DURHAM, N.C. -- Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns in Madagascar could fuel the spread of lemur parasites and the diseases they carry. By combining data on six parasite species from ongoing surveys of lemur health with weather data and other environmental information for Madagascar as a whole, a team of Duke University researchers has created probability maps of likely parasite distributions throughout the island today. Then, using climate projections for the year 2080, they estimate what parasite distributions might look like in the future. "We ...

AUSTIN, Texas — Rats that are socially isolated during a critical period of adolescence are more vulnerable to addiction to amphetamine and alcohol, found researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. Amphetamine addiction is also harder to extinguish in the socially isolated rats. These effects, which are described this week in the journal Neuron, persist even after the rats are reintroduced into the community of other rats. "Basically the animals become more manipulatable," said Hitoshi Morikawa, associate professor of neurobiology in the College of Natural Sciences. ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University engineers are layering atom-thick lattices of carbon with polymers to create unique materials with a broad range of applications, including artificial muscles. The lattice, known as graphene, is made of pure carbon and appears under magnification like chicken wire. Because of its unique optical, electrical and mechanical properties, graphene is used in electronics, energy storage, composite materials and biomedicine. However, graphene is extremely difficult to handle in that it easily "crumples." Unfortunately, scientists have been ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio—It weighs half as much as a sports car, and turns on a dime—so its no surprise that the electric car being developed at Ohio State University needs an exceptional traction and motion control system to keep it on the road. With four wheels that turn independently, each with its own built-in electric motor and set of batteries, the experimental car is the only one of its kind outside of commercial carmakers' laboratories. "It is considered one of the promising future vehicle architectures," said Junmin Wang, assistant professor of mechanical engineering ...

New research at the University of Chicago and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that children begin to show signs of higher-level thinking skills as young as age 4 ½. Researchers have previously attributed higher-order thinking development to knowledge acquisition and better schooling, but the new longitudinal study shows that other skills, not always connected with knowledge, play a role in the ability of children to reason analytically. The findings, reported in January in the journal Psychological Science, show for the first time that children's ...

(Lebanon, NH)— Dartmouth scientists showed that more than half of all the SNPs associated with breast cancer risk are located in distant regions and bound by FOXA1, a protein required for estrogen receptor-α (ER) function according to a paper published in the journal Nature Genetics in November. Jason Moore, PhD, a Third Century Professor of genetics, director of the Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Sciences, and associate director for bioinformatics at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center, and other researchers used a new methodology that combines ...

Tall, thin women face a greater risk of infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), cousins of the organism that causes tuberculosis, according to researchers at National Jewish Health. Women with NTM infections also showed a weakened immune response associated with their fat cells, in a paper published in the Jan. 15, 2013, issue of The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care. "Nontuberculous mycobacteria are widespread in the environment, yet only some people develop infections," said Edward Chan, MD, senior author and professor of medicine at National ...

Researchers at Syracuse University's Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science are studying the toxicity of commonly used nanoparticles, particles up to one million times smaller than a millimeter that could potentially penetrate and damage cell membranes. In a recent article published along with cover art in the leading journal Langmuir entitled "Effects of nanoparticle charge and shape anisotropy on translocation through cell membranes," researchers Shikha Nangia, assistant professor of biomedical and ...

What cancerous conditions lead to what kinds of bacterial infections? If doctors knew, they could predict which patients would likely benefit from pre-treatment with certain kinds of antibiotics. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in this month's issue of the International Journal of Infectious Diseases shows the answer: E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are especially prevalent in patients with lung and GI cancers, more so for Klebsiella if these patients have been treated previously with aminopenicillins. "These are really dangerous infections. You ...

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Filipinos have been an invisible minority in Annapolis, Maryland for more than a century. Now, researchers at the University of Maryland are using oral histories as a way to flesh out their life and times – documenting the incredible challenges they faced – and successes they celebrated. After the Spanish-American War, the Philippines became a U.S. territory. Filipinos were brought to Annapolis – home of the Naval Academy – to serve as desk interns, fire fighters, construction laborers, messmen and stewards. In many cases, the Naval Academy replaced ...

VIDEO: This is a NASA TRMM satellite flyby of Tropical Cyclone Peta in the South Indian Ocean. TRMM revealed that rain was falling at a rate of up to 94 mm... Click here for more information. Infrared data from NASA's Aqua satellite has shown that soon after a low pressure system in northwestern West Australia became Tropical Storm Peta, it made landfall and started to fall apart. Early on Jan. 22, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) gave System 93S a high chance for ...

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Jan. 23, 2013 -- Looking toward improved batteries for charging electric cars and storing energy from renewable but intermittent solar and wind, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed the first high-performance, nanostructured solid electrolyte for more energy-dense lithium ion batteries. Today's lithium-ion batteries rely on a liquid electrolyte, the material that conducts ions between the negatively charged anode and positive cathode. But liquid electrolytes often entail safety issues because of their flammability, especially as ...

Tropical Storm Oswald's heavy rains have caused flooding in Queensland, Australia and NASA's TRMM satellite measured almost two feet of rain fell in certain areas. Tropical cyclone Oswald's sustained winds have never been greater than 35 knots (~40.2 mph) but the storm's extreme rainfall has resulted in widespread flooding in Australia over northern Queensland. Many roads have been reported flooded resulting in some communities being cut off. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is a satellite that can measure rainfall from space. TRMM-based satellite precipitation ...

The longstanding ethical framework for protecting human volunteers in medical research needs to be replaced because it is outdated and can impede efforts to improve health care quality, assert leaders in bioethics, medicine, and health policy in two companion articles in a Hastings Center Report special report, "Ethical Oversight of Learning Health Care Systems." One of the authors calling for a new approach is the main architect of the current ethical framework. Seven commentaries in the publication, written by leaders with national responsibility for ethical oversight ...

[EMBARGOED FOR JAN. 24, 2013] Pediatric rotavirus vaccination also indirectly protects unvaccinated adults from the highly contagious cause of severe diarrhea and vomiting, suggests a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. The findings suggest pediatric immunization against the virus may be more cost effective than previously thought, given rotavirus-related health care costs among adults. Before the vaccine, rotavirus caused an estimated 24 million outpatient visits, 2.4 million hospitalizations, and 453,000 deaths in infants and young ...

A Phase 3 clinical trial demonstrates that tofacitinib improves disease activity and inhibits progression of joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who did not respond to methotrexate (MTX). Results of the 12-month interim analysis of the efficacy of tofacitinib appear in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). RA is a chronic, autoimmune disease that causes inflammation, pain and swelling of the joints. Over time, RA may destroy joints, impair daily function, and lead to significant disability. ...

The first ever review of abuse cases related to child death or serious injury in Northern Ireland will be launched at Queen's University today (24 January 2013). The review, Translating Learning into Action, was commissioned by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) and was carried out by researchers at Queen's University and the NSPCC. The Case Management Review (CMR) report – the first to be produced in Northern Ireland - analysed 24 case reviews relating to 45 children which resulted in death or serious injury in the period between 2003 ...

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have investigated the safety, efficacy and the maximum tolerated dose of pomalidomide for patients with multiple myeloma who have disease relapsed after treatments with other drugs, such as bortezomib and lenalidomide. This phase I clinical trial enrolled 38 patients, and pomalidomide provided a minimal or better response for 42 percent of the patients, a partial response or better for 21 percent, and a complete response for 3 percent. The study, a collaborative effort among researchers from Moffitt, Dana-Farber Cancer ...

Using social media to search for sex offenders Facebook and other social media sites have been increasing their efforts to identify possible child predators that use their sites to reach children and teenagers. While the technology available to Facebook has improved and expanded over time, most online predators are not flagged in the system and end up reaching their victims without ever being stopped or identified. While some arrests are being made through the efforts of these websites, they still face problems trying to make sure that their sites aren't being used to ...

Concussions More Harmful Than Thought, Symptoms Persist for Years For years physicians, coaches and parents thought that a concussion was something that could be cured with a little rest. Unfortunately, new research is questioning this notion. Researchers with the University of Oklahoma suggest that the symptoms associated with concussions, also known as traumatic brain injuries, can last years longer than expected. Even more surprising: the symptoms may not decrease in intensity. Details of the Study The study focused on the severity and duration of symptoms ...

New law increases penalty for fatal hit-and-run accidents Leaving the scene of an accident has always been a serious offense. Now, drivers who flee the scene in Pennsylvania face even tougher penalties under a law designed to punish drivers involved in fatal hit-and-run accidents. Details of the new law A fatal accident in 2005, involving a 29-year-old man who was hit while riding his bicycle by a driver who fled the scene, prompted the new law, which went into effect in September 2012. Previously classified as a third-degree felony, fatal hit-and-runs carried ...

Child custody involving grandparents While grandparents can have a large and important role in a child's life, they do not have a constitutional right to see their grandchildren. The Supreme Court case Troxel v. Granville decided that parents are the individuals with the "fundamental right" to make decisions about the care of their children. Grandparents do not have the same legal rights over the care of their grandchildren, and their rights are limited in comparison to those of a parent. However a lack of a constitutional right to visitation does not mean ...

How small businesses can handle tax audits You do not have to run an unethical small business in order to be the subject of an audit by the Internal Revenue Service. And even if you have not done anything wrong, that does not make the process any less stressful. The following tips can help you avoid a tax audit, as well as help to deal with the IRS if your business is being audited. How to avoid a tax audit Although you may not be intentionally trying to defraud the government when you file your taxes, there are some common mistakes that small businesses make that ...

Lawsuit Accuses Video Game Demonstration Company of Age Discrimination It is no secret that video games have become popular with people of all ages - whether on a phone, console, or personal computer, video games have become a popular pastime. Nevertheless, despite the acknowledged cross-generational appeal of video games, one video game marketing company has been accused of age discrimination. According to a lawsuit recently filed in Missouri, Mosaic Sales Solutions US Operating Company - a company that demonstrates Microsoft video game products - requires all job ...

Researchers develop new methods for diagnosing TBI Traumatic brain injuries are some of the most devastating injuries that can be suffered in a car crash or other accident. Even a minor brain injury can cause severe pain and short-term sensory and cognitive difficulties. More serious brain injuries can have life-long consequences. Many TBI victims experience severe and persistent headaches. Cognitive problems are also common, including slowed thinking, forgetfulness and trouble with decision making. In addition, many TBI victims experience changes in personality and ...