Cambridge, Mass. - April 22, 2013 - A Harvard-led team of researchers has created a new type of nanoscale device that converts an optical signal into waves that travel along a metal surface. Significantly, the device can recognize specific kinds of polarized light and accordingly send the signal in one direction or another. The findings, published in the April 19 issue of Science, offer a new way to precisely manipulate light at the subwavelength scale without damaging a signal that could carry data. This opens the door to a new generation of on-chip optical interconnects ...

As climate studies saturate scientific journals and mainstream media, with opposing viewpoints quickly squaring off in reaction and debate, new findings can easily be lost in the noise. But in the case of Northern Arizona University Regents' professor Darrell Kaufman and a study appearing in Nature Geoscience, obscurity is an unlikely fate. What Kaufman—the lead co-author of "Continental-scale temperature variability during the last two millennia"—and 78 experts from 24 countries have done is to assemble the most comprehensive study to date of temperature change of ...

In a small study of 39 primary care doctors and 208 of their patients, Johns Hopkins researchers have found that physicians built much less of an emotional rapport with their overweight and obese patients than with their patients of normal weight. Bonding and empathy are essential to the patient-physician relationship. When physicians express more empathy, studies have shown that patients are more likely to adhere to medical recommendations and respond to behavior-change counseling — all vital elements in helping overweight and obese patients lose weight and improve ...

(Edmonton) University of Alberta led research reveals that Microraptor, a small flying dinosaur was a complete hunter, able to swoop down and pickup fish as well as its previously known prey of birds and tree dwelling mammals. U of A paleontology graduate student Scott Persons says new evidence of Microrpator's hunting ability came from fossilized remains in China. "We were very fortunate that this Microraptor was found in volcanic ash and its stomach content of fish was easily identified." Prior to this, paleontologists believed microraptors which were about the size ...

AUSTIN, Texas — Scavengers might not play as key a role in spreading anthrax through wildlife populations as previously assumed, according to findings from a small study conducted in Etosha National Park in northern Namibia. Wildlife managers currently spend large amounts of money and time to control anthrax outbreaks by preventing scavengers from feeding on infected carcasses. The effort might be ill spent, according to results published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology by an international consortium of researchers led by Steven Bellan, an ecologist at The ...

DURHAM, NC -- Drug developers may have a new tool to search for more effective medications and new materials. It's a computer algorithm that can model and catalogue the entire set of lightweight, carbon-containing molecules that chemists could feasibly create in a lab. The small-molecule universe has more than 10^60 (that's 1 with 60 zeroes after it) chemical structures. Duke chemist David Beratan said that many of the world's problems have molecular solutions in this chemical space, whether it's a cure for disease or a new material to capture sunlight. But, he said, ...

An international team of neuroscientists has described for the first time in exhaustive detail the underlying neurobiology of an amnesiac who suffered from profound memory loss after damage to key portions of his brain. Writing in this week's Online Early Edition of PNAS, principal investigator Larry R. Squire, PhD, professor in the departments of Neurosciences, Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Veteran Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) – with colleagues at UC Davis and the University of Castilla-La ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Understanding exactly how stem cells form into specific organs and tissues is the holy grail of regenerative medicine. Now a UC Santa Barbara researcher has added to that body of knowledge by determining how stem cells produce different types of "daughter" cells in Drosophila (fruit flies). The findings appear today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Denise Montell, Duggan Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at UCSB, and colleagues studied the ovaries of fruit flies in order to see stem cells in their ...

AURORA, Colo. (April 22, 2013) – As natural gas development expands nationwide, policymakers, communities and public health experts are increasingly turning to health impact assessments (HIA) as a means of predicting the effects of drilling on local communities, according to a new study from the Colorado School of Public Health. The report, published this week in the American Journal of Public Health, highlights lessons learned when scientists from the school were hired to assess the possible health impacts of fracking in a small western Colorado town. "Health impact ...

IQ directly relates to how students perform on tests in the first two years of dental school. But emotional intelligence (EI) trumps IQ in how well dental students work with patients, report researchers from Case Western Reserve University's School of Dental Medicine and Weatherhead School of Management. EI influences how well dental students recognize and manage their emotions and professional relationships, explain Kristin Victoroff, DDS, PhD, and Richard Boyatzis, PhD, in the current issue of the Journal of Dental Education article, "What is the Relationship Between ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — New research finds that double cropping — planting two crops in a field in the same year — is associated with positive signs of economic development for rural Brazilians. The research focused the state of Mato Grosso, the epicenter of an agricultural revolution that has made Brazil one of the world's top producers of soybeans, corn, cotton, and other staple crops. That Brazil has become an agricultural powerhouse over the last decade or so is clear. What has been less clear is who is reaping the economic rewards of that agricultural ...

Pluripotent stem cells can turn, or differentiate, into any cell type in the body, such as nerve, muscle or bone, but inevitably some of these stem cells fail to differentiate and end up mixed in with their newly differentiated daughter cells. Because these remaining pluripotent stem cells can subsequently develop into unintended cell types — bone cells among blood, for instance — or form tumors known as teratomas, identifying and separating them from their differentiated progeny is of utmost importance in keeping stem cell–based therapeutics safe. Now, UCLA scientists ...

Pioneering biophotonics technology developed at Northwestern University is the first screening method to detect the early presence of ovarian cancer in humans by examining cells easily brushed from the neighboring cervix or uterus, not the ovaries themselves. A research team from Northwestern and NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) conducted an ovarian cancer clinical study at NorthShore. Using partial wave spectroscopic (PWS) microscopy, they saw diagnostic changes in cells taken from the cervix or uterus of patients with ovarian cancer even though the cells ...

To Robert Green, light contains more than meets the eye: It contains fingerprints of materials that can be detected by sensors that capture the unique set of reflected wavelengths. Scientists have used the technique, called imaging spectroscopy, to learn about water on the moon, minerals on Mars and the composition of exoplanets. Green's favorite place to apply the technique, however, is right here on the chemically rich Earth, which is just what he and colleagues achieved this spring during NASA's Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI) airborne campaign. "We have ideas ...

An image from an instrument aboard NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission or LDCM satellite may look like a typical black-and-white image of a dramatic landscape, but it tells a story of temperature. The dark waters of the Salton Sea pop in the middle of the Southern California desert. Crops create a checkerboard pattern stretching south to the Mexican border. If you looked at the Salton Sea in person, your eyes would not see anything presented in the LDCM image. Instead of showing visible light, the image shows the amount of heat -- or thermal energy -- radiating from ...

TAMPA, Fla. (April 22, 2013) – The current special issue of Technology and Innovation – Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors® (https://www.cognizantcommunication.com/component/content/article/636), devoted to studies on medical technology and health care delivery, focuses on a wide range of topics, from new technologies to reduce the cost of health care to understanding the human microbiome. "This special issue of Technology and Innovation on transformative health care technologies truly explores new frontiers where technology and health care cross," said ...

BOSTON – March 22, 2013 – Joslin scientists report significant findings about the location, genetic expression and function of human brown adipose tissue (BAT) and the generation of new BAT cells. These findings, which appear in the April 2013 issue of Nature Medicine, may contribute to further study of BAT's role in human metabolism and developing treatments that use BAT to promote weight loss. Two types of adipose (fat) tissue – brown and white -- are found in mammals. Unlike the more predominant white adipose tissue (WAT) which stores fat, BAT burns fat to produce ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements of atrophy in an important area of the brain are an accurate predictor of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. According to the researchers, these atrophy measurements offer an improvement over current methods for evaluating patients at risk for MS. MS develops as the body's immune system attacks and damages myelin, the protective layer of fatty tissue that surrounds nerve cells within the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include visual disturbances, ...

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have found that a deficiency in an important anti-tumor protein, p53, can slow or delay DNA repair after radiation treatment. They suggest that this is because p53 regulates the expression of two enzymes (JMJD2b and SUV39H1) that control the folding of DNA. According to the researchers, p53 is highly inducible by radiation. Activation of p53 stabilizes chromosomes by promoting the repair of heterochromatin DNA, which controls the expression of nearby genes and ensures accurate distribution of chromosomes during cell division. Their ...

New York, NY – April 23, 2013 – New, nationally projectable survey results released today by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation confirmed that one in four teens has misused or abused a prescription (Rx) drug at least once in their lifetime – a 33 percent increase over the past five years. The Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) also found troubling data on teen misuse or abuse of prescription stimulants. One in eight teens (13 percent) now reports that they have taken the stimulants Ritalin or Adderall when it was not prescribed for them, at least ...

Prenuptial asset protection for Maryland couples Article provided by Jeffrey N. Greenblatt of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA Visit us at http://www.jnglaw.net Prenuptial agreements were long viewed as tools for only the super wealthy. These pre-marital agreements were once even considered taboo. However, with nearly half of marriages ending in divorce, a prenuptial agreement is a wise precaution for Maryland residents, especially if they are bringing significant assets into their marriage. Why get a prenuptial? A prenuptial agreement serves to mitigate ...

Florida law not equipped to handle same-sex custody disputes Article provided by Leininger Law Firm, P.A. Visit us at http://www.leiningerlawfirmpa.com In the last couple of years, Florida has seen a rise of same-sex couples enter the courts with disputes over the custody of children born into the household. Generally, this applies to female relationships in which one of the women has given birth to a child or children. However, the other partner often feels that the child is hers too, and this can put the courts in an unprecedented position of trying to interpret ...

Survey shows adults guilty of texting while driving more often than teens Article provided by Phelan Law Office Visit us at http://www.phelanlawoffice.com Despite nationwide efforts to spread awareness about the dangers of distracted driving, a new study from AT&T has revealed that many Americans continue to participate in these risky behaviors. Not only is it more common than one might imagine, the research showed that adults are actually guilty of driving while distracted by cellphones more often than teenagers. According to the survey, 49 percent of adults ...

Implications of felony drug charges extend beyond legal system Article provided by Law Office of Jeffrey R. Gilbert, P.C. Visit us at http://www.jeffgilbertlaw.com Texans know that the state is very strict when it comes to drugs. Texas has such a low tolerance for drug-related crime that if someone is convicted of a felony, he or she is banned from getting food stamps as well as other types of government assistance. Research has shown that the banning of these programs can lead a person to make negative lifestyle choices. Marijuana possession as an example of ...

DUI accidents a problem despite Connecticut's ignition interlock law Article provided by Law Offices of Wesley Malowitz Visit us at http://www.malowitzlaw.com Four people were taken to the hospital after a recent automobile crash in Stamford. The driver of one vehicle was traveling too fast and ran a red light, hitting the other car that contained three people. The 18 year old driver allegedly had a blood alcohol level that was elevated and alcohol was located in the vehicle. If convicted, the driver will face a variety of penalties that may include having an ignition ...