Los Angeles (September 25, 2012)- With ties to diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol, childhood obesity in wealthy countries is certainly of growing concern to researchers. A new study explores the ties between childhood weight problems, socioeconomic status, and nationality and finds that race, ethnicity, and immigrant status are risk factors for weight problems among children in the US and England. This new study was published in the September issue of The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (a SAGE journal) titled "Migrant Youths and ...

How can laptop users be kinder to the environment by using less power? University of Cincinnati computer science doctoral student Dippy Aggarwal will be among the leaders in their fields who are sharing emerging research and career interests at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference, Oct. 3-6, in Baltimore. She'll present early results of her research in a poster presentation, "Leveraging Power Analytics and Linked Data for Enterprise Computing," on Wednesday, Oct. 3. Aggarwal's presentation evolved from a summer 2011 internship at the Digital ...

WASHINGTON—Research comparing brain development in humans and our closest nonhuman primate relatives, chimpanzees, reveals how quickly myelin in the cerebral cortex grows, shedding light on the evolution of human cognitive development and the vulnerability of humans to psychiatric disorders, a GW professor finds. Myelin is the fatty insulation surrounding axon connections of the brain. Recent research by Chet Sherwood, associate professor of anthropology in Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, along with Daniel Miller, a former GW graduate student, and other colleagues, ...

CHICAGO—In today's fast-paced society, consumers often reach for nutrition bars when looking for a healthy on-the-go snack. A new study in the September issue of the Journal of Food Science published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) found that partially replacing canola oil with fish oil in nutrition bars can provide the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids without affecting the taste. Producers have been hesitant to incorporate fish oil into foods because it tends to give off a fishy taste or smell, therefore requiring additional processing steps to eliminate ...

CHICAGO—A new study in the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), shows that grape skin and seeds generated from winemaking—known as wine pomace—are a good source of antioxidant dietary fiber and can be used to fortify various food products such as yogurts and salad dressings with enhanced nutritional value and extended shelf-life. The researchers from Oregon State University analyzed pomace from Pinot Noir and Merlot wines to determine the most economically feasible ways to convert the rich source of antioxidants in pomace into ...

Although they're a common nuisance in the home, fruit flies have made great contributions to research in genetics and developmental biology. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher is again turning to this everyday pest to answer crucial questions about how neurons function at a cellular level — which may uncover the secrets of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Approximately 75 percent of the genes that are related to diseases in humans are also to be found in the fly, says Ya'ara Saad, a PhD candidate in the lab of Prof. Amir Ayali at TAU's Department ...

Researchers in Georgia Tech's Center for Behavior Imaging have developed two new technological tools that automatically measure relevant behaviors of children, and promise to have significant impact on the understanding of behavioral disorders such as autism. One of the tools—a system that uses special gaze-tracking glasses and facial-analysis software to identify when a child makes eye contact with the glasses-wearer—was created by combining two existing technologies to develop a novel capability of automatic detection of eye contact. The other is a wearable system that ...

Washington, DC—U.S. health care spending grew at a faster pace than expected in 2011, according to a new report from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI). The Health Care Cost and Utilization Report: 2011 provides the first broad look at 2011 health care spending among those with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI). HCCI found that average dollars spent on health care services for that population climbed 4.6 percent in 2011, reaching $4,547 per person. This was well above the 3.8 percent growth rate observed in 2010 and beyond expected growth for 2011. Consumers ...

ITHACA, N.Y. — For more than 50 years, language scientists have assumed that sentence structure is fundamentally hierarchical, made up of small parts in turn made of smaller parts, like Russian nesting dolls. But a new Cornell University study suggests language use is simpler than they had thought. Co-author Morten Christiansen, Cornell professor of psychology and co-director of the Cornell Cognitive Science Program, and his colleagues say that language is actually based on simpler sequential structures, like clusters of beads on a string. "What we're suggesting is ...

RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 25, 2012) – People who smoke both cigarettes and waterpipes – dual users – lack sufficient knowledge about the risks of tobacco smoking and are at considerable risk for dependence and tobacco-related diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and stroke later in life, according to findings of a new study by Virginia Commonwealth University. The study, the first of its kind to assess trends in cigarette and waterpipe tobacco smoke based on long-term data, reveals few users perceive dangers of waterpipe tobacco. A common misconception about waterpipe ...

New York, NY (September 25, 2012) — Researchers in the Taub Institute at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified a mechanism that appears to underlie the common sporadic (non-familial) form of Parkinson's disease, the progressive movement disorder. The discovery highlights potential new therapeutic targets for Parkinson's and could lead to a blood test for the disease. The study, based mainly on analysis of human brain tissue, was published today in the online edition of Nature Communications'. Studies of rare, familial (heritable) forms of Parkinson's ...

A strong democracy depends on smart voters who choose their leaders based on their knowledge of important political issues. One of the ways that Americans learn about politics is by following the news. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri School of Journalism have found that simply following the news is not enough. A panel survey involving more than 1,200 teenagers from 12 to 17 years of age found that adolescents learn more about politics when they think and talk about what they read or watch on the news. Edson Tandoc, a doctoral student at MU, found that ...

September 25, 2012 A new video protocol in Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) details an assay to identify brain tumor initiating stem cells from primary brain tumors. Through flow cytometry, scientists separate stem cells from the rest of the tumor, allowing quick and efficient analysis of target cells. This approach has been effectively used to identify similar stem cells in leukemia patients. "Overall, these tumors are extremely rare, with only around one in 100,000 people being diagnosed with a primary brain cancer," Dr. Sheila Singh, co-author and neurosurgeon ...

This press release is available in German. To fit the two-meter long DNA molecule into a cell nucleus that is only a few thousandths of a millimetre in size, long sections of the DNA must be strongly compacted. Epigenetic marks maintain these sections, known as heterochromatin. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg have now discovered two further mechanisms necessary for the formation of heterochromatin. The research group, led by Thomas Jenuwein, describes two novel enzymes, Prdm3 and Prdm16, which attach a methyl group to ...

The financial effects of alcoholism on the family members of addicts can be massive, but little is known about whether treatment for alcoholism reduces that financial burden. A study of 48 German families published online today in the journal Addiction reveals that after twelve months of treatment, family costs directly related to a family member's alcoholism decreased from an average of €676.44 (£529.91, US$832.26) per month to an average of €145.40 (£113.90, $178.89) per month. Put another way, average costs attributable to alcoholism decreased from 20.2% to 4.3% of ...

PHILADELPHIA — A new research model has estimated that the difference in prostate cancer mortality among men with low-risk disease who choose active surveillance versus those who choose immediate treatment with radical prostatectomy is likely to be very modest, possibly as little as two to three months. The model, developed by biostatistician Ruth Etzioni, Ph.D., and colleagues of the Public Health Sciences Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash., is among the first to use specific data from published studies to project the likelihood of ...

ITHACA, N.Y. — Using an advanced 3-D time-lapse imaging system, a group of physicists and plant biologists from Cornell University and the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research have discovered how certain plant roots exhibit powerful mechanical abilities while navigating their environment. The research, published in this week's online Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could eventually assist in breeding crop plants optimized for growth in areas where climate change or over farming has led to difficult soil conditions (study: http://bit.ly/OaG2A5). The ...

DURHAM, N.C. – Hospitals and health systems faced with ongoing shortages of key drugs for cancer and other diseases should develop firm rationing policies based on transparency and fairness, researchers at Duke University Medical Center report. In a Special Article published online Monday, Sept. 24, 2012 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the Duke team outlined a policy adopted at Duke Medical Center that established clear-cut rules for apportioning scarce drugs using a hierarchy of clinical need and effectiveness. Built on similar models that govern some organ donations, ...

CHICAGO – A study of Medicare data suggests there was wide variation in antibiotic prescribing for older patients based on geography and the season in which the prescriptions for the medication were written, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. The overuse of antibiotics is common and can lead to unnecessary spending on prescription medicine, as well as increase the risk for adverse effects and antimicrobial resistance, according to the study background. "Findings on variation in antibiotic prescribing ...

CHICAGO – Compared with rest and sedentary video game play, active video gaming with dancing and boxing were associated with increased heart rate, oxygen uptake and energy expenditure in a study of 18 school children in England, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. Low levels of physical activity have been linked to obesity. Active video game playing compared with traditional sedentary video game playing encourages more movement and could help children increase their physical activity ...

CHICAGO – A medical record review study of 97 patients with the fatal, degenerative brain disorder sporadic Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease (sCJD) suggests that a correct diagnosis of the disease was often delayed by a variety of misdiagnoses, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology, a JAMA Network publication. The disease is often misdiagnosed because of a variability of early symptoms and signs, a variability in disease duration and a lack of recognition of the condition in the medical community. Often, sCJD is mistaken for other neurodegenerative ...

Improved patient education and ongoing psychological support will help people cope with the psychological distress of having an implanted defibrillator, according to a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. The statement, published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, is a comprehensive review of the psychosocial and quality of life for people who receive an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to restore normal heart rhythm and prevent sudden cardiac death. It includes recommendations for improved patient care and identifies ...

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men and early treatment is usually very successful. However, like other cancers, obesity increases the risk of aggressive prostate disease. New research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine, finds that the fat surrounding the prostate of overweight or obese men with prostate cancer provides a favorable environment to promote cancer growth. Fat is a generally underrated organ. Not only is it an energy store but it secretes a wide range of growth factors, cytokines and hormones, including leptin ...

PULLMAN, Wash.—A Washington State University researcher has found new evidence that the plastic additive BPA can disrupt women's reproductive systems, causing chromosome damage, miscarriages and birth defects. Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, WSU geneticist Patricia Hunt and colleagues at WSU and the University of California, Davis, report seeing reproductive abnormalities in rhesus monkeys with BPA levels similar to those of humans. By using an animal with the most human-like reproductive system, the research bolsters earlier work ...

Life in extreme environments – hot acids and heavy metals, for example – can apparently make very similar organisms deal with stress in very different ways, according to new research from North Carolina State University. One single-celled organism from a hot spring near Mount Vesuvius in Italy fights uranium toxicity directly – by eating the heavy metal and acquiring energy from it. Another single-celled organism that lives on a "smoldering heap" near an abandoned uranium mine in Germany overcomes uranium toxicity indirectly – essentially shutting down its cellular ...