AUDIO: Prof. Lee Berger from the Evolutionary Sciences Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand speaks about the six papers published in Science describing how Au. sediba walked, chewed and moved.... Click here for more information. Johannesburg – A team of South African and international scientists from the Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI) at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and 15 other global institutions, are publishing six papers and an introduction ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A dental study of fossilized remains found in South Africa in 2008 provides new support that this species is one of the closest relatives to early humans. The teeth of this species – called Australopithecus sediba – indicate that it is also a close relative to the previously identified Australopithecus africanus. Both of these species are clearly more closely related to humans than other australopiths from east Africa, according to the new research. The study, published in the journal Science, revealed that both africanus and sediba shared about the ...

April 11, 2013, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- Surgical patients who demonstrated heightened pain sensitivity, or hyperalgesia, induced by high doses of a synthetic opioid had their symptoms alleviated by co-treatment with dexmedetomidine, according to new research. Study investigators, who presented their results today at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, concluded that dexmedetomidine may be a new and effective treatment option for opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). OIH refers to increased pain sensitivity due to high-dose or prolonged opioid ...

Berlin, Germany: People with sleep apnoea are more likely to fail a driving simulator test and report nodding whilst driving, according to new research. The study will be presented today (12 April 2013) at the Sleep and Breathing Conference in Berlin, organised by the European Respiratory Society and the European Sleep Research Society. Sleep apnoea has previously been linked with an increased chance of being involved road traffic accidents. A research team from the University Hospital in Leeds, UK, carried out two separate studies looking at the effect sleep apnoea ...

Highlights There is substantial regional variation in the magnitude of racial differences in end-of-life care among US adults with kidney failure. Black-white differences in dialysis discontinuation and hospice referral are most pronounced in regions with the highest levels of end-of-life spending. More than 590,000 Americans in 2010 were treated for kidney failure. Washington, DC (April 11, 2013) — At the end of life, black patients with kidney failure receiving chronic dialysis are less likely to be referred to hospice and to discontinue dialysis compared with ...

Highlights People with apple-shaped bodies tend to have lower kidney function, lower kidney blood flow, and higher blood pressure within the kidneys than people with pear-shaped bodies. The findings may help explain why people with apple-shaped bodies are more likely than those with pear-shaped bodies to develop kidney disease. Washington, DC (April 11, 2013) — High blood pressure in the kidneys of people with apple-shaped bodies may be responsible for their increased risk of developing kidney disease later in life, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue ...

LA JOLLA, CA – April 11, 2013 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made a counterintuitive finding that may lead to new ways to clear persistent infection that is the hallmark of such diseases as AIDS, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. The study, reported in the April 12, 2013 issue of the journal Science, focused on the activity of the body's type 1 interferon (IFN-I) proteins. Since its discovery over 50 years ago, IFN-I has been believed to be an especially powerful antiviral agent that marshals the immune system's response against the body's foreign ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new class of tiny, injectable LEDs is illuminating the deep mysteries of the brain. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Washington University in St. Louis developed ultrathin, flexible optoelectronic devices – including LEDs the size of individual neurons – that are lighting the way for neuroscientists in the field of optogenetics and beyond. Led by John A. Rogers, the Swanlund professor of materials science and engineering at the U. of I., and Michael R. Bruchas, a professor of anesthesiology at Washington University, ...

April 11, 2013, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) sought to shed light on the biopsychosocial and spiritual effects of taking prescribed opioids to treat noncancer pain. Such questions have received little examination and impact the challenging decision of when and how to use opioids, the study authors wrote in a scientific poster presented today at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. They found that taking opioids had many and diverse consequences for patients in terms of biological, psychological, ...

April 11, 2013, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- Veterans who sustained major limb injuries during combat reported little improvement in symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental-health problems up to 2 years post injury, according to research presented today. In contrast, pain showed the most improvement 3-6 months after acute hospitalization, and then leveled off after 1 year. The investigative team, led by Rollin M. Gallagher, MD, MPH, reported results during a poster session at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of ...

April 11, 2013, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- A new study suggests that the type of bio-cellular grafts increasingly used by surgeons to repair damaged tissue may be useful for treating low-back pain (LBP). However, not all sufferers responded equally to the novel therapy. Results reported today at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine ranged from complete pain relief to no improvement. The procedure involved injecting a concentrated form of bone-marrow cellular aspirate into lumbar discs in patients with clinical and objective evidence of disc ...

April 11, 2013, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- Half of patients on high-dose, long-term opioid therapy had hormonal disturbances or signs of inflammation, while 100 percent reported improved pain control and mental outlook, new research shows. The results, reported today at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, present rare data on the effects of opioids beyond 10 years. Most clinical trials that examine opioid use are of short duration, and little is known about long-term outcomes, particularly in patients who suffer from noncancer pain. The 40 ...

April 11, 2013, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- Changing the parameters used to deliver radiofrequency (RF) treatment greatly affects the size of the resulting heat lesion, researchers reported today in a study expected to deliver greater precision and more treatment options in interventional pain management. Results were presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. "This is the most comprehensive study of radiofrequency heat lesion size for pain management to date," said the study's lead author, Eric Cosman Jr., PhD, scientific director of ...

April 11, 2013, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- Two innovative techniques in the placement of an implanted spinal cord stimulator (SCS) are expected to reduce common complications at the implant site, according to new research revealed today. Results from a case series highlighted an advanced lead anchoring technique and the emerging technology of using large single-port introducers, which enable placement of multiple neurostimulation leads through a single needle-entry point. Neurostimulation leads are used in SCS therapy for the management of chronic pain. The researchers ...

April 11, 2013, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- Researchers are suggesting new ways to use existing Internet tools to recruit more study participants for clinical pain trials and to increase the likelihood they will remain throughout the study period. An innovative website allowed recruiters to reach out broadly to target and recruit potential subjects and to avoid many of the common difficulties of pain research, according to results presented today at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Research is important to establish which therapies are safe ...

April 11, 2013, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- First-of-its-kind research presented today showed microwave ablation (MWA) therapy cut pain in half for patients with painful bone and soft-tissue tumors and took less time to complete than radiofrequency ablation. Pain relief lasted over 4 months on average and up to 15 months in some patients, according to results reported at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Approximately 10,600 new cases of soft-tissue sarcoma and 2,570 new cases of bone sarcoma were diagnosed in the United States in 2009, according ...

LIVERMORE, Calif.— Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories' Combustion Research Facility, the University of Manchester, Bristol University, University of Southampton and Hong Kong Polytechnic have successfully measured reaction rates of a second Criegee intermediate, CH3CHOO, and proven that the reactivity of the atmospheric chemical depends strongly on which way the molecule is twisted. The measurements will provide further insight into hydrocarbon combustion and atmospheric chemistry. A paper describing the research findings titled "Direct Measurements of Conformer-Dependent ...

Reanalysis of the World Health Organization's Antenatal Care Trial (WHOACT) shows that there is an increased risk of fetal death at between 32 and 36 weeks for women who have a reduced antenatal care package, finds research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Reproductive Health. Original analysis of the WHOACT concluded that reducing antenatal visits of low risk women from eight to four was not detrimental to their or their babies' health and could cut costs. Based on this advice some countries have lowered the number of routine antenatal visits . However, ...

AUDIO: Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, developed a tiny, light-emitting device that can activate and control neurons in the... Click here for more information. Using a miniature electronic device implanted in the brain, scientists have tapped into the internal reward system of mice, prodding neurons to release dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure. The researchers, at Washington ...

Researchers at Wits University in South Africa, including Peter Schmid from the University of Zurich, have described the anatomy of a single early hominin in six new studies. Australopithecus sediba was discovered near Johannesburg in 2008. The studies in Science demonstrate how our two million year old ancestor walked, chewed and moved. The fossils discovered four years ago in Malapa near Johannesburg show a mixture of primitive features of australopiths and advanced features of later human species. The researchers led by Prof Lee Berger of Wits University are therefore ...

ANN ARBOR—It's been known for decades that animals such as chimpanzees seek out medicinal herbs to treat their diseases. But in recent years, the list of animal pharmacists has grown much longer, and it now appears that the practice of animal self-medication is a lot more widespread than previously thought, according to a University of Michigan ecologist and his colleagues. Animals use medications to treat various ailments through both learned and innate behaviors. The fact that moths, ants and fruit flies are now known to self-medicate has profound implications for the ...

The spleen is rarely noticed, until it is missing. In children born without this organ, that doesn't happen until they become sick with life-threatening bacterial infections. An international team of researchers led by scientists from Rockefeller's St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics and Infectious Diseases has now identified the defective gene responsible for this rare disorder. The findings, reported today in Science Express, may lead to new diagnostic tests and raises new questions about the role of this gene in the body's protein-making machinery. Medically known ...

MADISON — When it comes to delivering genes to living human tissue, the odds of success come down the molecule. The entire therapy — including the tools used to bring new genetic material into a cell — must have predictable effects. Now, a new screening process will simplify non-viral transfection, providing a method researchers and clinicians use to find an optimal set of biomaterials to deliver genes to cells. Developed by William Murphy, the Harvey D. Spangler professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the method gives researchers ...

An area of low pressure moving toward Cyclone Imelda from the west has turned the storm to the south from its westward track, as NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead and captured a visible and an infrared image of the powerful storm that showed the effects of wind shear. NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Imelda on April 11 at 0925 UTC (5:25 a.m. EDT). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard Aqua captured a visible image that showed a well-developed Tropical Cyclone Imelda in the Southern Indian Ocean that has now turned ...

A team of scientists has pieced together how the hominid Australopithecus sediba (Au. sediba) walked, chewed, and moved nearly two million years ago. Their research, which appears in six papers in the latest issue of the journal Science, also shows that Au. sediba had a notable feature that differed from that of modern humans—a functionally longer and more flexible lower back. Together, the studies offer a comprehensive depiction of some of the most complete early human ancestral remains ever discovered. Since its discovery in August 2008, the site of Malapa—located ...