A new study by biologists at Mercyhurst University focuses on the influence of climate change, particularly warmer winters, on the survival and potential fecundity of cold-blooded animals. Cold blooded animals, or ectotherms, do not have an internal mechanism for regulating body temperature. Instead, they rely on solar energy captured by the environment. The purpose of the Mercyhurst study, a collaboration of Michael Elnitsky, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology; and students Drew Spacht and Seth Pezar, is to assess the current and future impacts of climate change ...

A specific pattern of neuronal firing in a brain reward circuit instantly rendered mice vulnerable to depression-like behavior induced by acute severe stress, a study supported by the National Institutes of Health has found. When researchers used a high-tech method to mimic the pattern, previously resilient mice instantly succumbed to a depression-like syndrome of social withdrawal and reduced pleasure-seeking – they avoided other animals and lost their sweet tooth. When the firing pattern was inhibited in vulnerable mice, they instantly became resilient. "For the first ...

Back in January, a new X-ray source flared and rapidly brightened in the Andromeda galaxy (M31), located 2.5 million light-years away. Classified as an ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX), the object is only the second ever seen in M31 and became the target of an intense observing campaign by orbiting X-ray telescopes -- including NASA's Swift -- and radio observatories on the ground. These efforts resulted in the first detection of radio-emitting jets from a stellar-mass black hole outside our own galaxy. A ULX is thought to be a binary system containing a black hole that ...

Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered a protein that does its best work with one foot in the grave. The study, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, focuses on the nontraditional lifestyle of Retinoblastoma tumor suppressor proteins, which could lead to new ways to treat cancer. "Retinoblastoma proteins are unique in that they use controlled destruction to do their jobs in a timely but restrained fashion," said Liang Zhang, a lead author and MSU cell and molecular biology graduate student. "This is an unusual way ...

A drug that works through the same brain mechanism as the fast-acting antidepressant ketamine briefly improved treatment-resistant patients' depression symptoms in minutes, with minimal untoward side effects, in a clinical trial conducted by the National Institutes of Health. The experimental agent, called AZD6765, acts through the brain's glutamate chemical messenger system. Existing antidepressants available through prescription, which work through the brain's serotonin system, take a few weeks to work, imperiling severely depressed patients, who can be at high risk ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study of the batteries commonly used in hybrid and electric-only cars has revealed an unexpected factor that could limit the performance of batteries currently on the road. Researchers led by Ohio State University engineers examined used car batteries and discovered that over time lithium accumulates beyond the battery electrodes – in the "current collector," a sheet of copper which facilitates electron transfer between the electrodes and the car's electrical system. This knowledge could aid in improving design and performance of batteries, explained ...

The date 12-12-12 may be numerically significant, but for the residents of American Samoa and Fiji in the South Pacific Ocean, it means a newborn tropical storm named Evan is causing problems. NASA's Aqua satellite and NOAA's GOES-15 satellite both captured imagery of the newborn storm's cloud cover. Tropical Storm Evan caused regional warnings to be posted on Dec. 12. In American Samoa, a gale warning and storm watch are in effect for Tutuila, Aunuu, Manua and Swains Island. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an ...

DEERFIELD, Il. (December 11, 2012)—Inexpensive, locally-produced ceramic cookstoves may produce less smoke than traditional indoor 3-stone firepits, but they don't significantly reduce indoor air pollution or the risk of pneumonia in young children, according to results from a small, year-long observational study by researchers working in rural Kenya. The findings, published online today in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, are the first to examine the health impacts of ceramic cookstoves that do not vent smoke to the outside of the house, said Robert ...

An international collaboration including researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has refined a key process in understanding extreme plasmas such as those found in the sun, stars, at the rims of black holes and galaxy clusters. In short, the team identified a new solution to an astrophysical phenomenon through a series of laser experiments. In the new research, appearing in the Dec. 13 edition of the journal Nature, scientists looked at highly charged iron using the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) free-electron laser. Highly charged iron produces ...

TEMPE, Ariz. – One of the great mysteries of life is how it began. What physical process transformed a nonliving mix of chemicals into something as complex as a living cell? For more than a century, scientists have struggled to reconstruct the key first steps on the road to life. Until recently, their focus has been trained on how the simple building blocks of life might have been synthesized on the early Earth, or perhaps in space. But because it happened so long ago, all chemical traces have long been obliterated, leaving plenty of scope for speculation and disagreement. Now, ...

Are you allergic to peanuts and worried there might be some in that cookie? Now you can find out using a rather unlikely source: your cell phone. A team of researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has developed a lightweight device called the iTube, which attaches to a common cell phone to detect allergens in food samples. The iTube attachment uses the cell phone's built-in camera, along with an accompanying smart-phone application that runs a test with the same high level of sensitivity a laboratory would. Food allergies are ...

[EMBARGOED FOR DEC. 13, 2012] A new study suggests that human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women at or after menopause may represent an infection acquired years ago, and that HPV infections may exist below limits of detection after one to two years, similar to other viruses, such as varicella zoster, which can cause shingles. The study, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases and available online, highlights the need for additional research to better understand HPV infections and the role of HPV persistence and reactivation, particularly in women of the baby ...

An international team of scientists studying the elusive nocturnal primate the slow loris in the jungles of Borneo have discovered an entirely new species. The team's analysis of the primate's distinctive facial fur markings, published in the American Journal of Primatology, reveals the existence of one entirely new species, while two of species, previously considered as possible sub-species, are being officially recognized as unique. "Technological advances have improved our knowledge about the diversity of several nocturnal mammals," said Rachel Munds from the University ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., – Dec. 13, 2012 – Investigators at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have concluded research on a new postmenopausal hormone therapy that shows promise as an effective treatment for menopausal symptoms and the prevention of osteoporosis without increasing the risk for heart disease or breast cancer. Traditional forms of hormone therapy (HT) provide the benefits of symptom relief, prevention of osteoporosis and prevention of atherosclerosis, but increase the risk of uterine cancer (with estrogens alone) or breast cancer (with combined estrogens and ...

CHESTNUT HILL, MA (Dec. 13, 2012) – A chemical nanostructure developed by Boston College researchers behaves much like the pores of the skin, serving as a precise control for a typically stubborn method of catalysis that is the workhorse of industrial chemistry. Scientists have been trying to develop so-called yolk-shell catalysts as a means of imparting greater selectivity on heterogeneous catalysis, a process used in most industrial chemistry, including the manufacture of fine chemicals, petrochemicals and agrochemicals. Boston College Assistant Professor of Chemistry ...

A recent lawsuit highlights the rights of workers when faced with a recent disability. In Boyton Beach, Fla., a man is suing his employer after being fired three days after revealing he was approved to be on the waiting list to undergo a kidney transplant. He had been employed for 10 years in his role as a night shift manager, making $72,000 a year. The employee did not want to quit and claims that he could have worked 40 hours a week. A doctor recommended self-cleaning dialysis, which the lawsuit claimed the employee could do over his lunch break and would not require ...

A Texas company that underpaid mentally disabled workers for decades recently received several million-dollar judgments against them for violating the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, the Fair Labor Standards Act and several state labor laws for its treatment of its disabled employees. Hill Country Farms, d.b.a. Henry's Turkey Service, illegally paid disabled workers a total of 41 cents per hour to eviscerate turkeys at an Iowa plant. The workers' rate of pay did not change in 30 years. Some of the workers had been working at the plant since the 1970s. The company ...

Dealing with the death of a loved one is hard enough without having to handle the court appearances, legal duties and other details of administering to the final wishes of family and friends regarding their estates and burials. A comprehensive, up-to-date estate plan can avoid many inheritance disputes and complications, helping to ease the transition. Unfortunately, many people die without a proper estate plan, even if they managed to create a will. Even if an estate plan is legally valid and clear, simply by its nature, handling estate and inheritance matters can be complicated ...

After divorce, many people would like nothing more than to never see their ex-spouses again. However, those who had children while married do not have that option. They have to learn to redefine their relationships with their former spouses so they can continue to raise their children together after divorce. People can follow some simple steps to make co-parenting more successful. Focus on the Child One thing that successful co-parents have in common is that they put their children first. They are able to set the issues they have with their ex-spouses aside in order ...

One of the many ways that Americans celebrate their holidays is by setting off fireworks. In the Hoosier State, it's no different. With New Years Eve almost here, it is important to make yourself aware of the laws surrounding fireworks, so you can have a safe holiday season and minimize the possibility of a fireworks personal injury claim. Indiana fireworks law Indiana counties have some ability to adopt ordinances that regulate the days and hours that consumer fireworks can be discharged. However, any ordinance adopted cannot restrict the use of fireworks during ...

In the past, people in their 50s, 60s or 70s were seeing an attorney to create a will or other estate plan. Now, a growing number of people in this age group are seeking an attorney because they want to get a divorce after decades of marriage. According to a Bowling Green State University Study, divorce among those aged 46 to 64 has increased by more than 50 percent in the past two years and this has greatly contributed to the divorce rate in the country. Divorce stabilizing among other age groups The Bowling Green study showed that divorce rates in the country are ...

Drunk drivers are recurrent menaces on Texas' roadways, responsible for 1,259 deaths and 42 percent of car accidents in 2010 alone. Those convicted of DWI face serious criminal penalties, fines and loss of freedoms. However, criminal penalties do not compensate the victim's family if the drunk driver kills someone. Fortunately, there is a legal remedy available to those whose loved ones have paid the ultimate price because of someone else's carelessness--wrongful death. Wrongful death lawsuits are a common legal remedy for families who have lost relatives in drunk driving ...

Becoming a father is both an enormous blessing and a huge responsibility. The birth of a child brings one of the most loving and fulfilling relationships that most men will ever know. However, raising a child also means a huge commitment of both time and money. In addition to the ordinary costs of taking care of a child, a man who is not married to the child's mother will likely also have to make monthly child support payments. Imagine, then, raising a child as your own only to find out that you are not the child's biological parent. The mother knew this all along, but ...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie recently signed into law a new measure expanding state programs that allow some people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses to receive treatment through the state's drug court rather than spend time in prison. The measure has been praised as a way to help ease financial strain on the New Jersey prison system while providing services that are more effective at improving recovery rates and reducing recidivism. Drug court programs have existed in New Jersey for over a decade, giving people convicted of certain drug crimes the opportunity ...

An investigation by the Miami-Herald found that Florida's Agency for Healthcare Administration has continued to award assisting living facilities Medicaid funds despite repeated instances of abuse and neglect of residents. The state of Florida gives the agency the power to withdraw or suspend Medicaid funding to assisted living facilities that fail to pass inspections or that have documented instances of abuse or neglect. Often, Medicaid funds mean the difference between survival and closing up shop for assisted living facilities, which rely on Medicaid money to fund ...