A new study published by University of Chicago researchers challenges the notion that the force of an exploding star forced the formation of the solar system. In this study, published online last month in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, authors Haolan Tang and Nicolas Dauphas found the radioactive isotope iron 60 — the telltale sign of an exploding star—low in abundance and well mixed in solar system material. As cosmochemists, they look for remnants of stellar explosions in meteorites to help determine the conditions under which the solar system formed. Some ...

Harnessing the ID in glioma Gliomas are the most common form of brain tumor. They are highly aggressive and effective treatments are not currently available. The tumors contain glioma initiating cells (GICs), a population that is highly similar to neural stem cells. GICs drive tumor progression and must stay in a particular extracellular niche in order to maintain their cancer-promoting, stem cell-like characteristics. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Antonio Iavarone at Columbia University report on the role of ID proteins in ...

Gliomas are the most common form of brain tumor. They are highly aggressive and effective treatments are not currently available. The tumors contain glioma initiating cells (GICs), a population that is highly similar to neural stem cells. GICs drive tumor progression and must stay in a particular extracellular niche in order to maintain their cancer-promoting, stem cell-like characteristics. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Antonio Iavarone at Columbia University report on the role of ID proteins in glioma. ID proteins allow ...

Physicians in Canada should consider refusing to prescribe cognitive enhancement medications — also used to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD) — to healthy patients, states an analysis article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Lack of evidence for benefits and possibility of harm, limited health care resources and professional integrity of physicians are reasons why this use is not acceptable. Prescription stimulants such as methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine are often used by people for "cognitive enhancement" to increase focus, concentration and ...

New York City's limit of a maximum 16-ounce size of sugar-sweetened drinks for sale in eating establishments is a positive public health move and should be replicated in Canada, argues an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "Because sugary drinks are the leading source of dietary calories in North America, New York City's latest measure is a rational strategy to combat obesity on a population level," writes Dr. Matthew Stanbrook, Deputy Editor, Practice, CMAJ. "The scientific case for reducing sugar consumption is stronger than ever. Recent evidence ...

Scientists from the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute in Japan and University of California Los Angeles report a new nanoscale Velcro-like device that captures and releases tumor cells that have broken away from primary tumors and are circulating in the bloodstream.This new nanotechnology could be used for cancer diagnosis and give insight into the mechanisms of how cancer spreads throughout the body. The device provides a convenient and non-invasive alternative to biopsy, the current method for diagnosis of metastatic cancer. It could enable doctors to detect tumor cells ...

Failure to launch an adequate immune response may be at the root of septic shock, according to a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine on December 17th. Bacterial sepsis is a potentially deadly blood infection that results in massive immune activation and inflammation. Sepsis therapies have traditionally focused on quelling this exaggerated inflammatory response. But a recent study challenged this approach by showing that patients with sepsis had abnormally low levels of an inflammatory protein called LECT2. The new study by Jiong Chen and colleagues ...

WASHINGTON -- A new study by Georgetown University Medical Center researchers reveals how a well-known tumor suppressor gene may be functioning to stop cancer cell growth. The findings, published online today in Oncogene, focus on the gene BRCA1, which is mutated in a majority of families who have hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancers, according to senior author Ronit I. Yarden, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Human Science at the School of Nursing & Health Studies. "There is a debate in the scientific community about whether BRCA1 enzymatic activity ...

Contact: Jenna DiPaolo jdipaolo@rightsandresources.org 202-412-0331 Coimbra Sirica csirica@burnesscommunications.com 301-943-3287 Burness Communications New research predicts rising trend in India's Violent Land Conflicts; 130 districts struggle Experts cite role of India as leader among land-grabbing emerging economies; ignoring rights at home, Indian multi-nationals risk same mistakes abroad NEW DELHI—(17 December 2012)—New research released today, on the eve of an international conference on land and forest rights, blames India's government agencies and ...

Even when provided with complex combinations of different wet and dry foods, cats are able to select and combine the foods in different amounts to achieve a consistent intake of protein, fat and carbohydrate, i.e. macronutrient intake. Published this month in the Journal of Comparative Physiology B, the research shows that cats regulate their macronutrient intake by altering their food selection despite differences in the macronutrient content, moisture level and texture of foods. The research was conducted by scientists from the WALTHAM® Centre for Pet Nutrition – the ...

Researchers from the University of New South Wales and Black Dog Institute in Sydney, Australia have used brain imaging technology to show that young people with a known risk of bipolar (but as yet have no signs of the condition) have clear and quantifiable differences in brain activity when compared to controls. "We found that the young people who had a parent or sibling with bipolar disorder had reduced brain responses to emotive faces, particularly a fearful face. This is an extremely promising breakthrough," says study leader UNSW Professor Philip Mitchell. "We ...

The species in question is the fruit fly Drosophila mauritiana, a close relative of the well known (and previously sequenced) Drosophila melanogaster that swarms around our fruit bowls in summer. Nolte and colleagues now present a complete genomic sequence, annotating it to indicate the various genes it contains. The information will naturally be extremely useful to all those who are working on this organism. But the present study goes much, much further. Schlötterer's group has recently developed powerful analytic methods for measuring the genetic variability of populations. ...

Oxidative stress is believed to cause a number of diseases. Up to now, it has been common practice to measure oxidative stress levels by determining the oxidation state of a small molecule called glutathione in cell extracts. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have been the first to discover that cells under stress deposit their oxidized glutathione in a cellular waste repository. This protects cells from oxidative stress – and questions the validity of the conventional measuring method. Cancer, Alzheimer's, arteriosclerosis– ...

Imagine a solid ball rolling down a slightly inclined ramp. What could be perceived as child's play is the focus of serious theoretical research by Manoj Chaudhury and Partho Goohpattader, two physicists from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pensylvania, USA. Their study, which is about to be published in EPJ E, has one thing in common with childhood behaviour. It introduces a mischievous idea, namely studying the effect of random noise, such as vibrations, on the ball. They found it could lower the energy barrier to set the ball in motion. The authors used a ramp with ...

A protected area network should ensure the maintenance of biodiversity, but climate is changing rapidly, thereby creating further demand for the protected area network to be efficient in preserving biota. Due to climate change species ranges are expected to move polewards, which poses challenges to the protected area network. Population changes of different bird species groups according to their habitat preferences in boreal protected areas in Finland were studied on the basis of large-scale bird censuses carried out in 1981 and in 2000. Mean temperatures rose clearly ...

Washington D.C., December 17, 2012 – A study published in the December 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that adolescents who experienced food insecurity in the past year have a higher prevalence of mental disorders than adolescents whose families have reliable access to food. Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), a group of researchers led by Dr. Katie McLaughlin, of Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, examined 6,483 adolescents aged 13-17 ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Telestroke networks that enable the remote and rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke can improve the bottom line of patients and hospitals, researchers report. A central hub hospital delivering rapid stroke diagnosis and treatment partnering with typically smaller spoke hospitals in need of those services means more patients recover better and the network – and hospitals – make money, according to a study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. "We measure stroke treatment in reduced disability and ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A research team led by scientists at Mayo Clinic in Florida have decoded the entire pathway that regulates leakiness of blood vessels — a condition that promotes a wide number of disorders, such as heart disease, cancer growth and spread, inflammation and respiratory distress. They say their findings, published online Dec. 17 in the Journal of Cell Biology, suggest that several agents already being tested for other conditions might reverse vessel leakiness. "Now that we understand a lot more about the pathway that leads to leaky blood vessels, ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Coral colonies that suffered tissue damage in The Bahamas were still producing low numbers of eggs four years after the injuries occurred, according to new research by University at Buffalo scientists. Tiny sperm-producing factories called spermaries were also in short supply. The slow recovery was a surprise, said UB geology professor Howard Lasker, PhD, who led the study on the coral species Antillogorgia elisabethae. "The really interesting finding was that four years later, these colonies were still displaying an effect," Lasker said. "They don't ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- It appears that long, arduous hours in the hospital are causing more than stress and fatigue among doctors-in-training -- they're crashing, or nearly crashing, their cars after work, according to new Mayo Clinic research. Nearly half of the roughly 300 Mayo Clinic residents polled during the course of their residencies reported nearly getting into a motor vehicle crash during their training, and about 11 percent were actually involved in a traffic accident. The study, recently published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, found that residents attributed the ...

Stratum ventilation systems have been touted as a much more energy efficient system for cooling buildings such as school rooms and offices in hotter climes based on the provisions of the recent ANSI/ASHRAE 55-2010. They may also reduce the risk of the spread of airborne diseases according to a study to be published early next year in the journal World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development. This approach to cooling small and medium-sized rooms in a building has come to the fore as a low-cost alternative to high-energy air-conditioning systems particularly ...

This press release is available in German. In the period of atmospheric nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960s significant amounts of uranium-236 were distributed world-wide. Despite this, uranium-236 has mostly eluded detection and clear attribution to this source. A team of three researchers based in Austria and Australia lead by Stephan Winkler have identified the bomb-pulse of this isotope in corals from the Caribbean Sea. Uranium is readily dissolved in seawater, and therefore is carried by ocean currents. This makes uranium-236 and ideal tool for investigating ...

This press release is available in German. The gonad is well known to be important for reproduction but also affects animal life span. Removal of germ cells – the sperm and egg producing cells – increases longevity of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms were a mystery. Now scientists at the Cologne-based Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, have discovered that germ cell removal flips a "molecular switch" that extends the life span by using components of a "developmental clock". The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans ...

This press release is available in German. Multidrug-resistant bacteria remain a major concern for hospitals and nursing homes worldwide. Propagation of bacterial resistance is alarming and makes the search for new antimicrobials increasingly urgent. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen have now identified a potential new target to fight bacteria: the factor EF-P. EF-P plays a crucial role in the production of proteins that are essential for the virulence of EHEC or salmonellae. The researchers' findings suggest that drugs blocking ...

This press release is available in French. Researchers at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center and the University of Montreal have found a possible heredity mechanism that predisposes children to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common type of blood cancer in children. According to their findings published in Genome Research, the presence of a genetic defect in the egg or sperm from which children having ALL arise may be a prerequisite for the disease to develop. A significant number of children with ALL are thought to inherit a rare PRDM9 gene ...