Mobile devices include an increasing number of input and output techniques that are currently not used for communication. Recent research results by Dr Eve Hoggan from HIIT / University of Helsinki, Finland, however, indicate that a synchronous haptic communication system has value as a communication channel in real-world settings with users that express greetings, presence and emotions through presages. -Pressure and tactile techniques have been explored in tangible interfaces for remote communication on dedicated devices but until now, these techniques have not been ...

Bethesda, MD—When astronauts return to Earth, their altitude isn't the only thing that drops—their blood pressure does too. This condition, known as orthostatic hypotension, occurs in up to half of those astronauts on short-term missions (two weeks or less) and in nearly all astronauts after long-term missions (four to six months). A new research report published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) solves the biological mystery of how this happens by showing that low gravity compromises the ability of arteries and veins to constrict normally, inhibiting ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (October 25, 2012) –Whitehead Institute researchers report that common assumptions employed in the generation and interpretation of data from global gene expression analyses can lead to seriously flawed conclusions about gene activity and cell behavior in a wide range of current biological research. "Expression analysis is one of the most commonly used methods in modern biology," says Whitehead Member Richard Young. "So we are concerned that flawed assumptions may affect the interpretation of many biological studies." Much of today's interpretation ...

University of Illinois cell and developmental Biology professor Fei Wang and colleagues have created a new technique to study how myeloids, a type of blood stem cell, become the white blood cells important for immune system defense against infections and tissue damage. This approach offers new insights into the molecular mechanisms at work during myeloid differentiation, and may improve our ability to treat myeloid diseases like leukemia, the researchers report. Their findings appear in the journal Blood. Myeloids are blood stem cells from bone marrow or the spinal cord ...

MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 25, 2012 – A clinical trial indicates that using an investigational medical device to close a PFO, or "hole in the heart," may be superior to medical management alone in the prevention of a repeated stroke. Results of the RESPECT trial were presented today at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. A PFO (patent foramen ovale) is a flap-like opening ...

MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 25, 2012 – A clinical trial that compared catheter-based PFO closure using an investigational device found that there was no significant reduction in ischemic and bleeding events compared to standard medical therapy; stroke risk was non-significantly reduced with device therapy. The PC Trial was presented at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. ...

TORONTO, ON – It is time to put the nature versus nurture debate to rest and embrace growing evidence that it is the interaction between biology and environment in early life that influences human development, according to a series of studies recently published in a special edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). "Biologists used to think that our differences are pre-programmed in our genes, while psychologists argued that babies are born with a blank slate and their experience writes on it to shape them into the adults they become. Instead, ...

Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, researchers have discovered a band, or stream, of stars believed to be the remnant of an ancient star cluster slowly being ingested by the Milky Way, Earth's home galaxy. "The Milky Way is constantly gobbling up small galaxies and star clusters," said Ana Bonaca, a Yale graduate student and lead author of a study forthcoming in Astrophysical Journal Letters. "The more powerful gravity of our Milky Way pulls these objects apart and their stars then become part of the Milky Way itself." Researchers have previously found evidence of ...

Evolution, often perceived as a series of random changes, might in fact be driven by a simple and repeated genetic solution to an environmental pressure that a broad range of specieshappen to share, according to new research. Princeton University research published in the journal Science suggests that knowledge of a species' genes — and how certain external conditions affect the proteins encoded by those genes — could be used to determine a predictable evolutionary pattern driven by outside factors. Scientists could then pinpoint how the diversity of adaptations seen ...

A new collaborative project among researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden and the University of Cincinnati has, for the first time, demonstrated experimentally the evolutionary force behind the rapid evolution of male genitals, focusing on a species of seed beetle. This mechanism is revealed in a study published today in the scientific journal Current Biology. The experiments leading to this paper involved a species of seed beetle known as Callosobruchus maculatus. Mating among these beetles involves several males engaging in copulation with individual females. ...

MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 25, 2012 – A hydration regimen tailored to the patient's fluid status was effective in reducing damage to kidneys in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization, according to a study presented at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI), or contrast-induced nephropathy, refers to kidney damage that may occur ...

MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 25, 2012 – Patients who receive a drug-eluting stent (DES) and demonstrate low levels of platelet inhibition are more likely to have blood clots form on the stent and suffer a possible heart attack; conversely, patients with higher levels of platelet inhibition are at greater risk for bleeding complications. One-year results of the ADAPT-DES study were presented today at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, TCT is the world's premier educational meeting ...

If an object slams into the glass façade of a high-rise building, the glass must not shatter and fall down, because it could harm pedestrians below. In addition, the window panes must hold if a person were to fall against it from the inside. Architects and builders therefore must use something stronger than laminated safety glass on the façades of high rise buildings. The same applies to the windshields on cars. Safety glass prevents passengers in an accident from getting hurt by glass shards. And shop windows made of safety glass are expected to reliably safeguard the ...

One man's death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic. - Joseph Stalin This book of prose poems is a captivating visit to the legendary town of Spoon River, viewed through the epitaphs of its residents. SPOON RIVER REVISITED is an insightful sequel to Edgar Lee Master's 1916 classic, Spoon River Anthology. The people who share their modern stories still struggle with challenges of growing up, making their way through life, and passing on. Death has an undeserved, bad reputation! Within the understandings of western medicine, when the body stops working, that is ...

MINNEAPOLIS – A new study suggests that women who begin taking hormone therapy within five years of menopause may reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The research is published in the October 24, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "This has been an area of debate because observational studies have shown a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease with hormone therapy use, while a randomized controlled trial showed an increased risk. Our results suggest that there may be a critical window near menopause ...

MAYWOOD, Ill. - Nearly 80 million Americans would no longer need to take vitamin D supplements under new Institute of Medicine guidelines, according to a study by Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers. Results were published Oct. 24, 2012 in the journal PLOS ONE. The new guidelines advise that almost all people get sufficient vitamin D when their blood levels are at or above 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). Older guidelines said people needed vitamin D levels above 30 ng/ml. Holly Kramer, MD, MPH and colleagues examined data from 15,099 ...

HOUSTON -- (October 24, 2012) – , said a Baylor College of Medicine physician-scientist who was part of the local team that took part in the international effort. A report appears online in the journal Nature. "We now know every gene involved in pancreatic cancer," said Dr. William Fisher, professor of surgery and director of the Elkins Pancreas Center at BCM. "This study ushers in a whole new era of taking care of patients with pancreatic cancer. We will look back on this as a turning point in understanding and treating this disease." The study follows a five-year ...

BOSTON––Findings from a nationwide study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute suggest that patients with advanced lung or colorectal cancer are frequently mistaken in their beliefs that chemotherapy can cure their disease. The study, published in the Oct. 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that 69 percent of patients with advanced lung cancer and 81 percent of patients with advanced colorectal cancer did not understand that the chemotherapy they were receiving was not at all likely to cure their disease. Their expectations run counter ...

Residents living in high-income white and high-income integrated neighborhoods were more likely to receive bystander CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) during an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest than arrest victims in low-income black neighborhoods, according to a publication in the Oct. 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Arrest victims in low-income white, low-income integrated and high-income black neighborhoods were also less likely to receive bystander CPR. In an effort to look at future CPR training processes and public health planning, researchers ...

In an editorial appearing in the October 25 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, medical oncologists at Johns Hopkins and Brigham and Women's hospitals provide a four-point plan for integrating palliative care discussions throughout the treatment of patients with terminal illnesses. They write that better planning and communication may improve symptoms, stress, and survival time, as well as lower health care costs at the end of life. The two physicians suggest that their colleagues should discuss palliative care with patients during initial talks about prognosis ...

European countries with gaps in border security surrounding agricultural imports have been invaded by the largest number of exotic insect pests, according to research published Oct 24 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Steven Bacon and colleagues from the Swiss Federal Research Station Agroscope ART and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Invasive agricultural pests pose growing environmental and economic problems, threatening biodiversity and costing billions of dollars in economic losses annually. Large volumes of cross-border trade increase the risks of invasion, ...

PORTLAND, Ore. - Oregon Health & Science University's development of a new gene therapy method to prevent certain inherited diseases has reached a significant milestone. Researchers at the university's Oregon National Primate Research Center and the OHSU Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology have successfully demonstrated their procedure in human cells. It's believed that this research, along with other efforts, will pave the way for future clinical trials in human subjects. The research results are online Wednesday, Oct. 24, in the highly respected journal Nature. Dr. ...

Archer fish knock their insect prey out of overhanging vegetation with a jet of water several times more powerful than the fish's muscles. New research now shows that the fish generate this power externally using water dynamics rather than with any specialized internal organs. The research, published Oct. 24 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Alberto Vailati and colleagues from the University of Milan, provides the first explanation for how archer fish can generate such powerful jets to capture their prey. Other animals like chameleons and salamanders store energy ...

As we grow older, we are less capable of correctly estimating differences in the weights of objects we lift, according to a study published Oct. 24 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Jessica Holmin and Farley Norman from North Dakota State University and Western Kentucky University, respectively. Previous studies have shown that aging is frequently associated with a decrease in muscle mass and consequently strength, making it more difficult to lift objects. As a result, older adults often perceive weights they lift as being heavier than they actually are. In the current ...

Analysis of texture differences in satellite images may be an effective way to monitor changes in vegetation, soil and water patterns over time, with potential implications for measuring biodiversity as well, according to new research published Oct. 24 by Matteo Convertino from the University of Florida and colleagues in the open access journal PLOS ONE. The authors designed statistical models to estimate two aspects of biodiversity in satellite images: the number of species in a given region, or 'species richness', and the rate at which species entered or were removed ...