New, fast and accurate algorithm from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, based on the mathematical formalism used to model processes accompanying interaction of light with gas planet atmospheres, is a major step towards better understanding of physical and chemical properties of materials' surfaces studied under laboratory conditions. Solar System's gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, are among the brightest objects in the night sky. We see them, because light from our star interacts with their dense atmospheres. The mathematical ...

Researchers are still fascinated by the idea of the possibility of reprogramming the cells of any tissue, turning them into cells with the capacity to differentiate into cells of a completely different type— pluripotent cells—and they are still striving to understand how it happens. A group from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), headed by researcher Ralph P. Schneider, from the Telomeres and Telomerase Group led by María A. Blasco, publishes this week an article in Nature Communications on the discovery of a new gene called TRF1 that is essential ...

Newly published research from an international team featuring UT Arlington assistant professor Jacob Resch has reaffirmed questions about portions of the popular computerized concussion assessment tool ImPACT. When administered as it is in a clinical setting, the test possessed strong reliability on some evaluation factors. But, on other factors, it miscategorized healthy participants as impaired as much as 46 percent of the time. Authors say the study illustrates the need for multiple types of concussion assessments. The research was published online May 31 in the Journal ...

Funded by volleyball tournaments, a new study released this week shows success in pinpointing individualized treatment for women with metastatic breast cancer, according to George Mason University researchers. The Side-Out Foundation's pilot study is part of cutting-edge approach to personalized medicine that looks beyond genomic analysis alone to combine it with what some say is the next frontier in targeted therapy: proteomics. The pilot study is first of its kind to utilize novel protein activation mapping technology along with the genomic fingerprint of cancer ...

This news release is available in German. All over the world, bees are dying and insect diversity is dwindling. Only recently, both the media and scientists expressed fears that insect pollination is in decline, which jeopardises food security. The (lack of) pollination has thus become a sound argument for the protection of species and natural habitats, and organic farming. ETH-Zurich researchers from the group headed by Jaboury Ghazoul, professor of ecosystem management, set about investigating this argument by studying the influence of pollinator insects on coffee ...

The drug aflibercept (trade name: Eylea) has been approved in Germany since November 2012 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG) the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the current standard therapy. Such an added benefit cannot be derived from the dossier, however, as the manufacturer did not submit any suitable data for this comparison. Patients ...

Two fires in New Mexico which started within a day of each other continue to plague residents around Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Tres Lagunas Fire From the Inciweb: "Over the next few days, residents living in Gallinas Canyon and other areas east of the fire may see an increase in smoke in the late afternoon or early evening coming from the east side of the fire. This will be due to a burnout operation that may occur in the next few days east of Cow Creek and west of Forest Road 92, just east of the cluster of small spots of fire in that area in the old Viveash fire scar. ...

A consistent bedtime routine is likely key to helping people with obstructive sleep apnea adhere to their prescribed treatment, according to Penn State researchers. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when the upper airway collapses during sleep. It is the most common type of sleep-disordered breathing, and chances of it occurring are greater in obese people. OSA is the second most prevalent sleep disorder among adults. The first line of treatment for sleep apnea is a noninvasive, in-home treatment called CPAP -- continuous positive airway pressure therapy. However, ...

Montreal, June 5, 2013 – When local police came calling with child porn allegations last January, former Saint John city councillor Donnie Snook fled his house clutching a laptop. It was clear that the computer contained damning data. Six months later, police have finally gathered enough evidence to land him in jail for a long time to come. With a case seemingly so cut and dry, why the lag time? Couldn't the police do a simple search for the incriminating info and level charges ASAP? Easier said than done. With computing devices storing terrabytes of personal data, it ...

A new species of tiny blenniiform fish has been discovered in the biodiversity rich waters of the southern Caribbean. Haptoclinus dropi is only around 2cm in length with a beautiful color pattern that includes iridescence on the fins. The proposed common name of the species is four-fin blenny, due to the division of the dorsal fin into four sections, which is a distinguishing feature of the genus and unique among blenniiform fishes. The study was published in the open access journal Zookeys. This beautiful new species was discovered as a lucky bycatch during targeted ...

This news release is available in German. Can cloud formation, precipitation or thunderstorms be influenced by laser light irradiation? This issue has been investigated by researchers from KIT's Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research – Atmospheric Aerosol Research (IMK-AAF), Freie Universität Berlin, and the University of Geneva. The objective of the studies conducted by head of IMK-AAF Professor Thomas Leisner was to find out whether and in how far laser light and plasma can influence cloud formation. For their investigations, the researchers used ...

Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have developed a method that allows accurate comparisons of concert hall acoustics. The leader of the research group, Associate professor Tapio Lokki, was presented with an International Commission for Acoustics Early Career Award today in Montreal, Canada. The award was given to professor Lokki for outstanding contributions to room acoustics, and in particular for the novel subjective and objective assessment methods of concert halls. 'People have different tastes and unique preferences when it comes to the acoustics of a concert ...

Scientists are reporting development and successful lab tests on the first potential drug to pack a lethal one-two punch against melanoma skin cancer cells. Hit number one destroys cells in the main tumor, and the second hit blocks the spread of the cancer to other sites in the body, according to their report in the journal ACS Chemical Biology. Nathan Luedtke and colleagues explain that the spread of melanoma and other forms of cancer beyond the original location — a process called metastasis — makes cancer such a serious disease. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which involves ...

Researchers in the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering have developed a new noninvasive system that allows people to control a flying robot using only their mind. The study goes far beyond fun and games and has the potential to help people who are paralyzed or have neurodegenerative diseases. The study was published today in IOP Publishing's Journal of Neural Engineering. A University of Minnesota video of the robot in action can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpHy-fUyXYk. Five subjects (three female and two male) who took part ...

CHICAGO (June 5, 2013)—Consuming dairy products is vital to maintaining good overall health, and it's especially important to bone health. But there has been little research about how dairy products affect oral health in particular. However, according to a new study published in the May/June 2013 issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), consuming cheese and other dairy products may help protect teeth against cavities. The study sampled 68 subjects ranging in age from 12 to 15, and the authors looked at the ...

A new study from the University of British Columbia helps explain how people become obsessed with forbidden pleasures. The study, which will appear in an upcoming edition of Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience journal, shows that when people are forbidden from something, it takes on a new level of focus. "Our findings show that when individuals are forbidden from everyday objects, our minds and brains pay more attention to them," says lead author Grace Truong, a graduate student in UBC's Dept. of Psychology. "Our brains give forbidden objects the same level ...

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have uncovered important clues about a biochemical pathway in the brain that may one day expand treatment options for schizophrenia. The study, published online in the journal Molecular Pharmacology, was led by faculty within the department of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics at BUSM. Patients with schizophrenia suffer from a life-long condition that can produce delusions, disordered thinking, and breaks with reality. A number of treatments are available for schizophrenia, but many patients do not respond ...

A new species of scorpion Tityus (Atreus) crassicauda has been discovered from the extraordinarily biodiversity rich region of the Ecuadorian Andes. The intriguing new species is classed as medium sized, but still around the Impressive 5 cm in length. It is distinguished by reddish brown overall coloration, broken by peculiar decoration of 3 longitudinal brown stripes , separated by yellow zones. The study was published in the open access journal Zookeys. The new species belongs to the genus Tityus, which is part of the scorpion family Buthidae. This genus, with more ...

WASHINGTON, DC, June 5, 2013 — Many elementary students' math performance improves when their teachers collaborate, work in professional learning communities or do both, yet most students don't spend all of their elementary school years in these settings, a new study by UNC Charlotte researchers shows. The U.S. Department of Education funded the study, which the journal Sociology of Education recently published. As school districts work to improve math scores and narrow racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps, many schools may have overlooked the impact of teacher collaboration ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Southern California beaches with storm drain diversion systems attract millions more people annually, a new study in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin shows. The study looked at whether improving the environmental quality of coastal areas through policy intervention had an effect on the way people use coastal areas. Researchers found a direct correlation between increased attendance and the installation of storm drain diversions at 26 beaches in Santa Monica Bay and Malibu. "Cost has many municipalities opposed to installing storm drain diversion ...

WASHINGTON, DC (June 5, 2013)—Despite their inclusion as essential health benefits, habilitative services face an uncertain future under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new analysis done at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS). Many parents of children with developmental disabilities have trouble getting insurance coverage for habilitative services which can help their children keep, learn or improve their skills and daily functioning. The new analysis, by Sara Rosenbaum, JD, the Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of ...

Today's nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologies, like quantum information processing and nuclear spintronic technologies, are based on an intrinsic quantum property of electrons and atomic nuclei called "spin." Electrons and nuclei can act like tiny bar magnets with a spin that is assigned a directional state of either "up" or "down." NMR/MRI signals depend upon a majority of nuclear spins being polarized to point in one direction. The greater the polarization, the stronger the signal. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy ...

Toronto - By some measures the over-the-counter derivatives business is the largest business in the world with over $600 trillion in transactions outstanding. This business plays a significant role in the profitability of global banking institutions. Before 2007, banks agreed on the value of most of these transactions, but since the financial crisis of 2007-09 there has been growing uncertainty about derivative values. This centers on the question of whether or not to make what is known as a "funding value adjustment" (FVA). This is an adjustment to the price of a derivative ...

New evidence from research suggests that infants fed formula, rather than breast milk, experience metabolic stress that could play a part in the long-recognized link between formula-feeding and an increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other conditions in adult life. The study appears in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research. Carolyn Slupsky and colleagues explain that past research showed a link between formula-feeding and a higher risk for chronic diseases later in life. Gaps exist, however, in the scientific understanding of the basis for that link. The scientists ...

A Georgia State University researcher is the first to show that the Clean Air Act of 1970 caused a rebound in rainfall for a U.S. city. Jeremy Diem, an associate professor in the Department of Geosciences, analyzed summer rainfall data from nine weather stations in the Atlanta metropolitan area from 1948 to 2009. He discovered that precipitation increased markedly in the late 1970s as pollution decreased following passage of the Clean Air Act of 1970. Diem also noted that pollution in the 1950s and 1960s caused rainfall to drop in the Atlanta area. Previous studies ...