathogens have in common? They all evolve resistance to the treatments that are supposed to eliminate them. However, researchers developing the next generation of antibiotics, herbicides, and anti-cancer therapeutics rarely come together to explore the common evolutionary principles at work across their different biological systems. The new American Academy of Microbiology report "Moving Targets: Fighting Resistance in Infections, Pests, and Cancer" concludes that scientists working on different kinds of treatments have much to learn from ...

USC scientists have discovered how two different structural apparatuses collaborate to protect repetitive DNA when it is at its most vulnerable – while it is being unzipped for replication. The centromere—the center of the "X" shape of a chromosome—contains repeated DNA sequences that are epigenetically coded to attract so-called heterochromatin proteins. This protects the structure to ensure that the chromosomes separate properly. If the heterochromatin is lost (due to mutations in the cell), the repetitive DNA becomes vulnerable to rearrangements and recombination. ...

According to his theory, bacteria that are non-resistant to antibiotics acquire said resistance accidentally because they take up the DNA of others that are resistant, due to the stress to which they are subjected. A University of Granada researcher has formulated a new hypothesis concerning an enigma that the scientific community has still not been able to solve and which could revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry: Why are bacteria becoming increasingly more resistant to antibiotics? His work has revealed that the use of antibiotics can even cause non-resistant bacteria ...

Delhi, March 7, 2013 - In the first gender benchmarking study of its kind, researchers have found that numbers of women in the science, technology and innovation fields are alarmingly low in the world's leading economies, and are actually on the decline in many, including the United States. India's low overall ranking in the study shows slow progress despite women friendly policies which have been in place for a number of years. The full gender benchmarking study maps the opportunities and obstacles faced by women in science in Brazil, South Africa, India, the Republic ...

Cape Town, March 7, 2013 – In the first gender benchmarking study of its kind, researchers have found that numbers of women in the science, technology and innovation fields (STI) are alarmingly low in the world's leading economies, and are actually on the decline in many, including the United States. For South Africa, results show that women have more opportunities available to them than ever before, however, their participation in the science, technology and innovation workforce remains low. The full gender benchmarking study maps the opportunities and obstacles faced ...

Using the technique that created Dolly the sheep, researchers from the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan have identified a way to produce healthy mouse clones that live a normal lifespan and can be sequentially cloned indefinitely. Their study is published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell. In an experiment that started in 2005, the team led by Dr. Teruhiko Wakayama has used a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SNCT) to produce 581 clones of one original 'donor' mouse, through 25 consecutive rounds of cloning. SNCT is a widely ...

SAN FRANCISCO (March 7, 2013) —A nationwide study of women in Denmark who are of child-bearing age finds that those who are obese appear to have a much greater risk of heart attack or stroke, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session. In fact, women with a high body mass index (BMI)—a measure of the body's fat content—that is indicative of obesity were twice as likely as those of normal weight to suffer a potentially life-threatening heart attack or stroke within just four to five years following childbirth. ...

The search for a less-expensive, sustainable source of biomass, or plant material, for producing gasoline, diesel and jet fuel has led scientists to duckweed, that fast-growing floating plant that turns ponds and lakes green. That's the topic of a report in ACS' journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. Christodoulos A. Floudas, Xin Xiao and colleagues explain that duckweed, an aquatic plant that floats on or near the surface of still or slow-moving freshwater, is ideal as a raw material for biofuel production. It grows fast, thrives in wastewater that has ...

In a step toward understanding and exploiting an exotic form of matter that has been sparking excitement for potential applications in a new genre of supercomputers, scientists are reporting the first identification of a naturally occurring "topological insulator" (TI). Their report on discovery of the material, retrieved from an abandoned gold mine in the Czech Republic, appears in the ACS journal Nano Letters. Pascal Gehring and colleagues point out that synthetic TIs, discovered only a decade ago, are regarded as a new horizon in materials science. Unlike conventional ...

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK—A report released today by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) and the RCHN Community Health Foundation offers the first-ever in-depth examination of health centers' role in access to family planning. The report finds that virtually all health centers furnish family planning services to some extent but for both financial and non-financial reasons, only 1 in 5 is able to offer access to the full range of contraceptive services. The report offers a series of recommendations to strengthen performance, ...

WASHINGTON – Older adults who haven't been in school for a while are as capable of learning from tests as younger adults and college students, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. No matter their age or if they work or go to college full time, people appear to learn more when tested on material, rather than simply rereading or restudying information, according to research published online in the APA journal Psychology and Aging. "The use of testing as a way to learn new information has been thoroughly examined in young students. ...

São Paolo, March 7, 2013 – In the first gender benchmarking study of its kind, researchers have found that numbers of women in the science, technology and innovation fields are alarmingly low in the world's leading economies, and are actually on the decline in many, including the United States. Results from Brazil show that despite women having a strong representation in parts of the science, technology and innovation sector, and a slight increase in engineering, physics and computer science, overall numbers are on the decline. Brazil ranks the highest in this study ...

Climate change could lead to dozens of species of lizards becoming extinct within the next 50 years, according to new research published today. Globally it has been observed that lizards with viviparous reproduction (retention of embryos within the mother's body) are being threatened by changing weather patterns. A new study suggests that the evolution of this mode of reproduction, which is thought to be a key successful adaptation, could, in fact, be the species' downfall under global warming. Researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of Lincoln ...

PHILADELPHIA – It happens to everyone: You stay up late one night to finish an assignment, and the next day, you're exhausted. Humans aren't unique in that; all animals need sleep, and if they don't get it, they must make it up. The biological term for that pay-the-piper behavior is "sleep homeostasis," and now, thanks to a research team at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, one of the molecular players in this process has been identified – at least in nematode round worms. David Raizen, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Neurology, and his colleagues ...

Scientists are reporting an advance in re-engineering photosynthesis to transform plants into bio-factories that manufacture high-value ingredients for medicines, fabrics, fuels and other products. They report on the research in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology. Poul Erik Jensen and colleagues explain that photosynthesis does more than transform carbon dioxide and water into sugar and oxygen and generate energy. That process also produces a wealth of natural chemical compounds, many of which have potential uses in medicines and other commercial products. However, evolution ...

Chevy Chase, MD ––Exercise may play a key role in helping children cope with stressful situations, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). When they are exposed to everyday stressors, the study found sedentary children had surges of cortisol – a hormone linked to stress. The most active children had little or no increase in their cortisol levels in similar situations. "The findings suggest physical activity plays a role in mental health by buffering children from the effects ...

New software, which will allow GP practice managers to improve healthcare for chronic illnesses including strokes, Alzheimer's and cancer, will be unveiled by scientists from The University of Manchester next week (13 & 14 March). Experts have devised a computer programme which analyses how many patients in a practice have suffered from different conditions over a particular time period and identifies those who might require hospital treatment in the future. Against a back drop of a drive for NHS efficiency savings, they believe the software will help practice managers ...

Philadelphia, PA, March 7, 2013 – According to a 2012 World Health Organization report, over 35 million people worldwide currently have dementia, a number that is expected to double by 2030 (66 million) and triple by 2050 (115 million). Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, has no cure and there are currently only a handful of approved treatments that slow, but do not prevent, the progression of symptoms. New drug development, no matter the disease, is a slow, expensive, and risky process. Thus, innovative techniques to study and assess the possibilities ...

Services like Google Maps use algorithms to determine the fastest route from point A to point B—even factoring in real-time traffic information as you travel to redirect you if, for example, a parade is blocking part of your route. Now, a team of researchers from Spain and Japan have achieved this kind of traffic control for the connections in optical networks by using a new dynamic network management system—and it does Google Maps one better. If necessary, the flexible-grid system can also redirect the traffic-congesting parade to another street (by re-arranging one or ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Scientists have watched a mild traumatic brain injury play out in the living brain, prompting swelling that reduces blood flow and connections between neurons to die. "Even with a mild trauma, we found we still have these ischemic blood vessels and, if blood flow is not returned to normal, synapses start to die," said Dr. Sergei Kirov, neuroscientist and Director of the Human Brain Lab at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University. They also found that subsequent waves of depolarization – when brain cells lose their normal positive and ...

Chevy Chase, MD ––Women who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy face a significantly higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in the future, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). The prospective cohort study tracked 843 women who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes between 1996 and 2003 at Cheil General Hospital in Seoul, South Korea. About 12.5 percent of the women developed Type 2 diabetes within two months of delivering their babies. During the ...