The intricate social hierarchy of the California condor, an endangered species, is something that could not be studied until recently due to the severe reduction of this population in the wild. The first formal study on this species, based on remote video observation of reintroduced populations, indicates that the species has a complex system of interactions based on dominance. The study further indicates that, with the effect of human disturbance and lead poisoning removed from the equation, an individual bird that does not successfully integrate into the structure will ...

VIDEO: Ph.D. student Theodore Abraham, Monash University, explains how the thermocell he and colleagues invented can harvest "waste heat " from power stations and convert it into usable energy. Click here for more information. Harvesting waste heat from power stations and even vehicle exhaust pipes could soon provide a valuable supply of electricity. A small team of Monash University researchers working under the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence ...

Scientists from Griffith University have taken part in an international study which has revealed the genetic secrets of how a small bird can survive in one of the most hostile environments on earth. The ground tit (Parus humilis), lives in the Tibetan plateau, the largest high-altitude land mass in the world. This study has found molecular signatures in the ground tit genome which reveal how it copes with the extreme living conditions of this habitat. Professor David Lambert and Dr Sankar Subramanian from Griffith University's Environmental Futures Centre took part ...

Identifying, and monitoring the fluctuations of thousands of species in tropical ecosystems is a difficult challenge, but newly developed technology now makes it much easier. Scientists report on new cyberinfrastructure which enables real-time acoustic recording and subsequent species identification in remote locations around the world. Thousands of audio recordings of tropical birds, frogs, monkeys, and insects in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica have been captured (using automated recording stations placed in their natural habitat) and analyzed to identify the species concerned. ...

Coral reefs face serious threats primarily arising from climate change, unsustainable fishing, and pollution. To better understand the underlying processes, a multidisciplinary series of studies is being conducted by researchers, investigating variability in coral reef community structure and microbial dynamics across gradients of natural and anthropogenic stress. Their results are published in the new PeerJ "Line Islands Collection – Microbial dynamics of coral reef robustness and decline" (named after their upcoming expedition to the Line Islands). As part of an effort ...

Improving crop yields using sustainable methods could cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 12% per calorie produced according to a new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. At the same time, these changes could provide more food to people in need. Agriculture and land use change contributed about 1/3 of total human greenhouse gas emissions in the past decade, through crop cultivation, animal production, and deforestation. By producing more food on less land, it may be possible to reduce these emissions, but this so-called intensification ...

BOSTON - People who found out they carried an uncommon genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease did not experience more anxiety, depression or distress than non-carriers, and were more active in efforts to reduce their risk of Alzheimer's disease - by exercising, eating a healthy diet and taking recommended vitamins and medications - report researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania today at the 2013 Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC). Researchers note that this study will inform how research studies and clinical ...

NEW YORK (July 16, 2013) -- Weill Cornell Medical College neurologist Dr. Norman Relkin reported new findings today from the Phase 3 clinical trial of IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin) in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) in Boston, Mass. While the primary study outcomes were negative, observations from the subgroup analyses include whether there may be a dose-dependent reduction of beta amyloid in the blood and brain of IVIG-treated Alzheimer's patients who have the ApoE4 genotype. IVIG is a mixture ...

NEW YORK (July 16, 2013) -- Smokers who've received a clean bill of health from their doctor may believe cigarettes haven't harmed their lungs. However, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have found that even smokers who seem healthy have damaged airway cells, with characteristics similar to cells found in aggressive lung cancer. The study, published today in the journal Stem Cell, compared cells that line the airway from healthy nonsmokers with those from smokers with no detectable lung disease. The smokers' cells showed early signs of impairment, similar ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (July 16, 2013) – After switching to high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) in the US, men make fewer emergency department visits for even severe problems—which may lead to a later increase in hospitalization rates, suggests a study in the August issue of Medical Care, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. In contrast, women respond to HDHPs more appropriately, reducing emergency visits only for less-severe problems. The gender differences raise concerns that "[M]en who transition to HDHPs may forego needed care in ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (July 16, 2013) - Research using electronic clinical data (ECD) has the potential to make major contributions to health care research and improve patient outcomes. However, many complex issues remain unanswered. A special August supplement to Medical Care presents an update from the Electronic Data Methods (EDM) Forum, with a commissioned set of papers discussing "challenges and innovations from the research and QI community using ECD." Medical Care is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. The supplement "highlights ...

Sophia Antipolis, 16 July 2013: Cancer patients who receive chest radiation should be screened for heart disease every 5-10 years, according to the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). Their recommendations are outlined in the first expert consensus statement on screening for radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD), published today in European Heart Journal – Cardiovascular Imaging.1 Professor Patrizio Lancellotti, chair of the expert task force and president ...

While thermal expansion of the ocean and melting mountain glaciers are the most important factors causing sea-level change today, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets will be the dominant contributors within the next two millennia, according to the findings. Half of that rise might come from ice-loss in Antarctica which is currently contributing less than 10 percent to global sea-level rise. "CO2, once emitted by burning fossil fuels, stays an awful long time in the atmosphere," says Anders Levermann, lead author of the study and research domain co-chair at the Potsdam ...

Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have discovered a new form of communication between different cell types in the brain. Nerve cells interact with neighboring glial cells, which results in a transfer of protein and genetic information. Nerve cells are thus protected against stressful growth conditions. The study undertaken by the Mainz-based cell biologists shows how reciprocal communication between the different cell types contributes to neuronal integrity. Their results have been recently published in the journal PLOS Biology. Brain function ...

Picture two residential beach communities on the New Jersey shore: Bay Head and Mantoloking, which sit side-by-side in Ocean County on a narrow barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay. Before Hurricane Sandy landed on Oct. 29, 2012, a motorist traveling north on Ocean Avenue would seamlessly travel through Mantoloking into Bay Head, noticing few changes in residential development, dunes, beaches, and shoreline. The difference was hidden under the sand. A forgotten, 1,260-meter seawall buried beneath the beach helped Bay Head weather Sandy's ...

Toronto -- Scientists from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have discovered rare genetic changes that may be responsible for the onset of schizophrenia. Several of these same genetic lesions had previously been found to have causal links to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This discovery gives new support to the notion that multiple rare genetic changes may contribute to schizophrenia and other brain disorders. This discovery also suggests that clinical DNA (genome-wide microarray) testing may be useful in demystifying one of the most complex and stigmatized ...

Dogs can learn, retain and replay actions taught by humans after a short delay. According to a new study by Claudia Fugazza and Adám Miklósi, from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, this deferred imitation provides the first evidence of dogs' cognitive ability to both encode and recall actions. The research is published in Springer's journal Animal Cognition. Domestic dogs are particularly keen on relying on human communication cues. They learn by observing humans and are easily influenced by humans in learning situations. Living in human social groups may have favored ...

Research published in the journal Science (5th July 2013) shows that allowing land use to be determined purely by agricultural markets results in considerable financial and environmental costs to the public. While the research has looked specifically at the UK, the same methods could be applied to any area of the world with similar results for many countries. Land use in most of Europe is dominated by agriculture. Nearly half the total annual value of EU agriculture is based on public financial support surpassing 70%, 40% and 30% in the case of Ireland, UK and Spain, respectively ...

After nearly 25 years of searching, three scientists have finally found Waldo. No, not the loveable bespectacled character in children's picture books, but rather an unusual clam discovered off the coast of California and British Columbia. Paul Valentich-Scott from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and Diarmaid Ó Foighil from the University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology first began discussing this unusual clam back in 1989. Valentich-Scott discovered his strange specimens off the coast of Santa Barbara and Morro Bay, California, while Ó Foighil uncovered his ...

Taking moderate-intensity exercise three times a week during the second and third trimester of pregnancy halves the risk of having a high birth weight newborn (babies with macrosomia, that is, weighing over 4 kilos) and, therefore, the risk of needing a caesarean delivery. These findings come from research led by Rubén Barakat of the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Alejandro Lucía of the European University of Madrid, and Jonatan Ruiz of the University of Granada. Together with Sports Science graduates, they ran a series of programmed training sessions for a sample ...

The real-life CIA copied outlandish gadgets from Goldfinger and From Russia With Love, according to a University of Warwick analysis of declassified letters and interviews revealing the bond between Ian Fleming and Allen Dulles. However the relationship between the former CIA director and the spy thriller writer went far deeper than raiding the novels for technological inspiration. Through Dulles, the agency actively leaned on the British author to paint it in more positive light at a time when US film-makers, authors and journalists were silent about the activities ...

Researchers at the University of Basel have successfully developed artificial organelles that are able to support the reduction of toxic oxygen compounds. This opens up new ways in the development of novel drugs that can influence pathological states directly inside the cell. The results have been published in the Journal Nano Letters. Free oxygen radicals are produced either as metabolic byproduct, or through environmental influences such as UV-rays and smog. Is the concentration of free radicals inside the organism elevated to the point where the antioxidant defense ...

Imagine a transportation system where vehicles communicate directly with each other in real time, giving drivers warnings about traffic delays, allowing a single driver to control multiple vehicles or routing vehicles around hazardous road conditions. Those are all aspects of the "intelligent transportation" concept. And researchers have developed a model to improve the clarity of the vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) transmissions needed to make that concept a reality. "The model helps us understand how the V2V signals are distorted," says Dr. Dan Stancil, head of North Carolina ...

SAN ANTONIO (July 16, 2013) — New research from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio indicates that eating a modest amount of walnuts can protect against prostate cancer. The study is described in the journal Cancer Investigation. Researchers at the UT Health Science Center injected immune-deficient mice with human prostate cancer cells. Within three to four weeks, tumors typically start to grow in a large number of these mice. The study asked whether a walnut-enriched diet versus a non-walnut diet would be associated with ...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va., July 16, 2013 – Beginning with early colonists who landed in the New World loaded with dreams, grit and perhaps the continent's first alien forest pests, and continuing today with the expansion of global trade, the northeastern United States has been ground zero for damaging non-native forest pest invasions. In a study recently published on-line in the journal Diversity and Distributions, U.S. Forest Service researchers Andrew Liebhold, Laura Blackburn, Susan Frankel and partners used spatial data to demonstrate that the distribution of invasive forest ...