Washington, D.C.—A research team, led by Carnegie's Anna Michalak, has determined that the 2011 record-breaking algal bloom in Lake Erie was triggered by long-term agricultural practices coupled with extreme precipitation, followed by weak lake circulation and warm temperatures. The team also predicts that, unless agricultural policies change, the lake will continue to experience extreme blooms. The research is published in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of April 1, 2013. "The perfect storm of weather events ...

ANN ARBOR—The largest harmful algae bloom in Lake Erie's recorded history was likely caused by the confluence of changing farming practices and weather conditions that are expected to become more common in the future due to climate change. Rather than an isolated, one-time occurrence, Lake Erie's monumental 2011 algae bloom was more likely a harbinger of things to come, according to University of Michigan researchers and colleagues from eight other institutions. The interdisciplinary team explored factors that may have contributed to the event and analyzed the likelihood ...

Coronary heart disease (CHD) increases with BMI, as well as with age, finds an article published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine. The research from the Million Women Study indicates that increased weight increases risk of CHD equivalent to that caused by getting older. Researchers from the University of Oxford followed the health of 1.2 million women from England and Scotland for (on average) almost a decade. Analysis of the data showed that the occurrence of CHD increases with BMI so that every 5 unit increase in BMI, calculated as weight/height2, ...

MINNEAPOLIS – Risk prediction tools that estimate future risk of heart disease and stroke may be more useful predictors of future decline in cognitive abilities, or memory and thinking, than a dementia risk score, according to a new study published in the April 2, 2013, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "This is the first study that compares these risk scores with a dementia risk score to study decline in cognitive abilities 10 years later," said Sara Kaffashian, PhD, with the French National Institute of Health and Medical ...

Boston, MA – Older adults who have higher levels of blood omega-3 levels—fatty acids found almost exclusively in fatty fish and seafood—may be able to lower their overall mortality risk by as much as 27% and their mortality risk from heart disease by about 35%, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Washington. Researchers found that older adults who had the highest blood levels of the fatty acids found in fish lived, on average, 2.2 years longer than those with lower levels. "Although eating fish has long been considered ...

Highly expressed in various cancers and known for its cytoprotective properties, TRAP1 protein has been identified as a potential target for antitumor treatments. As a result of the research conducted by Len Neckers, from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, USA, and Didier Picard, from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, this outlook is now being called into question. The researchers' findings, published in PNAS, describe how TRAP1 disrupts the metabolism of malignant cells, and shows that the quantity of this protein decreases as they progress to a more ...

HOUSTON - (April 1, 2013) – Mutations in a protein called SPOP (speckle-type POZ protein) disarm it, allowing another protein called steroid receptor coactivator-3 (SRC-3) to encourage the proliferation and spread of prostate cancer cells, said researchers led by those at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Normally SPOP acts as a tumor suppressor gene by marking SRC-3 for destruction, said Dr. Nicholas Mitsiades, assistant professor of medicine – hematology/oncology and molecular and cellular ...

(TORONTO, Canada – April 1, 2013) – A team of international cancer researchers led by Dr. Mathieu Lupien at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, has identified the signalling pathway that is over-activated in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer cells that are resistant to hormone therapies such as tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors or fulvestrant. Resistance to hormone therapy is reported in almost half of ER-positive breast cancer patients and no cure is currently available. The fact that the pathway, called Notch, is a drug target ...

A randomized controlled trial finds that 12 weeks of physical plus mental activity in inactive older adults with cognitive complaints was associated with significant improvement in cognitive function but there was no difference between intervention and control groups, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. An epidemic of dementia worldwide is anticipated during the next 40 years because of longer life expectancies and demographic changes. Behavioral interventions are a potential strategy to prevent or delay ...

The most common genetic cause of both ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and FTD (frontotemporal dementia) was recently identified as an alteration in the gene C9orf72. But how the mutation causes neurodegenerative disease appeared mysterious. Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have demonstrated that this ALS/FTD mutation may be harmful because it creates an "RNA sponge," soaking up an important regulatory protein that binds RNA. The results were published online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Early Edition. "We think ...

Irvine, Calif., April 1, 2013 — California sagebrush in the southern part of the state will adjust better to climate change than sagebrush populations in the north, according to UC Irvine researchers in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology affiliated with the Center for Environmental Biology. The results of their study, which appears online in Global Change Biology, will assist land management and policy decisions concerning coastal sage scrub restoration. California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), also known as "cowboy cologne," is the fragrant gray-green ...

Boulder, Colo., USA – Two new themes: "Geodynamics and Consequences of Lithospheric Removal in the Sierra Nevada, California" and "The 36-18 Ma southern Great Basin, USA, ignimbrite province and flareup: Swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes " add new content to Geosphere's already dynamic lineup. Also in the April 2013 issue: themes "ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) and Southern McMurdo Sound (SMS) Drilling Projects" and "Exploring the Deep Sea and Beyond," plus three individual articles not associated with a specific theme. 1. Theme introduction; 2. Theme introduction; 3. ...

A California sea lion who bobs her head in time with music has given scientists the first empirical evidence of an animal that is not capable of vocal mimicry but can keep the beat, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. The study's authors suggest that their findings challenge current scientific theories that an animal's ability to synchronize its movements with sound are associated with the same brain mechanisms that allow for vocal mimicry in humans and some birds such as cockatoos, parrots, and budgerigars. The findings were ...

For the first time, an elusive step in the process of human DNA replication has been demystified by scientists at Penn State University. According to senior author Stephen J. Benkovic, an Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry and Holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Chemistry at Penn State, the scientists "discovered how a key step in human DNA replication is performed." The results of the research will be published in the journal eLife on 2 April 2013. Part of the DNA replication process -- in humans and in other life forms -- involves loading of molecular structures called ...

As the long-term impact of the Arab Spring continues to take shape, research from political scientists at Princeton University and New York University warns that the protests that swept across the Middle East and North Africa could mark more of an isolated occurrence than a permanent rise of people power in the region. In a paper published online in January by the American Journal of Political Science, "People Power or a One-Shot Deal? A Dynamic Model of Protest," Princeton politics professor Adam Meirowitz and New York University politics Professor Joshua Tucker lay ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 1, 2013 – Using the same strategy that a common virus employs to evade the human immune system, researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine have modified adult stem cells to increase their survival – with the goal of giving the cells time to exert their natural healing abilities. "Basically, we've helped the cells be 'invisible' to the body's natural killer cells, T cells and other aspects of the immune system, so they can survive to promote healing," said Graca Almeida-Porada, M.D., Ph.D., senior ...

U.S. adolescents' high levels of poor health behaviors and unfavorable cardiovascular risk factors may increase their chances of heart disease as adults, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. Researchers estimated the current state of cardiovascular health of U.S. adolescents based on the seven cardiovascular health components defined in the American Heart Association's 2020 impact goals, which include both health behaviors and factors: blood pressure, total cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), blood glucose, healthy diet, physical ...

LA JOLLA, Calif., April 1, 2013 – Scientists at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have identified how an enzyme called PKCζ suppresses prostate tumor formation. The finding, which also describes a molecular chain of events that controls cell growth and metastasis, could lead to novel ways to control disease progression. Working in close collaboration, the labs of Maria T. Diaz-Meco, Ph.D., and Jorge Moscat, Ph.D., found that PKCζ controls the activation of a pro-tumor gene called c-Myc. Normally, PKCζ's alteration keeps c-Myc ...

Akron, Ohio, April 1, 2013 — Geckos' ability to stick to trees and leaves during rainforest downpours has fascinated scientists for decades, leading a group of University of Akron researchers to solve the mystery. They discovered that wet, hydrophobic (water-repellent) surfaces like those of leaves and tree trunks secure a gecko's grip similar to the way dry surfaces do. The finding brings UA integrated bioscience doctoral candidate Alyssa Stark and her research colleagues closer to developing a synthetic adhesive that sticks when wet. Principal investigator Stark ...

BETHESDA, Md. (April 1, 2013)—Almost four million people die each year from household air pollution (HAP) caused by exposure to the combustion of biomass fuels (wood, charcoal, crop residues, and dung), kerosene, or coal. These individuals are among the tens of millions who rely on such products to cook their meals, heat their rooms, and light their homes. Those in lower and middle income countries are among the hardest hit by the effects of HAP exposure, which also causes childhood respiratory infection, chronic lung disease, and cardiovascular disease. Exposure to biomass ...

Scientists at British American Tobacco have used a multi-analyte approach to determine the level of exposure to tobacco constituents of snus users. The results show that, generally, less than a third of each constituent measured was extracted by consumers during use. Snus is a moist snuff that is placed under the upper lip. Epidemiological evidence, particularly from Sweden, suggests that snus use is substantially less hazardous than cigarette smoking because it is not associated with increased risks of lung cancer, oral cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In ...

A team of astronomers led by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) have succeeded in observing the death throws of a giant star in unprecedented detail. In February of 1987 astronomers observing the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby dwarf galaxy, noticed the sudden appearance of what looked like a new star. In fact they weren't watching the beginnings of a star but the end of one and the brightest supernova seen from Earth in the four centuries since the telescope was invented. By the next morning news of the discovery had spread across the globe ...

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILL. (April 2, 2013) – Asthma is becoming an epidemic in the United States. The number of Americans diagnosed with asthma grows annually, with 26 million currently affected. And according to a new study, nearly two-thirds or more of all asthmatics also have an allergy, which can make this spring season particularly bothersome. The study, which is published in the April issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), found that an astonishing 75 percent of asthmatic ...

Glowing bacteria inside squids use light and chemical signals to control circadian-like rhythms in the animals, according to a study to be published on April 2 in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, houses a colony of Vibrio fischeri bacteria in its light organ, using the bacteria at night as an antipredatory camouflage while it ventures out to hunt. The results of the study show that, in addition to acting as a built-in lamp, the bacteria also control when the squid expresses a gene ...

Researchers at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and the Forsyth Institute published a study today that found that a significant proportion of dental bib clips harbored bacteria from the patient, dental clinician and the environment even after the clips had undergone standard disinfection procedures in a hygiene clinic. Although the majority of the thousands of bacteria found on the bib clips immediately after treatment were adequately eliminated through the disinfection procedure, the researchers found that 40% of the bib clips tested post-disinfection retained ...