MANHATTAN -- A Kansas State University research team has found that despite humans increasing nitrogen production through industrialization, nitrogen availability in many ecosystems has remained steady for the past 500 years. Their work appears in the journal Nature. "People have been really interested in nitrogen in current times because it's a major pollutant," said Kendra McLauchlan, assistant professor of geography and director of the university's Paleoenvironmental Laboratory. "Humans are producing a lot more nitrogen than in the past for use as crop fertilizer, ...

Philadelphia, PA, March 21, 2013 – The April issue of Translational Research examines the progress and outlook of gene therapy research, with a specific focus on the clinical applicability of gene therapy today. Research articles included in the special issue highlight current studies that, after decades of trial and error, may provide evidence for a clear path of treatment and cure for many diseases. There are more than 1,800 genetic disorders known in humans, and only a small fraction of these can be treated and even fewer cured. Some of these disorders are exceedingly ...

University of Colorado Boulder astronomers targeting one of the brightest quasars glowing in the universe some 11 billion years ago say "sideline quasars" likely teamed up with it to heat abundant helium gas billions of years ago, preventing small galaxy formation. CU-Boulder Professor Michael Shull and Research Associate David Syphers used the Hubble Space Telescope to look at the quasar -- the brilliant core of an active galaxy that acted as a "lighthouse" for the observations -- to better understand the conditions of the early universe. The scientists studied gaseous ...

Once rhesus monkeys learn to associate a picture with a reward, the reward by itself becomes enough to alter the activity in the monkeys' visual cortex. This finding was made by neurophysiologists Wim Vanduffel and John Arsenault (KU Leuven and Harvard Medical School) and American colleagues using functional brain scans and was published recently in the leading journal Neuron. Our visual perception is not determined solely by retinal activity. Other factors also influence the processing of visual signals in the brain. "Selective attention is one such factor," says Professor ...

New Rochelle, NY, March 21, 2013—A new study of patterns of brain communication in toddlers with autism shows evidence of aberrant neural communication even at this relatively early stage of brain development. The results are presented in an article in Brain Connectivity, a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Brain Connectivity website at http://www.liebertpub.com/brain. A team of researchers from The Netherlands (University Medical Center Utrecht and Utrecht University, Radboud University Nijmegen ...

A national survey of health professionals showed that drug shortages are taking a heavy toll on cancer patients, forcing treatment changes and delays that for some patients meant worse outcomes, more therapy-related complications and higher costs. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators played an important role in the study. The survey queried oncology pharmacists and others involved in managing cancer drug shortages for academic medical centers, community hospitals and other cancer treatment facilities nationwide. Of the 243 individuals who completed the ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Food and environment can chemically alter your gene function and scientists have identified a gene that is consistently altered in obesity. The gene LY86 was among a group of 100 genes identified as likely contributors to obesity through genome-wide association studies comparing the DNA of thousands of obese and lean individuals, said Dr. Shaoyong Su, genetic epidemiologist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University. Su looked at progressively larger groups of obese versus lean individuals and found LY86 consistently and highly chemically ...

UT Dallas researchers are developing a new low-light imaging method that could improve a number of scientific applications, including the microscopic imaging of single molecules in cancer research. Electrical engineering professor Dr. Raimund Ober and his team recently published their findings in the journal Nature Methods. In the journal, they describe a method which minimizes the deterioration of images that can occur with conventional imaging approaches. "Any image you take of an object is translated by the camera into pixels with added electronic noise," Ober said. ...

ITHACA, N.Y. — With a dizzying number of ties in our social networks – that your Aunt Alice is a neighbor of Muhammad who is married to Natasha who is your wife's boss – it's a wonder we remember any of it. How do we keep track of the complexity? We cheat, says a Cornell University sociologist in Scientific Reports (March 21), a publication of Nature. Study: http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130321/srep01513/full/srep01513.html Humans keep track of social information not by rote memorization but with simplifying rules, as you might remember a number sequence that always ...

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues in Canada have published study results focused on black women younger than 50, a population disproportionately afflicted with and dying from early-onset breast cancer compared to their white counterparts. The research published in the Jan. 16 issue of The Breast Journal. Early-onset breast cancer has been associated with mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. These breast cancer predisposing genes were discovered almost 20 years ago and confer a lifetime risk of breast cancer of 60 to 70 percent, as well as a much higher ...

Thanks to a supersensitive space telescope and some sophisticated supercomputing, scientists from the international Planck collaboration have made the closest reading yet of the most ancient story in our universe: the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Today, the team released preliminary results based on the Planck observatory's first 15 months of data. Using supercomputers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) Planck scientists have created the most detailed and accurate maps yet of the relic radiation ...

Boston – In a highly anticipated report, landmark recommendations on the handling of incidental findings in clinical genome and exome sequencing are being issued from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). A report of the recommendations, led by Robert C. Green, MD, MPH, a medical geneticist at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), outlines for the first time a minimum list of genetic conditions, genes and variants that laboratories performing clinical sequencing should seek and report to the physicians that ordered the testing -- regardless of the ...

A new Guidance recently published by the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis (ESCEO) and the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) reflects the most current advances in the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis, the 'silent disease' which affects up to one in two postmenopausal women. "The serious impact of fragility fractures due to osteoporosis is vastly underestimated by many health care professionals," stated ESCEO President Professor Jean-Yves Reginster. "Statistics clearly show that fragility fractures in older adults ...

Philadelphia – By studying the underlying differences in gene expression during healing after a bone break in young versus aged mice, Jaimo Ahn, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and his colleagues aim to find specific pathways of fracture healing in humans. The team of researchers will present their findings in a poster presentation beginning Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at the 2013 American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons annual meeting in Chicago. Problems with healing after bone fractures ...

Researchers at the UAB's Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB) and the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), have analysed the potential of different species of microalgae for producing biodiesel, comparing their growth, production of biomass and the quantity of lipids per cell (essential for obtaining fuel). Their study shows that one type of marine algae that has received little attention till now - dinoflagellate microalgae - is highly suitable for cultivation with the aim of producing biodiesel. The scientists carried out the whole production ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - New research findings may help scientists design drugs to treat a virus infection that causes potentially fatal brain swelling and paralysis in children. The virus, called enterovirus 71, causes hand, foot and mouth disease and is common throughout the world. Although that disease usually is not fatal, the virus has been reported to cause fatal encephalitis in infants and young children, primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. Currently, no cure exists for the infection. New findings show the precise structure of the virus bound to a molecule that ...

URBANA – As escalating corn prices have encouraged many farmers to switch to growing corn continuously, they wonder why they have been seeing unusually high yield reductions over the past several years. The University of Illinois conducted a six-year study that identified three key factors affecting yield in continuous corn (CC) systems. "Prior to this study, the most common management recommendations for continuous corn production were to apply an additional 45 pounds of nitrogen per acre and reserve your best crop land for it," said U of I soil scientist and lead author ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Every community in America has its share of parks. However, park amenities in certain communities can be lacking, which can be detrimental to the health of potential patrons. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found that while more parks exist in lower-income neighborhoods, they tend to be less attractive than parks in upper- and middle-class neighborhoods, which have more amenities and are more visually pleasing. "Parks are important for physical activity and socialization among community members," said Sonja Wilhelm Stanis, assistant professor ...

The Planck space mission has today (March 21) released the most accurate and detailed map ever made of the oldest light in the universe. The universe according to Planck is expanding a bit more slowly than thought, and at 13.8 billion is 100 million years older than previously estimated. There is a bit less dark energy and a bit more of both normal and dark matter in the universe — although the nature of dark energy and dark matter remain mysterious. "Planck's high-precision map of the oldest light in our universe allows us to extract the most refined values yet of the ...

Alexandria, VA, March 21, 2013 — A New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) study showing that physical therapy is just as effective as surgery in patients with meniscal tears and arthritis of the knee should encourage many health care providers to reconsider their practices in the management of this common injury, according to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The study, published March 19, showed no significant differences in functional improvement after 6 months between patients who underwent surgery with postoperative physical therapy and those who received ...

Dr Shelby Temple, now at the University of Bristol, and his team at the University of Queensland and the University of Western Australia used a modified version of the Landolt C test to discover just how fine a detail the archerfish could resolve. The researchers first trained the fish to spit at one of two letters – an 'O' or a 'C' – by rewarding them with food. Then they showed them small versions of both letters together and recorded which letter they spat at. Dr Temple said: "This modified Landolt C test works because the only difference between the two letters ...

Using quantum mechanical phenomena, computers could be much more powerful than their classical digital predecessors. Scientists all over the world are working to explore the basis for quantum computing. To date most systems are based on electrically charged particles that are held in an "electromagnetic trap." A disadvantage of these systems is that they are very sensitive to electromagnetic interference and therefore need extensive shielding. Physicists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen have now found a way for information to be stored and quantum mechanically processed ...

A little more than a year after the FDA approved Kalydeco (Vx-770), the first drug of its kind to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis, University of Missouri researchers believe they have found exactly how this drug works and how to improve its effectiveness in the future. Described in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, MU researchers have redefined a key regulatory process in the defective protein responsible for cystic fibrosis that could change the way scientists approach the lethal genetic disease. "They know the drug ...

The Seven Star Global Luxury Awards continues to gain momentum with online voting already exceeding expectations after only a few weeks. With the most sought-after brands in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries vying to be honored with the Signum Virtutis - the seal of excellence, being bestowed upon them for 2013; competition is becoming fierce on a global scale. The results will be revealed at the Awards Ceremony; honoring this elite collection of nominees with this highest and most exclusive award for being the pinnacle of luxury and lifestyle in these ...

During the winter, manatees in Florida rely on warm-water refuges in the southern peninsula, and consistently return to one more specific areas. This new study assessed the proportion of manatees that use natural springs, power plant discharge areas, and passive 'thermal basins' that trap warm water for a week or more. They found that nearly half of all animals they counted sought out power plant outfalls for warmth, while approximately 17% chose warm springs. In the coldest periods the proportion at power plants can increase to two-thirds. Despite this relatively small ...