According to a new technical report, the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of U.S. coastal communities' social, economic and natural systems. The report, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment, authored by leading scientists and experts, emphasizes the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure U.S. coastal communities are resilient against the effects of climate change. The recently released report examines and describes climate change impacts ...

New research from the University of British Columbia is shedding light on why enticing pictures of food affect us less when we're full. "We've known that insulin plays a role in telling us we're satiated after eating, but the mechanism by which this happens is unclear," says Stephanie Borgland, an assistant professor in UBC's Dept. of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics and the study's senior author. In the new study published online this week in Nature Neuroscience, Borgland and colleagues found that insulin – prompted by a sweetened, high-fat meal – affects ...

How does being in a position of power at work, with friends, or in a romantic relationship influence well-being? While we might like to believe the stereotype that power leads to unhappiness or loneliness, new research indicates that this stereotype is largely untrue: Being in a position of power may actually make people happier. Drawing on personality and power research, Yona Kifer of Tel Aviv University in Israel and colleagues hypothesized that holding a position of authority might enhance subjective well-being through an increased feeling of authenticity. The researchers ...

Montréal, January 28, 2013 – IRCM researchers, led by endocrinologist Dr. Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret, were the first to conduct a trial comparing a dual-hormone artificial pancreas with conventional diabetes treatment using an insulin pump and showed improved glucose levels and lower risks of hypoglycemia. Their results, published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), can have a great impact on the treatment of type 1 diabetes by accelerating the development of the external artificial pancreas. The artificial pancreas is an automated system that simulates ...

Red coloration—historically seen as costly in vertebrates—might represent some physiological benefit after all, according to research published in the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. Pheomelanin, which is responsible for red hair and freckles in humans and orange and chestnut coloration in other animals, is known to increase the damage to skin cells and melanoma risk when present in large amounts. Furthermore, its creation involves the consumption of glutathione, a beneficial antioxidant. In an attempt to unearth the factors favoring the evolution of ...

The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Water Resources Research, Journal of Geophysical Research – Planets (JGR-E), Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans (JGR-C), and Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences (JGR-G). In this release: 1. Io's volcanism controls Jupiter's magnetospheric activity 2. Projected U.S. water use likely to increase as climate warms 3. Mercury's crust likely made of magnesium-rich basalt 4. Assessing the Great Whirl, despite all the pirates 5. Tracing ...

Cambridge, Mass. – January 28, 2013 - A team of materials scientists at Harvard University and the University of Exeter, UK, have invented a new fiber that changes color when stretched. Inspired by nature, the researchers identified and replicated the unique structural elements that create the bright iridescent blue color of a tropical plant's fruit. The multilayered fiber, described today in the journal Advanced Materials, could lend itself to the creation of smart fabrics that visibly react to heat or pressure. "Our new fiber is based on a structure we found in nature, ...

New Rochelle, NY, January 28, 2013—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) invests nearly $10 million a year to support about 250 nanoscale science and engineering projects that could lead to revolutionary advances in agriculture and food systems. Examples of current projects in development are presented in a Special Research Section published in Industrial Biotechnology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publishers. The articles are available on the Industrial Biotechnology website. In their introductory article, "Overview: Nanoscale Science and ...

Blue light can selectively eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections of the skin and soft tissues, while preserving the outermost layer of skin, according to a proof-of-principle study led by Michael R. Hamblin of the Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Harvard Medical School, Boston. The research is published online ahead of print in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy "Blue light is a potential non-toxic, non-antibiotic approach for treating skin and soft tissue infections, especially those caused by antibiotic resistant pathogens," says Hamblin. ...

Bethesda, MD (Jan. 28, 2013) – Despite conflicting data in support of the practice, some overweight Americans looking for an easy fix have turned to gastric botox injections to help them lose weight. This month in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association, researchers from the Mayo Clinic publish a definitive study finding that Botox doesn't promote weight loss. Injecting botulinum toxin A (BTA), or Botox, into the stomach had been believed to delay emptying of the stomach, increase ...

ARCATA, Calif.—After experiencing years of population decline on the West Coast, a recent study examining fisher populations found that—at least in the southern Sierra Nevada—the animal's numbers appear to be stable. Scientists from the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) and the Pacific Southwest Region collaborated to monitor the distribution of fishers across a 7,606-square-mile area in the southern Sierra Nevada. They used baited track-plate stations—an enclosure where the fisher leaves a sooted track print as it walks through—at 223 locations ...

Sifting through social media messages has become a popular way to track when and where flu cases occur, but a key hurdle hampers the process: how to identify flu-infection tweets. Some tweets are posted by people who have been sick with the virus, while others come from folks who are merely talking about the illness. If you are tracking actual flu cases, such conversations about the flu in general can skew the results. To address this problem, Johns Hopkins computer scientists and researchers in the university's School of Medicine have developed a new tweet-screening ...

Research by US Forest Service scientists forecasts profound changes over the next 50 years in the summer range of the endangered Indiana bat. In an article published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, Forest Service Southern Research Station researchers Susan Loeb and Eric Winters discuss the findings of one of the first studies designed to forecast the responses of a temperate zone bat species to climate change. The researchers modeled the current maternity distribution of Indiana bats and then modeled future distributions based on four different climate change scenarios. ...

LIVERMORE, CALIF. — A new way of looking at a cell's surface reveals the distribution of small molecules in the cell membrane, changing the understanding of its organization. A novel imaging study by researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of Illinois and the National Institutes of Health revealed some unexpected relationships among molecules within cell membranes. Their findings provide a new way of studying cell structure and ultimately its function. Led by Mary Kraft of the University of Illinois, Peter Weber of Lawrence Livermore ...

New research suggests that increased consumption of foods containing colorful carotenoids, particularly beta-carotene and lutein, may prevent or delay the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The study, published by Wiley in Annals of Neurology, a journal of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society, found that diets high in lycopene, beta-cryptoxanthin, and vitamin C did not reduce ALS risk. Carotenoids give fruits and vegetables their bright orange, red, or yellow colors, and are a source of dietary vitamin A. Prior studies report that ...

Scientists have developed a way to grow iron-oxidizing bacteria using electricity instead of iron, an advance that will allow them to better study the organisms and could one day be used to turn electricity into fuel. The study will be published on January 29 in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The method, called electrochemical cultivation, supplies these bacteria with a steady supply of electrons that the bacteria use to respire, or "breathe". It opens the possibility that one day electricity generated from renewable sources ...

Women with harmful mutations in the BRCA gene, which put them at higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, tend to undergo menopause significantly sooner than other women, allowing them an even briefer reproductive window and possibly a higher risk of infertility, according to a study led by researchers at UC San Francisco. Moreover, the study showed that carriers of the mutation who are heavy smokers enter menopause at an even earlier age than non-smoking women with the mutation. While the authors note that further research is needed, given the size and ...

Lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGBs) who are out to others have lower stress hormone levels and fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout, according to researchers at the Centre for Studies on Human Stress (CSHS) at Louis H. Lafontaine Hospital, affiliated with the University of Montreal. Cortisol is a stress hormone in our body. When chronically strained, cortisol contributes to the 'wear and tear' exerted on multiple biological systems. Taken together, this strain is called "allostatic load". "Our goals were to determine if the mental and physical health of lesbians, ...

The pros and cons of Chapter 13 bankruptcy Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which is often referred to as reorganization bankruptcy or wage earner's bankruptcy, is a very different process from Chapter 7 "liquidation" bankruptcy. Unlike Chapter 7, which often requires filers to surrender certain assets in order to have their debts discharged, people who file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy typically do not have to give up any of their property to get out of debt. For this reason, some people find Chapter 13 to be a more appealing approach to dealing with unmanageable debt. What ...

Teen jailed after Facebook drunk driving admission A teen driver recently found himself in hot water -- and in jail -- after posting on Facebook about his New Year's Eve drunk driving escapades. According to several major news outlets, an 18-year-old Oregon resident was arrested after posting the following message to his Facebook profile early on New Year's Day: "Drivin drunk... classic ;) but to whoever's vehicle i hit i am sorry. :P" At least two of the teen's Facebook friends reported the message to police, who were already in the process of investigating ...

Common financial mistakes made during divorce It is no secret: divorce can be expensive. However, many people compound their financial woes by making grave mistakes during the divorce process that result in unfair settlements, gross hardship and a financial situation that could have been avoided at the outset by being more knowledgeable about the issues to look out for. The following article provides a brief introduction about what financial mistakes to avoid during a divorce. Accepting illiquid assets unknowingly One common mistake is a failure to learn about ...

The importance of advance health care directives It's been said that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. So while no one wants to contemplate his or her own death, the only way to protect loved ones from having to make what might be unbearable difficult decisions in their time of grief is to plan for what you want to happen at the end of your life. Advance health care directives speak for you if you are unable to speak for yourself. This document allows you to spell out your preferences for end-of-life care so when the time comes your family and health ...

FBI Washington office targets financial fraud Since the onset of the U.S. financial crisis in 2008, federal investigators have intensified their focus on financial fraud issues throughout the nation. FBI Director Robert Mueller testified last year that the FBI's corporate and securities fraud cases have increased by nearly 50 percent since September 2008, Bloomberg Businessweek reported recently. By the end of 2011, Mueller said, the bureau was handling more than 2,600 fraud cases. Many of these cases are being handled by the FBI's field office in Washington, which ...

Mothers and fathers have equal rights to custody in South Carolina There is a perceived bias in South Carolina that family law judges are more likely to award custody to a mother than a father in a divorce case. However, South Carolina law holds that judges must decide custody in the best interests of the child, not whether the parent is the mother or father. While mothers were preferred in the past, South Carolina has repealed the "Tender Years Doctrine," the traditional law that granted preference for custody to mothers of young children. The only exception ...

Preparing for an IRS income tax audit When a business owner gets a notice of an IRS audit, a bit of fear is sparked even if his or her records are spotless and well organized. An audit may be time consuming and is always a bit stressful -- and it is just one more thing for an already overscheduled business owner to put on the "to do" list. Small business owners, especially those with high incomes, seem to be the most common target for an IRS Audit according to a report from Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse. What to expect from an audit When the ...