West Orange, NJ. September 5, 2012. Kessler Foundation has released preliminary research findings from its clinical study of the wearable robotic exoskeletal device, Ekso (Ekso Bionics). Gail Forrest, PhD, assistant director of Human Performance and Engineering Research, presented the Ekso research data on September 3, at the meeting of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals at the Rio Suites in Las Vegas. Dr. Forrest directs mobility research at the Foundation, including activity-based locomotor therapy, functional electrical stimulation, and treadmill training ...

Research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that sorafenib, a drug used for advanced cancer of the kidneys and liver, could also be effective against multiple myeloma. The disease is one of the more common forms of blood cancer and is generally incurable. "Recently developed drugs, like bortezomib, have increased the survival rate for people with this serious and complex disease," says study leader Theocharis Panaretakis, docent of experimental oncology. "Having said this, the heterogeneity of the disease progression, the treatment response and the development ...

It has long been believed that drinking green tea is good for the memory. Now researchers have discovered how the chemical properties of China's favorite drink affect the generation of brain cells, providing benefits for memory and spatial learning. The research is published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. "Green tea is a popular beverage across the world," said Professor Yun Bai from the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. "There has been plenty of scientific attention on its use in helping prevent cardiovascular diseases, but now there is emerging ...

New Rochelle, NY, September 5, 2012—According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 88 children in the U.S. has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a broad group of neurodevelopmental disorders. Children and adolescents with ASD are typically fascinated by screen-based technology such as videogames and these can be used for educational and treatment purposes as described in an insightful Roundtable Discussion published in Games for Health Journal: Research Development, and Clinical Applications, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.. ...

Climate change, pollution, the extraction of water for irrigation and overfishing all threaten the survival of the common trout. This fish is very sensitive to changes in its environment and, according to the Spanish study, its habitat will have reduced by half by the year 2040 and will have completely disappeared from Iberian rivers by 2100, so its population will become extinct. Global warming is threatening the existence of many fish species, especially those in the salmonid family, which are sensitive to temperature changes as they require clear and fresh water to ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Rheumatoid arthritis alone is painful and disabling, but it also puts patients at higher risk of death. The greater susceptibility to infections that accompanies the autoimmune disorder is one reason. Assessing the danger of infection a particular patient faces so it can be addressed can prove challenging for physicians. A Mayo Clinic study finds that a risk score can be developed to predict a patient's chances of having serious infections. The score uses information about how rheumatoid arthritis is affecting a patient, plus factors including age, corticosteroid ...

This press release is available in German. In about half of all prostate tumours, there are two genetic areas that are fused with one another. When this is not the case, the exact way cancer cells originate in prostate tumours was not clear until now. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, in cooperation with a team of international researchers, were able to show that the genesis of this fusion-negative prostate cancer has epigenetic causes: methyl groups are distributed differently over the DNA in the cancer cells than in healthy cells. ...

Medical Systems Virology group at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) at the University of Helsinki, together with its national and international collaborators, developed a new cell screening method that can be used to identify potential anti-influenza drugs. The researchers were able to identify two novel compounds with anti-influenza activity, obatoclax and gemcitabine and prove the efficacy of a previously known drug saliphenylhalamide. The study was recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and is now available online. Influenza ...

Like all sources of information, DNA sequences come in various degrees of quality and reliability. To identify, proof, and discard compromised molecular data has thus become a critical component of the scientific endeavor - one that everyone generating sequence data is assumed to carry out before using the sequences for research purposes. "Many researchers find sequence quality control difficult, though", says Dr. Henrik Nilsson of the University of Gothenburg and the lead author of a new article on sequence reliability, published in the Open Access journal MycoKeys. ...

Archaeologists from the University of Leicester who are leading the search for King Richard III have announced they have overcome the first significant hurdle of their investigation – and made a huge step forward in the search for the King by locating the church where he was buried. The University of Leicester is leading the archaeological search for the burial place of King Richard III with Leicester City Council, in association with the Richard III Society. In 1485 King Richard III was defeated at the battle of Bosworth. His body, stripped and despoiled, was brought ...

WOMEN having surgery for breast cancer are up to three times more likely to have severe pain in the first week after surgery if they suffer from other painful conditions, such as arthritis, low back pain and migraine, according to a Cancer Research UK study published today (Wednesday) in the British Journal of Cancer. Of the women surveyed, 41 per cent reported moderate to severe pain at rest, and 50 per cent on movement, one week after their surgery. Most patients having breast cancer surgery are discharged home by this time. Psychological state was also important, ...

Almost all of us have been tempted to lie at some point, whether about our GPA, our annual income, or our age. But what makes us actually do it? In a study forthcoming in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychological scientists Shaul Shalvi of the University of Amsterdam and Ori Eldar and Yoella Bereby-Meyer of Ben Gurion University investigated what factors influence dishonest behavior. Previous research shows that a person's first instinct is to serve his or her own self-interest. And research also shows that people are ...

Children exposed to diethyl phthalate (DEP) and butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP)—phthalate chemicals commonly found in personal care and plastic products—have elevated risk of asthma-related airway inflammation, according to researchers at Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health. Of the 244 children aged 5 to 9 in the study, all had detectable levels of phthalates in their urine although these varied over a wide range. Higher levels of both phthalates were associated with higher levels of nitric oxide in exhaled ...

The drug telaprevir (trade name: Incivo®) has been available for treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection of genotype 1 since autumn 2011. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the "Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products" (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether telaprevir offers an added benefit compared with the present standard therapy. According to the findings of the assessment, the new drug telaprevir offers advantages in various groups of patients with chronic hepatitis C infection ...

Durham, NC — A new study of deep-sea species across the globe aims to understand how natural gradients in food and temperature in the dark, frigid waters of the deep sea affect the snails, clams, and other creatures that live there. Similar studies have been conducted for animals in the shallow oceans, but our understanding of the impact of food and temperature on life in the deep sea — the Earth's largest and most remote ecosystem — has been more limited. The results will help scientists understand what to expect in the deep sea under future climate change, the researchers ...

Men and women clearly have different strategies for picking sexual partners, but the reason why differences exist is less clear. The classic explanation for these differences has been that men's and women's brains have evolved to make certain choices, but a new study in Psychological Science, a publication of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that evolution is only part of the answer. To be a 'success' in evolutionary terms, women need to have access to resources for raising offspring, and men need to have access to fertile females. Researchers have ...

WASHINGTON –For the past four decades scientists have monitored the ebbs and flows of the icefields in the southernmost stretch of South America's vast Andes Mountains, detecting an overall loss of ice as the climate warms. A new study, however, finds that the rate of glacier thinning has increased by about half over the last dozen years in the Southern Patagonian Icefield, compared to the 30 years prior to 2000. "Patagonia is kind of a poster child for rapidly changing glacier systems," said Michael Willis, lead author of the study and a research associate at Cornell ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — During adolescence, the stories young people tell about themselves reflects their development of a personal identity and sense of self, and those autobiographical narratives vary depending on the teens' gender, according to a University of Missouri psychologist and her colleagues. Parents can use this knowledge of how teens talk about themselves to help understand the tumultuous transitions of their children into adults. "Autobiographical stories tell us details about adolescent psychology that questionnaires and observations of behavior cannot," said ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The injection of a tiny capsule containing heat-generating cells into the abdomens of mice led those animals to burn abdominal fat and initially lose about 20 percent of belly fat after 80 days of treatment. Researchers conducting the study were surprised to see that the injected cells even acted like "missionaries," converting existing belly fat cells into so-called thermogenic cells, which use fat to generate heat. Over time, the mice gained back some weight. But they resisted any dramatic weight gain on a high-fat diet and burned away more than ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A high-fat diet triggers chemical reactions in female mice that could explain why women are more likely than men to gain fat in the abdomen after eating excess saturated fat, new research suggests. The study also sheds light on why women gain fat following menopause. Scientists identified events in female mice that start with the activation of an enzyme and end with the formation of visceral fat – fat that accumulates around internal organs and is linked to a higher risk for Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. At least one function for this ...

Puerto Rican Young Crossover Tenor Carlos Aponte recently presented 'Attimo', an album that features 11 of the world's most memorable songs with new musical and vocal arrangements in English, Spanish, Italian, and German. Since his appearance on the acclaimed NBC TV show America's Got Talent, Carlos has been busy at public and private performances in Puerto Rico, the United States and also internationally such as Costa Rica and China. 'Attimo' (Italian for 'Moment') includes a Spanish version of the smash hit 'You Raise Me Up (Por Ti Sere),' as well as other outstanding ...

The rate of pregnancy-associated cancer is increasing and is only partially explained by the rise in older mothers suggests new research published today (5 September) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. A large Australian study looked at 781,907 women who gave birth in New South Wales (NSW) between 1994 and 2008 which corresponds to 1,309,501 maternities. Women with pregnancy-associated cancer, where the initial diagnosis of cancer is made during pregnancy or within 12 months of delivery, are compared to women without cancer. A total of ...

The main cause of cyanide poisoning is smoke inhalation in closed spaces during fires. Cyanides, the salts of hydrocyanic acid, inhibit cellular respiration and may lead to coma or death. The rapid administration of a cyanide antidote is essential for successful treatment. Previously, detecting cyanide in the blood took up to an hour and could only be performed in the laboratory, a lengthy process that is poorly suited for emergency situations. As a result, emergency doctors and paramedics are forced to administer antidotes based solely on presumptive diagnoses. Now, chemists ...

An archaeologist from the University of Sheffield has revealed the origin and trading routes of razor-sharp stone tools 4,200 years ago in Syria. Ancient sites and cultural heritage are under threat in Syria due to the current conflict. An interdisciplinary research team hopes this new discovery, which has major implications for understanding the world's first empire, will help to highlight the importance of protecting Syria's heritage. Obsidian, naturally occurring volcanic glass, is smooth, hard, and far sharper than a surgical scalpel when fractured, making it a ...

Evolving to become less aggressive could be key to saving the Tasmanian devil – famed for its ferocity – from extinction, research suggests. The species is being wiped out by Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), a fatal infectious cancer spread by biting. The new study, published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology, found the less often a devil gets bitten, the more likely it is to become infected with the cancer. According to lead author Dr Rodrigo Hamede of the University of Tasmania: "Our results – that devils with fewer bites are more likely ...