Pre-treatment scans of brain activity predicted whether depressed patients would best achieve remission with an antidepressant medication or psychotherapy, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. "Our goal is to develop reliable biomarkers that match an individual patient to the treatment option most likely to be successful, while also avoiding those that will be ineffective," explained Helen Mayberg, M.D., of Emory University, Atlanta, a grantee of the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health. Mayberg and colleagues report on their findings in JAMA ...

Smaller than a speck of dust, Emiliania huxleyi plays an outsized role in the world's seas. Ranging from the polar oceans to the tropics, these free-floating photosynthetic algae remove carbon dioxide from the air, help supply the oxygen that we breathe, and form the base of marine food chains. When they proliferate, their massive turquoise blooms are visible from space. Now scientists have discovered one of the keys to E. huxleyi's success. A seven-year effort by 75 researchers from 12 countries to map its genome has revealed a set of core genes that mix and match with ...

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have measured a significant and potentially pivotal difference between the brains of patients with an inherited form of Alzheimer's disease and healthy family members who do not carry a mutation for the disease. Researchers have known that amyloid beta, a protein fragment, builds up into plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. They believe the plaques cause the memory loss and other cognitive problems that characterize the disease. Normal brain metabolism produces different forms of amyloid beta. The ...

Water in the Earth's crust and upper mantle may not play such an important role as a lubricant of plate tectonics as previously assumed. This is a result geoscientists present in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature (13/06/2013) after the examination of water in the mineral olivine. Laboratory experiments over the past three decades have suggested the presence of water greatly weakens the mechanical strength of the mineral olivine, a key component of the Earth's upper mantle. In a recent study led by the Bayerisches Geoinstitut in Bayreuth, the Secondary ...

Slowdowns in the transport and delivery of nutrients, proteins and signaling molecules within nerve cells may contribute to the development of the neurodegenerative disorder ALS, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. The researchers showed how a genetic mutation often associated with inherited ALS caused delays in the transport of these important molecules along the long axons of neurons. Their findings were published in the online journal PLOS ONE on June 12. Motor neurons are among the longest cells in the human body—some ...

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an easier and more effective method for inserting genes into eye cells that could greatly expand gene therapy to help restore sight to patients with blinding diseases ranging from inherited defects like retinitis pigmentosa to degenerative illnesses of old age, such as macular degeneration. Unlike current treatments, the new procedure – which takes a little as 15-minutes – is surgically non-invasive, and it delivers normal genes to difficult-to-reach cells throughout the entire retina. Over the last ...

Mammals possess the remarkable ability to regenerate a lost fingertip, including the nail, nerves and even bone. In humans, an amputated fingertip can sprout back in as little as two months, a phenomenon that has remained poorly understood until now. In a paper published today in the journal Nature, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center shed light on this rare regenerative power in mammals, using genetically engineered mice to document for the first time the biochemical chain of events that unfolds in the wake of a fingertip amputation. The findings hold promise for ...

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta recently published their findings that rats with restricted growth in the womb, causing low birth weights when born, were most susceptible to developing age-related vision loss, compared to their normal weight counterparts. The research team members say additional work needs to be done to see if this same link exists in people, and if it does, doctors will need to better monitor vision concerns in adults who were born with a low birth weight. "The consequence of our findings is that we are providing evidence for the need ...

LIVERMORE, Calif.-- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have broken the record for tracking the movement and concentration of carbon dioxide in a geologic formation using the world's deepest Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) system. The research provides insight into the effects of geological sequestration to address the impact of greenhouse gases. The team led by LLNL's Charles Carrigan obtained time lapse electrical resistivity images during the injection of more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) more than 10,000 feet deep in an oil ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Performing experiments in a river in Trinidad, a team of evolutionary biologists has found that male guppies continue to reproduce for at least ten months after they die, living on as stored sperm in females, who have much longer lifespans (two years) than males (three-four months). "Populations that are too small can go extinct because close relatives end up breeding with each other and offspring suffer from inbreeding," said David Reznick, a professor of biology at the University of California, Riverside and the principal investigator of the research ...

Multiple drug classes commonly prescribed for common medical conditions are capable of influencing the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. The findings are published online in the journal PLoS One. Led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, the Saunders Family Chair and Professor in Neurology at Mount Sinai, a research team used a computer algorithm to screen 1,600 commercially-available medications to assess their impact on the brain accumulation of beta-amyloid, a protein abnormally accumulated in the ...

PORTLAND, Ore. June 12, 2013. A recent study in the Journal of Forestry now offers managers a tool to help them identify regions exposed to multiple forest threats. The tool uses a novel 15-mile radius neighborhood analysis to highlight locations where threats are more concentrated relative to other areas, and identifies where multiple threats may intersect. It is a technique that may have never been used before to describe forest threats, according to the researchers. "Policymakers and managers often rely on maps showing where forest threats are most prevalent; they ...

LEMONT, Ill --- A new study on the feeding habits of ocean microbes calls into question the potential use of algal blooms to trap carbon dioxide and offset rising global levels. These blooms contain iron-eating microscopic phytoplankton that absorb C02 from the air through the process of photosynthesis and provide nutrients for marine life. But one type of phytoplankton, a diatom, is using more iron that it needs for photosynthesis and storing the extra in its silica skeletons and shells, according to an X-ray analysis of phytoplankton conducted at the U.S. Department ...

LA JOLLA, CA – June 12, 2013 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found evidence that an emotion-related brain region called the central amygdala—whose activity promotes feelings of malaise and unhappiness—plays a major role in sustaining cocaine addiction. In experiments with rats, the TSRI researchers found signs that cocaine-induced changes in this brain system contribute to anxiety-like behavior and other unpleasant symptoms of drug withdrawal—symptoms that typically drive an addict to keep using. When the researchers blocked specific brain receptors ...

Microbes are living more than 500 feet beneath the seafloor in 5 million-year-old sediment, according to new findings by researchers at the University of Delaware and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Genetic material in mud from the bottom of the ocean — called the deep biosphere —revealed an ecosystem of active bacteria, fungi and other microscopic organisms at depths deeper than a skyscraper is high. The findings were published in Nature on June 12. "This type of examination shows active cells," said co-author Jennifer F. Biddle, assistant professor of ...

Young adults who deem themselves "spiritual but not religious" are more likely to commit property crimes — and to a lesser extent, violent ones — than those who identify themselves as either "religious and spiritual" or "religious but not spiritual," according to Baylor University researchers. The sociologists' study, published in the journal Criminology, also showed that those in a fourth category — who say they are neither spiritual nor religious —are less likely to commit property crimes than the "spiritual but not religious" individuals. But no difference was found ...

Infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite on June 11 showed that Tropical Depression Yagi's strongest quadrant was east of its center. However, since them the storm has weakened after running into an upper-level low pressure area and cooler waters. When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Yagi on June 11 it was a tropical storm with strong thunderstorms on its eastern side. An infrared image of the storm was taken from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite on June 11 at 12:05 a.m. EDT. The areas with the coldest cloud top temperatures ...

District policies and state laws help reduce the availability of sugar- and fat-laden foods and beverages in elementary schools, according to a study published online in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago looked at the association between established policies and laws and the availability of candy, baked goods, ice cream, chips, sugar-sweetened beverages, and soda sold outside the school meal program. More than 1,800 elementary schools in 45 states responded to surveys during the 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 school years. The researchers ...

It's not reruns of "The Jetsons", but researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new microscopy technique that uses a process similar to how an old tube television produces a picture—cathodoluminescence—to image nanoscale features. Combining the best features of optical and scanning electron microscopy, the fast, versatile, and high-resolution technique allows scientists to view surface and subsurface features potentially as small as 10 nanometers in size. The new microscopy technique, described in the journal AIP ...

(Lebanon, NH, 6/11/13) — Subgroup analyses from a phase III clinical trial comparing a newer chemotherapy agent called eribulin mesylate, with capecitabine, a standard chemotherapy medication in women with previously treated metastatic breast cancer, showed increased benefit among women sharing certain traits. Specifically, these analyses demonstrated a greater potential benefit in certain subsets of patients with metastatic breast cancer. This analysis was presented by Peter A. Kaufman, M.D., during the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting. The specific patient populations who ...

STANFORD, Calif. — Rape is shockingly common in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, where as many as one in four adolescent girls are raped each year. But a short self-defense course can dramatically reduce the girls' vulnerability to sexual assault, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and an organization called No Means No Worldwide. "Self-defense training taught these young girls to stand up and say 'no' with confidence, and empowered them to escalate their own defense to a higher level, if necessary," ...

The ability to distinguish between odors declines steadily with age, but a new study shows that African-Americans have a much greater decrease in their sense of smell than Caucasians. This can have serious consequences. Olfactory loss often leads to impaired nutrition. It also may be an early warning sign of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, and can predict death. The study, published early online in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, found that as they aged, African-Americans and Hispanics had comparable deficits. For Hispanics, ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– In the race against climate change and ocean acidification, some sea urchins may still have a few tricks up their spiny sleeves, suggesting that adaptation will likely play a large role for the sea creatures as the carbon content of the ocean increases. "What we want to know is, given that this is a process that happens over time, can marine animals adapt? Could evolution come to the rescue?" said postdoctoral researcher Morgan Kelly, from UC Santa Barbara's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology. She is a co-author of the paper ...

LEMONT, ILL. --- When you squeeze something, it gets smaller. Unless you're at Argonne National Laboratory. At that suburban Chicago laboratory, a group of scientists has seemingly defied the laws of physics and found a way to apply pressure to make a material expand instead of compress/contract. "It's like squeezing a stone and forming a giant sponge," said Karena Chapman, a chemist at the U.S. Department of Energy laboratory. "Materials are supposed to become denser and more compact under pressure. We are seeing the exact opposite. The pressure-treated material ...

Researchers from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) have proven a new technique that will provide a clearer picture of the Universe's history and be used with the next generation of radio telescopes such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). In research published today in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, ICRAR PhD Candidate Jacinta Delhaize has studied distant galaxies en masse to determine one of their important properties – how much hydrogen they contain – by 'stacking' their signals. As astronomers use telescopes to ...