The laws that govern how intricate surface patterns, such as those found in the cauliflower, develop over time have been described, for the first time, by a group of European researchers. In a study published today, 24 October, in the Institute of Physics and German Physical Society's New Journal of Physics, researchers have provided a mathematical formula to describe the processes that dictate how cauliflower-like patterns – a type of fractal pattern – form and develop. The term fractal defines a pattern that, when you take a small part of it, looks similar, although ...

It has long been known that breast density, or mammographic density, is a strong risk factor for breast cancer, and that estrogen and progestin hormone therapy increases dense breast tissue. Now, a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research has identified several gene variants in hormone metabolism and growth factor pathways that may be associated with breast density and, hence, breast cancer risk. Mammographic density relates to the fact that x-rays permeate different types of breast tissue in different ways, leading to white areas ...

Patients who have received radiotherapy for head and neck cancer often suffer from the unpleasant and distressing side-effect of a dry mouth, caused by damage to their salivary glands from the radiation. Now, a new study has shown that acupuncture can relieve the symptoms of dry mouth (known as xerostomia). The findings from the largest trial yet to investigate this are published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1] today (Wednesday). Around half a million people worldwide develop head and neck cancer each year and, at present, there are few effective treatments ...

A species relies on genetic diversity to survive and low diversity usually indicates that there has been inbreeding due to a decrease in population size. By looking at historic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from museum samples, new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Genetics has found that koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) have had low genetic diversity for over 120 years. The genetic diversity of koalas is known to be low in modern populations but historical reports suggest that koala populations have had a chequered past. When Europeans first ...

A major three-year trial led by researchers at UCL, in partnership with the Health Protection Agency, has shown that giving one-to-one feedback to healthcare workers makes them twice as likely to clean their hands or use soap. The Feedback Intervention Trial (FIT) is the first such trial to be done in a large number of hospitals anywhere in the world. Carried out across 60 wards in 16 hospitals that were already implementing the English and Welsh Cleanyourhands campaign, the study showed that an intervention that coupled feedback to personalised action planning improved ...

Avastin, or Bevacizumab, has been shown to increase survival from bowel cancer in around ten to 15 per cent of patients, but it has been impossible to predict who will benefit. Avastin works by targeting and blocking the VEGF-A protein, two major forms of which are VEGF165 and VEGF165b. VEGF165 helps cancers to grow new blood vessels, so they can get food and oxygen from the blood - all cancers need a blood supply to be able to survive and grow. Its sister protein, VEGF165b, has the opposite effect and acts as a brake on this growth. Cancer Research UK funded scientists ...

PHILADELPHIA – Cutting the expenses associated with "low-value" medical tests and treatments – such as unnecessary imaging tests and antibiotics for viral infections that won't benefit from them – will require a multi-pronged plan targeting insurance companies, patients, and physicians, according to a JAMA Viewpoint article published this week by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. These efforts transcend economic impact, however, and may also be essential for improving health care quality and patient safety. The piece follows ...

'Direct to consumer' research, using data obtained through increasingly popular online communities such as 23andMe, PatientsLikeMe and the Personal Genome Project, has methodological limitations that are known to epidemiological studies, including selection bias, information bias, and confounding. These limitations mean that the results and conclusions of research using these methods need to be interpreted with caution, according to a paper published in the journal PLoS Medicine. Cecile Janssens, PhD, formerly of the Erasmus University Medical Center in The Netherlands ...

BALTIMORE, Md. – Oct. 23, 2012. Old Order Amish children are much more physically active and three times less likely to be overweight than non-Amish children, which may provide them with some long-term protection against developing Type 2 diabetes, University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers report in the journal Diabetes Care. The researchers found that Amish children in Lancaster County, Pa., spent an additional 34 minutes a day in light physical activity, plus another 53 additional minutes a day in moderate to vigorous activity compared to non-Amish white ...

Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- A team of neuroscientists has proposed a new and potentially revolutionary way of obtaining a neuronal connectivity map (the "connectome") of the whole brain of the mouse. The details are set forth in an essay published October 23 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. The team, led by Professor Anthony Zador, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, aims to provide a comprehensive account of neural connectivity. At present the only method for obtaining this information with high precision relies on examining individual cell-to-cell contacts ...

New research carried out by scientists at Universities in Exeter, France and Switzerland reveals for the first time the importance of social networking in producing a successful family. The study found that, regardless of how big and healthy individual chicks are, what really matters to their chances of surviving and breeding is how siblings in the nest interact with each other, with cooperative families faring best. Differences in patterns of feeding between mothers and fathers were a key factor in determining the behaviour of their offspring, according to the study ...

Sauder School of Business researchers at the University of British Columbia have found that a person's date of birth can affect their climb up the corporate ladder. The Sauder study shows that only 6.13 per cent of an S&P 500 CEO sample was born in June and only 5.87 per cent of the sample was born in July. By comparison, people born in March and April represented 12.53 per cent and 10.67 per cent of the sample of CEOs. "Our findings indicate that summer babies underperform in the ranks of CEOs as a result of the 'birth-date effect,' a phenomenon resulting from the ...

MADISON – A new study shows that a blood marker is linked to pancreatic cancer, according to a study published today by scientists at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center and Mayo Clinic. First author Dr. Halcyon Skinner, assistant professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, says the study is the first time pancreatic cancer risk has been linked to differences in telomeres' length in blood cells. "This suggests a new avenue to identify those with pancreatic cancer or those at risk of developing ...

The ability of deep-sea corals to harbor a broad array of marine life, including commercially important fish species, make these habitat-forming organisms of immediate interest to conservationists, managers, and scientists. Understanding and protecting corals requires knowledge of the historical processes that have shaped their biodiversity and biogeography. While little is known about these processes, new research described in the journal Molecular Ecology helps elucidate the historical patterns of deep-sea coral migration and gene flow, coincident with oceanic circulation ...

University of California, Davis, researchers for the first time have looked inside gallium manganese arsenide, a type of material known as a "dilute magnetic semiconductor" that could open up an entirely new class of faster, smaller devices based on an emerging field known as "spintronics." Materials of this type might be used to read and write digital information not by using the electron's charge, as is the case with today's electronic devices, but by using its "spin." Understanding the magnetic behavior of atoms is key to designing spintronics materials that could ...

A new study conducted by a team of scientists led by Giles Duffield, assistant professor of biological sciences and a member of the Eck Institute for Global Health at the University of Notre Dame focuses on the circadian clock of the heart, and used cultured heart tissue. The results of the new study have implications for cardiovascular health, including daily changes in responses to stress and the effect of long-term rotational shift work. Previous studies by a research group at the University of Geneva demonstrated a role for glucocorticoids in shifting the biological ...

DURHAM, N.C. – For the first time, scientists have observed how droplets within solids deform and burst under high electric voltages. This is important, the Duke University engineers who made the observations said, because it explains a major reason why such materials as insulation for electrical power lines eventually fail and cause blackouts. This observation not only helps scientists develop better insulation materials, but could also lead to such positive developments as "tunable" lenses for eyes. As the voltage increases, water droplets, or air bubbles, within ...

A team of researchers from North Carolina State University and the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) has found more evidence for the preservation of ancient dinosaur proteins, including reactivity to antibodies that target specific proteins normally found in bone cells of vertebrates. These results further rule out sample contamination, and help solidify the case for preservation of cells – and possibly DNA – in ancient remains. Dr. Mary Schweitzer, professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences with a joint appointment at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, ...

Since the Major League Baseball Division Series and League Championship Series have determined which teams will compete in the World Series, NJIT Math Professor Bruce Bukiet has again analyzed the probability of each team taking the title. "The Detroit Tigers have a solid advantage over the San Francisco Giants. The Tigers, who surprisingly swept the New York Yankees in four straight games in the American League Championship Series to reach the World Series, have a 58 percent chance of beating the Giants in the best of seven series," he said. At the season's start, ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Medical organizations that make race-based recommendations are misleading some patients about health risks while reinforcing harmful notions about race, argues a Michigan State University professor in a new paper published in the journal Preventive Medicine. While some racial groups are on average more prone to certain diseases than the general population, they contain "islands" of lower risk that medical professionals should acknowledge, said Sean Valles, assistant professor in MSU's Lyman Briggs College and the Department of Philosophy. For instance, ...

A new study from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) provides initial evidence that New Jersey's Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) decal requirement lowers crash rates among intermediate (i.e., probationary) teen drivers and supports the ability of police to enforce GDL provisions. The study, which linked New Jersey's licensing and crash record databases to measure effects of the requirement, was published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Crash involvement of an estimated 1,624 intermediate drivers was prevented in the first year after the ...

ARLINGTON, Va.—Adm. Mark Ferguson, vice chief of naval operations, headlined the opening of the ONR (Office of Naval Research) Naval S&T (science and technology) Partnership Conference and ASNE Expo Oct. 22, 2012, and highlighted the importance of innovative S&T programs being developed by the Navy. He also offered a revealing look at the potential future for the Navy if sequestration, or automatic defense cuts, goes into effect in January. Speaking to a capacity crowd as keynote speaker, Ferguson said the Navy is already working hard to do more across the globe—with ...

Animals like antelope, frogs and rodents may be tricky to catch, but they provide protein in places where traditional livestock are scarce. According to the authors of a new paper in Animal Frontiers, meat from wild animals is increasingly important in central Africa. "The elephant or hippopotamus may provide food for an entire community, smaller antelope may feed a family, while a rat or lizard may quell the hunger of an individual. Alternatively, these species are often sold on the road side or at local markets to supply a much needed source of cash revenue," write ...

This press release is available in French and Spanish.Tampa, Florida, 23 October 2012—Top marine predators like tuna and sharks are suffering from the effects of climate change as the availability of prey decreases and the spatial distribution of their prey shifts. Countless other marine plants and animals are also affected. One way to adapt to or mitigate these changes is to design marine protected areas (MPA) and MPA networks that integrate these and other climate-related considerations. Accordingly, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has published Scientific ...

ERIE, Pa. - Researchers at Mercyhurst University continue to investigate the presence of potentially harmful chemicals in the beach waters of Presque Isle State Park and have added a new one to their list: sucralose. A chlorinated form of sucrose found in artificial sweeteners, sucralose is used in an estimated 4,500 products ranging from Halloween candies to diet sodas. Studies suggest that approximately 95 percent of ingested sucralose is not metabolized by the body and is excreted into the water supply, said Dr. Amy Parente, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry ...