PHILADELPHIA (March 22, 2013)— One molecule makes nerve cells grow longer. Another one makes them grow branches. These new experimental manipulations have taken researchers a step closer to understanding how nerve cells are repaired at their farthest reaches after injury. The research was recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience. "If you injure a peripheral nerve, it will spontaneously regenerate, but it goes very slowly. We're trying to speed that up," said Dr. Jeffery Twiss, a professor and head of the biology department at Drexel University in the College of ...

This press release is available in French. Montreal March 22, 2013 – Determining the financial health of a company is no easy task. But new research from Concordia University's John Molson School of Business, recently published in the Journal of Corporate Finance, demonstrates that a company that revises its previous financial statements is more likely to have been poorly governed. "These restatements can result from a number of factors including accounting errors or omissions or fraud," explains the study's co-author, Lawrence Kryzanowski, professor and Ned Goodman ...

Your cells are social butterflies. They constantly interact with their surroundings, taking in cues on when to divide and where to anchor themselves, among other critical tasks. This networking is driven in part by proteins called integrin, which reside in a cell's outer plasma membrane. Their job is to convert mechanical forces from outside the cell into internal chemical signals that tell the cell what to do. That is, when they work properly. When they misfire, integrins can cause diseases such as atherosclerosis and several types of cancer. Despite their importance—good ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- More than 200 million years ago, a massive extinction decimated 76 percent of marine and terrestrial species, marking the end of the Triassic period and the onset of the Jurassic. This devastating event cleared the way for dinosaurs to dominate Earth for the next 135 million years, taking over ecological niches formerly occupied by other marine and terrestrial species. It's not entirely clear what caused the end-Triassic extinction, although most scientists agree on a likely scenario: Over a relatively short period of time, massive volcanic eruptions ...

Energy drinks may increase blood pressure and disturb your heart's natural rhythm, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions. Researchers analyzed data from seven previously published observational and interventional studies to determine how consuming energy drinks might impact heart health. In the first part of the pooled analysis, the researchers examined the QT interval of 93 people who had just consumed one to three cans of energy drinks. They ...

Eating too much salt contributed to 2.3 million deaths from heart attacks, strokes and other heart-related diseases throughout the world in 2010, representing 15 percent of all deaths due to these causes, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions. The researchers analyzed 247 surveys of adult sodium intake, stratified by age, gender, region and country between 1990 and 2010 as part of the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases Study, an international collaborative ...

Nearly 75 percent of commercial pre-packaged meals and savory snacks for toddlers are high in sodium, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions. In the first study to look at the sodium content in U.S. baby and toddler foods, researchers compared the sodium content per serving of 1,115 products for babies and toddlers using data on major and private label brands compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Baby food was categorized as intended ...

Highlights Suboptimal kidney response to the hormone FGF-23 may put chronic kidney disease patients at increased risk of premature death and cardiovascular events. Resistance to the hormonal actions of FGF-23 in the kidney may identify novel aspects of kidney dysfunction. 60 million people globally have chronic kidney disease. Washington, DC (March 21, 2013) — The kidneys' response to a particular hormone may affect kidney disease patients' heart health and longevity, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society ...

Highlights Among individuals with chronic kidney disease, adherence to a healthy lifestyle was associated with a greater likelihood of surviving over a 13-year period. The greatest survival benefits were related to nonsmoking. 60 million people globally have chronic kidney disease. Washington, DC (March 21, 2013) — Certain lifestyle factors—such as not smoking, getting regular physical activity, and avoiding a low body weight—may help prolong the lives of individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the ...

Highlights In an analysis of 695 patients with kidney failure, Blacks had received less transplant education, were less knowledgeable about transplantation, and were less willing to pursue deceased or living donor transplantation than Whites. Patients who began a transplant evaluation process with a greater knowledge of transplantation and greater motivation to receive living donor transplants were ultimately more successful at receiving a living donor transplant. In 2010, a total of 28,662 kidney transplants took place in the U.S. Of those, only 6,809 were from ...

VIDEO: Using a combination of theory and experiment, Georgia Tech researchers have developed a new approach for understanding and predicting how small legged robots -- and potentially also animals -- move... Click here for more information. Using a combination of theory and experiment, researchers have developed a new approach for understanding and predicting how small legged robots – and potentially also animals – move on and interact with complex granular materials such ...

STANFORD, Calif. — Cells in the body need to be acutely aware of their surroundings. A signal from one direction may cause a cell to react in a very different way than if it had come from another direction. Unfortunately for researchers, such vital directional cues are lost when cells are removed from their natural environment to grow in an artificial broth of nutrients and growth factors. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have devised a way to mimic in the laboratory the spatially oriented signaling ...

Through a program that teaches simple nutrition messages and involves both counseling and regular exercise classes, people with serious mental illness can make healthy behavioral changes and achieve significant weight loss, according to new Johns Hopkins research. These weight loss amounts were similar to those in other successful programs studied with subjects in the general population — studies that specifically excluded people with serious mental illnesses, the researchers say. Results of the new research, believed to be the first large study of its kind to involve ...

VIDEO: This is an 11-by-11 gridiron structure (11 vertical helices by 11 horizontal helices) with 21 base pairs (bp) between junctions in both directions uses 5301 of 7249 nucleotides of the M13... Click here for more information. In a new discovery that represents a major step in solving a critical design challenge, Arizona State University Professor Hao Yan has led a research team to produce a wide variety of 2-D and 3-D structures that push the boundaries of the burgeoning ...

New research conducted in 10 European cities has estimated that 14% of chronic childhood asthma is due to exposure to traffic pollution near busy roads. The results are comparable to the burden associated with passive smoking: the World Health Organization estimates that between 4% and 18% of asthma cases in children are linked to passive smoking. The findings, published online today (22 March 2013) ahead of print in the European Respiratory Journal, come as the European Commission has declared 2013 the 'Year of Air', which highlights the importance of clean air for ...

SAN DIEGO — The strongest predictor of whether a man is developing dementia with Lewy bodies — the second most common form of dementia in the elderly — is whether he acts out his dreams while sleeping, Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered. Patients are five times more likely to have dementia with Lewy bodies if they experience a condition known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder than if they have one of the risk factors now used to make a diagnosis, such as fluctuating cognition or hallucinations, the study found. The findings were being presented ...

Scientists examining evidence across the world from New Jersey to North Africa say they have linked the abrupt disappearance of half of earth's species 200 million years ago to a precisely dated set of gigantic volcanic eruptions. The eruptions may have caused climate changes so sudden that many creatures were unable to adapt—possibly on a pace similar to that of human-influenced climate warming today. The extinction opened the way for dinosaurs to evolve and dominate the planet for the next 135 million years, before they, too, were wiped out in a later planetary cataclysm ...

Researchers at King's College London have uncovered how the human ear is formed, giving clues as to why children are susceptible to infections such as glue ear. The work was funded by the UK Medical Research Council and published today in the journal Science. It is estimated that one in five children around the age of two will be affected by glue ear, a build-up of fluid in the middle ear chamber. This part of the ear contains three tiny bones that carry sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. When fluid builds up in the chamber, this prevents the three ...

The American Heart Association has released new recommendations for policy makers and public health providers to combat heart disease and stroke on a local level. The "American Heart Association Guide for Improving Cardiovascular Health at the Community Level, 2013 Update" — evidence-based goals, strategies and recommendations for community-based public health interventions — is published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. "The future burden of cardiovascular disease, unless we can prevent it, is projected to have an enormous economic impact. Public ...

Telehealth does not seem to be a cost effective addition to standard support and treatment for patients with long term conditions, finds a study published on bmj.com today. The findings follow a BMJ study published last month showing that telehealth does not improve quality of life for patients with long term conditions. Telehealth uses technology to help people with health problems live more independently at home. For example, blood pressure or blood glucose levels can be measured at home and electronically transmitted to a health professional, reducing the need ...

Personal View: Promoting abstinence for drug users is about saving money not science Personal View: Drug users need more choices at addiction treatment facilities The UK government's decision to promote abstinence for drug users "is about saving money not science" argues a senior doctor on bmj.com today. Despite overwhelming evidence that substitution therapy reduces harm, in 2010 the new UK government announced that substance misuse services should follow a recovery model, writes Jason Luty, a locum consultant in substance misuse. Basically, this means that ...

The antibiotic clarithromycin – widely used for treating lower respiratory tract infections like pneumonia and acute exacerbations (sudden worsening) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – may be associated with an increased risk of heart problems, finds a study published on bmj.com today. The authors say their findings require confirmation, but add to a growing body of evidence suggesting a possible link between long term cardiovascular risks and certain antibiotics, known as macrolides. Clarithromycin is often used to treat a sudden increase in symptoms ...

VIDEO: Over 80 percent of people with serious mental illnesses are overweight or obese, which contributes to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and a shortened life expectancy than that of... Click here for more information. People with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression can lose weight and keep it off through a modified lifestyle intervention program, a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study reported ...

LA JOLLA, CA – March 21, 2012 – A team including scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has determined and analyzed the high-resolution atomic structures of two kinds of human serotonin receptor. The new findings help explain why some drugs that interact with these receptors have had unexpectedly complex and sometimes harmful effects. "Understanding the structure-function of these receptors allows us to discover new biology of serotonin signaling and also gives us better ...

Virginia Tech researchers successfully used a gene disruption technique to change the eye color of a mosquito — a critical step toward new genetic strategies aimed at disrupting the transmission of diseases such as dengue fever. Zach Adelman and Kevin Myles, both associate professors of entomology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and affiliated researchers with the Fralin Life Science Institute, study the transmission of vector-borne diseases and develop novel methods of control, based on genetics. In a groundbreaking study recently published in the journal ...