Angelsmith, a digital marketing agency, today announced its analysis of the company's first Influential Dining Survey and the development of the Dining Decision Ecosystem, a framework that provides insight into how and what most influences diners when selecting restaurants. The survey revealed that consumers rely on a series of crucial steps before making a dining decision. In approximately 8 out of 10 times (80.1%), a personal word of mouth recommendation is supplemented with additional research. Respondents were asked to rank the most important places they use ...

CAMDEN – A top national award for promising research scientists has been presented to Princeton resident Nir Yakoby, an assistant professor of biology at Rutgers University–Camden. Yakoby has received a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. The five-year, $686,544 award, which is reviewed and renewed annually based on the scientific progress of the project, supports the Rutgers–Camden researcher's project "Dynamics and Diversity of Bone Morphogenetic Protein Signaling in Epithelial Cells." The grant will allow Yakoby and his research lab team ...

SAN FRANCISCO, August 7, 2012 -- The American paddlefish -- known for its bizarre, protruding snout and eggs harvested for caviar -- duplicated its entire genome about 42 million years ago, according to a new study published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution. This finding may add a new twist to the way scientists study how fins evolved into limbs since the paddlefish is often used as a proxy for a more representative ancestor shared by humans and fishes. "We found that paddlefish have had their own genome duplication," said Karen Crow, assistant professor of ...

Corticosteroids, frequently prescribed to alleviate acute sinusitis, show no clinical benefit in treating the condition, according to a randomized controlled trial published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/site/press/cmaj.120430.pdf. The common cold is the main cause of acute sinusitis, which is characterized by inflammation of the nasal cavities, blocked nasal passages and sometimes headaches and facial pain. Allergies and bacteria can also cause the condition, which is uncomfortable and difficult to treat. Antibiotics ...

Minimal evidence of a Higgs transition 1 of north and south poles of electron spins was observed in a magnet Yb2Ti2O7 at the absolute temperature 2 0.21 K. A fractionalization of these monopoles from electron spins was observed on cooling to 0.3 K. On further cooling below 0.21 K, the material showed the ferromagnetism to be understood as a superconductivity of monopoles. The work is reported in an online science journal "Nature Communications" in UK on August 7, by an international collaboration team of Dr. Shigeki Onoda (Condensed Matter Theory Lab., RIKEN Advanced Science ...

WASHINGTON — (Aug 7, 2012) New research, to be published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, finds that men who developed persistent sexual side effects while on finasteride (Propecia), a drug commonly used for male pattern hair loss, have a high prevalence of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. The study, titled "Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Thoughts Among Former Users of Finasteride With Persistent Sexual Side Effects," was authored by Michael S. Irwig, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology at the George Washington University ...

A new advance in X-ray imaging has revealed the dramatic three-dimensional shape of gold nanocrystals, and is likely to shine a light on the structure of other nano-scale materials. Described today in Nature Communications, the new technique improves the quality of nanomaterial images, made using X-ray diffraction, by accurately correcting distortions in the X-ray light. Dr Jesse Clark, lead author of the study from the London Centre for Nanotechnology said: "With nanomaterials playing an increasingly important role in many applications, there is a real need to be ...

Alexandria, VA — Cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA), although difficult to diagnose in young children, shows a causative relationship to otolaryngic symptoms. A new study in the August journal, Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery suggests an elimination diet may help manage such conditions in children under two and reduce the need for more serious upper airway tests and interventions. "Early recognition of CMPA in association with upper airway disease may subsequently reduce the economic burden and number of procedures required in affected infants," report the authors. The ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System are helping to quell parents' worry about why infants seem to get sick so often. It's been believed that, like walking and talking, fighting viral infections is something children will develop when they get older. But a U-M study suggests the natural ability to fight infection is there early on. Scientists learned key cell signals inhibit the growth of essential immune cells early in life. Blocking this signaling could lead to improving an infant's response to infection, according to the study ...

AUDIO: Wolfram syndrome is a rare disorder that causes insulin-dependent diabetes, kidney problems and vision and hearing loss, among other things. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St.... Click here for more information. Inflammation and cell stress play important roles in the death of insulin-secreting cells and are major factors in diabetes. Cell stress also plays a role in Wolfram syndrome, a rare, genetic disorder that afflicts children with ...

Researchers have found that a strain of dysentery-causing bacterium that originated from Europe centuries ago is spreading rapidly to Australia and some developing countries First author, Dr Kathryn Holt from the University of Melbourne said that the bacterium strain Shingella. sonnei is easily transmitted due to the high levels of drug resistance in developed countries. "Contrary to standard guidelines, drug treatment and better sanitation alone will not be sufficient for controlling this strain. Vaccine development will be crucial." she said Dr Holt has pioneered ...

Phosphorus is a vital element not only for plants but also for all living organisms. In recent times, however, farmers have been faced with a growing shortage of this essential mineral, and the price of phosphate-based fertilizers has been steadily increasing. It is therefore high time to start looking for alternatives. This is not an easy task, because phosphorus cannot be replaced by any other substance. But researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart have found a solution that makes use of locally available resources ...

This press release is available in German. To participate successfully in life, it is important to be able to read and write. Nevertheless, many children and adults have difficulties in acquiring these skills and the reason is not always obvious. They suffer from dyslexia which can have a variety of symptoms. Thanks to research carried out by Begoña Díaz and her colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, a major step forward has been made in understanding the cause of dyslexia. The scientists have discovered an important ...

Patients in early clinical trials of new-style targeted cancer therapies appear to have a much lower risk of the most serious side-effects than with traditional chemotherapy, according to a new analysis. Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust analysed data from 36 Phase I trials run by the organisations' joint Drug Development Unit. The study, published today in August's Annals of Oncology, found the overall risk to patients of suffering a life-threatening side-effect was around seven times less than for traditional ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Aug. 7, 2012 – Prescribing calcium and vitamin D supplements for men at risk of bone loss from hormonal treatment for prostate cancer seems like good medicine. But new research from epidemiologists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center showed that this type of supplementation did not prevent bone loss and, in fact, may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and aggressive prostate cancer. The study was published online in the July issue of the journal The Oncologist. "It wouldn't be so bad if there simply was no obvious benefit," said Gary ...

Children fed healthy diets in early age may have a slightly higher IQ, while those on heavier junk food diets may have a slightly reduced IQ, according to new research from the University of Adelaide. The study - led by University of Adelaide Public Health researcher Dr Lisa Smithers - looked at the link between the eating habits of children at six months, 15 months and two years, and their IQ at eight years of age. The study of more than 7000 children compared a range of dietary patterns, including traditional and contemporary home-prepared food, ready-prepared baby ...

PITTSBURGH—Paris is one of those cities that has a look all its own, something that goes beyond landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and INRIA/Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris have developed visual data mining software that can automatically detect these sometimes subtle features, such as street signs, streetlamps and balcony railings, that give Paris and other cities a distinctive look. The software analyzed more than 250 million visual elements gleaned from 40,000 Google Street View images of Paris, London, New ...

New Rochelle, NY, August 7, 2012 — Vaccination against human papilloma virus (HPV) is recommended for young women to protect them from HPV infection and cervical cancer. Male HPV immunization is increasingly a topic of debate in the medical community. A timely review of the literature published in Viral Immunology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com), explores whether HPV vaccination of young men is warranted and cost effective. The article is available free online at the Viral Immunology (http://www.liebertpub.com/vim) ...

Plains bison are an iconic symbol of America on everything from coins to state flags. Now scientists writing in Conservation Biology are exploring how the cross-breeding of bison with domestic cattle in the late 1800s may still have unwanted effects on modern populations of the species. "The plains bison are an iconic symbol of rugged individualism and the will to survive," said Professor James Derr from Texas A&M University. "The population crash and the spectacular recovery over the last 125 years is a classic example of the resilience of this species and the success ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Even temporary rises in local temperatures significantly damage long-term economic growth in the world's developing nations, according to a new study co-authored by an MIT economist. Looking at weather data over the last half-century, the study finds that every 1-degree-Celsius increase in a poor country, over the course of a given year, reduces its economic growth by about 1.3 percentage points. However, this only applies to the world's developing nations; wealthier countries do not appear to be affected by the variations in temperature. "Higher ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Cities count the number of cars on the road in order to plan everything from the timing of stoplights to road repairs. But the in-road metal detectors that do the counting can make errors – most often by registering that a car is present when one isn't. One common error is called "splashover" because it usually involves an over-sensitive detector picking up the presence a vehicle in the next lane over – as if the signal from the car "splashed over" into the adjacent lane. Now Ohio State University researchers have developed software to help city managers ...

Psychological scientists have long known that the amount of information we can actively hold in mind at any given time – known as working memory – is limited. Our working memory capacity reflects our ability to focus and control attention and strongly influences our ability to solve problems. In a new article in the August issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Jennifer Wiley and Andrew Jarosz of the University of Illinois at Chicago explore the role of working memory capacity in both mathematical ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Dividing tasks among different individuals is a more efficient way to get things done, whether you are an ant, a honeybee or a human. A new study by researchers at Michigan State University's BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action suggests that this efficiency may also explain a key transition in evolutionary history, from single-celled to multi-celled organisms. The results, which can be found in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrate that the cost of switching between different tasks ...

(Boston) – Investigators at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System have identified a new gene linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings, published online in Molecular Psychiatry, indicate that a gene known to play a role in protecting brain cells from the damaging effects of stress may also be involved in the development of PTSD. The article reports the first positive results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of PTSD and suggests that variations in the retinoid-related orphan receptor ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- If past experience makes you think there's going to be one more cashew at the bottom of the bowl, you're likely to search through those mixed nuts a little longer. But what keeps the attention of a radiologist who sees just 70 suspicious lesions in 1,000 mammograms or a baggage screener who hasn't found a handgun in more than a year? The answer, according to biological theory and a laboratory study conducted by Duke University psychologists, may be to make those professional searchers believe there are more targets to be found. "In the real world, ...