Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have identified specific EEG (electroencephalogram) signatures that indicate when patients lose and regain consciousness under the general anesthetic drug propofol. Their report being published online in PNAS Early Edition is part of a major MGH-based investigation into the mechanisms behind general anesthesia and builds on the results of a November 2012 paper. "We have discovered highly structured EEG patterns that indicate when people are sedated during administration of propofol, when they are unconscious and when ...

New research from North Carolina State University finds that older adults who play video games report higher levels of emotional well-being. Researchers asked 140 people aged 63 and older how often they played video games, if at all. The study participants then took a battery of tests to assess their emotional and social well-being. 61 percent of study participants played video games at least occasionally, with 35 percent of participants saying they played at least once per week. The study found that participants who played video games, including those who only played ...

Consumers respond more favorably to advertising when the placement of product images is consistent with the way they visualize time, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Whether a product's image is placed on the left or the right of an advertisement matters for products promising results occurring over time (weight loss aids or anti-aging creams) or products that are valued because they are old or new (antique furniture, modern art, wine, new technologies)," write authors Boyoun (Grace) Chae and JoAndrea Hoegg (both University of British Columbia). Consumers ...

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (March 5, 2013) – Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Lillehei Heart Institute have combined genetic repair with cellular reprogramming to generate stem cells capable of muscle regeneration in a mouse model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). The research, which provides proof-of-principle for the feasibility of combining induced pluripotent stem cell technology and genetic correction to treat muscular dystrophy, could present a major step forward in autologous cell-based therapies for DMD and similar conditions and should pave the way ...

Alexandria, VA — With over 37,000 face and neck injuries in more than 7,000 military personnel during Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF), a new study in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery concludes additional training in the management of these injuries and improvements in body armor could be beneficial. The authors note that OIF and OEF have changed the way military surgeons approach facial and penetrating neck trauma. "This study highlights the need for a trained head and neck surgeon in the deployed environment to address these changes and ...

Consumers are more willing to take risks and accept delays in exchange for greater benefits when they are able to compare products, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Rationally speaking, consumer preferences should be the same whether their product choices are presented side-by-side and evaluated comparatively or presented one at a time and evaluated in isolation, but it makes a remarkable difference in consumer decision-making," write authors Christopher K. Hsee (University of Chicago Booth School of Business), Jiao Zhang (University of Miami), ...

Product benefits that occur later in time are more likely to appeal to more independent consumers than to those who are more group or family oriented, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "More independent consumers think of the future in abstract terms and perceive future events as happening in the more distant future, whereas consumers who are less independent think of the future in concrete terms and perceive future events as happening sooner," write authors Gerri Spassova (Monash University) and Angela Y. Lee (Kellogg School of Management, ...

Ultrasound technology could soon experience a significant upgrade that would enable it to produce high-quality, high-resolution images, thanks to the development of a new key material by a team of researchers that includes a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University. The material, which converts ultrasound waves into optical signals that can be used to produce an image, is the result of a collaborative effort by Texas A&M Professor Vladislav Yakovlev and researchers from King's College London, The Queen's University of Belfast and ...

This press release is available in German. The microbiology team of David Berry, Alexander Loy and Michael Wagner from the Faculty of Life Sciences, in collaboration with scientists at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna) and with the help of NanoSIMS technology, has for the first time succeeded in directly observing microorganisms feeding on the intestinal mucosa. The results of this research project appear in the current issue of the prestigious journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS). To ...

Homes in neighborhoods that incorporate protected open space command prices 20 to 29 percent higher than those without open space, according to a new study by a Colorado State University multidisciplinary research team that included Wildlife Conservation Society scientist, Sarah Reed. Conservation development is an approach to the design, construction, and stewardship of a development that protects natural resources while also providing social and economic benefits to people. The properties in this study specifically incorporated protected open space into the design of ...

PASADENA, Calif.—If you could lick the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa, you would actually be sampling a bit of the ocean beneath. So says Mike Brown, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Brown—known as the Pluto killer for discovering a Kuiper-belt object that led to the demotion of Pluto from planetary status—and Kevin Hand from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have found the strongest evidence yet that salty water from the vast liquid ocean beneath Europa's frozen exterior actually makes its way to the surface. The finding, based ...

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (March 4, 2013) – Cesarean delivery is the most common surgery in the United States, performed on 1.67 million American women annually. Yet hospital cesarean rates vary widely according to new research from the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health. The latest study, appearing today in Health Affairs, shows that cesarean delivery rates varied tenfold across U.S. hospitals, from 7.1 percent to 69.9 percent. To arrive at their results, School of Public Health researchers examined hospital discharge data from a representative sample ...

March 5. 2013 -- Survey results released today indicate that satisfaction and usability ratings for certified electronic health records (EHRs) have decreased since 2010 among clinicians across a range of indicators. Overall, user satisfaction fell 12 percent from 2010 to 2012. Users who are "very dissatisfied" increased 10 percent during the same time period. The American College of Physicians (ACP) and AmericanEHR Partners revealed the findings in a presentation, "Challenges with Meaningful Use: EHR Satisfaction & Usability Diminishing," at the 2013 HIMSS Conference ...

SALT LAKE CITY – Researchers have identified a critical protein role in the metastasis of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. Inhibition of the protein known as adenosine diphosphate ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6) reduces the spread of melanoma to the lungs in mice, according to a study published in the March 5 issue of Science Signaling online, suggesting that targeting ARF6 may be an effective approach to preventing melanoma metastasis. Melanoma is the sixth most common cancer in the United States. Approximately one in 50 people will develop melanoma in their ...

AURORA, Colo. (March 5, 2013) – Researchers have discovered that deleting a specific gene in mice prevents them from becoming obese even on a high fat diet, a finding they believe may be replicated in humans. "When fed a diet that induces obesity these mice don't get fat," said Prof. James McManaman, Ph.D., lead author of the study and vice-chairman of research for Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "It may be possible to duplicate this in humans using existing technology that targets this specific gene." The two-year study, ...

This press release is available in French. Montreal, March 5, 2013 – Pulp and paper producers are among Canada's most important industries and also one of the largest producers of wastewater. Estimating the greenhouse gas emissions in this wastewater has become a priority for the industry. Until now, greenhouse gas emission estimates have been limited by the mathematical models used to predict them. Researchers at Concordia University have recently developed a new dynamic method to better predict the emission content of these gases. Their findings, published in Environmental ...

HOUSTON -- (March 4, 2013) – Introductions at a party seemingly go in one ear and out the other. However, if you meet someone two or three times during the party, you are more likely to remember his or her name. Your brain has taken a short-term memory – the introduction – and converted it into a long-term one. The molecular key to this activity is mTORC2 (mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2), according to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (http://www.bcm.edu) in an article that appeared online in the journal Nature Neuroscience (http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nn.3351.html). "Memory ...

Lower back pain is a common complaint, and treatment often requires many hours of physical therapy over multiple weekly clinic visits — a costly commitment. Now Dr. Michal Katz-Leurer of Tel Aviv University's Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine says that a simple aerobic walking program is as effective in alleviating lower back pain as muscle strengthening programs that require specialized equipment in rehabilitation clinics. The program includes walking two to three times a week for a period of 20 to 40 minutes, Dr. Katz-Leurer ...

One in 25,000 people worldwide is affected by neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), a condition where the loss of a tumour suppressor called Merlin results in multiple tumours in the brain and nervous system. Sufferers may experience 20 to 30 tumours at any one time and such numbers often lead to hearing loss, disability and eventually death. Those with NF2 may also experience peripheral neuropathy, which is when the nerves carrying messages to and from the brain and spinal column to the rest of the body do not work. Peripheral neuropathy leads to further complications for ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Researchers have shown theoretically how to control or eliminate the formation of "dendrites" that cause lithium-ion batteries to fail, an advance that if realized would improve safety and might enable the batteries to be charged within a matter of minutes instead of hours. The dendrites are lithium deposits that form on electrode surfaces and may continue to grow until they cause an internal short circuit, which results in battery failure and possible fire. Researchers have created an analytical theory that shows how to design experiments to study ...

DALLAS – March 5, 2013 – UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists report the first successful blocking of tumor development in a genetic mouse model of an incurable human cancer. "To my knowledge, this is the first time that a mouse model of a genetically defined malignant human cancer has been generated in which the formation of the tumor from beginning to end can be monitored and in which blocking the pathway cures the mouse of the tumor," said Dr. Luis Parada, chair of the department of developmental biology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study published ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- As newspaper sales continue to decline, many news organizations are searching for ways to improve readership and revenues from their online presences. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that news organizations should target readers with certain personality traits in order to optimize their online viewership. Paul Bolls, an associate professor of strategic communication at the MU School of Journalism and a 2011-2012 MU Reynolds Journalism Institute Fellow, has found that news consumers who have "reward-seeking" personalities are more likely ...

New York, NY, March 5, 2013 – A JDRF-funded study out of Switzerland has shown that a single gene called SIRT1 may be involved in the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and other autoimmune diseases. The study, "Identification of a SIRT1 Mutation in a Family with Type 1 Diabetes," was published today in Cell Metabolism and represents the first demonstration of a monogenetic defect leading to the onset of T1D. The research began when Marc Donath, M.D., endocrinologist and researcher at the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland, discovered an interesting pattern of ...

NEW YORK, NY (March 5, 2013) — Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), with collaborators at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, have discovered how the most common genetic mutations in familial Parkinson's disease damage brain cells. The mutations block an intracellular system that normally prevents a protein called alpha-synuclein from reaching toxic levels in dopamine-producing neurons. The findings suggest that interventions aimed at enhancing this digestive system, or preventing its disruption, may prove valuable in the ...

It's among the most ancient of questions: What are the origins of life on Earth? A new experiment simulating conditions in deep space reveals that the complex building blocks of life could have been created on icy interplanetary dust and then carried to Earth, jump-starting life. Chemists from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Hawaii, Manoa, showed that conditions in space are capable of creating complex dipeptides – linked pairs of amino acids – that are essential building blocks shared by all living things. The discovery opens the door ...