DALLAS – Feb. 15, 2013 – Two studies by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center could lead to new treatments for lupus and other autoimmune diseases and strengthen current therapies for viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections. The studies identify a new enzyme that acts as a sensor of innate immunity – the body's first line of defense against invaders – and describe a novel cell signaling pathway. This pathway detects foreign DNA or even host DNA when it appears in a part of the cell where DNA should not be. In addition, the investigations show that the process ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Researchers don't know the exact cause of Behçet's disease, a chronic condition that leads to oral and genital sores and serious complications such as blindness, but new research brings better understanding to what makes some people more susceptible to being affected. In one of the most extensive genetic analyses of Behçet's disease, a University of Michigan-led, international team of researchers has identified novel gene variants in the inflammatory disorder and uncovered data that could apply to studies of other diseases. The results appear in the ...

Forcepflies are usually known as earwigflies, because the males have a large genital forceps that resembles the cerci of earwigs. A new species of forcepfly Meropeidae (Mecoptera) from Brazil was described, representing only the 3rd extant species described in this family and the 1st record of the family from the Neotropical region. The distribution and biogeography of the family are discussed and it is even proposed that Meropeidae originated before continental drift and then divided into two branches, northern and southern, with the breakup of the old supercontinent Pangea. ...

The Achilles heel of the body – getting over damage to tendons can be a long and painful process. By combining the nuclear tests of the 1950s with tissue samples and modern technology, a research collaboration between the Aarhus University and University of Copenhagen now reveals why the healing process is so slow. Many people are affected by injuries caused by straining the Achilles tendon and other tendons in the body. Danish athletes alone account for up to 200,000 injuries per year. This often leads to frustration over the poor treatment options available, and it can ...

The most common genetic cause of Parkinson's is not only responsible for the condition's distinctive movement problems but may also affect vision, according to new research by scientists at the University of York. Parkinson's, the second most common form of neurodegenerative disease, principally affects people aged over 60. Its most common symptom is tremor and slowness of movement (bradykinesia) but some people with Parkinson's also experience changes in vision. Now for the first time, researchers in the University's Department of Biology have established a link between ...

This press release is available in German. A team of physicists at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, performed an experiment that seems to contradict the foundations of quantum theory -- at first glance. The team led by Rainer Blatt reversed a quantum measurement in a prototype quantum information processor. The experiment is enabled by a technique that has been developed for quantum error correction in a future quantum computer. Measurements on quantum systems have puzzled generations of physicists due to their counterintuitive properties. One of them is the fact ...

MAYWOOD, Il. - When hospital patients have to be readmitted soon after discharge, hospitals look bad. A high readmission rate also can result in reduced Medicare reimbursements. But a study of spine surgery patients has found that the standard method used to calculate readmission rates is a misleading indicator of hospital quality. Loyola University Medical Center neurosurgeon Beejal Amin, MD, and colleagues found that 25 percent of the readmissions of spine surgery patients were not due to true quality-of-care issues. Results are reported in a featured article in the ...

Pompe disease, a severe glycogen storage disease appearing in Lapphunds is caused by a genetic defect in acid α-glucosidase gene. The same genetic mutation also causes the equivalent disease in humans. Based on this finding, canine Pompe disease can now be diagnosed with a genetic test. This research was completed at the Canine Genetics Research Group lead by professor Hannes Lohi in the University of Helsinki and Folkhälsan Research Center in Finland and will be published in PLOS ONE on February 14, 2013. Human Pompe disease is caused by complete or partial deficiency ...

Experts from the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes and the University of Barcelona (UB) collected and studied different crustacean specimens during recent expeditions to Madagascar, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Philippines and French Polynesia. Using morphological and molecular data they have discovered five new species of crustaceans in the waters of these regions. They are genetically different but morphologically very similar and they also found a new genus, named Triodonthea. The five new species documented in the study belong to the Lauriea genus of the Galatheidae ...

Ever wonder why sand can both run through an hourglass like a liquid and be solid enough to support buildings? It's because granular materials – like sand or dirt – can change their behavior, or state. Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that the forces individual grains exert on one another are what most affect that transition. Physicists have explored the changing behavior of granular materials by comparing it to what happens in thermodynamic systems. In a thermodynamic system, you can change the state of a material – like water – from a liquid ...

Chemists at the University of Liverpool have created a new technique that could be used in industry to separate complex organic chemical mixtures. Chemical feedstocks containing benzene are used extensively in industry to create modern materials and polymers. Their use relies heavily on distillation techniques which separate complex mixtures into more simple molecules used as building blocks to develop drugs, plastics and new materials. These distillation techniques can be expensive and involve large amounts of energy for hard-to-separate mixtures. A team of researchers ...

Organic semiconductors hold promise for making low-cost flexible electronics – conceivably video displays that bend like book pages or roll and unroll like posters, or wearable circuitry sewn into uniforms or athletic wear. Researchers have demonstrated the ability to "print" transistors made of organic crystals on flexible plastic sheets, using technology that resembles inkjet or gravure printing. However, for the technology's potential to be realized, scientists have to show that these organic semiconductors will withstand the rugged handling they invite – they will ...

Wcologists from Umeå University and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim have studied fish communities and fish habitat and reviewed the importance of winter conditions for fish in streams and rivers in cold regions. The findings are now being published in the journal BioScience. It is well known that winter can be a stressful season for plants and animals in streams and rivers. It is reasonable to assume that more extreme weather conditions are the most taxing, but the ecological significance of this is poorly understood. The research team, ...

University of Cincinnati-led research takes a new direction in examining the availability of healthy foods for urban populations by examining the commuting patterns of its residents. This new approach to identifying so-called food deserts, now published online, will appear in the May journal of Health and Place. Neighborhoods without access to stores that provide healthy food options – such as fresh fruits and vegetables – are often labeled as food deserts. However, current methods for determining which neighborhoods have access to nutritious foods focus only on where ...

This press release is available in German. Physicists of the University of Vienna together with researchers from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna developed nano-machines which recreate principal activities of proteins. They present the first versatile and modular example of a fully artificial protein-mimetic model system, thanks to the Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC), a high performance computing infrastructure. These "bionic proteins" could play an important role in innovating pharmaceutical research. The results have now been published in ...

Having diabetes doubles a person's risk of dying after a heart attack, but the reason for the increased risk is not clear. A new University of Iowa study suggests the link may lie in the over-activation of an important heart enzyme, which leads to death of pacemaker cells in the heart, abnormal heart rhythm, and increased risk of sudden death in diabetic mice following a heart attack. "Many studies have shown that patients with diabetes are at especially high risk for dying from a myocardial infarction (heart attack). Our study provides new evidence that this excess ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. -- Researchers have studied viruses as agents of disease in humans, domestic animals and plants, but a study of plant viruses in the wild may point to a more cooperative, benevolent role of the microbe, according to a Penn State virologist. "Most of these wild plants have viruses," said Marilyn Roossinck, professor of plant pathology and environmental microbiology and biology, who has examined more than 7,000 individual plants for viruses. "But they don't have any of the symptoms that we usually see in crop plants with viruses." Most of the viruses ...

Highlights A technique that removes additional toxins during dialysis decreased kidney failure patients' risk of dying from any cause by 30% over three years. The technique also reduced patients' risk of dying from heart-related causes or infections. 15% to 25% of dialysis patients die annually. Washington, DC (February 14, 2013) — A technique that removes additional toxins during dialysis may prolong kidney failure patients' lives, according to a clinical trial appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). In light of ...

We are constantly being bombarded by speedy, energetic, and yet unassuming, particles called cosmic rays. These charged particles (mostly protons), continuously assail the Earth from outer space. There is general consensus among scientists that supernova remnants (the leftovers of a supernova explosion) are the sources of cosmic rays, but the final proof has been elusive since cosmic rays are deflected on their way from the source to Earth. A new study offers conclusive evidence that cosmic ray protons within our galaxy are accelerated in the shock waves produced by ...

Anxiety-moderating drugs that reach waterways via wastewater create fearless and asocial fish that eat more quickly than normal. These behavioral changes can have serious ecological consequences. This is shown by Umeå University researchers in the prestigious journal Science. Many drugs leave our bodies unaffected, and residues from them are therefore found in wastewater. Low concentrations of drugs are often found downstream from sewage treatment plants. Today we test how dangerous drugs are to humans, but our knowledge of the environmental impacts of drugs is limited. ...

Pharmaceutical drugs that end up in the world's waterways after being excreted, flushed and treated at wastewater treatment plants may lead to unexpected ecological impacts, according to a new study of wild European perch. Tomas Brodin and colleagues from Umeå University in Sweden discovered that the fish ate faster, became bolder and acted less social after being subjected to an anxiety-moderating drug, known as Oxazepam. The psychiatric drug is used to treat anxiety in humans. But, Oxazepam residues often wind up in natural aquatic systems, downstream from sewage treatment ...

Menlo Park, Calif. — A new study confirms what scientists have long suspected: Cosmic rays – energetic particles that pelt Earth from all directions – are born in the violent aftermath of supernovas, exploding stars throughout the galaxy. A research team led by scientists at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at the Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory sifted through four years of data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to find the first unambiguous evidence of how cosmic rays are born. Reporting in the ...

This press release is available in German. Bremerhaven, 14 February 2013. Huge quantities of algae are growing on the underside of sea ice in the Central Arctic: in 2012 the ice algae Melosira arctica was responsible for almost half the primary production in this area. When the ice melts, as was the case during the ice minimum in 2012, these algae sink rapidly to the bottom of the sea at a depth of several thousands of metres. Deep sea animals such as sea cucumbers and brittle stars feed on the algae, and bacteria metabolise what's left, consuming the oxygen in the ...

DARIEN, IL – A new study confirms a link between insomnia and thoughts of suicide and suggests that this relationship is mediated by dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep as well as nightmares. The study suggests that the targeted assessment and treatment of specific sleep problems may reduce the risk of suicide in people with depressive symptoms. "Insomnia and nightmares, which are often confused and go hand-in-hand, are known risk factors for suicide but just how they contribute was unknown," said Dr. W. Vaughn McCall, the study's lead author and chair of ...

BOSTON – The trolls are winning. Pick a story about some aspect of science, any story, scroll down to the blog comments and let the bashing begin: "Wonder how much taxpayer cash went into this 'deep' study?" "I think you can take all these studies by pointy headed scientists, 99 percent of whom are socialists and communists, and stick them where the sun don't shine." "Yawn. Climate change myth wackos at it again." "This article is 100 percent propaganda crapola." "Speaking of dolts, if you were around in the 70s, when they also had scientists, the big talk ...