We've all heard of the "glass ceiling" but the recent economic crisis has illuminated another workplace phenomenon: the "glass cliff." Women seem to be overrepresented in precarious leadership positions at organizations going through crisis. Evidence is growing that more feminine leadership traits, such as being understanding and tactful, are believed to be desirable under such circumstances, causing people to make a "think crisis – think female" association. But is it that women are always passively selected into these jobs or do they sometimes also actively seek them ...

In a landmark study, University of Otago researchers have achieved the feat of sequencing complete mitochondrial genomes for members of what was likely to be one of the first groups of Polynesians to settle New Zealand and have revealed a surprising degree of genetic variation among these pioneering voyagers. The Otago researchers' breakthrough means that similar DNA detective work with samples from various modern and ancient Polynesian populations might now be able to clear up competing theories about the pathways of their great migration across the Pacific to New Zealand. Results ...

Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) is currently classified as a subtype of juvenile idiopathic arthritis but with the addition of systemic inflammation often resulting in fever, rash and serositis. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine shows that the arthritic and systemic components of SJIA are related, but that the inflammatory pathways involved in SJIA are different from those in the more common polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (POLY). Of particular interest, distinct pathways involved in the arthritis of early ...

The tobacco industry is now using smarphone apps - a medium that has global reach, including to children - to promote its products, warn researchers in Tobacco Control. The availability of pro-smoking content in app stores seems to be violating Article 13 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which bans the advertising and promotion of tobacco products in all media, say the authors. In February 2012, they searched two of the largest smartphone app stores (Apple and Android Market) for the availability of English language ...

Treating chronic hepatitis C infection with antiviral drugs could halve the risk of developing the most common form of liver cancer, in some cases, indicates an analysis of the published research in one of the new BMJ Open Editions.* Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common form of liver cancer worldwide, accounting for 90 per cent of all primary cases of the disease. Cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis C infection are among the most important risk factors. The authors reviewed the published evidence on the use of antiviral therapy—interferon or pegylated interferon, ...

A study led by The University of Manchester has demonstrated that new technology that can analyse millions of gene sequences in a matter of seconds is an effective way to quickly and accurately identify diseases in skeletons. Professor Terry Brown, working in partnership with Professor Charlotte Roberts from Durham University, used a next generation sequencing approach, including hybridization capture technology, to identify tuberculosis genes in a 19th century female skeleton found in a crypt in Leeds. Their study is part of wider research into the identification ...

People who exercise later in life may better protect their brain from age-related changes than those who do not, a study suggests. Researchers found that people over 70 who took regular exercise showed less brain shrinkage over a three-year period than those who did little exercise. Psychologists and Neuroimaging experts, based at the University of Edinburgh, did not find there to be any benefit to brain health for older people from participation in social or mentally stimulating activities. Greater brain shrinkage is linked to problems with memory and thinking ...

BETHESDA, Md. (October 22, 2012)— A new study shows that both length of time and percentage of overall sleep spent in different sleep stages are associated with decreased metabolic rate, increased hunger, and increased intake of calories (specifically from fat and carbohydrates). The findings suggest an explanation for the association between sleep problems and obesity. Researchers from St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital and Columbia University investigated the effects of sleep architecture on hunger to determine whether specific stages of sleep, rather than simple duration, ...

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Wouldn't it be amazing if our bodies prepared us for future events that could be very important to us, even if there's no clue about what those events will be? Presentiment without any external clues may, in fact, exist, according to new Northwestern University research that analyzes the results of 26 studies published between 1978 and 2010. Researchers already know that our subconscious minds sometimes know more than our conscious minds. Physiological measures of subconscious arousal, for instance, tend to show up before conscious awareness that ...

Most liver transplant candidates who died or were removed from the transplant list actually received one or more liver donation offers, according to a recent UCSF study. "What we found challenges the simplistic view that transplant dynamics are driven simply by organ availability," said lead author, Jennifer Lai, MD, assistant clinical professor in the UCSF Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. "Efforts to reduce wait-list mortality must target all aspects of mismatch between supply and demand." The research team analyzed data from 33,389 candidates listed ...

(Edmonton) Children who bask in the nighttime glow of a TV or computer don't get enough rest and suffer from poor lifestyle habits, new research from the University of Alberta has shown. A provincewide survey of Grade 5 students in Alberta showed that as little as one hour of additional sleep decreased the odds of being overweight or obese by 28 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively. Children with one or more electronic devices in the bedroom—TVs, computers, video games and cellphones—were also far more likely to be overweight or obese. "If you want your kids to sleep ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. –Nearly 40 percent of breast cancer survivors suffer from lymphedema, a chronic condition that causes body limbs to swell from fluid buildup, as a result of lymph node removal and radiation therapy. A cure for lymphedema does not exist, so individuals with the condition must find ways to manage the symptoms throughout their lifetimes. Now, a team of researchers and clinicians working with a University of Missouri lymphedema expert has found that full-body exercise and complete decongestive therapy (CDT) are the best ways for patients to minimize their symptoms ...

While a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder shows the risk of human conflict in East Africa increases somewhat with hotter temperatures and drops a bit with higher precipitation, it concludes that socioeconomic, political and geographic factors play a much more substantial role than climate change. According to CU-Boulder geography Professor John O'Loughlin, the new CU-Boulder study undertaken with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder is an attempt to clarify the often-contradictory debate on whether climate change is affecting armed ...

Like job-seekers searching for a new position, living things sometimes have to pick up a new skill if they are going to succeed. Researchers from the University of California, Davis, and Uppsala University, Sweden, have shown for the first time how living organisms do this. The observation, published Oct. 19 in the journal Science, closes an important gap in the theory of natural selection. Scientists have long wondered how living things evolve new functions from a limited set of genes. One popular explanation is that genes duplicate by accident; the duplicate undergoes ...

Annual to decadal changes in the earth's magnetic field in a region that stretches from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean have a close relationship with variations of gravity in this area. From this it can be concluded that outer core processes are reflected in gravity data. This is the result presented by a German-French group of geophysicists in the latest issue of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States). The main field of the Earth's magnetic field is generated by flows of liquid iron in the outer core. The Earth's magnetic field protects ...

A new, comprehensive review of humans' anthropological and genetic records gives the most up-to-date story of the "Out of Africa" expansion that occurred about 45,000 to 60,000 years ago. This expansion, detailed by three Stanford geneticists, had a dramatic effect on human genetic diversity, which persists in present-day populations. As a small group of modern humans migrated out of Africa into Eurasia and the Americas, their genetic diversity was substantially reduced. In studying these migrations, genomic projects haven't fully taken into account the rich archaeological ...

Get ready for a fascinating eating experience in the center of our galaxy. The event involves a black hole that may devour much of an approaching cloud of dust and gas known as G2. A supercomputer simulation prepared by two Lab physicists and a former postdoc suggests that some of G2 will survive, although its surviving mass will be torn apart, leaving it with a different shape and questionable fate. The findings are the work of computational physicist Peter Anninos and astrophysicist Stephen Murray, both of AX division within the Weapons and Complex Integration Directorate ...

RENO, Nev. – A research team at the University of Nevada, Reno has developed a new environmentally-friendly coating for aluminum to replace the carcinogenic chromate coatings used in aerospace applications. The chromate conversion coatings have been used for more than 50 years to protect aluminum from corrosion. The team presented their research last week at the international Pacific Rim Meeting on Electrochemical and Solid-State Science in Hawaii. "It was well received at the conference," Dev Chidambaram, lead scientist and assistant professor of materials science ...

Tropical Depression 18 (TD18) formed over the southwestern Caribbean Sea at 11 a.m. EDT on Oct. 22, and NASA's TRMM satellite saw a "hot towering" thunderstorm near its center of circulation hinting that it could become a tropical storm soon. A tropical storm watch has been issued for Jamaica. When NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite flew over the developing TD18 early on Oct. 22 at 0040 UTC (Oct. 21 at 8:40 p.m. EDT), the satellite measured rainfall rates within the low pressure area and measured cloud heights of the thunderstorms that make up ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have increased the potency of a compound that reactivates antibiotics against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an antibiotic-resistant form of Staphylococcus that is notoriously difficult to treat. Their improved compound removes the bacteria's antibiotic resistance and allows the antibiotic to once again become effective at normal dosage levels. NC State chemist Christian Melander had previously proven the effectiveness of a 2-aminoimidazole compound in reactivating antibiotics against resistant bacterial ...

URBANA – A University of Illinois study suggests avoiding cooking methods that produce the kind of crusty bits you'd find on a grilled hamburger, especially if you have diabetes and know you're at increased risk for cardiovascular disease because of your diagnosis. "We see evidence that cooking methods that create a crust—think the edge of a brownie or the crispy borders of meats prepared at very high temperatures—produce advanced glycation end products (AGEs). And AGEs are associated with plaque formation, the kind we see in cardiovascular disease," said Karen Chapman-Novakofski, ...

HOUSTON – (Oct. 22, 2012) – Although primary care physicians take care of many aspects of health and disease, little is known about how they can change sedentary behavior through counseling, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). Results from a new study suggest encouraging patients to decrease the time they spend sitting each day may be feasible in the primary care setting. "Reducing sedentary time can be done by virtually everyone and requires smaller changes in energy expenditure than meeting physical activity ...

LA JOLLA, CA---- Scientists have long believed that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive type of primary brain tumor, begins in glial cells that make up supportive tissue in the brain or in neural stem cells. In a paper published October 18 in Science Express, however, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that the tumors can originate from other types of differentiated cells in the nervous system, including cortical neurons. GBM is one of the most devastating brain tumors that can affect humans. Despite progress in genetic ...

Political mindsets are the product of an individual's upbringing, life experiences, and environment. But are there specific experiences that lead a person to choose one political ideology over another? New research from psychological scientist R. Chris Fraley of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and colleagues suggest that parenting practices and childhood temperament may play an influential role. Their study is published online in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Existing research suggests that individuals ...

TORONTO, Oct. 22, 2012—When mothers and newborns are both admitted to intensive care units they are significantly more likely to die than when neither is admitted to an ICU, new research has found. Researchers led by Dr. Joel Ray, a physician at St. Michael's Hospital, examined data on all 1.02 million single births in Ontario from 2002-10 and found that infants were 28 times more likely to die if they and their mother were both admitted to ICUs around the time of delivery. The maternal death rate was 330 times higher when both went to ICU, compared to when neither went ...