Neuroscientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have taken a major step in their efforts to help people with memory loss tied to brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Using sea snail nerve cells, the scientists reversed memory loss by determining when the cells were primed for learning. The scientists were able to help the cells compensate for memory loss by retraining them through the use of optimized training schedules. Findings of this proof-of-principle study appear in the April 17 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. "Although ...

Neuroscientists from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the University of Toronto have developed an efficient and reliable method of analyzing brain activity to detect autism in children. Their findings appear today in the online journal PLOS ONE. The researchers recorded and analyzed dynamic patterns of brain activity with magnetoencephalography (MEG) to determine the brain's functional connectivity – that is, its communication from one region to another. MEG measures magnetic fields generated by electrical currents in neurons of the brain. Roberto ...

No matter how you slice it, cutting fruit into bite-sized pieces prompts children to eat more apples during lunchtime, according to a recent study by Cornell University researchers. Most people believe that children avoid fruit because of the taste and allure of alternative packaged snacks. A study by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab researchers Brian Wansink, David Just, Andrew Hanks, and Laura Smith concluded that the size of the snack counts the most. Kids love to eat fruit in ready-to-eat bite-sized pieces, yet in most school settings, the fruit is served ...

Athens, Ga. – Many dog owners have their pets spayed or neutered to help control the pet population, but new research from the University of Georgia suggests the procedure could add to the length of their lives and alter the risk of specific causes of death. Looking at a sample of 40,139 death records from the Veterinary Medical Database from 1984-2004, researchers determined the average age at death for intact dogs—dogs that had not been spayed or neutered—was 7.9 years versus 9.4 years for sterilized dogs. The results of the study were published April 17 in PLOS ONE. ...

Ever since the appetite-regulation hormone called leptin was discovered in 1994, scientists have sought to understand the mechanisms that control its action. It was known that leptin was made by fat cells, reduced appetite and interacted with insulin , but the precise molecular details of its function —details that might enable the creation of a new treatment for obesity — remained elusive. Now, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have revealed a significant part of one of those mechanisms, identifying a protein that can interfere with the brain's ...

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Kansas State University have demonstrated a spray-on mixture of carbon nanotubes and ceramic that has unprecedented ability to resist damage while absorbing laser light.* Coatings that absorb as much of the energy of high-powered lasers as possible without breaking down are essential for optical power detectors that measure the output of such lasers, which are used, for example, in military equipment for defusing unexploded mines. The new material improves on NIST's earlier version of a spray-on ...

TORONTO, April 17, 2013 –Newspapers are paying more attention to the severity and long-term impact of concussions and other traumatic brain injuries in ice hockey than they did 25 years ago, a new study has found. They're also writing more stories about the need to act against aggression, especially at youth levels, and reporting about concussions suffered by a wide range of players, not just stars. However, newspapers are still reporting that head injuries "are just part of the game" and that hockey players should accept this occupational risk or not play, the study ...

Portable electric generators retrofitted with off-the-shelf hardware by the University of Alabama (UA) emitted significantly lower levels of carbon monoxide (CO) exhaust, according to the results* of tests conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Compared with standard portable generators, CO emissions from the prototype machines were reduced by 90 percent or more, depending on the specific hardware used and operating conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ...

Multispectral photoacoustic imaging, which combines laser optics and ultrasound imaging technologies, can reliably distinguish between benign and malignant prostate tissue, a new study indicates. Researchers at the University of Rochester looked at 42 prostatectomy specimens using the new imaging technique. Multispectral photoacoustic imaging, still in its infancy, predicted 25 out of 26 benign tissues correctly and 13 out of 16 malignant tissues correctly, said Dr. Vikram Dogra, lead author of the study. Lipids, water, oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin in the blood ...

A new minimally invasive tumor ablation technique is providing hope for liver cancer patients who can't undergo surgery or thermal ablation, a study shows. The study of 22 patients at the Universitatsklinikum Regensberg in Regensberg, Germany, found that irreversible electroporation (IRE) successfully destroyed tumor tissue in 70% of these patients. These patients were not responsive to conventional therapy or their tumor was in a location that was not suitable for standard treatment, said Dr. Philipp Wiggermann, lead author of the study. "If one considers that IRE was ...

Rome, 18 April 2013. Two studies presented at this year's EuroPRevent 2013 congress suggest that demanding physical work has a detrimental effect on an individual's risk of coronary heart disease. The first was a case-control study described by Dr Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Associate Professor of Biostatistics-Epidemiology at Harokopio University, Athens, which evaluated occupation in 250 consecutive patients with a first stroke, 250 with a first acute coronary event and 500 equally matched controls.(1) Overall, when assessed on a 9-unit scale (1 = physically demanding ...

Rome, 18 April 2013. People deemed to be "mentally vulnerable" are at a significantly increased risk of both fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease, according to results of a large population study from Denmark. The details of the study were presented today at the EuroPRevent 2013 congress in Rome. (1) The study's first author, Dr Anders Borglykke from the Research Centre for Prevention and Health
 at Glostrup University Hospital, Denmark, explained that psychosocial factors and personality traits have been consistently associated with cardiovascular disease ...

Rome, 18 April 2013. The association between road traffic and heart disease has been suggested in several studies. In 2012 a large prospective cohort study from Denmark showed that traffic noise was significantly associated with risk of heart attack - for every 10 decibel increase in noise exposure (either at the time of the attack or over the five years preceding it) there was a 12% increased risk.(1) Now, a new study presented at the EuroPRevent 2013 congress in Rome shows that long-term exposure to fine particle matter (PM) air pollution in part derived from traffic ...

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2013 – Despite the desperate need for new antibiotics to combat increasingly deadly resistant bacteria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved only one new systemic antibiotic since the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) launched its 10 x '20 Initiative in 2010 — and that drug was approved two and a half years ago. In a new report, published online today in Clinical Infectious Diseases, IDSA identified only seven new drugs in development for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacilli ...

Screening breast ultrasound performed after mammography on women with greater than 50% breast density detects an additional 3.4 cancers or high risk lesions per one thousand woman screened, a detection rate just under that of screening mammography alone for women with less dense breasts, a new study shows. Screening mammography detects 4-5 cancers per thousand women screened. The study, conducted in conjunction with seven Connecticut radiology practices, included 19,745 women who had dense breasts and "normal" mammograms. Sixty-seven cancers were found, said Dr. Sarah ...

New findings clarify where and how the brain's "slow waves" originate. These rhythmic signal pulses, which sweep through the brain during deep sleep at the rate of about one cycle per second, are assumed to play a role in processes such as consolidation of memory. For the first time, researchers have shown conclusively that slow waves start in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for cognitive functions. They also found that such a wave can be set in motion by a tiny cluster of neurons. "The brain is a rhythm machine, producing all kinds of rhythms all ...

California real estate disputes: Partition in kind vs. partition by sale Article provided by Law Offices of H. Michael Soroy Visit us at http://www.soroy.com/ When co-owners of real estate disagree about how to use and maintain their shared property, it sometimes becomes necessary to settle the dispute by requesting that the court sever the co-ownership in a process known as partition. In California, a co-owner of property typically may initiate a partition action at any time. Partition in kind One way that the courts may resolve a partition action in California ...

SCOTUS holds narcotic dogs can provide cause to search vehicle Article provided by Traffic Ticket Pros Visit us at http://www.trafficticketpros.com The Supreme Court of the United States, or SCOTUS, recently reviewed a case involving the use of a drug sniffing dog. The case, out of Florida, focused specifically on whether a narcotic dog's alert can be used to provide probable cause for the search of a vehicle. The answer: yes. The case, Florida v. Harris, looked more specifically into what factors were needed to establish the reliability of a narcotics dog. In ...

Doctor charged as head of oxycodone ring Article provided by Watson Law Visit us at http://www.watsonlawpeoria.com An investigation in New York has led to the arrest of a doctor as the head of a major oxycodone trafficking scheme. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Dr. Hector Castro, his office manager, Patricia Valera and several others were in charge of a ring responsible for the distribution of approximately half a million oxycodone pills worth at least $10 million. Castro became a person of interest in 2011, after New Jersey authorities discovered ...

Dog sniff search ruled unconstitutional Article provided by Watson Law Visit us at http://www.watsonlawpeoria.com The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that law enforcement officers may not bring drug sniffing dogs onto a suspect's property to search for evidence without first getting a warrant. The Court's 5-4 decision in Florida v. Jardines is likely to impact the way that police officers conduct investigations of possible crimes involving drugs. Facts of Jardines On the morning of December 5, 2006, Miami police officers set up a surveillance operation outside ...

Pennsylvania commercial and residential real estate market is heating up Article provided by Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. Visit us at http://www.kaplaw.com According to West Penn Multi-List, Inc., a multiple listing service company for some Pennsylvania realtors, the real estate market appears to be picking up in the state. Realtors are seeing residential homes selling more quickly and for higher prices than they were a year ago. In Philadelphia, multifamily and other commercial real estate is moving as well. The Philadelphia Business Journal ...

Creating a living will has numerous benefits Article provided by Teiger Law Center Visit us at http://www.teigerlaw.com Deciding to create a living will is one of the best decisions an individual can make. A living will ensures that the proper decisions regarding medical treatment are made when an individual can no longer communicate these wishes himself or herself. The absence of a living will can create conflicts within families According to CBS News, a Pew research study found that only 29 percent of people currently have a living will. Although most individuals ...

Traumatic brain injuries result in severe consequences Article provided by Kenneth W. Drake & Associates Law Offices Visit us at http://www.sfvinjurylaw.com Brain injuries, particularly traumatic brain injuries, are commonly caused by the negligence of another, such as a driver's negligence that causes a car accident. Surgical errors that cause nerve damage are another common cause of TBIs -- and may result in a medical malpractice suit. TBIs can be mild, moderate or severe According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, TBIs are also commonly ...

Why teen drivers are the most dangerous on the road Article provided by Weik, Nitsche, & Dougherty Visit us at http://www.weiknitsche.com Learning to drive a car can be an exciting time for a teenager -- and a frightening time for his or her parents. And statistics show that parents really do have good reasons to be concerned. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2010 alone, there were 282,000 teenagers injured in car accidents and another 2,700 were killed. Common causes for accidents involving teen drivers There are several ...

OSHA working to prevent construction falls Article provided by Vanasse Law LLC Visit us at http://www.vanasselaw.com/ Construction work can be a very dangerous job. Construction workers regularly face a whole host of risks from hazards like power tools, blades and heavy objects. Perhaps the biggest risk, however, is faced by construction workers who have to work from significant heights. Working more than six feet off the ground -- be it on a roof, ladder, scaffold or other elevated surface -- significantly increases the chances that a construction worker will be ...