Scouring the internet for news on mold leads to some interesting - and scary - developments. Reports link mold exposure to hay fever outbreaks, swollen eyes, skin rashes, even testicular and breast cancer. It has been suggested in one report that byproducts of mold like Aflotoxin and Ochratoxin A promote growth of cancerous cells in humans. While the jury may still be out regarding the severity of mold exposure to humans, the common idea that must be remembered is that mold exposure is dangerous. Safe mold removal and remediation must be exercised to ensure the safety and ...

Securing our homes and assets has never been more important. With crime rates rapidly rising, criminals getting smarter and terrorist activities at their peaks, why shouldn't your security get smarter as well? Thus, providing security to all people, Worldeyecam launched its entire series of iMaxCam with high resolution and unique features that help you keep a check on your property, no matter where you are. Simply install these apps into your android tablets and check your home, business and all other assets easily with just the swipe of your finger. Worldeyecam is best ...

Subway may promote itself as the "healthy" fast food restaurant, but it might not be a much healthier alternative than McDonald's for adolescents, according to new UCLA research. In a study published May 6 in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the researchers found that adolescents who purchased Subway meals consumed nearly as many calories as they did at McDonald's. Meals from both restaurants are likely to contribute toward overeating and obesity, according to the researchers. "Every day, millions of people eat at McDonald's and Subway, the two largest fast food chains ...

A new, multinational randomized clinical trial has found that patients with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa will not only stick with treatments but also make significant improvements with just a slight modification of the standard goals and methods of treatment. More than 85 percent of those who enrolled in the trial completed treatment—almost three times the usual retention rate. After eight months of outpatient treatment, patients in both treatment groups reported improved quality of life, reduced symptoms of mood disorders and enhanced social adjustment. One ...

A gene associated with both protection against bacterial infection and excessive blood clotting could offer new insights into treatment strategies for deep-vein thrombosis -- the formation of a harmful clot in a deep vein. The gene produces an enzyme that, if inhibited via a specific drug therapy, could offer hope to patients prone to deep-vein clots, such as those that sometimes form in the legs during lengthy airplane flights or during recuperation after major surgery. The research, which was led by Yanming Wang, a Penn State University associate professor of biochemistry ...

A key type of human brain cell developed in the laboratory grows seamlessly when transplanted into the brains of mice, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered, raising hope that these cells might one day be used to treat people with Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and possibly even Alzheimer's disease, as well as and complications of spinal cord injury such as chronic pain and spasticity. "We think this one type of cell may be useful in treating several types of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders in a targeted way," said Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, ...

Researchers at the University of Arizona have successfully determined the genetic mutations causing severe epilepsies in seven out of 10 children for whom the cause of the disorder could not be determined clinically or by conventional genetic testing. Instead of sequencing each gene one at a time, the team used a technique called whole-exome sequencing: Rather than combing through all of the roughly 3 billion base pairs of an individual's entire genome, whole-exome-sequencing deciphers only actual genes, and nearly all of them simultaneously. "My initial hope was that ...

Scientists have long believed that measuring the amount of HIV in a person's blood is an indicator of whether the virus is actively reproducing. A University of Delaware-led research team reports new evidence that hidden virus replication may be occurring within the body's tissue, despite undetectable virus levels in the blood. The findings were reported in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface on May 8 in a paper titled "Modelling HIV-1 2-LTR dynamics following raltegravir intensification." The discovery came after the paper's lead author, Ryan Zurakowski, ...

Sydney, Australia -- Researchers from the University of New South Wales have cautioned that more work is needed to understand how micro-organisms respond to the disinfecting properties of silver nano-particles, increasingly used in medical and environmental applications. Although nanosilver has effective antimicrobial properties against certain pathogens, overexposure to silver nano-particles can cause other potentially harmful organisms to rapidly adapt and flourish, a UNSW study reveals. This result, published in the journal Small, could have wide-reaching implications ...

ORLANDO, Fla., May 8, 2013 – Researchers discovered that small pieces of genetic material called microRNAs link the two defining characteristics of fit muscles: the ability to burn sugar and fat and the ability to switch between slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers. The team used two complementary mouse models—the "marathon mouse" and the "couch potato mouse"—to make this discovery. But what's more, they also found that active people have higher levels of one of these microRNAs than sedentary people. These findings, published May 8 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, ...

SAN DIEGO – While the percentage of kidney transplants involving live donors has remained stable for other minority populations, African Americans have seen a decline in live donors even as more of them receive kidney transplants, according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Those findings will be presented May 8 at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego. "African American race has been associated with disparities in care at every step of the kidney transplant process," says Jesse D. Sammon, D.O., a researcher at Henry Ford's ...

Minneapolis, MN, May 8, 2013 – Tumors have the potential to grow locally and invade neighboring organs. Some chest tumors may invade one of the great vessels of the body, the aorta. Surgical removal of these tumors is very challenging and necessitates the support of a heart-lung machine. Therefore there is an increased risk of complication and death. In a small series of patients, placing a stent within the aorta facilitated the subsequent removal of tumor and eliminated the need for heart-lung bypass. A report of these results is presented by Stéphane Collaud, MD, MSc, ...

Gene replacement in pigs ameliorates cystic fibrosis-associated intestinal obstruction Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in CFTR and is characterized by dysfunction of the lungs, liver, pancreas, and intestines. Approximately 15% of babies with CF are born with an obstruction of the small intestine known as meconium ileus, frequently the first sign of CF. Unlike in humans, meconium ileus occurs in 100% of newborn CF pigs. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Michael Welsh and colleagues at the University of Iowa demonstrate that transgenic ...

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in CFTR and is characterized by dysfunction of the lungs, liver, pancreas, and intestines. Approximately 15% of babies with CF are born with an obstruction of the small intestine known as meconium ileus, frequently the first sign of CF. Unlike in humans, meconium ileus occurs in 100% of newborn CF pigs. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Michael Welsh and colleagues at the University of Iowa demonstrate that transgenic expression of normal CFTR in the intestine of CF pigs alleviated meconium ileus. Over time, ...

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the accumulation of neurotoxic β-amyloid peptide (A-beta). ADAM10, a protein that resides in the neural synapses, has previously been shown to prevent the formation of A-beta. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Monica Di Luca and colleagues at the University of Milan in Milan, Italy, report that ADAM10 is removed from synapses through association with the protein AP2. Strikingly, the association between ADAM10 and AP2 was increased in human brain homogenates from Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients compared ...

How does San Francisco Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval swat a 95 mph fastball, or tennis icon Venus Williams see the oncoming ball, let alone return her sister Serena's 120 mph serves? For the first time, vision scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have pinpointed how the brain tracks fast-moving objects. The discovery advances our understanding of how humans predict the trajectory of moving objects when it can take one-tenth of a second for the brain to process what the eye sees. That 100-millisecond holdup means that in real time, a tennis ball moving ...

VIDEO: This is the article as it appears on jove.com. Click here for more information. On May 8th JoVE will publish research that demonstrates how a biosensor can detect antibiotic resistance in bacteria. This new technology is a preliminary step in identifying and fighting superbugs, a major public health concern that has led to more deaths than AIDS in the United States in recent years. The technology is the result of collaboration between Dr. Vitaly Vodyanoy at Auburn University ...

AURORA, Colo. (May 8, 2013) – Scientists have discovered that fat cells in the knee secrete a protein linked to arthritis, a finding that paves the way for new gene therapies that could offer relief and mobility to millions worldwide. "We found that fat in the knee joints secretes a protein called pro-factor D which gives rise to another protein known as factor D that is linked to arthritis," said Nirmal Banda, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "Without factor D, mice cannot get rheumatoid ...

A new genomic test for prostate cancer can help predict whether men are more likely to harbor an aggressive form of the disease, according to a new UC San Francisco study. The test, which improves risk assessment when patients are first diagnosed, can also aid in determining which men are suitable for active surveillance – a way of managing the disease without direct treatment. Prostate cancer often grows slowly, and many of the quarter-million patients diagnosed annually in the United States never need treatment, which typically involves surgery, radiation or both. ...

Swedish and Spanish engineers have created a system of sensors that detects fruit odours more effectively than the human sense of smell. For now, the device can distinguish between the odorous compounds emitted by pears and apples. Researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV, Spain) and the University of Gävle (Sweden) have created an electronic nose with 32 sensors that can identify the odours given off by chopped pears and apples. "The fruit samples are placed in a pre-chamber into which an air flow is injected which reaches the tower with the sensors ...

Researchers at the University of Strathclyde have discovered that the greater wax moth is capable of sensing sound frequencies of up to 300kHz – the highest recorded frequency sensitivity of any animal in the natural world. Humans are only capable of hearing sounds of 20kHz maximum, dropping to around 12-15kHz as we age, and even dolphins, known exponents of ultrasound, can't compete as their limitations are around 160kHz. The research, conducted at the University's Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering, has identified the extraordinary sensory characteristics of the moth, ...

Amsterdam, May 8, 2013 – Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today the publication of a clinical guide by the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) in the journal Maturitas on endometrial assessment in peri and postmenopausal women with summary recommendations. The main onus of endometrial assessment is to exclude carcinoma of the endometrium and premalignant endometrial hyperplasia. Assessment of the endometrium in the absence of bleeding should be limited to women at high risk ...

To understand how proteins work it is important to know their three-dimensional shape, but also the way it is produced. We need to know, in other words, how the amino acid filament which makes up the proteins is capable of folding over itself to take on a specific shape. Today the study of molecular dynamics of proteins is based on computer simulations in which the system is treated as a three-dimensional set of balls (1 ball = 1 atom) observed while it evolves through time. This is a very accurate but rather slow technique, therefore a group of researchers, including ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adding captivating visuals to a textbook lesson to attract children's interest may sometimes make it harder for them to learn, a new study suggests. Researchers found that 6- to 8-year-old children best learned how to read simple bar graphs when the graphs were plain and a single color. Children who were taught using graphs with images (like shoes or flowers) on the bars didn't learn the lesson as well and sometimes tried counting the images rather than relying on the height of the bars. "Graphs with pictures may be more visually appealing and engaging ...

A small piece of paper sticks to an electrically charged plastic ruler. The principle of this simple classroom physics experiment is applied at the microscopic scale by so-called optical tweezers to get the likes of polystyrene micro-beads and even living cells to "stick" to a laser beam, or to trap atoms at ultra-low temperatures. Physicist Fam Le Kien and his colleagues from the Institute of Atomic and Subatomic Physics of the Vienna University of Technology, Austria, provide a comprehensive manual with general theoretical tools, definitions, and spectroscopic data sets ...