WASHINGTON – A new method for detecting abnormalities in unborn children is providing physicians with more information to analyze the results than conventional, microscopic testing, according to two George Washington University researchers. Elizabeth Thom, research professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, and Julia Zachary, senior research scientist, are co-authors of the lead article appearing in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine showing that microarray technology provides a more comprehensive result from genetic testing during prenatal care ...

HOUSTON - Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found statins, the commonly used drug to lower cholesterol, improved progression-free survival in patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). The retrospective study was presented today in a poster discussion at the 2012 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and follows a previously reported Danish study indicating there is some evidence to suggest the anti-inflammatory properties of statins could reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Still, the overall effects of statins have ...

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Of the two bat species known to visit the flowers of the cardon cactus in Baja California, one depends entirely on nectar and is highly specialized to feed from the flowers, which are adapted for pollination by bats. The other is an insect-eating bat best known for its ability to hear the footsteps of large insects and scorpions and capture them on the ground. In a surprising result, scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have found that the insect-eating pallid bat is a more effective pollinator of the cactus flowers than the nectar-feeding ...

MAYWOOD, Il. - A groundbreaking clinical trial involving the breast cancer drug tamoxifen should prompt certain breast cancer patients to reconsider their treatment options, according to Loyola University Medical Center breast cancer specialist Dr. Kathy Albain. The trial is called ATLAS (Adjuvant Tamoxifen Longer Against Shorter). It included women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer that had not spread to distant organs. Women who took tamoxifen for 10 years had a lower risk of recurrence and lower mortality rate than women who took the drug for 5 years, ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Fit kids aren't only first picked for kickball. New research from Michigan State University shows middle school students in the best physical shape outscore their classmates on standardized tests and take home better report cards. Published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, it's the first study linking children's fitness to both improved scores on objective tests and better grades, which rely on subjective decisions by teachers. The study also is among the first to examine how academic performance relates to all aspects of ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Media articles and nutritionists alike have perpetuated the idea that for healthy metabolisms individuals should consume small meals multiple times a day. However, new research conducted at the University of Missouri suggests all-day snacking might not be as beneficial as previously thought, especially for obese women. "Our data suggests that, for obese women, eating fewer, bigger meals may be more advantageous metabolically compared to eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day," said the study's lead author, Tim Heden, a doctoral student ...

SAN FRANCISCO—Satellite observations have revealed the first direct evidence of smoke from Arctic wildfires drifting over the Greenland ice sheet, tarnishing the ice with soot and making it more likely to melt under the sun. At the American Geophysical Union meeting this week, an Ohio State University researcher presented images from NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite, which captured smoke from Arctic fires billowing out over Greenland during the summer of 2012. Jason Box, associate professor of geography at ...

A discovery that promises transistors – the fundamental part of all modern electronics – controlled by laser pulses that will be 10,000 faster than today's fastest transistors has been made by a Georgia State University professor and international researchers. Professor of Physics Mark Stockman worked with Professor Vadym Apalkov of Georgia State and a group led by Ferenc Krausz at the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics and other well-known German institutions. There are three basic types of solids: metals, semiconductors, used in today's transistors, ...

An international team of scientists, using the world's most powerful X-ray laser, has revealed the three dimensional structure of a key enzyme that enables the single-celled parasite that causes African trypanosomiasis (or sleeping sickness) in humans. With the elucidation of the 3D structure of the cathepsin B enzyme, it will be possible to design new drugs to inhibit the parasite (Trypanosoma brucei) that causes sleeping sickness, leaving the infected human unharmed. The research team, including several ASU scientists, is led by the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) ...

TORONTO, Dec. 5, 2012—Researchers at St. Michael's hospital have identified 29 proteins that are likely to be involved in the spread of kidney cancer. The discovery will help physicians recognize which tumours are going to behave more aggressively and provide those patients with more intensive treatment and closer followup. "Metastatic renal cell carcinoma is one of the most treatment-resistant malignancies and patients have dismal prognosis," said Dr. George M Yousef, a laboratory pathologist. "Identification of markers that can predict the potential of metastases will ...

A recent University of Colorado Cancer Center review in the journal Advances in Nutrition shows that rice bran offers promising cancer prevention properties. Meanwhile, an ongoing clinical trial is testing the effectiveness of rice bran in preventing the recurrence of colon cancer. "While I have been trained as a molecular toxicologist, I am excited about the opportunities to deliver bioactive, cancer fighting compounds with food, and this has led to my focus now primarily on the multiple drug-like characteristics of rice bran," says Elizabeth P. Ryan, PhD, CU Cancer ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — As adolescents transition to adulthood, the pressure to meet adult expectations – such as speaking properly – may be greater than expected, according to a new study by a Michigan State University researcher. Suzanne Evans Wagner, assistant professor of linguistics, has proven for the first time that language changes with age in addition to community pressures. And, surprisingly, college and post-high school ambitions play a huge role. "It seems as if in high school, students who want to go to a good college are the ones who early on begin to dial ...

In the latest issue of the Journal of Animal Science, researchers at Clemson University and the University of Florida examine the impact of exercise on mare reproductive health and embryo transfer. In the study, researchers divided light-horse mares into three research groups: no exercise (control), partial-exercise and full-exercise. Their goal was to measure reproductive blood flow and embryo number and quality. Partial-exercise mares were moderately exercised for 30 minutes daily during the periovulatory period and rested after ovulation for seven days. Full-exercise ...

VIDEO: This new global view and animation of Earth’s city lights is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite. The data was acquired over nine days in... Click here for more information. Scientists unveiled today an unprecedented new look at our planet at night. A global composite image, constructed using cloud-free night images from a new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite, shows the glow of natural and ...

WASHINGTON – Press coverage of synthetic biology in the United States and Europe increased significantly between 2008 and 2011, according to a report released today by the Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The report, Trends in American and European Press Coverage of Synthetic Biology: 2008 – 2011, builds on the project's earlier study of US-EU press coverage between 2003 and 2008. Synthetic biology, an area of research focused on the design and construction of new biological parts and devices, or re-design of existing ...

The United States could eliminate the need for crude oil by using a combination of coal, natural gas and non-food crops to make synthetic fuel, a team of Princeton researchers has found. Besides economic and national security benefits, the plan has potential environmental advantages. Because plants absorb carbon dioxide to grow, the United States could cut vehicle greenhouse emissions by as much as 50 percent in the next several decades using non-food crops to create liquid fuels, the researchers said. Synthetic fuels would be an easy fit for the transportation system ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A new type of transistor shaped like a Christmas tree has arrived just in time for the holidays, but the prototype won't be nestled under the tree along with the other gifts. "It's a preview of things to come in the semiconductor industry," said Peide "Peter" Ye, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University. Researchers from Purdue and Harvard universities created the transistor, which is made from a material that could replace silicon within a decade. Each transistor contains three tiny nanowires made not of silicon, ...

Typhoon Bopha proved deadly to residents in the Mindanao region of the Philippines after ravaging islands in Micronesia. NASA's Aqua and TRMM satellites peered at the storm inside and out, providing forecasters with valuable data as the storm moved into the South China Sea. On Dec. 5, 2012, Bopha crossed over Palawan and entered the South China Sea after crossing over the southern Philippines' Mindanao region, leaving death and destruction in its wake. According to Reuters news reports on Dec. 5, at least at total of 283 people were killed and hundreds remain missing ...

In July 2012, farmers in the U.S. Midwest and Plains regions watched crops wilt and die after a stretch of unusually low precipitation and high temperatures. Before a lack of rain and record-breaking heat signaled a problem, however, scientists observed another indication of drought in data from NASA and NOAA satellites: plant stress. Healthy vegetation requires a certain amount of water from the soil every day to stay alive, and when soil moisture falls below adequate levels, plants become stressed. Scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research ...

Tiny sensors -- made of a potentially trailblazing material just one atom thick and heralded as the "next best thing" since the invention of silicon -- are now being developed to detect trace elements in Earth's upper atmosphere and structural flaws in spacecraft. Technologist Mahmooda Sultana, who joined NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., two years ago and has since emerged as Goddard's go-to expert in the development of graphene-based technology, has expanded her portfolio to include two new research and development efforts aimed at creating nano-sized ...

DURHAM, N.H., Dec. 5, 2012 – While science has often focused on big-scale, global climate change research, a study recently published in the journal Bioscience suggests that long-term, integrated and site-specific research is needed to understand how climate change affects multiple components of ecosystem structure and function, sometimes in surprising ways. "Long-term ecological research is important to understanding the effects of a changing climate on our natural resources and so much more," said Michael T. Rains, Director of the Forest Service's Northern Research Station. ...

On December 6, NOAA will release a technical report that estimates global mean sea level rise over the next century based on a comprehensive synthesis of existing scientific literature. The report finds that there is very high confidence (greater than 90% chance) that global mean sea level will rise at least 8 inches (0.2 meters) and no more than 6.6 feet (2 meters) by 2100, depending upon uncertainties associated with ice sheet loss and ocean warming. The actual amount of sea level change at any one region and location greatly varies in response to regional and local ...

Researchers examining how the hormone jasmonate works to protect plants and promote their growth have revealed how a transcriptional repressor of the jasmonate signaling pathway makes its way into the nucleus of the plant cell. They hope the recently published discovery will eventually help farmers experience better crop yields with less use of potentially harmful chemicals. "This is a small piece of a bigger picture, but it is a very important piece," said Maeli Melotto, a University of Texas at Arlington assistant professor of biology. Melotto recently co-authored ...

Military/Veteran medical malpractice claims are an uphill battle Some of the highest courts in the land -- the United States Supreme Court among them -- will soon be hearing cases involving the niche area of military malpractice claims. Military physicians usually enjoy "sovereign immunity" (essentially making them immune from many types of lawsuits) in their capacity as physicians working for the government. These cases do not argue the validity of sovereign immunity, but instead question its applicability in even the most egregious military medical malpractice ...

Could patient photos reduce serious medical errors? A study by researchers at a Colorado hospital found that including photos in patients' electronic medical records helps reduce serious medical mistakes known as "wrong-patient errors." Implementing electronic record systems with photos at hospitals across the country may help improve the national rate of serious medical errors. Researchers find using a photo drastically reduces number of errors In 2009, Children's Hospital Colorado found that misplaced orders in electronic files was the second-most common ...