January 31, 2013, Shenzhen, China – In a study published today in Science, researchers from University of Utah, BGI, and other institutes have completed the genome sequencing of rock pigeon, Columba livia, among the most common and varied bird species on Earth. The work reveals the evolutionary secrets of pigeons and opens a new way for researchers to study the genetic traits controlling pigeons' splendid diversity. The findings also help to fill the genetic gaps in exploiting pigeon as a model for the molecular genetic basis of avian variation. People are quite familiar ...

Malaria in pregnancy causes a range of adverse effects, including abortions, stillbirths, premature delivery and low infant birth weight. Many of these effects are thought to derive from a placental inflammatory response resulting from interaction of infected red blood cells with the placental tissue. In a study published in the latest issue of the journal PLOS Pathogen*, a researchers' team led by Carlos Penha-Gonçalves at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), Portugal, observed, for the first time, the mouse placental circulation and showed how it can influence the ...

Researchers at the University of Florida and Oberlin College have developed a sequencing method that will allow potentially hundreds of plant chloroplast genomes to be sequenced at once, facilitating studies of molecular biology and evolution in plants. The chloroplast is the compartment within the plant cell that is responsible for photosynthesis and hence provides all of the sugar that a plant needs to grow and survive. The chloroplast is unusual in containing its own DNA genome, separate from the larger and dominant genome that is located in every cell's nucleus. ...

This press release is available in Spanish. The relationship between genetics and Parkinson's has been investigated for more than a decade, but it is only over the last few years that significant results have begun to be obtained. The first mutations related to the development of this disease were found in 2004. A team from the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country came across a mutation of the LRRK2 gene, which is particularly prevalent among the population of Gipuzkoa. It is the R1441G mutation and is known as the Basque mutation. Now, Doctor Javier Ruiz, a doctor ...

On Jan. 31, 2013 at 2:09am EST, the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME. Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and ESA/NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, show that the CME left the sun at speeds of around 575 miles per second, which is a fairly typical speed for CMEs. Historically, CMEs at this speed are mild. Not to be confused with a solar flare, a CME is a solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and reach Earth one to three days later. Earth-directed ...

For social animals such as schooling fish, the loss of their numbers to human activity could eventually threaten entire populations, according to a finding that such animals rely heavily on grouping to effectively navigate their environment. Princeton University researchers report in the journal Science that collective intelligence is vital to certain animals' ability to evaluate and respond to their environment. Conducted on fish, the research demonstrated that small groups and individuals become disoriented in complex, changing environments. However, as group size is ...

How does a mountain range maintain its youthful, rugged appearance after 200 million years without tectonic activity? Try a geological facelift – courtesy of the earth's mantle. Researchers from North Carolina State University noticed that a portion of the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina near the Cullasaja River basin was topographically quite different from its surroundings. They found two distinct landscapes in the basin: an upper portion with gentle, rounded hills, where the average distance from valley to mountain top was about 500 feet; and a lower ...

Future research into the underlying causes of neurological disorders such as autism, epilepsy and schizophrenia, should greatly benefit from a first-of-its-kind atlas of gene-enhancers in the cerebrum (telencephalon). This new atlas, developed by a team led by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is a publicly accessible Web-based collection of data that identifies and locates thousands of gene-regulating elements in a region of the brain that is of critical importance for cognition, motor functions ...

Scientists at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain have found new evidence for the role of epigenetic changes (those heritable alterations in gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in DNA sequence) on premature aging diseases. A new study published in the journal Epigenetics on Jan. 1, 2013, identified a role for DNA methylation changes in a subset of Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria and Werner Syndrome patients, for which no genetic cause (such as DNA mutation) had been associated with onset disease. The study, titled "Aberrant DNA ...

Los Angeles, CA (January 31, 2013) Researchers have found that African American women exhibit a higher risk for sexually transmitted infections including HIV/Aids. But what motivates this group of women to have sex? And when are they more likely to use protection? A new study published today in Health Education & Behavior (a SAGE journal) found that regardless of motivations for having sex, condom use expectations were less than 50% for all types of sexual encounters, including the riskiest types of sex. Researchers Julianna Deardorff et. al used a combination of interviews ...

OAKLAND, Calif., January 31, 2013 — Low testosterone levels occur five times more often among men who take long-acting instead of short-acting opioids for chronic pain, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in The Clinical Journal of Pain. While it has been known that opioids cause low testosterone in men, this study is the first to show a significant difference in risk between short-acting (immediate release) and long-acting opioids. The 81 men in the retrospective study were between 26 and 79 years old (median age 51) and were seen in the chronic-pain ...

A new device called a soft x-ray electrostatic precipitator protected immunocompromised mice from airborne pathogenic bacteria, viruses, ultrafine particles, and allergens, according to a paper published online ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. This device, known for short as a SXC ESP, is highly versatile, with multiple potential uses, and Washington University is working on licensing the technology. "Small particles are difficult to remove, and our device overcomes that barrier," says Pratim Biswas of Washington University, St. Louis. ...

Scientists have decoded the genetic blueprint of the rock pigeon, unlocking secrets about pigeons' Middle East origins, feral pigeons' kinship with escaped racing birds and how mutations give pigeons traits like feather head crests. "Birds are a huge part of life on Earth, but we know surprisingly little about their genetics," says Michael Shapiro, one of the study's two principal authors and a biologist at the University of Utah. In the new study, "we've shown a way forward to find the genetic basis of traits--the molecular mechanisms controlling animal diversity in ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Medical research is vital to the advancement of health care, but many medical research studies have too few people who participate. A new study from the University of Michigan takes an in-depth look at public participation in medical research across the United States. Through a unique, nationally representative survey of 2,150 households in 2011, University of Michigan researchers found that only 11% of adults and 5% of children had ever participated in medical research. The study was published in January in Clinical and Translational Science. About ...

PHILADELPHIA -- Most ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed with late stage disease that is unresponsive to existing therapies. In a new study, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine show that a two-step personalized immunotherapy treatment — a dendritic cell vaccine using patients' own tumor followed by adoptive T cell therapy — triggers anti-tumor immune responses in these type of patients. Four of the six patients treated in the trial responded to the therapy, the investigators report this month in OncoImmunology. ...

On April 14, 2003 a map of the human genome was completed, ushering in a new era of genetics in medicine with applications that include genetic testing; newborn screening; susceptibility to diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, or psychiatric conditions; screening, diagnosis and monitoring of disease; and treatment planning. A special Genomics Issue, including an evidence review by researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), published by Wiley in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship on behalf of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, ...

In a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced it was considering anonymity in the review of grant applications. (Found at: http://chronicle.com/article/NIH-Considers-Anonymity-for/136227/?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en ) Ge Wang, adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at the Virginia Tech – Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, and seven of his colleagues do not believe this action is necessary if taken to counteract a charge of "racial bias." For Wang, their study ...

Belmont, MA—In a study examining the impact of a parity policy for mental health insurance benefits, researchers have concluded that parity had a different impact on spending and service utilization for enrollees with illnesses that are more severe and chronic. As a result of the parity policy, individuals seeking treatment for major depression or bipolar disorder had lower out-of-pocket spending, despite no significant difference in the amount of behavioral health services they used. However, individuals with adjustment disorder (a less severe, acute illness) had lower ...

New York, NY, February 1, 2013—Only 11 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws or issued regulations to implement the Affordable Care Act's major health insurance market reforms that go into effect in 2014, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. Thirty-nine states have not yet taken action to implement these requirements, potentially limiting their ability to fully enforce the new reforms and ensure that consumers receive the full protections of the law. These reforms include bans on denying people health insurance due to preexisting conditions, a minimum ...

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. (February 1, 2013) Biologists at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences have discovered a bioelectric signal that can identify cells that are likely to develop into tumors. The researchers also found that they could lower the incidence of cancerous cells by manipulating the electrical charge across cells' membranes. "The news here is that we've established a bioelectric basis for the early detection of cancer," says Brook Chernet, doctoral student and the first author of a newly published research paper co-authored with Michael Levin, ...

According to a study in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, primary care physicians prefer to deliver the results of radiology examinations themselves and feel medico-legally obligated by recommendations within radiology reports. The radiology report is the primary means of communication between the radiologist, the patient, and the patient care team and serves an important role in facilitating patient care, especially for primary care physicians in the outpatient setting. "There is considerable interest in improving radiology ...

Man Charged in Connection to Blagojevich Scandal Gets Minimal Sentence Cooperation can pay. That appears to be the theme of a recent sentence issued by a judge in Illinois for a case connected with the Gov. Rob Blagojevich's corruption charges. The judge recently sentenced Mr. Stuart Levine, a political campaign contributor who provided key information leading to the prosecution of former Gov. Blagojevich. Not only did Mr. Levine receive a much shorter sentence than anticipated, according to the Associated Press he also received praise for his cooperation in helping ...

Grand Rapids marijuana decriminalization effort in jeopardy In November 2012, voters in Grand Rapids approved an initiative that amended the city charter to decriminalize the possession of a small amount of marijuana. The amendment makes the personal possession of marijuana a civil infraction (as opposed to a misdemeanor crime). Though the amendment itself did not specify a cutoff point for when marijuana possession becomes a crime, the city has said that it plans to use a 2.5 ounce threshold, since that is the same limit used under Michigan's medical marijuana law. The ...

Drowsy driving a major safety hazard for young people For many young people, the ability to function on limited sleep is a badge of honor. Whether it's staying up all night to finish a paper, working a late shift or just hanging out late with friends, burning the candle at both ends is a pretty common part of being a young adult in America. Of course, keeping up this behavior for too long can start to take a toll on a person's health. However, there is also a short-term danger that many people are not aware of -- even if the driver is sober, getting behind the wheel ...

When things go awry on a construction site who is responsible? In January 2013, a 380-foot crane collapsed at a construction site behind the iconic Pepsi sign on the East River shoreline in Long Island City, New York. The crane had been assembled just four days earlier at the site of a luxury apartment tower build. As workers loaded the crane with wood planks, it came crashing to the ground, smashing scaffolding and plywood. Fortunately, only seven workers were injured despite around 70 people being on site at the time. Three workers were trapped under the crane, ...