MADISON – Using the meticulous phenological records of two iconic American naturalists, Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold, scientists have demonstrated that native plants in the eastern United States are flowering as much as a month earlier in response to a warming climate. The new study is important because it gives scientists a peek inside the black box of ecological change in response to a warming world. In addition, the work may also help predict effects on important agricultural crops, which depend on flowering to produce fruit. The new study was published online ...

Would women rather "pop the question?" Apparently not. With marriage proposals in the air around the new year, researchers at UC Santa Cruz report that both women and men tend to hold traditional views when it comes to marriage proposals. Young adults were asked about their personal preferences for marriage traditions. Overwhelmingly, both men and women said they would want the man in a relationship to propose marriage. A substantial majority of women also responded that they would want to take their husband's last name. In fact, not one of 136 men surveyed believed ...

Marginal lands ­– those unsuited for food crops – can serve as prime real estate for meeting the nation's alternative energy production goals. In the current issue of Nature, a team of researchers led by Michigan State University shows that marginal lands represent a huge untapped resource to grow mixed species cellulosic biomass, plants grown specifically for fuel production, which could annually produce up to 5.5 billion gallons of ethanol in the Midwest alone. "Understanding the environmental impact of widespread biofuel production is a major unanswered question ...

Understanding the human brain is one of the greatest scientific quests of all time, but the available methods have been very limited until recently. The development of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) — a tool used to gauge real-time brain activity by measuring changes in blood flow — opened up an exciting new landscape for exploration. Now, twenty years after the first fMRI study was published, a group of distinguished psychological scientists reflect on the contributions fMRI has made to our understanding of human thought. Their reflections are published ...

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- A Kansas State University-led study has uncovered new information that helps scientists better understand the complex workings of cells in the innate immune system. The findings may also lead to new avenues in disease control and prevention. Philip Hardwidge, associate professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, was the study's principal investigator. He and colleagues looked at the relationship between a bacterial protein and the innate immune system -- a system of defensive cells that responds rapidly to an infection in a nonspecific manner. Among ...

GREENBELT, Md. -- Engineers working on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope met another milestone recently with they completed performance testing on the observatory's aft-optics subsystem at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp's facilities in Boulder, Colo. Ball is the principal subcontractor to Northrop Grumman for the optical technology and lightweight mirror system. "Completing Aft Optics System performance testing is significant because it means all of the telescope's mirror systems are ready for integration and testing," said Lee Feinberg, NASA Optical Telescope Element ...

Tropical Storm Emang continues to move through open waters in the Southern Indian Ocean and NASA's TRMM satellite noticed one area of heavy rainfall near the center. On Jan. 16 at 0702 UTC (2:02 a.m. EST) NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed over Emang, and captured rainfall rates. TRMM identified that moderate rain was falling throughout most of the tropical cyclone, and heavy rainfall was occurring near the storm's center. TRMM estimated the heavy rain falling at a rate of 2 inches (50 mm) per hour. On Jan. 16 at 0900 UTC (4 a.m. EST), ...

Melanomas that develop in the eye often are fatal. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have identified a mutated gene in melanoma tumors of the eye that appears to predict a good outcome. The research is published in the advance online edition of Nature Genetics. "We found mutations in a gene called SF3B1," says senior author Anne Bowcock, PhD, professor of genetics. "The good news is that these mutations develop in a distinct subtype of melanomas in the eye that are unlikely to spread and become deadly." Eye tumors ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A new Mayo Clinic Proceedings study shows that people most often visit their health care providers because of skin issues, joint disorders and back pain. Findings may help researchers focus efforts to determine better ways to prevent and treat these conditions in large groups of people. "Much research already has focused on chronic conditions, which account for the majority of health care utilization and costs in middle-aged and older adults," says Jennifer St. Sauver, Ph.D., primary author of the study and member of the Population Health Program within ...

Eliminating or curtailing the mortgage interest deduction (MID) would initially result in declines in housing prices and investment but would have only modest aggregate macroeconomic effects in the long run, according to a new paper from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. The MID is the second-largest individual income tax expenditure, according to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. Given the severity of the fiscal problems currently faced by the U.S., many recent tax reform proposals have included measures that would curtail or eliminate ...

NEW YORK – January 16, 2013 – EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization that focuses on local conservation and global health issues, released new research on Ebola virus in fruit bats in the peer reviewed journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, a monthly publication by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study found Ebola virus antibodies circulating in ~4% of the 276 bats scientists screened in Bangladesh. These results suggest that Rousettus fruit bats are a reservoir for Ebola, or a new Ebola-like virus in South Asia. The study extends the range ...

Evidence is increasing from multiple scientific fields that exposure to the natural environment can improve human health. In a new study by the U.S. Forest Service, the presence of trees was associated with human health. For Geoffrey Donovan, a research forester at the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station, and his colleagues, the loss of 100 million trees in the eastern and midwestern United States was an unprecedented opportunity to study the impact of a major change in the natural environment on human health. In an analysis of 18 years of data from ...

Satellite Earth science missions don't start at the launch pad or even in orbit. They start years before when scientists test their new ideas for instruments that promise to expand our view and understanding of the planet. NASA scientists and engineers are working now to lay the groundwork for the Aerosol-Cloud-Ecosystem (ACE) mission, a satellite that "will dramatically change what we can do from space to learn about clouds and aerosols," said ACE science lead David Starr of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. How should the satellite's instruments be ...

Researchers have found clear, identifiable factors that signal whether an athlete will experience concussive symptoms beyond one week. The researchers sought to identify risk factors for prolonged concussion symptoms by examining a large national database of high school athletes' injuries. Previous concussion studies were limited in scope, focusing only on male football players. The information from this study applies to male and female athletes from a number of different sports. Researchers found that athletes who have four or more symptoms at initial injury were more ...

Preterm infants who grow more slowly as they approached what would have been their due dates also have slower development in an area of the brain called the cerebral cortex, report Canadian researchers in a new study published today in Science Translational Medicine. The cerebral cortex is a two to four millimetre layer of cells that envelopes the top part of the brain and is involved in cognitive, behavioural, and motor processes. Researchers analyzed MRI brain scans of 95 preterm infants born eight to 16 weeks too early at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre between ...

MADISON — People suffering from chronic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and asthma — in which psychological stress plays a major role — may benefit from mindfulness meditation techniques, according to a study by University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientists with the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center. Mindfulness-based stress reduction, originally designed for patients with chronic pain, consists of continuously focusing attention on the breath, bodily sensations and mental content while seated, ...

A high-tech robotic fish hatched at Michigan State University has a new look. A new skill. And a new name. MSU scientists have made a number of improvements on the fish, including the ability to glide long distances, which is the most important change to date. The fish now has the ability to glide through the water practically indefinitely, using little to no energy, while gathering valuable data that can aid in the cleaning of our lakes and rivers. Designed and built by Xiaobo Tan, MSU associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and his team, the fish ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The popular perception that college students are reaching new levels of self-indulgence and risky behavior during spring break excursions may be based on media coverage and scholarship that oversimplifies what has become an annual rite for many young adults, according to researchers. The researchers, who analyzed studies on spring break from 1980 to 2010, concluded that scholars are divided on whether college students actually increase extreme behaviors during the break. In fact, activities at most spring break destinations may not differ significantly ...

PHILADELPHIA — Scientists may be able to better predict which patients with colorectal cancer will respond to chemotherapy using a new mathematical model that measures the amount of stress required for a cancer cell to die without harming healthy tissue. The results of this study are published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "Our study demonstrates that systems medicine approaches (i.e., quantitative analysis of multiple factors in patients' samples combined with mathematical modeling) have a significant advantage over other ...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—January 17, 2013— A recently released report, entitled "Social and Economic Impact Review on Neglected Tropical Diseases," highlights links between neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and socio-economic prosperity. Published by Hudson Institute's Center for Science in Public Policy, in partnership with the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, an initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, the paper found NTD control and elimination efforts to be both inexpensive and highly effective, especially when paired with other major disease treatment efforts, ...

Traumatic Brain Injuries Can Have Long-Lasting Effects According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1.7 million people in the United States suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) each year. In addition, TBIs are responsible for an estimated 52,000 early deaths and cost an estimated $52 billion to treat in the United States alone. Unfortunately, though physicians have long known that a TBI can cause short-term damage to a person's brain, new research indicates that the effects can last much longer than expected. Study Results According ...

Criminal Convictions Can Have Unforeseen Consequences A recent New Jersey case illustrates the potential difficulties that recent immigrants to the United States face after a criminal conviction. The New Jersey office of Democratic Senator Robert Menendez employed Luis Abrahan Sanchez Zavaleta, an 18-year-old immigrant from Peru, as an unpaid intern. Sanchez was arrested in early December by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials learned that he had not only over stayed his visitor visa, but had been ...

Essential steps to take after a car accident Motor vehicle accidents are extremely scary and it is can be difficult to remember what to do in the minutes following a crash. Nonetheless, there are numerous crucial steps you should to take immediately after a car accident occurs. It can be useful to keep a list of information about what to do after a car accident in an accessible location, such as a glove compartment, just in case you are ever involved in a crash. That way, in the event that an accident occurs, you can use the list to remember what to do. Steps to ...

Basic Rules for Every California Estate Plan Some people mistakenly believe that estate planning is only for the very rich. However, a complete estate plan does more than just allocate assets and minimize the taxes that survivors have to pay on their inheritances. Everyone needs an estate plan, and every estate plan, no matter how complex, should follow some basic rules to minimize problems and ensure a person's wishes are carried out. Make a Plan Too many people put off the task of estate planning or think that they do not need to make a plan at all. However, ...

Mamanoes Grocery Shop, located in downtown Birmingham, is hosting a special night of Sushi, Saki, and Shapiro beer on Valentine's Day 2013 at 7:30pm. "We want to provide a fun and educational experience that couples will truly enjoy," said Mamanoes owner Antonio Boyd, "What better way to combine couples, the holiday, and a unique eating experience than partnering with Birmingham Sushi Classes." Birmingham Sushi Classes teaches sushi basics ranging from proper rice making to creating your own eel sauce. The company, owned by Kelly Viall and Bonnie ...