TORONTO– Worker bees have become a highly skilled and specialized work force because the genes that determine their behaviour are shuffled frequently, helping natural selection to build a better bee, research from York University suggests. The embargoed study, to be published October 15 at 3pm EST in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), sheds light on how worker bees – who are sterile – evolved charismatic and cooperative behaviours such as nursing young bees, collecting food for the colony, defending it against intruders, and dancing to communicate ...

A brain pathway that is stimulated by traumatic or fearful experiences can be disrupted by two compounds that show promise for preventing post-traumatic stress disorder, Indiana University researchers reported. In a presentation prepared for the Neuroscience 2012 scientific conference in New Orleans Oct. 13 to 17, Anantha Shekhar and colleagues from IU reported the results of experiments with rats using a standard methodology called a conditioned fear test. The neural signaling activated by fearful experiences -- a process that also is involved in learning and in ...

NEW ORLEANS — Mother rats respond much differently to cocaine than female rats that have never given birth, according to new University of Michigan research that looks at both behavior and brain chemistry. The findings may help lay the groundwork for more tailored human addiction treatment, based on scientific understanding of how gender, hormones and life experience impact drug use. In an oral presentation at the Society for Neuroscience meeting, U-M researcher Jennifer Cummings, Ph.D., summarized findings from experiments with rats at the Molecular and Behavioral ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- An analysis of 27 studies linking psoriasis in 314,000 individuals with diabetes has found strong correlation between the scaly skin rash and the blood sugar disorder that predisposes patients to heart disease, say UC Davis researchers who led the review. The findings appear in an article titled "Psoriasis and the risk of diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis," which is now online in the Archives of Dermatology. "Our investigation found a clear association between psoriasis and diabetes," said April Armstrong, assistant professor ...

LA JOLLA, CA – A study of binge-drinking rodents suggests that knocking back a few drinks every few days may swiftly reduce one's capacity to control alcohol intake. Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) found signs of cognitive impairment in rats similar to that seen in established alcoholism after the animals had only a few months of intermittent access to alcohol. The researchers linked the rats' impairment to a small group of neurons that inhibit "executive control" functions in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. These neurons were unusually active ...

For 50 years, the world's soybean crop has depended on the use of cyst nematode resistant varieties of beans, but no one knew how these plants fought off the nematode pests. Now, the secrets of resistant soybean plants are finally coming to light. Surprisingly, one of the genes related to nematode resistance in soybeans also has been associated with human diseases including lymphocytic leukemia, spina bifida and cardiovascular disease, according to a team of University of Missouri researchers and their colleagues whose breakthrough was recently published in the journal ...

WASHINGTON – When learning a new language, we automatically organize words into sentences that will be both clearly understood and efficient (quick) to communicate. That's the finding of a new study reported today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) which challenges opposing theories on why and how languages come to be organized the way they are. With more than 5000 languages in the world, it would be easy to assume all vary endlessly, but, in fact, there is great commonality: languages follow only a few recurrent patterns. These commonalities ...

Early signs of lung cancer could be diagnosed using a simple blood test following a new discovery by scientists at the University of York. Early detection of lung cancer has been shown to save lives, but available methods for screening at-risk people are either too costly or involve invasive procedures. The latest findings, published today in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, mean that a simple blood test could now be developed. Dr Dawn Coverley, who is based at the University's Department of Biology and is funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, ...

A new Ebola virus study resulting from a widespread scientific collaboration has shown promising preliminary results, preventing disease in infected nonhuman primates using monoclonal antibodies. In this week's online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the research team describes a proof-of-concept for using a "cocktail" of monoclonal antibodies, or mAbs, to prevent lethal disease in rhesus macaques. When administered one hour after infection, all animals survived. Two-thirds of the animals were protected even when the treatment, known ...

A new method of using adult stem cells as a model for the hereditary condition Gaucher disease could help accelerate the discovery of new, more effective therapies for this and other conditions such as Parkinson's, according to new research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine reprogrammed stem cells to develop into cells that are genetically similar to and react to drugs in a similar way as cells from patients with Gaucher disease. The stem cells will allow the scientists to test potential new ...

MADISON -- Troy, the palatial city of prehistory, sacked by the Greeks through trickery and a fabled wooden horse, will be excavated anew beginning in 2013 by a cross-disciplinary team of archaeologists and other scientists, it was announced today (Monday, Oct. 15). The new expedition will be led by University of Wisconsin-Madison classics Professor William Aylward, an archaeologist with long experience digging in the ruins of classical antiquity, including Troy itself. The new international project at Troy, to be conducted under the auspices of and in cooperation with ...

PHILADELPHIA — Making uniform coatings is a common engineering challenge, and, when working at the nanoscale, even the tiniest cracks or defects can be a big problem. New research from University of Pennsylvania engineers has shown a new way of avoiding such cracks when depositing thin films of nanoparticles. The research was led by graduate student Jacob Prosser and assistant professor Daeyeon Lee, both of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science. Graduate student Teresa Brugarolas and undergraduate ...

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) does hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of damage each year. Matt Hudson and Brian Diers, crop sciences researchers at the University of Illinois and Andrew Bent at the University of Wisconsin, think they may have found a way to strengthen plant resistance. The research has just been published in Science Express. Diers and Hudson, with researchers at Wisconsin and the University of Nebraska, have been studying an area on chromosome 18 called Rhg1 (Resistance to H. glycines) that is known to be the location of the main source of SCN resistance. ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Companionship has the potential to reduce pain linked to nerve damage, according to a new study. Mice that were paired with a cage-mate showed lower pain responses and fewer signs of inflammation in their nervous system after undergoing surgery that affected their nerves than did isolated mice, suggesting that the social contact had both behavioral and physiological influences. The social contact lowered the pain response and signs of inflammation even in animals that had experienced stress prior to the nerve injury. These mice experienced a specific ...

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – October 15, 2012 – In a new theoretical study, 23andMe, the leading personal genetics company, developed a mathematical model which shows that family history and genetic tests offer different strengths. The study results suggest that both family history and genetics are best used in combination to improve disease risk prediction. The full results of the study have now been published online in the journal PLOS Genetics. Family history is most useful in assessing risks for highly common, heritable conditions such as coronary artery disease. However, ...

Archaeologists from the University of Leicester who uncovered a grave thought to contain the skeleton of King Richard III have revealed that the remains came within inches of being destroyed by Victorian builders. The University of Leicester led the search for the Anointed King who died at the battle of Bosworth in association with Leicester City Council and the Richard III Society. The University team dug three trenches under a Leicester car park before their discovery was made. Now site director Mathew Morris has disclosed that the remains were found just inches below ...

Exercise and healthy eating reduce body fat and preserve muscle in adults better than diet alone, according to a study funded and conducted by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study was recently published online in Obesity and will be in a future print edition. NIDDK senior investigator Kevin Hall, Ph.D., analyzed the individual effects of daily strenuous exercise and a restricted diet by examining data from 11 participants from the reality television program "The Biggest Loser." ...

URBANA – Adding the right prebiotic to the diets of pediatric patients with intestinal failure could replace intravenous feeding, says a new University of Illinois study. "When we fed the carbohydrate fructooligosacharide (FOS) as a prebiotic, the gut grew and increased in function," said Kelly A. Tappenden, a U of I professor of nutrition and gastrointestinal physiology. "The study showed that using the correct pre- and probiotic in combination could enhance these results even more." When FOS enters the intestines, bacteria convert it into butyrate, a short-chain fatty ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Oct. 15, 2012 – When patients suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) express high levels of the gene, MN1, an already aggressive leukemia is accelerated and shortens survival time. While that's a known fact, the mechanisms involved aren't well understood which is why a Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researcher decided to take a closer look. Timothy S. Pardee, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of hematology and oncology at Wake Forest Baptist, said that previous studies of AML have shown that when patients express high levels of the MN1 ...

VIDEO: Scientists at the University of Missouri have proven that a new form of prostate cancer treatment that uses radioactive gold nanoparticles, and was developed at MU, is safe to use... Click here for more information. COLUMBIA, Mo. — Currently, large doses of chemotherapy are required when treating certain forms of cancer, resulting in toxic side effects. The chemicals enter the body and work to destroy or shrink the tumor, but also harm vital organs and drastically affect ...

The recent outbreak of meningitis in the US—and the subsequent deaths of 15 individuals—has renewed scrutiny on the contemporary practice of pharmacy compounding. The risks to patients, and associated liability risk to prescribing physicians, largely outweigh the benefits when the practice goes beyond the traditional, extemporaneous role, according to Sarah Sellers from q-Vigilance LLC and Wulf Utian from Case Western Reserve University in the US. Sellers and Utian's opinion piece appears online in the journal Drugs, published by Adis. There is a place for traditional ...

Fat progenitor cells may contribute to cancer growth by fortifying the vessels that provide needed blood to tumors, according to preclinical research findings by investigators at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The results were reported in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Studies of groups of people have demonstrated a link between obesity and certain cancers; however, the physiological causes have not been identified. The World Health Organization reports that in 2008 there were more than ...

"Communicating With Older Adults: An Evidence-Based Review of What Really Works," the latest report from The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), provides 40 pages of recommended guidelines for health care providers interacting with the fastest growing age segment of America's population. This publication is intended for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, biologists, psychologists, social workers, caregivers, economists, and health policy experts — anyone who seeks to have the best possible interactions with older patients. It was developed by GSA and supported by McNeil ...

New Rochelle, NY, October 15, 2012—In addition to the obvious benefit of eliminating the need for an injection, new vaccine delivery methods via the lungs offer particular advantages for protecting against infectious agents that enter the body through the respiratory track. A comprehensive review article that presents the current status, challenges, and opportunities of pulmonary vaccine delivery is published in Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free online on ...

New York, NY (October 15, 2012) — Screening practices for multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in intensive care units (ICUs) vary widely from hospital to hospital, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University School of Nursing and published in the October 2012 issue of the American Journal of Infection Control. Researchers found that of the hospitals surveyed, a little more than half (59 percent) routinely screened for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aurea, or MRSA. Other potentially deadly MDROs were screened for far less frequently: vancomycin-resistant ...